Southern Alberta April 23 - 28 River Observations

Spring finally showed up!  

The daytime temps are gradually increasing and even the night time lows have crept above zero.

27C is the forecast high for Thursday which will definitely get things moving.

Even if we don't get quite there, highs in the low 20s are still pretty awesome.

Pincher Creek Weather

Crowsnest Pass Weather

Observed Bugs

Reports from the rivers over the week indicate that bugs were out in full force, with plenty of Midges, a few Blue Winged Olives, and even some Skwallas.

River Conditions

River levels were stable until the heat hit this week.  And the tailwater is an unpredictable beast at the best of times.

When we decided to ditch work and float the tailwater on Monday we thought we’d have a lovely day of catching all sorts of trout, but the folks who regulate the dam flows had other plans.

You can read all about that trip in the last post.

It should be listed at the bottom.

This heat has created a surge of more lower level runoff from the foothills and I think fishing will be hit or miss depending on river conditions, the spawn etc.

If you are heading out I would suggest prospecting around to find the best options.

The first graph is the Crowsnest river and you can see the how the heat influences the flow.

Everything melts during the day and makes it way down the creeks causing it to peak overnight.

That trend will continue over the next week, and those peaks will get higher and higher as the overnight temps get warmer.

The second graph is the flow after the dam on the Oldman. I am not sure what there objective is but its not fishing..

Other Options

Another good option is to start looking at lakes to ice-off.  

The time between ice off and spring turnover can make for some good wade fishing close to shore.

While it may be a bit too early yet for the lakes in the mountains, most of the exposed prairie lakes are either open or very close to.

We took a trip out Police Outpost Lake to check out how it was progressing. All but the first two to three feet by shore was still ice covered.

Payne Lake on the other hand was about 2/3 open with only a large raft of ice pushed to East end by the wind.

It’s amazing how alive a lake becomes in spring.

The kids and I had a great time catching Waterboatmen beetles, Scuds and huge Dragonfly nymphs in the few feet of open water by the shore.

Around the lake, Muskrats, Geese, Ducks and Deer and a pair of Osprey were all out and about.

It seems at this time of year, life picks up speed and it’s all you can do to keep up. I’m definitely looking forward to the upcoming season.