iflytexas
Active member
Traveling to Banff July 2019. I would appreciate any advice on Guide Recommendations or areas to fish. Any places I should fish over the Upper Bow that is in the Banff general area? Thanks!
I will get this book. Thanks!When I fished southern Alberta, I found Jim McLennan's book was a fantastic resource:
Trout Streams of Alberta: Jim McLennan, Derek Bird: 9780978478612: Amazon.com: Books
He has a whole section on the Upper Bow and its tributaries.
Thanks for the info. We will be staying in Jasper and Canmore.Being that I will be there early July I better not plan on the Bow. I think I will set my sights on the tributary streams and maybe some lake fishing with my dad (doesn't fly fish).Banff town? Banff Park?
Good news: plenty of fishing. Mentioned book is good as few others ("Due North of Montana" if I remember correctly.
Perhaps you did not receive lots of help because there is way too much water around.
Banff means r upper Bow and Park waters. Usual alpine stream fishing.
Lower Bow much better fishing for bigger with guides and ff center around town Fernie. You can also rent a pontoon/shuttle in a few couple shops.
Bad news/warning: depend of the year Bow and other rivers may still run very high in July!!! Bow may not be fishable! Guides should take you on tributaries with better July fishing.
( I do not fish lakes, plenty, talking about running water only)
I did not found town of Banff Town interesting.- just resort town, no feel, boring.
Alright well I wont call you an Idiot but the best fishing is in the running water in and around that area. They are glacial fed waters hence the reason why the water is so blue/aqua. Fernie is a long stretch for good fishing. There are plenty of places much closer that will have better fishing.Call me an idiot but fishing sucks there in running water. BNP is lame. I can catch fish anywhere but that place was a barren hole. Very few fish caught and little ones. I can only surmise due to granite bottom streams there is not as much fish food. Riparian vegetation was poor too...granite. That is what makes the streams there look aqua. We have the same issue on the west side of the sierras vs the east side. Granite stream bottom is death. You have to go to Fernie or the Bow (fishing easy there) or get local knowledge which is not forthcoming on this forum.
Wait, huh? My understanding is Elk and the surrounding rivers are incredible cutty dry fly fishing. And no I'm not hotspotting, Fernie/Elk is a well know spot. It's better closer to Calgary? This post goes against everything I thought I knew about fishing up there.Fernie is too far from where you are going to be and there is way better fishing closer to Calgary than out to Fernie.