"Must Have" Ammo

Bloom's Parachute Caddis

Bloom's CDC Caddis

Sideshow Bob

Grillo's El Camino

Tung Dart
Jimmy Legs
Party Boy
Bellydancer

Wishin I was Fishin (Report)

So here’s the deal, I’m sitting in the back of the shop writing river reports and answering emails, while the sky is darkening to an awesome shade of grey. In about 10 minutes, I could be at the river, throwing at happy fish but instead I have to be “responsible” and keep the open sign on and doors open. There is something terribly wrong with this picture and I know everyone feels really sorry for me! Life in a fly shop is significantly more difficult than you’d think, there’s a lot of physical restraint that needs to occur to stop yourself from closing up shop and heading to the river.
Anyways, back to this cloud cover, it’s finally here and we have missed it greatly. All the fish have seen for the past few weeks are blistering sunshine or torrential downpours/hailstorms ie. If the forecasted cloud really happens this weekend, you best be on the river. While they are slowing down considerably, you could hit the motherload PMD day, and possibly a pseudo or trico hatch. On the other hand, the weather report is never even close to accurate, so expect bright sun and afternoon thundershowers!
The bright days have significantly slowed down our dry fly fishing, we’ve reverted to sink tip streamers in riffles and off bars, and it has produced. You know the deal- Party Boys, Belly Dancers and Silvey’s Sculpins. Light nymphing riffles with Tung-Studs and Blooms Tung Darts has been fantastic.
The High Country streams are finally starting to warm to a reasonable temperature. Who would have thought that wet wading on a 30 degree Celsius day (about 90 degrees Fahrenheit) in late July could nearly cause pneumonia. Not I!! And I learned the wrong way! The temps have warmed and stream flows dropped, making the cutties significantly happier. Try something super technical like a Hogan Hanging Stimi or a Red Humpy (Westslope Cutthroat are cutting edge.)

FISHING REPORTS

Bow River Report –July 28, 2010

Hotter weather now that summer seems to have arrived. The bright, hot days have, and will fish tougher than the cloudy days.

Still some foam bug action happening here and there. Caddis fishing has been pretty good but more so closer to Calgary. PMD’s still kicking around, really heavy on the cloudy days, but they should be about done any time.
Tricos starting to show up but not in enough quantity to get fish up to them in large numbers. This will change as Tricos will get heavier and heavier in the coming days.

Nymph fishing has been good. A small tungsten bead fished in the riffles has been pretty awesome.

Streamer fishing has been surprisingly good, even on the bright days.


Hatches: Caddis, PMD’s, Stoneflies, Tricos(just starting)

Streamers: Bush’ Witch Doctor, Silvey’s Sculpin Leech (Black w/ Olive, White Head), Marabou Clousers, Articulated Leech

Nymphs: Hogan’s Chubby Cousin, Bloom’s Tung Dart, Gob-O-Worms, Chamois Leech.

Dry Flies: PMD Sparkle Dun, Quill Body Parachute-PMD, Silvey’s Hatching Mayfly-PMD, Bloom’s Parachute Caddis, Bloom’s CDC Caddis, Berretts Barred Leg-Golden Stone, Neversink Stone Popper, Chubby Chernobyl.

Crowsnest River Report – July 28, 2010

Clear and now very wadeable, the Crow is fishing quite good. Dry fly fishing as good as it gets with lots of bugs. Mid-day on the bright, sunny days can be a little tougher. Cloudy days are generally very good for rising fish.

Hatches: Golden, Yellow and Lime Sally Stoneflies, Caddis, PMD’s, Quill Gordon Mayflies, Green Drakes, and Flav mayflies.

Streamers: Brunette Leech, Chamois Leech.

Nymphs: Pheasant-Tail, Hare's Ear, Copper John, Tung Stud, and San Juan Worm

Dries: Berrett’s Barred Leg Stone, Neversink Caddis, Fat Albert-Black, ParaTrooper-Green Drake, Spun Hair Dun-PMD, Berret’s Emerging Green Drake

High Country River Report – July 28, 2010

The high country streams seem to be on a roller coaster. They keep getting into real good shape and then they get a heavy rainfall and the water comes up and cools down. This week’s warmer weather should bring things more into order.

Lots of bugs around so with just a little warmer water things should rock and roll.

Hatches: Golden, Yellow and Lime Sally Stoneflies, Caddis, PMD’s, Quill Gordon Mayflies, Green Drakes, and Flav mayflies.

Streamers: Brunette Leech, Chamois Leech, Large, olive or white streamers for Bull Trout.

Nymphs: Pheasant-Tail, Hare's Ear, Copper John, Tung Stud, and San Juan Worm

Dries: Berrett’s Barred Leg Stone, Neversink Caddis, Fat Albert-Black, ParaTrooper-Green Drake, Spun Hair Dun-PMD, Berret’s Emerging Green Drake

Politically Incorrect Humour

Recorded Call To A Fly Shop

Gotta turn your sound on. No Video, just dialogue.

Catch Magazine

As a valued customer of Country Pleasures Flyfishing, we would like to invite you to be part of the Catch Magazine experience. If you have not already, please click on – www.catchmagazine.net

We really enjoy the incredible photo essays and videos that show how beautiful and exciting the sport of fly fishing is. Catch Magazine is free; just click on any of the Free Subscription links in the magazine.

Catch Magazine is called the Journal of Fly Fishing Photography, Video and Film. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. This on-line publication comes out on the first day of every odd numbered month. Please look over the back issues, as well.

Stop by the store and tell us what you think.

Fotografs

The high country was fishing well on the 22nd, the water was very cold and a bit high. Some looking up while others refused but were tricked with a streamer. Stimi's, ants, parachute adams, gartside leeches, and prince nymphs should all be in your box if your heading that way.

Guide Profile-Joe Buck

Joe Buck has guided for CP for over a decade. He has a special place in his heart for fishing the big dry flies and is pretty darn good at it. When not guiding in the summer, Joe educates the youth of Okotoks as a teacher. Those of you who have met Joe might have noticed a slight British accent, being born in Britain but living most of his life in Western Canada. This might account for his love of Rugby, a sport he coaches, and Football (Soccer).

Joe possesses a passion for fishing not seen very often and passes this excitement along to all his clients.
Thinking of fishing the Bow with a guide? Love to fish dry flies? Like someone who's excited to fish every day? Give us a call and spend a day with Joe.

Joe Buck with Jim Embrey and a beautiful Brown on the foam.

I Love It When They Do This....

Fish Rise from Mike Gifford on Vimeo.

Friends Don't Let Friends Fish Drunk!

FISHING REPORTS

Bow River Report –July 21, 2010

The river has certainly fished better in the last week. Cooler temps and some rain have left happier fish. Bright, hot days are still the toughest fishing with cloudy days being kind of silly.

Rising fish on Caddis and PMDs can be found here and there. Noticed a few Trico spinners the last couple of mornings so they are coming soon. Fishing with the foam bugs is generally best in the riffles and gravel bars.

Nymphing remains good and with water levels having dropped a light rig or Hopper-Dropper can be very effective.

Streamer fishing has been very good the last number of days. Sink tips more effective on the bright days, floating lines on the cloudy days. When we have cloud the streamer fishing has been nothing short of “goofy”.


Hatches: Caddis, PMD’s, Stoneflies, Tricos(just starting)

Streamers: Bush’ Witch Doctor, Silvey’s Sculpin Leech (Black w/ Olive, White Head), Marabou Clousers, Articulated Leech

Nymphs: Hogan’s Chubby Cousin, Bloom’s Tung Dart, Gob-O-Worms, Chamois Leech.

Dry Flies: PMD Sparkle Dun, Quill Body Parachute-PMD, Silvey’s Hatching Mayfly-PMD, Bloom’s Parachute Caddis, Bloom’s CDC Caddis, Berretts Barred Leg-Golden Stone, Neversink Stone Popper, Chubby Chernobyl.

Crowsnest River Report – July 21, 2010

Clear and now very wadeable, the Crow is fishing quite good. Dry fly fishing as good as it gets with lots of bugs. Mid-day on the bright, sunny days can be a little tougher. Clody days are generally very good for rising fish.

Hatches: Golden, Yellow and Lime Sally Stoneflies, Caddis, PMD’s, Quill Gordon Mayflies, Green Drakes, and Flav mayflies.

Streamers: Brunette Leech, Chamois Leech.

Nymphs: Pheasant-Tail, Hare's Ear, Copper John, Tung Stud, and San Juan Worm

Dries: Berrett’s Barred Leg Stone, Neversink Caddis, Fat Albert-Black, ParaTrooper-Green Drake, Spun Hair Dun-PMD, Berret’s Emerging Green Drake

High Country River Report – July 21, 2010

All is good with the high country streams. Lower, warmer water leads to happier fish. Lots of bugs…. Stones, Caddis, PMD’s, Green Drakes all mean for great dry fly fishing.

Hatches: Golden, Yellow and Lime Sally Stoneflies, Caddis, PMD’s, Quill Gordon Mayflies, Green Drakes, and Flav mayflies.

Streamers: Brunette Leech, Chamois Leech, Large, olive or white streamers for Bull Trout.

Nymphs: Pheasant-Tail, Hare's Ear, Copper John, Tung Stud, and San Juan Worm

Dries: Berrett’s Barred Leg Stone, Neversink Caddis, Fat Albert-Black, ParaTrooper-Green Drake, Spun Hair Dun-PMD, Berret’s Emerging Green Drake

Best Sign Ever

Some of you might have seen this on the Chum. Had to post it anyway, very funny!

Meet Zach...

Most of you have probably already seen or spoken to Zach on the phone but you may know nothing about the kid. We asked him some questions so you could get to know him a bit better!

"I began fly fishing when I was seven years old on small mountain streams, it was mostly (fishing for) tiny rainbows with the odd brooktrout thrown in."

"My favourite species to throw at would be anything that swims. It doesn't matter if its rising brown trout or arctic grayling."

"For me, the most challenging obstacle to overcome when learning to fly fish was landing a fish. The first two years were fishless, unless my Dad hooked them and handed me the rod."

"My best fishing moment was catching a 22" cutthroat on a rather large dry fly that I had tied, in a stream you could almost jump across."

"Fly Fishing to me is something I love. I have no idea why I love it but it keeps me wanting more."

Fly Fishing Life Video

Fly Fishing Life Video from Mike Gifford on Vimeo.

Cutties Make us Happy

Caddis and Brown Trout

Gotta love this time of year!

On another note:
So we know there is about 75 of you that look at us each day, we'd love to see some comments!
If you don't know how, just click the "comment" link, and type in the box. You can post under your google account, under any name or as anonymous.
If you like a picture let us know! Or if you have more to add to a fishing report, type away!!

Endangered-Species Status Is Sought for Bluefin Tuna

Endangered-Species Status Is Sought for Bluefin Tuna
By ANDREW W. LEHREN and JUSTIN GILLIS
Published: June 23, 2010 New York Times


Fearing that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will deal a severe blow to the bluefin tuna, an environmental group is demanding that the government declare the fish an endangered species, setting off extensive new protections under federal law.

Scientists agree that the Deepwater Horizon spill poses at least some risk to the bluefin, one of the most majestic — and valuable — fishes in the sea. Its numbers already severely depleted from record levels, the bluefin is also the subject of a global controversy regarding overfishing.

The bluefin is not the only fish that spawns in the gulf, and while it is often a focus of attention, researchers are worried about the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on many other species.

In fact, scientists say, it is virtually certain that billions of fish eggs and larvae have died in the spill, which came at the worst possible time of the year. Spawning season for many fish in the gulf begins in April and runs into the summer. The drilling rig exploded on April 20, and the spill has since covered thousands of square miles with patches of oil.

Both the Bush and Obama administrations tried to win greater international protection for the bluefin, but their efforts were derailed by opposition from countries like Japan, where a single large bluefin can sell in the sashimi market for hundreds of thousands of dollars. (The tuna fish sold in cans comes from more abundant types of tuna, not from bluefin.)

The bluefin uses the Gulf of Mexico as a prime spawning ground, and the gulf is such a critical habitat for the animal that fishing for it there was banned in the 1980s. But after spawning in the spring and summer, many tuna spend the rest of the year roaming the Atlantic, where they are hunted by a global fishing fleet.

The environmental advocacy group, the Center for Biological Diversity, in Tucson, filed the request under the Endangered Species Act in late May. If the petition is granted, a process that could take years, the endangered listing would require that federal agencies conduct exhaustive analysis before taking any action, like granting drilling permits, that would pose additional risk to the fish.

Beyond tuna, other animals at apparent risk of harm include the whale shark, the largest fish in the ocean, and a group known as billfish, the foundation of a large recreational fishery in the Gulf of Mexico and the western Atlantic. The billfish that could be affected include the fastest fish in the ocean, the sailfish, as well as blue marlin and swordfish.

“This is a much bigger problem than people are making out,” said Barbara Block, a Stanford researcher who is among the world’s leading experts on the bluefin tuna. “The concern for wildlife is not just along the coast; it is also at sea. We’re putting oil right into the bluewater environment.”

Some of the science documenting the risks that oil drilling poses to spawning fish was paid for by none other than the Minerals Management Service, the federal agency responsible for leasing offshore tracts for oil development.

Yet the results appear to have had little impact on the way the agency carried out its business. For instance, it never adopted seasonal limitations on drilling in the gulf that might have reduced the risk of oil spills during spawning season. It also dismissed the dangers that drilling posed to deep-water fish as “negligible.”

President Obama has acknowledged the agency’s failings. Its director, S. Elizabeth Birnbaum, resigned, and a reorganization of the agency’s functions is under way (last week, it was renamed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement).

The agency responded to inquiries by saying that in light of the Deepwater Horizon spill, its policies — including those for fisheries — were under review.

Given that a single female fish can produce tens of millions of eggs, scientists say that many billions of them would have been in the water on April 20. The vast majority of those would never survive to adulthood even in normal times; now bathed in oil, fewer will make it.

“It’s obvious that any egg or larvae encountering oil will die,” said Molly Lutcavage, director of a research center on large fish and turtles at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Less clear is whether fish would have continued to lay eggs near the spill after it began. Most fish can smell, and researchers hope that at least some species would have avoided spawning in oil. However, fish that can be readily spotted from the air, like whale sharks, have been seen in recent weeks in the vicinity of the spill.

“The question is, does everything shut down if there’s oil there, or do they just go ahead and spawn anyway?” said Eric Hoffmayer, a researcher at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Many important fish in the region, like yellowfin tuna, are able to spawn across broad areas of the gulf, and that means significant numbers of such fish should have hatched this year far from the oil spill.

But other species, including bluefin tuna, apparently have a strong instinct to spawn in a specific part of the ocean. Scientists fear that instinct might overcome the presence of oil in the water, causing the fish to spawn in areas where their offspring would be likely to die. One of the spawning areas in the gulf favored by bluefin is in the vicinity of the spill, Dr. Block said.

The risks the spill poses to fish of all kinds have provoked deep alarm among commercial and sport fishing groups. At least a half-dozen major billfishing tournaments scheduled for June and July have been canceled, and tourists who would normally take deep-sea fishing trips this time of year are avoiding the gulf. The American Sportfishing Association estimated that business owners were losing millions of dollars in a recreational fishing industry worth more than $3.5 billion a year in the gulf.

“It’s having a horrific impact on the marine and fishing industry,” said Dan Jacobs, tournament director for an offshore fishing championship. “The big question is, how long is it going to last?”

Given that it takes some big fish years to reach spawning age, the death of larvae and juvenile fish could have consequences that might not show up for a long time.

“The oil spill could be the last straw with these very vulnerable species,” said Ellen Peel, president of the Billfish Foundation, a nonprofit group that supports recreational offshore fishing.

Fishing Reports!

Bow River Report –July 14, 2010

Dry fly fishing is still pretty amazing. The stone fishing has seemed to have slowed down, even with abundance of food. It’s pretty evident that most of the fish are terrified of anything big with rubber legs, due to the amount of people fishing them.

Getting out and working water is more conducive to finding fish that will eat a stone. Cloud cover is more important than time of day at this point in the season, with pmds and caddis being far more plentiful on those days, and the fish being quite willing.

The rain we’ve been getting in the last week blows out the river for less than 24 hours, and the fishing immediately after the water has come down has been nothing short of excellent. Even in the dirtier water, the streamer fishing has had some very big fish landed.

Nymph fishing has been quite good. Large Stones, Worm patterns are working well. A Chamois Leech under an indicator is very effective right now. The weeds have started to show up in full force, and can make nymphing a lot tougher, as you’ll be cleaning your rig more often.

Streamer fishing has been good with some big fish being caught. Large, dark streamers that sink fast have been the best but on brighter day try smaller streamers.

Hatches: PMD’s, Caddis, Stoneflies.

Streamers: Bush’ Witch Doctor, Silvey’s Sculpin Leech (Black w/ Olive, White Head), Marabou Clousers, Karnopp’s Stream-A Stone, Hickman’s Party Boy

Nymphs: Fox’s Beech Creek, Morrish’s WMD (Dark Stone), Hogan’s Chubby Cousin, Bloom’s Tung Dart, Gob-O-Worms, Chamois Leech.

Dry Flies: PMD Sparkle Dun, Quill Body Parachute-PMD, Silvey’s Hatching Mayfly-PMD, Bloom’s Parachute Caddis, Bloom’s CDC Caddis, Berretts Barred Leg-Golden Stone, Neversink Stone Popper, Chubby Chernobyl.

Crowsnest River Report – July 14, 2010

The Crow has been fishing better and is dropping to the point you can cross it in a few areas. This is the prime time for the Crow, when the water is dropping and clearing.

Great dry fly fishing to happy fish.

Stones and caddis to be had! Only going to get better and better as the season progresses

Hatches: Golden Stones, Yellow and Lime Sally Stoneflies, Caddis

Streamers: Brunette Leech, Chamois Leech.

Nymphs: Pheasant-Tail, Hare's Ear, Copper John, Tung Stud, and San Juan Worm

Dries: Berrett’s Barred Leg Stone, Neversink Caddis, Fat Albert-Black

High Country River Report – July 14th, 2010

All waters continue to drop. The visibility in most of the creeks has improved to as good as it’s going to get, except with a good rainfall.

Usually they’ll clean up after a day or two, and the fishing resumes as before.

Crossing most of these rivers is still a little sketchy, and picking your spot is very important to not go for a swim.

Fishing continues to improve and barring any weird weather events the next few weeks should be great. The stones are fishing well, and the green drakes are soon to follow!

Hatches: Stoneflies, Caddis, PMD’s

Nymphs: Fox’s Beech Creek, Morrish’s WMD (Dark Stone), Hogan’s Chubby Cousin, Bloom’s Tung Dart

Dries: Berretts Barred Leg-Golden Stone, Yummy Mummy, Neversink Stone, Neversink Caddis.

Streamers: Large Olive or White, heavily weighted patterns for Bull Trout.