April 13th River Update

Southern Alberta has received its first shot of spring weather.

The  temperatures rose to the mid-teens in Lundbreck over the weekend thanks to our old friend, the West Wind.

But I didn't hear anyone complain. We were all thankful for the warmth.

There was even some rain on Monday and Tuesday, which was a welcome change from snow.

The higher temperatures caused some low-elevation run-off, eating away at the snow and ice.

By the end of the weekend, the foothills and the rivers had both changed colour to brown but the rivers have since cleared up to a fishable state.

River Fishing

River levels on both the Crowsnest and the Oldman are up in comparison to this time last week.

Check out the current river levels with this river app that we are trying out. Let us know what you think.

The Crow is very fishable with 4 or more feet of visibility. And there are lots of midges around.

Flows on the Tailwater of the Oldman are also up. Visibility hasn't suffered though and is currently at 4+ ft.

There are still plenty of Midges buzzing around down here when the air is warm and also lots on the water.

But we didn't see any evidence of surface feeding on our visit.

Yo-yo weather is typical in April, which means you could be fishing in sunshine one minute and a blizzard the next, so be prepared.

The forecast predicts a few cooler days ahead so the rivers will likely stay in shape for the foreseeable future.

Pincher Creek Weather

Crowsnest Pass Weather

Bug Activity

Midges are still the hatch to watch for on the rivers this week. Longer daylight hours mean more sunlight heating the water, and the trout will become more active.  

Anglers fishing streamers will find that Rainbows are more willing to chase as their aggression builds with the need to spawn.

Any of your favourite streamer patterns will do as the trout aren't keyed into anything specific.  

A few of our favs for this time are the Sparkle Minnow, Clouser Minnow and the good old Woolly Bugger.

Also please be sure to look out for Redds and avoid wading as much as possible.

We will check for Redds and spawning trout and see if we can get some pictures.

Spawning trout are aggressive and can be quite vulnerable to fishing, but please do not fish to spawners for obvious reasons.

We need to protect them today for tomorrow. Check out this article from Hatch Magazine for more information if you are curious.

Lake Fishing

Eager to get our flies in the water, we are on the lookout for local lakes to Ice-Off.

Timing this right can be tricky, but concentrating on the first few days after ice-off can offer some great fishing.

I have some great memories of ice off at a trout lake not too far from here.

The ice on the West end of the lake remained while the East end was open water.

The first day of the trip was cold, clear, calm, and it seemed the larger fish in the lake had come in to cruise the shallow water for a meal.

We spent the day fishing for three-pound Rainbows cruising the shallow water near the lake edge.

We watched them turn to chase our Woolly Buggers before the take and broke off or lost far more fish than we landed.

It was well worth the frozen fingers and iced-up guides on the rod.

By the second day, the wind kicked up and pushed the ice that was at the West end of the lake over to us on the East end, which covered our fishing water.

The trip was over, but I always vowed to go back for ice-off.

Maybe this year...