Banff Advice

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iflytexas

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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!
 
Monello

Monello

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I didn't fish when I went up there to camp. If you have never been there, you are in for a treat. Gorgeous scenery with lots of wildlife. I would have loved to fish there. The waters look inviting.

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gormaci

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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.
 
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iflytexas

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gormaci said:
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.
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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).
 
fatbillybob

fatbillybob

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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.
 
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1move

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I am about 40 minutes from Banff, I fish outside of Banff as its tough fishing in the parks there. As we corresponded in PM I would look outside of Banff. The biggest problem is that there is so many water bodies in that area that you really need to narrow down what you want to fish for and what size of fish.

Fernie is too far from where you are going to be and there is way better fishing closer to Calgary than out to Fernie.

Depending on snow that we get you might still be in run-off season in early July. So far the winter has been good. I'll head out to Banff next weekend and I can post some photos if you want. I would check out Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes, the Bow river is a lifetime river to fish IMO and you should really try and get on the bow downstream of Calgary even if its late runoff you will catch a ton of fish with a good guide. I know a few I can recommend for that, as that area of the Bow has something like 2500 trout per mile for 7 Miles down from policeman flats.

Anyways if you have more questions just ask. I am becoming more active on this forum again.

Here is some more info

Blue Ribbon Bow: Fishing For Trout in the City
 
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1move

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fatbillybob said:
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.
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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.
 
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cwb124

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1move said:
Fernie is too far from where you are going to be and there is way better fishing closer to Calgary than out to Fernie.
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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.
 
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