West Slope Cutthroat in Alberta

Our cutthroat trout rivers are open and several are fly fishing very well. This last few days the river flows have been excellent although there is some rain in the forecast. Dry fly action can be sporadic and nyphing can be outstanding this early in the season. My neighbour and his buddy headed to the west country a few days ago and he reported excellent fly fishing conditions. Well done Colin and Bruce. Be sure to check river flows before you head out at Alberta Basins! This is a great time of the year to enjoy backcountry cutthroat fly fishing!

...all photos courtesy of Colin Allison

 

Bathometric Maps

Kare, Leon, Doug and I are gearing up for a trip to Cree Lake in Northern Saskatchewan. Cree Lake is known for its massive lake trout, pike, walleye, whitefish as well as arctic grayling.We are part of a do it yourself group hosted by Out Flyfishing Outfitters in Calgary. It is going to be an outstanding trip.

To get around we are using our Garmin Echo Map fish finder as well as a Garmin InReach!

Because we are on our own, we will be looking very specific areas for lake trout fly fishing as well as shallow bays for those enormous pike. A bathometric map which helps you know what depths are in different areas is a useful tool. Looking for drop offs, reefs, etc will help with our success.

I use bathometric maps of Sylvan Lake as well as several local lakes to find just the structure I am looking for.

Some Fish Finders have a mapping tool that helps you literally create your own bathometric map!

If you are heading to  new lake, definitely take the time to find a bathometric map. It will help you a lot!

 

Brown Drakes, PMDs and Caddis on the Red Deer River

Brown drakes have been emerging in the last week on the Red Deer River as have PMDs and caddis. Brown trout, goldeye, whitefish will all gulp down these tasty treats. Last night brown drake spinners were all along the walking trail close to the Red Deer River as were PMDs and caddis. Brown drakes are usually an evening hatch although I have witnessed them hatching during the day too! I love this hatch and so do the fish on the Red Deer River. In the space of 30 minutes, I could see fish on the Red Deer River at 9 pm gulping down duns on the water. It is time to lose a little sleep and fish the evening rise. There are some excellent rewards to be found!