Southern Alberta As long as water temperatures continue to approach 50 degrees F there should be dry fly fishing for a few hours each afternoon to blue-winged olive mayflies. It’s not out of the realm of possibility to find a few straggling Green Drakes around also. But if we don’t get any warm weather through the second half of September (none is forecast as of this writing) the fish will begin their late fall behaviour sooner than normal and you’ll have to go down to get them with nymphs and streamers. This applies mainly to the smaller streams like the Crowsnest, Oldman, Livingstone and Highwood Rivers, which react to air temperature more quickly than bigger streams. The fall fishing on the Bow River near Calgary should be quite normal because it is a much larger body of water. The the same blue-winged olives should bring fish up through September and into October. You can take fish on grasshopper patterns and imitations of the October Caddis through the fall also. When the fish aren’t rising, try small beadhead nymphs, backswimmer patterns, or small streamers like a tan Woolly Bugger in size 8. A great fall trick on any of our streams is to prospect with a double dry fly rig. Tie your favourite grasshopper pattern on to the end of a nine-foot 3X leader, then tie a 12-inch piece of 5X onto the bend of the hook. At the end of that tie a size 16 red, black, or brown flying ant pattern. Drift this combination through the fishy-looking lies and stay ready. It’s surprising how often autumn trout opt for a small fly even when it’s floating right next to a bigger one. Trout Unlimited Canada is sponsoring a great weekend of fly-fishing seminars with Dave and Emily Whitlock this fall. It happens on October 16 and 17 in Calgary. This is a chance to learn from a couple of the most respected voices in our sport. Don’t miss it. Contact the TUC office at 403 221 8360 for tickets or more information.
Jim McLennan - Alberta South Field Editor
Jim is one of Alberta's most experienced and literate fly fishers. An award-winning outdoor writer and author of a number of books, including Blue Ribbon Bow, he also hosted the popular TV fly fishing show, Iron Blue Fly Fishing. He is a founding director of both the Calgary and Edmonton TU Canada chapters
Fall 2010 report for the Canadian Fly Fisher - by Jim McLennan
A rainy summer seems to have led to a rainy fall. The Labour Day weekend was cold, dreary and showery in southern Alberta. Most trout streams are currently in great condition - at least regarding volume of water. There are no high water-temperature/low flow issues this fall. That’s the good news. The bad news is that water temperatures are considerably cooler than normal for this time of year. Freezing nights and daytime highs in the low to mid-teens are taking the water temperature down sooner than usual in our smaller foothill streams.
