Dispatches from beside the Pink Bridge, 2009
This report will be updated when there are significant changes in flow, temperature, bug activity or shifts in fishing pressure.
Sept. 13, 2009
Excellent dry fly and nymph fishing reported throughout the Crow's length.
Everthing from hoppers and PMD's to bluewinged olives doing well.
Water tempertures have dropped to the mid 40s in some areas. Clarity is superb, but flows are high and fast for this time of the year. . . still the result of more than 10 inches of late summer rain.
August 21
The Crowsnest an all rivers across southwest Alberta and the lower East Kootenay are running at early July levels with fluctuating visibility.
The last weeks of July and first two weeks of August have proven frustrating for most anglers. Daily thunderheads seemingly conspired to ruin normal August flows. One drainage will get several inches of rain and a muddy flow while an adjoining watershed will get nothing. And visa versa the next day.
There are some great mayfly hatches, mostly pmd's, between the unpredictable downpours.
While success has been poor, at this rate, fishing into November will be great.
August 9
The Crowsnest and other rivers in the area are finally starting to drop, slow and clear after a week of week of epic thunderstorms.
The southern Eastern Slope received between 7 and 8 inches during the period.
The forecast calls for a return to warm temperatures and clear skies, so fishing will improve during the week.
Hopper patterns are beginning to work.
August 5
Very heavy evening cloudbursts continue to wreak havoc with the Crowsnest River and most streams in the region.
Fast water and poor visibility continue to dog anglers, especially dry fly fishers.
Several days of warm, dry weather are needed to improve opportunities. Catches have been fair to poor, but angling pressure remains light.
July 31
Another 100 mm (four inches) of rain the past two days over already-saturated ground.
River is cloudy, rising again.
Fishing pressure is down, though.
July 29
Probably not the day you want to fish below Lundbreck Falls Campground and Highway #3. One km of water will be electro-surveyed by provincial biologists and technicians. Those fish won't be thinking about feeding on anything after the crew moves through.
Using a floating generator and electric prods, the fish are stunned to the surface where some of them are scooped up by netters below. Others can't be reached and float or swim away in the faster currents.
The crew worked the area astride and below the Burmis Trout Unlimited lease Tuesday and found a mother lode of very large rainbows and whitefish, many in the 20 to 24" length and beyond. Too many for netters to keep up with.
(Interestingly, an on-going angler survey is showing the majority of flycasters are now reeling in mostly small fish.)
Three different sections of the river are being surveyed. The upper portion (near Blairmore) revealed some nice, big rainbows as well. But it also confirmed what many anglers have been seeing the past couple of years. There are both Brown and Lake Trout in the upper Crowsnest reaches. Neither was meant to be there and could impact the rainbow population.
Lake Trout are especially threatening and have a penchant for eating anything. It's believed Lake Trout are moving in from upstream Crowsnest Lake, which was stocked decades ago with finglerlings. Some now range close to the 30-pound mark. It's believed the Browns were either escapees from the nearby Allision Hatchery or caught elsewhere and released by some jerk.
The Crow is again clearing nicely, by the way.
July 26
Sheets of rain poured down today on the Crowsnest and surrounding watersheds.
Three inches of moisture were recorded here over the past 24 hours. All streams are running high and dirty. But despite the downpour, some trout continued to rise tonight in eddies and along cutbanks.
If there's a return to sunshine the Crow should be running clear again by Wednesday.
July 24
Late evening fishing on the Crow has improved significantly the past few days with rusty spinners, parachute adams and an assortment of other small dries all working well.
Angling pressure has also increased dramatically. The river, and others in the area, are about as busy as they get.
Pick a spot early, watch for a pod of rising rainbows and give em you best shot. There are many snouts showing from 8 p.m. into darkness at 10.
Bring your headlamp.
July 20
All rivers in the region have dropped and cleared. Some are still quite swift though.
Fish still seem sluggish from a very heavy downpour a few days ago. Prior to that it was good with mayflies and stones.
Hot temperatures this week should pick things up.
July 14
Rivers in the southern part of the province to the Montana border are running very high and muddy. They're not worth fishing.
Three to six inches of rain have fallen in the past two days. It'll take a few days to clear.
Save gas. Stay home.
July 2
It appears this may be yet another year without a major run-off. Barring heavy rains, the Crow is likely to run clear from now through fall.
The mountain snowpack, pegged at average through May, melted away very slowly this spring. Precipitation, meanwhile, has been well below average. Ditto for temperatures from April through June. As a result there was no major flush.
The Crow is running clear and has been for the past few weeks. Flows are moderate and wading is easy. There has been a considerable increase in bug activity (mainly stones) since warmer temperatures set in last week. Dry fly fishing has been good but sporadic. Midday water temperatures remain about 47F.
Fishing pressure has been moderate, probably because all rivers in the region (including the Castle, Oldman and Elk) are running clear with moderate flows.
June 26, 2009
Dryfly fishing continues to improve with a mix of stoneflies and mayflies.
Salmonflies are in short supply again this spring, but big 'Bows continue to smash large attractor flies.
Water is clear with moderate velocity. Crossing will be difficult.
Water temperature at 2 p.m. 47F.
Fishing pressure moderate, weather forecast promising with wind.
June 21, 2009
Amazingly, the Crow continues to flow relatively clear with easily-wadeable velocity.
Cold nights are slowing spring runoff. We could see our highest flows in July.
Visibility is now four or five feet, but rainbows remain a bit dormant.
Relatively few Salmonflies have been seen. They remain overdue.
June 10, 2009
A week of frosty nights has stalled spring-runoff, returning the Crowsnest to clear, moderate flows and temperatures in the low to mid 40's.
Although conditions are excellent, trout continue to feed on the bottom. Relatively few salmon flies have been seen so far this spring. They are overdue.
Warming termperatures will return by this weekend, but it's unlikely the river will run turbid until warm spring rains set in.
May 28, 2009
The first warm-spell in a very late spring season had sent flows upward and visibility downward. Still not bad.
Turbid rather than muddy. Improved clarity along cutbanks and in edies.
Crossing would be difficult and dangerous in some places.
Water temperature 43F at 1 p.m. Fishing pressure way down.
The first giant stoneflies are due any day. Some may have already taken to the air downstream.
May 18, 2009
All it took was one warm day and night and the Crow took on its first turbid tint of the spring.
Angling today would be tough sledding except in eddies and some spring-fed banks.
Murky conditions should ease by midweek as colder daytime temperatures and freezing nights again dominate the weather pattern. Melting will slow.
Water temperature at 3 p.m. was 43F.
May 6, 2009
An unusually cold and snowy April has pushed the high mountain snowpack above the long term average.
Until April, snowpack in most upper tribs of the Oldman, including the Crowsnest, were running about 75% of average.
Then April came, and it snowed more than usual and melted less. It's a trend that is now continuing into May.
Snowpack is now 100% of average in the Crow, 120% in the Castle, 114% in the Waterton, and 110% in the North Fork-Oldman.
Fishing on the Crow remains good with nymphs and small dry flies like Griffith's gnat. Large midge hatches are common place during overcast, calm days.
Flows are still low and turbidity has been kept in check by freezing nightime temperatures. The bulk of spring runoff should come the first two weeks of June.
May 2, 2009
Nymph fishing continues to improve with low, clear flows and a morning water temperature of 5C (41F).
The remnants of two heavy, late April snow storms are gone. Freezing nighttime temperatures have kept turbidity in check.
High mountain snowpack is inching towards a near normal runoff, expected in early June.
April 6, 2009
High mountain snowpack in the Oldman drainage improved significantly during March as seemingly daily snowstorms moved through the region.
Snowpack in the Crowsnest River headwaters now stands at 85% of the longterm (30 year) average. It's pegged the same for the Oldman's north fork, and 93% of the longterm average in the Castle and Waterton headwaters.
Fishing in the Crowsnest, meanwhile, continues to improve daily with many large rainbows taking nymphs during recent days.
Most of the river is now free of ice, but angling pressure has been very high during weekends.
April 1, 2009
A reminder that new (2009-10) fishing licences are required as of today.
Many long stretches of river are now free of ice, but deep snow on banks can make hiking a chore.
March 11, 2009
Mountain snowpack across the Oldman Basin, which includes the Crowsnest drainage, continues to look bleak according to the latest provincial assessment.
Moisture content in snow at survey points runs between 60 and 70 per cent of the long-term average. Checks at monitoring stations were made at the beginning of the month.
If this winter's weather trend continues, an early and low runoff is anticipated for the Crowsnest, Castle, Oldman and Waterton Rivers. Provincial officials note, however, that snowpack is often ramped up by the region's snowiest months of March and April.
The next survey will take place at month's end.
February 13, 2009
Not that this has anything to do with fishing, but it's interesting none-the-less . . . .
A mountain lion that was making the Trout Unlimited Burmis property it's home before taking on life as a pet marauder has been killed. Fish and wildlife officials late this week shot the cat after it was wounded by a local resident who was trying to protect his dog.
Earlier, the same cougar, a 124-pound female, was observed on two porches chasing house cats.
It's believed it may be the same mountain lion that killed and ate more than three dozen house and barn cats just east and north of Burmis Lake.
Fish and Wildlife officials say the mountain lion appeared to "specialize" on stalking pets. It entered at least four barns and garages in the area. In most cases, it was hesitant to run-off when approached.
A mountain lion started feeding on beaver along the Crowsnest River late last year. It's believed the cat changed its behavior when much of the river froze-over.
The mountain lion shot this week apparently was not pregnant. It's believed two other cougars are still in the general area.
February 9, 2009
Half-way through the winter and it looks like another low flow year may be in store.
January brought a prolonged drought and heavy winds to Southern Alberta, eating away mid- and high-elevation mountain snowpack that built up in December.
As a result, snow depths in the upper Crowsnest drainage fell well below the long-term average, according to the latest information from provincial survey crews. It now stands at 70% of the average recorded during the past 26 years.
It should be noted that that average has been brought down considerably by drought-like conditions seven of the past eight winters. Still, it's too early to draw conclusions on riverflows this spring and summer.
Most of this region's snowpack bulks up considerably during the months of March and April. Government weather watchers say there is plenty of time to bring the snowpack up to a normal level.
Melting temperatures and evaporating winds as high as 263 km per hour (correct) across the Continental Divide the end of January depleted much of the snow that fell in December.
Snowpack figures for the Oldman and Castle drainages are similar but slightly higher than the Crowsnest.
The Waterton snowpack is pegged at 62% of longterm average, while the Bow headwaters to the north are near to slightly above average.
Snowpack data will be updated in early March.
January 12, 2009
A review of this past year (2008) does justice to what's often thought of as a local wives' tale...
When great Crowsnest dry-fly fishing "comes in late, it goes out late."
In other words, when runoff is delayed, and salmon flies flutter late in summer...Well then, balls of midge, mayflies and caddis will tease big rainbows late into autumn.
Seemingly always. Definitely this last, past year! Overall, Crowsnest dry-fly fishing this year was much better than the past two or three. Especially in the number of larger (16" and better) fish that were played.
The spring and summer both started out slowly with lots of rain and cold temperatures that held snow in place. Runoff was long-delayed and just proceeded heavy, cold rain in early July.
Really good dryfly fishing didn't begin until late July (weeks after an average year). But once underway it carried through until freeze-up in late November (weeks later than a normal). Even August with its Dog Days provided some good fishing.
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.
