Off To Mongolia

CP heads out with a group for it's second annual Mongolia Taimen trip at the end of this week.

We'll try and take a bunch of photos and video. Keep an eye out at the end of the month for reports, photos, and video.

Steelhead Report from Skeena Country

Got a report back from good friend of the shop, Scott R., who was fishing the Bulkley and Morice this past week. Water temps were around 11-13 degrees. Clarity was good on sunday, while overnight rains Tue-Wed decreased vis during week to a low of 1-1.5ft for Thursday. Some dry fly action Sunday, rest of week required sink tips and rabbit/marabou flies.

All fish were fresh and hot.
Very few anglers first full week of Sept, lots on the road heading in as I left

While he didn't have any steelhead photos to send me, most anglers who have fished by themselves understand the difficulty in getting a photo of a steelhead without a helping hand. Thanks Scott!

Sounds like a great time up there already, be sure to stop by the shop. We've got some new steelhead flies in, and getting more in the next week.

New Catch Magazine

The new Catch Magazine has been online for a week and a bit. Be sure to check it out, the video where they come way too close to sinking a drift boat is definitely a must see.

www.catchmagazine.net

Why we like Taimen

Here's one of the number one reasons we like Taimen. Not only do they eat mice and squirrel flies, but they also do some nasty things to the water.
Brent shot this quick video of a 48" taimen putting one serious hole in the river.

Taimen Leap from Country Pleasures on Vimeo.
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The resulting fish

Alberta River Report Roundup and Sage Xi3's Available Online

As promised, we have just added the Sage Xi3's to our online store. Be sure to grab one quickly, they're selling fast!
http://www.countrypleasures.com/store

We haven't done a river report lately, so here's a quick roundup of what is going on with our rivers.


The Bow:
The Bow is fishing mediocre to good. Some days the hopper fishing is unbelievable, while others it definitly leaves you wanting more. Best bet to do 'ok' no matter what is a hopper-dropper rig. You'll find fish eating hoppers and the bead, and the bead fishing has gotten better in the last week or so. Streamer fishing has been so-so, with the deeper throughs holding more fish. This is the time of year to hit the pre-spawn browns, so be ready for fat fish!

The flows are hovering around 80, so you can run into some weed problems, and makes nymphing a lot fun. Hopefully we'll get a massive runoff next year to clean up our river again.

With the colder weather, we're seeing Psuedo's around, and the BWO's should be imminent. All we need is a nice drizzly day, and you should be able to find some fish sipping.

The High Country:
Most of the High Country streams are running clear, but a little cold for the time of the year. Some of the areas have had close to freezing temperatures at night, and the rivers are running a bit high for the time of year. The water temps are quite cold in the mornings, and the afternoons are fishing much better due to this. Ants, BWOS and smaller hoppers are all fishing well.

The Crowsnest:
The Crow is fishing quite typical for this time of year. Fish are easily to spook with the clear water, but you should be able to fool them with thin tippet and a small bug. BWO's are present, and will become more present with a bit of overcast. Hopper fishing can still be quite good, and is worth doing with a mayfly nymph as the dropper. Don't forget your ants!

Pictures and an Apology

Now that University is on, you might see the blog slow down a little. We'll try to update it as often as we can, but half of the staff is back in school!

Here's some photos that we've taken lately

Brent had a client in his boat land this very healthy "Mc-Trout" as it was dubbed.
Possibly the fattest proportioned Brown that Brent saw all year.
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Possibly the last chance for Cutty fishing this year, Brent landed this very pretty Cutty.
While the day was numbingly cold, the fish were still receptive enough to make the day worthwhile.
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It was a very pretty cutt
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We'll have a fishing report for you tomorrow!

Getting Ready for Steelhead?

Lots of people throught the shop lately have been mentioning upcoming trips to the Skeena system for Steelhead. If you are heading out we have a good selection of Simms clothing and gear for your trip.

If you are in need of more ammunition, we have a large selection of Steelhead flies in stock with lots more arriving in the next week (really cool new patterns!).

If you are tying your own we have fly tying items for Steelhead such as Rhea, Ostrich, etc.

Also, if it helps you out, check out the instructional tying videos for Intruders on our site at

http://www.countrypleasures.com/fly_tying.htm#

Hope they help you out!!

CP End of Season Sale- additional items added

Here's some more great items with fantastic prices.

Only applies to instock items so hurry fast to catch them before they're gone!

Sage Xi2 Fly Rods

40% OFF

Sage Launch Fly Rods

40% OFF

Sage Swiftwater Softshell Jackets

30% OFF

Simms Blackfoot Wading Boots (felt)
20% OFF

All Orvis Felt Wading Boots
30% OFF

Scott Niedermayer With A Bow River Rainbow

Heres a photo of NHL superstar Scott Niedermayer with guide Matt Sparrow and a pretty rainbow on the Bow.

A quick note about stock, we recieved a limited shipment of the hugely popular Simms Rivershed Boots in Vibram. They won't last long, so give us a call to see if we've got them in your size.

Life is full of ups and downs!!!!!

For those of you who fish the Bow to any extent you may have noticed the insane level fluctuations this summer. Since early July we keep seeing as much as 20% rises and drops in water levels. This is of course controlled by the Bearspaw Dam.

Obviously this pretty much messes up the minds of our Bow River Trout. Picture yourself lounging around home, having a snack and a cold drink, and some idiot removes the top floor of your house. This will likely ruin your day.

This not only gets annoying for those of us that make our living taking people fishing on the river but also for those of you who finally get the day off you've been waiting for to go fishing only to find a severe fluctuation has messed up your day.

If you're tired of the epileptic way Transalta regulates flows and would like to see a more buffered change in levels, feel free to e-mail the following individuals:

Paul Harper, Fish Habitat Biologist, Alberta District, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Paul.Harper@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Steven Mathyk, Compliance/Approvals Section, Alberta Environment

Stephen.Mathyk@gov.ab.ca

The only way we'll ever get them to act more sensibly with flows is if they hear from you!