The Bow River starts on the Alberta side of the Rocky Mountains in Banff National Park, flowing out of the glacier fed Bow Lake. The river then flows east through several communities of which the largest being the City of Calgary, below Calgary the river starts to cut deep into the Alberta prairies. The section that most anglers float is within the city limits and approximately 55 km downstream from Calgary to the Carsland weir. This section is nutrient rich and produces large Rainbow and Brown trout which are the target species of your trip. The Bow River contains several desirable angling species besides Rainbow and Brown Trout. Whitefish, Cutthroat, Cutbows, Bull Trout, Pike and the occasional Lake Trout have all been caught while fly fishing the Bow River. Options are available to float and fish the Bow River as it flows through the front range of the Rocky Mountains from Canmore. We provide a comfortable 17 foot Hyde Drift boat for two anglers (multiple boats are available for larger groups of anglers) , fly fishing instruction, fly rods, and the flies that get you into fish, lunch and refreshments are all included. A Full Day Bow River float trips take between 8 and 10 hours. The Bow River is open to fishing year round and is strictly a catch and release no bait system between the Banff Park boundary and the Carsland Weir. We use barbless or pinched barbed hooks which reduce harm and allows for a quick, clean release of the fish with minimal handling. Mammals observed along the river within Calgary and below include Beavers, Muskrats, Otters, Deer, Moose and Coyotes with the occasional Cougar and Black Bear. On the upper reaches of the Bow River in Banff National Park and downstream from the Town of Cochrane you may find Elk, Deer, Moose, Black Bears, Grizzly Bears, wolves, Cougar and Big Horn Sheep.

Alberta is blessed with a multitude of streams and rivers that flow east from the Rocky Mountains onto the Alberta prairie along with a few amazing prairie spring creeks. Alberta consists of six main river basins; the South Saskatchewan basin is the main area of our guiding operations. Our mountain walk and wade trips focus on three mountain watersheds, the Highwood River, the Oldman River and the Castle watersheds. Other options include the Waterton, Belly and St Mary’s rivers further to the south. Within these watersheds can be found some of the best Cutthroat, Rainbow and Bull Trout fishing anywhere in North America. With our focus on Southern Alberta the closest and most productive rivers we enjoy taking clients to are the Oldman River, the Livingston River, Highwood, Crowsnest and Castle Rivers. These rivers flow through some of the most beautiful country in North America, making the scenery alone worth the trip. But of course that’s only part of the reason why we visit these waters. These waters hold some of the last pure strain Westslope Cutthroat trout in Alberta along with Alberta’s provincial fish the Bull Trout. Both these species are protected by law in these watersheds and must be released. These rivers are a mecca for dry fly fishing, that’s why we fly fish. Included in this trip is fly fishing instruction, transportation, fly rods, flies along with lunch and refreshments.