Backcountry Brook Trout in Banff National Park

This was a trip we were looking forward to and it almost did not happen. Nasty weather moved into the Banff National Park area and it snowed. Well we waited it out, then hoisted our backcountry gear and headed out! It was a great opportunity for Karen to test out her leg after a nasty spiral fracture just 7 months ago! After hiking for several hours, we set up camp. There was snow all around but our camp site  was snow free and no biting bugs!

We organized our fly fishing gear and climbed up to a nearby lake that had an excellent population of brook trout! The wind was blowing hard but we still tied on chernobyls and fly fished dry flies with lots of success. I did nymph as well. Believe it or not we used blobs and the brookies could not lay off!

The mountains were crystal clear and the cool temperatures reminded us that fall is in the air! We woke up in our tent on day two and it was easily -5C. Burr! We were prepared with lots of layers of clothes.

We also visited a second lake. The fishing was a bit slow there although we did catch some beautifully coloured brookies. We also were quite distracted by deer, mountain goats, porcupines as well as the amazing scenery!

Karen's recovering leg passed with flying colours. We were both quite pleased that we were able to get in the backcountry. Too many of our trips have been cancelled this year. Fires being the main culprit! 

Blobs in the backcountry, who knew?

Chernobyls- Brookies love to Smash Them!

Blobs-Brookies loved them!

 

Finally the Summer Doldrums Are Over

Hi Everyone!

Karen and I have finally been able to get out on the water lately! It has been a while! Water temperatures have been high and we have been focussing on getting Karen's recovering broken leg strong for an upcoming hike in Scotland. The good news is her leg is getting stronger and can easily handle hikes over 15 plus kms now.

I did have a few late evenings during the brown drake and hex hatch that were outstanding. I was surprised how late the hex hatch started and lasted but I decided not to fly fish it on several evenings because of water temperature being way too high! That is a tough decision when you see large browns gulping big mayflies.

Our big trip to Maligne Lake was cancelled because of fires. It was so sad what happened in Jasper National Park.

Our pot holes lakes will have the water temperature coming down and it will not be long until the boatmen and backswimmers start up!

It is nice to see water temperatures finally coming down. We were at Sylvan Lake a couple of days ago and the water temperature was 64-65F. We decided to fly fish once we agreed the water temperature was ok. We managed to catch pike, lake whitefish, and perch! Most of our fish were caught in 11-13 feet of water depth using small blood worms. We enjoyed our day on the water and it was not busy at all.

Karen has not been ready to hike too far into the backcountry but our kids and grandkids have. They love fly fishing. Above is a picture of Oliver and his twin brother Edwin with a brook trout caught on a Bubba Gump Shrimp!

Karen and I fly fished on the Red Deer River a few days ago. just below the spillway. The water was a bit high but the tailwater temperatures are always excellent because of the bottom drawn water from Gleniffer Lake. Whitefish are starting to move up towards the dam!

Can you see all the brook trout rising? Karen and I were hiking with our family in Sunshine Meadows. All the tarns in the area are teeming with brookies but this area is closed to fishing! Sigh!

I hope you are able to get out on the water. Our summer is usually spent in the high country but that has been limited by family, firs and water temperatures. I can feel fall in the air, time to get our fly rods dusted off!

 

Water Temperatures and Fishing Restrictions

Hi Everyone! I have not posted much fly fishing because many of my favourite places to fish this time of the year have very high water temperatures. There is an advisory in place and I suspect "Hoot Owl" Restrictions will follow soon. This is a post from My Wild Alberta on Facebook! Many backcountry lakes in the mountains will have acceptable water temperatures but you will have to hike "high" to find them.

Declining river flows and low water levels, and warm water temperatures can cause stress to fish. To help protect our fisheries, an angling advisory is now in place for ALL flowing and non-flowing waters across Alberta.

When an advisory is in place, it is especially important for anglers to follow angling practices that reduce impacts to fish, including:

 Fish in stocked ponds and lakes as much as possible. Here’s a map of stocked waterbodies: https://bit.ly/3qmaoUr

 Fish in the early morning when temperatures are cooler

 Using heavier tackle helps you reel in a fish quickly, which helps reduce exhaustion and improve recovery

 Keep fish wet at all times and minimize handling time. Brush up on your fish handling by watching this video: https://bit.ly/34WvT4B

 Use single point hooks, single hook lures, or flies

Always know before you go and check the My Wild Alberta Advisories, Corrections and Closures page before you fish! https://mywildalberta.ca/.../advisories.../default.aspx

Time of day angling restrictions are another tool that may be implemented to protect fisheries should specific temperature and flow criteria be met. There are no time of day angling restrictions currently in effect. For more information about time of day angling restrictions, visit https://mywildalberta.ca/.../time-of-day-angling...