Dispatches from beside the Pink Bridge, 2012
This report will be updated when there are significant changes in flow, temperature, bug activity or shifts in fishing pressure.
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| January 20, 2012
The New Year has greeted us with its first winter blast out of the Gulf of Alaska. Nightly temperatures of Minus 35 and lots of snow (92 cm in the past week up high). Snow depths are now about average.
A look back on 2011 shows an angling year that started out and ended up about average. Lots of big fish at certain times and dismal results on others.
The big concern, early on, was severe flooding. When June arrived, the drainage had recorded the highest snow-moisture content on record (180% of average). Everyone was braced for severe flooding that June's rains would bring. Only problem – it hardly rained at all in June or July. And as a result, the runoff came and went hardly noticed.
Dryfly fishing meanwhile was good to great from July with salmon flies and grey drakes to September with hoppers.
Midge fishing in October was just so-so.
Anglers were on the river as late as Dec. 26 catching more fresh air than fish. Until lately it's been real mild with lots of open water.
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Oct. 8
Three days of steady light rain left four inches in the gauge, and slightly muddied conditions today. Lots of new, shin-deep snow now shimmers up high and autumn colors are about to peak.
Dig our your smallest patterns. The week ahead promises to be good with blue winged olives and midges.
September 9
For some reason mid-day fishing has slowed. Perhaps the dog days are finally here. Daytime temps have been hovering around 30C and hot weather remains in the forecast. But cool nights are keeping water temperatures low. 44F at 9 a.m. moving up to 51F by 4 p.m.
Grasshoppers abound, but rainbows seem to be zeroing-in on flying ants and boatmen.
Evening fishing has been productive with mayfly emergers
August 31
The last day of the month brings a cold front (8C at 3 p.m.) with rain, and the first alpine snow of the season.
Obviously, hoppers are hunkered down.
Warm weather isn't supposed to return until Sept. 4.
August 29
Big hoppers, some two-inches long, have aroused the Crow's big rainbows. Mid-day fishing is now as good if not better than evening angling.
It's downright explosive along some stretches.
Virtually every river and stream in the region from the Elk to the Oldman is producing like the good-old days.
The mosquitoes are still here as are a few black bears, picking through a scarce berry crop.
July 16, 2011
A fairly bold cougar has been in the area between the #507 Bridge and the upstream Burmis Lake the past few days. The cat shows little fear and has been entering open barns and garages eating a steady diet of domestic cats. If you have pepper spray or 'bangers', it might be wise to pack them along.
Also pack lots of bug repellent. The mosquitoes and flies are horrific, even when you're on the water.
The Crow continues to drop at a rapid pace and clarity doesn't get much better. You still can't skip across, but wading is good. So too is the dry fly fishing. Big rainbows.
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July 12, 2011
True to form we recorded an inch of hard driven rain last night, likely more in the heawaters. River is fast and off-color again.
May be okay for nymph fishing against banks.
Expect on and off again conditions for next week.
In addition to stonefly hatches, pmds and caddis are out... as are some green/grey drakes.
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I'm being told the Oldman and Livingstone Rivers are so high they're dangerous.
July 10, 2011
This is a little more like it! For the first time of the year it's most enjoyable.
The weekend it over, the campers have left, the river has cleared and the wind has died to near zero. What more could a guy ask for?
The Crow has finally turned on albeit three weeks late. |
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Many stoneflies of all sizes. Some mayflies, lots of salmon flies. Eager fish are starting to look up.
Visibility is a body's length, say 5 to 6 feet. The Crow has slowed and warmed as well. Water temp at 5 p.m. today was 54F.
Traditional crossings are safe for waders using caution. Water probably dropped a foot or more in the past couple of hot days.
Air temp has been in 30C range.
Sorry for the cross over to metric. But put it this way, it's comfortable fishing naked.
The forecast for this week looks good, but thundershowers that could mess things up are possible virtually every day of the week.
Anyway, the worst should be over.
A cursory look suggests few major changes to the main channel from Blairmore to Lundbreck Falls.
| June 23, 2011
Well, they're back. Not just salmonflies, but also swarms of mosquitoes nearly as big.
Bring lots of bug dope with your stimulators.
The Crow, despite its quick flow, is fishable with a 10 a.m. temp of 47F and knee deep visibility
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The river will likely remain unsafe to cross for a couple more weeks due to a record snowpack that has just begun to melt at high elevations.
Not surprisingly there has been very little angling pressure here or elsewhere in the region.
The nearby Castle and the Elk in B.C. are blown-out although some tributaries are wadeable and fairly clear.
The near and long-term forecast calls for continued mild temperatures and a mix of sun and showers.
May 15, 2011
Judging by the huge snowpack that remains and the long-term forecast, it will be quite a while until the Crow and other regional rivers are tame and clear enough to fish with any sort of promise. Snowpack is at a historic level for moisture content, about 180 per cent of the longterm average. To get a good look at remaining high elevation snow cover, check the webcams at Castle Mountain Resort – www.skicastle.ca. All rivers are swollen to their annual highwater marks now, and that's just the result of low elevation snowmelt.
A near record snowpack remains up high.
But if you're looking for songbirds and wildlife, there's plenty of both right now.
So far this spring, at the Trout Unlimited Oldman Chapter Burmis lease just upstream, a host of animals have been observed. Noted have been a large male grizzly, two moose, two wolves, and a small herd of elk is now getting ready to calve just upstream of the Silver (Block) Bridge.
Bluebirds, swallows, wild turkeys and some wrens have returned in fair numbers. Crocus abounds.
May 9, 2011
Three words pretty well describe the Crowsnest and all regional streams at the moment. High, wide and muddy.
Well maybe four words . . . fast.
Don't expect any change for the foreseeable future.
May 3, 2011
The Crow is up about two feet during the past couple of days due to a brief spell of mild weather. Visibility has dropped from gin clear to knee deep.
Flows, though, remain moderate and the river is fairly easy to cross.
Water temperature at 2 p.m. today is 6 C (44 F) to 8 C (47 F) depending on location. Air temperature isn't much different.
Fishing with streamers, dry Sqwala stones and the usual array of nymphs has been quite good during recent days. With cooler temperatures in the forecast, angling pressure and success should return before June's annual downpour.
Crow flows for the next month, and possibly well into July, will undergo a series of ups and downs. Snowpack in many drainages is nearly double the long-term average, and a very cool spring has kept it that way far longer than normal.
That all adds up to a predicted late angling season with fast flows extending weeks later than normal.
There is an exceptional amount of snow at all three elevations, low, medium and alpine. Runoff should be prolonged and intense.
Should June produce average temperatures with normal rainfall some flooding could be likely in May and June. If all remains equal, good dry fly fishing may not return until late July.
Conditions are similar in the Oldman and Castle drainages as well.
April 6, 2011
I'm getting calls asking what the conditions are like, and having to ask: skiing or fishing?
It's that time of year where everything is pretty good to very good. Great to be alive, chasing my hat down the road.
Great for knee deep, light Dry powder at Castle in the morning and an afternoon of fly fishing same day on the Crow. Dry too.
Anyway, things look good in the near future with normal early flows and easy wading.
Mild weather forecasts. Lots of mud the next few weeks. Watch where you park.
It's a great time of year to introduce new anglers to old waters. The Crow is low and slow and there are few leaves to snag.
April 1, 2011
A reminder that new licences are due (unless you're a senior) and a quick note on the river, which is looking very healthy this spring.
Everything was set for great fishing this weekend, i.e.lots of clear open water, mild, no wind and easy wading. But not so fast . . .
All that is expected to change tonight. A severe weather warning has been issued, and a knee deep dump of heavy, wet snow in the offing. The storm is supposed to last two and a half days.
When its remnants melt off next week, conditions should be great with low clear flows, interrupted now and then by short-lived muddy periods. (A lot of low- and mid- elevation snow remains, more than usual.)
When you come bring along an assortment of nymphs and streamers and throw in a few skwala stones. They should be emerging shortly.
December 13, 2010
Grab your fly rod and check out April-like conditions on lengthy portions of the Crow.
Unseasonably mild temperatures, wind and shifting ice have re-opened numerous riffles and pools. This mid weather is expected to last through mid-week when snow and temperatures will likely fall.
November 25, 2010
Knee deep snow that fell earlier in the week is now being pushed into cement-like drifts. The daytime highs all week didn't move above Minus 18C or zero F. Artesian springs that dump into the Crowsnest just downstream from the Pink Bridge are keeping the water open as steam rises in the cold air.
There are lots of mallards on the water, but it looks fishing is over for the 2010 season – a season that was generally below average, not only on the Crowsnest but other regional rivers like the Oldman, Castle and Elk.
It's not that the fish weren't there, it's just that the weather didn't co-operate for much of the year.
Looking back, there were some brief periods that offered great dry fly fishing, like late March and early April using Griffith's gnats and Blue Winged Olives. But by May 18 the then-roaring Crow looked more like a competitive kayaking stream than a place for dabbling nymphs.
Runoff came early to the Crow with high velocities that made dry fly fishing virtually impossible towards the middle of May and the first two weeks of June when Salmon flies were trying to drop their eggs.
The Crow didn't begin clearing and slowing in earnest until June 26 and dry fly fishing didn't show signs of improvement until July 6 when PMDs and rusty spinners were the solution. Heavy downpours of rain were followed by murky water continually interrupting brief periods of great fishing throughout July and into August. It was then that ants and beetles on top and streamers down below began to produce some big fish.
But when September arrived with its two snow storms and more than seven inches of rain, fishing success took a plunge in what is normally one of the best months of the year.
Good fishing success returned in early October, but died off mid-month when temperatures plummeted.
For sure some of the hardy, hell bent on tradition, will be out there casting nymphs on Christmas and New Year's day. Hopefully they won't have to chop holes in the ice.
October 5, 2010
Fishing is hot with beetles on top and light colored streamers down below. Mid day.
River is clear and low, but looking healthy.
Still some great looking fall scenes. No wind.
September 26, 2010
About seven inches of September rain have left fast moving streams that are now clearing and dropping daily.
Autumn colors are just now reaching the spectacular point. With a fair weather forecast through the week, look for excellent fishing with an awesome backdrop by the weekend.
The Crow looks very healthy heading into the fall.
September 20, 2010
Heavy rains across already waterlogged mountains and foothills will ensure of muckery of most streams in the region. Expect fast flows and poor conditions tomorrow and perhaps into Wednesday.
The forecast does call for improving weather about mid-week.
Sept. 17, 2010
It's another wet and cool fall; so out of synch with historical weather patterns.
Ankle deep wet snow, the first of the year, greeted anglers this morning. That after 3 inches of rain earlier in the week has turned many streams murky. But the Crow is still flowing clear and dry fly fishing remains good with pmd's, blue winged olives and attractor patterns.
Angling pressure has been way down. Normally there are a lot of hoppers showing about now, but not this year.
August 5, 2010
The Crow and other streams in Southern Alberta and S.E. B.C. are dropping and clear again after a tumultuous week of whacky weather including some heavy downpours.
PMDs, light Cahills and black ant patterns are working well on the Crow.
To the relief of man and beast, mosquito swarms have finally started diminishing. But bears are back thanks to a bumper berry crop. A female black bear and two cubs are frequenting the riverbed behind Burmis Lake. Might be wise to carry bear spray.
July 27, 2010
Dry fly fishing on the Crow as well as other regional streams continues to improve daily now that warm, stable weather has returned to the region.
Mosquitos are horrific, and bears are feeding on low elevation berry crops along many streams. It may not hurt to bring bear spray and definitely bug repellant.
July 21, 2010
Angling continues to improve on the Crow despite some recent late afternoon downpours that have resulted in fluctuating flows.
The forecast calls for warm temperatures and more settled conditions through next weekend. Flows should drop significantly in all regional drainages.
Adding to the mix of stoneflies are hatches of green and grey drakes, pmd's and light Cahills. Rusty spinners have been taken by many selective rainbows.
July 6, 2010
The Crow has dropped significantly and is crystal clear. Now crossable, but flows are still fast for this time of year. Many hatches of pmd's, large caddis and large and small stoneflies. Water temperature is 48F.
Warm weather in the offing.
June 26, 2010
The Crow WAS beginning to clear with fair to good visibility knee to waste deep. But now hot weather has set in, and volumes and sediment have increased again. The river is fishable; many stoneflies are airborne, but increased velocities hamper good drifts.
Wading is tricky and the river is impossible to cross at the usual places.
Water temperature today at noon was 48F or 9.5C.
As a matter of note, a 23-inch hen brown trout was taken on a nymph just below Highway #507 yesterday. It probably marks the largest brown taken above Lundbreck Falls, and may renew the debate about brown trout management above the falls. Browns were never intended for the Crow above the falls, a colder stretch where big wild Rainbows were the fish of choice.
It's believed someone illegally placed some brown trout in the upper Crow several years ago. They're being caught in increasing numbers and are confirmed spawning in the upper Crow.
June 17, 2010
Unless you're using dynamite or a gob of leaded nightcrawlers, there's not much sense trying to fish in southern Alberta today.
A steady, cold rain continues...some six inches over the past few days, and the forecast calls for a continuation of foul weather into the weekend. The Crow, like other regional rivers, is running chocolate brown and fast with debris. Totally unwadeable.
The forecast next week calls for sun and warming temperatures. Looks like angling opportunities will improve by mid week. Hopefully.
June 11, 2010
The smallest of angling windows will likely open early this weekend since water conditions are acceptable and some trout are willing to take big stonefly dries. Visibility in eddies today was about three feet or 1 metre.
Rain has subsided, some 5-plus inches over the past several days. But the ground is saturated and a considerable amount of snow was left behind at mid and high elevations.
The forecast calls for warm to hot weather the next several days, which means that snow will head downhill in a hurry..and the Crow will again be high and silty.
As an aside, golden morels can now be found along the river's banks.
June 9, 2010
Giant salmon flies have been fluttering about for a few days now both below and well above Lundbreck Falls.
The Crow, however, remains fast, high and silty. The entire river will open officially for angling June 15. Stay tuned on whether it will actually be fishable.
May 28, 2010
Steady rain the past 24 hours has turned the river chocolate brown. The flow has quickened as well. This should mark the beginning of runoff.
Don't count on improvements for at least a couple of weeks.
May 24, 2010
Much cooler temperatures the past few nights have slowed mid to high elevation runoff, and as a result the Crow is running slower, lower and clearer. Very fishable and wadeable.
Visibility is again good and should continue to improve for the next few days. No rain is in the immediate forecast.
May 18, 2010
Despite no rain and relatively mild temperatures, the river rose considerably the past week.
It's now turbid and fast. Better for canoeing than fishing. Water temperature was 47F at 4:30 p.m.
With cooler weather it should clear again before the major June runoff.
April 22, 2009
Crow and other streams in the region continue to rise rapidly with silty water. Visibility limited to shin deep.
Fishing sucks, but birding is good. Leaves just now budding.
April 19, 2009
For the first time in months the Crow is running cloudy.
Heavy, spotty thunder-busters combined with melting of mid-elevation snowpack has resulted in shin to knee deep visibility.
Flows, however, remain low and slow.
Visibility before yesterday was two meters or more.
April 10, 2010
On those rare, calm and overcast days this spring, dry fly fishing has been excellent with small flies like Griffith's gnats.
Rainbows have been sipping on the surface regularly with each huge midge hatch. River is quite low and very clear. Fishing pressure has been heavy on weekends and moderate mid-week.
Nymph fishing remains good regardless of weather.
Nearby Lee Lake was recently stocked with brood rainbows from the nearby Allison hatchery. They are averaging 7-8 lbs and fishing pressure has been heavy.
March 29, 2010
Nymph angling has improved steadily the past two weeks resulting in somewhat increased fishing pressure.
Flows are low and crystal clear. Ice jams earlier in the month clogged the river to the point where only a fraction of the normal flow was making its way beneath the Pink Bridge. Shifting ice likely caused some mortality.
Snowpack this year is well below normal in all headwater in regions. Unless there are heavy spring storms or unusual rain events look for early season fishing and little runoff.
Jan. 16, 2010
River is open, releatively free of ice above the falls. Legal, of course, up to East Hillcrest Bridge.
Quite wadeable. Some ice along edges.
A few anglers out Wednesday in 6 C weather. Beautiful day.
No much fish action, but otters at play. Turkeys crossing the Burmis road.
Planning a trip?
If you're planning a trip this way, but remain uncertain about timing, you might want to scan some of the flow and weather notes in this log. They now go back several years and if nothing else, show how unpredictable the weather and angling can be.
Yes, you'll find month and longer gaps in entries. That usually, almost always, means the river is either frozen or everyone is too busy casting to report in.
Yet, even those untold days should offer a glimpse into the best and worse times as seen through the eyes of a few observers on the Pink Bridge.
