by Travel Alberta
It is exotic
fishing in Alberta's
Rocky Mountains, where
you can savour wide-open
spaces, breath-taking
scenery and utter
solitude. Your attitude
shifts with the
altitude, bringing your
appetite for fishing up
a few pleasurable
notches. Crystal
clear streams flow
through valley bottoms.
Unspoiled wilderness
flanks the riverbanks.
Big game is never far
away. Soaring mountain
peaks compete with
bountiful fish for
anglers' attention. And
there's not another
fisherman - or
fisherwoman - for miles.
All these facets of
fly fishing the Canadian
Rocky Mountains
Rockies ensure an
unparalleled North
American fishing
experience. Fishing
licenses, which come in
a variety of time
frames, are both
inexpensive and readily
available. Whether
you're drawn to the
great fishing in the
meandering Upper Bow
River, the solitude of
remote streams around
Crowsnest Pass
or the unspoiled beauty
of
Maligne Lake in
Jasper National Park,
all are within a
pleasant drive of the
international gateway
cities of Calgary and
Edmonton. Focus on
Fishing in Spectacular
Scenery "It's
stunning, the majesty of
the Canadian Rockies,"
says Dan Bell, owner of
Upper Bow Fly Fishing in
Banff, which is in Banff
National Park. "It's a
pleasant distraction to
focus on the fishing
when you have so much
spectacular scenery."
But a tug on the line
will refocus even the
most awestruck. While
catch-and-release has
been the rule in
Alberta's rivers and
streams in recent years,
the measure has
dramatically increased
the size of available
fish. The average
size is 30 centimetres,
but fish now get as big
as 45 cms, though that's
not as common, says Kim
Straker, owner of
Calgary-based Clearwater
Adventures. "The bull
trout get pretty big and
very aggressive," he
says, adding that the
solitude in the Rockies
and the quality of
fishing is what makes it
so great. "I've
fished quite a bit in
Montana and there's more
pressure there," he
says. "Here, you don't
deal with the crowds.
The fishing in many
instances is just as
good and the scenery is
at least as beautiful,
if not more so." The
streams and rivers in
Alberta's Rockies are
teeming with Westslope
cutthroat, bull,
rainbow, brown and brook
trout as well as
whitefish. Dolly Varden
and splake can also be
found in select lakes
and rivers. The species
vary on location but
local guides will ensure
each angler gets what he
or she came for. At
the northern end of the
Rockies, Barry Wood
takes his clients
fishing on Maligne Lake
in Jasper National Park.
Wood is owner and guide
of Maligne Tours
Limited. He takes his
clients out on the lake
when there's too much
sediment in the rivers
during the spring
runoff. No Crowds,
Only Fish "The
fishing's unbelievable,"
he says. "There's no
people and no crowds. My
clients enjoy the beauty
and serenity of the
mountains. I get people
who want to catch fish
and others who don't
even care." Given the
strong attraction of the
environment, it seems
like icing on the cake
that the fishing is so
good. Wood says that in
five hours of fishing,
he can catch as many as
40 fish. "If you go
fishing in Montana, it's
wall-to-wall fishermen,"
he says. "Here, you've
got more diversity and
the peaks are a lot more
spectacular." Straker
knows what he's talking
about. For instance, the
highway between Jasper
and Banff is off-limits
to commercial traffic
and the highway is
maintained just for
tourism. It is one of
the most spectacular
drives on the planet and
it's a region to which
Dan Bell also takes his
clients. In these
rivers the fly-fishing
is great, says Bell,
whether it be streamer,
nymphing or dry flying.
He adds that while the
Upper Bow is arguably
the most beautiful
stream in the world,
other streams, like the
Ram River, are quite
isolated and beautiful
and there are lots of
big cutthroat and wild
animals. Between
Jasper and Banff
National Park are
countless streams and
rivers, all isolated and
protected within
national park
boundaries. There are
also great rainbow,
cutthroat and bull trout
in Kananaskis Country
(which is less than an
hour's drive from
Calgary), and southeast
of Banff National Park.
Alberta's Rockies run in
one continuous spine
from Jasper down to the
Crowsnest Pass, near the
U.S. border. Throughout
the entire range, rivers
and streams are
plentiful and population
sparse. The whole region
is home to deer,
waterfowl, ospreys,
eagles, bears, moose,
elk and a variety of
other wildlife of all
shapes and sizes.
Heading south, the
Rockies look different
than Jasper, but they
remain just as wild and
spectacular. Crowsnest
Pass, located in the
southernmost Rockies, is
situated in a windy
valley just before the
mountain range crosses
the border into the
United States. It's home
to the Crowsnest, Old
Man, Livingstone and
Castle Rivers.
Women Only Packages
While guides and guiding
companies will help
anglers find the
solitude, scenery and
fish they're looking for
in the area's rivers and
lakes, only the Angler's
Ridge Bed & Breakfast
offers women-only
packages.
Wendy Meerveld, owner
and operator of Angler's
Ridge, along with a
little help from partner
companies Saddle
Mountain Ridge and Tread
Softly, teaches her
female clients to
fly-fish. At day's end,
there's yoga, meditation
and Reiki, a
spiritual-healing
exercise. There's also
emphasis on healthy
eating and wellness
living. "In three
days the women reach
total relaxation," says
Meerveld. "We take
someone from the city
who's all hyped up and
stressed and they go
back utterly relaxed and
wishing they could
stay." Though
Meerveld and her two
business partners have
only offered the program
for one year, she says
there's been lots of
positive feedback.
"Women think fishing is
a man's sport, but
they're catching on,"
she says. "When you're
fly fishing, you have
the river coming at you
and its very tranquil."
But Angler's Ridge B&B
isn't just for women. As
the name would suggest,
it's one of the few
accommodations that
caters specifically to
anglers. "I cater to
the fly-fishermen," says
Meerveld. "I pack them a
lunch and if they want
to rise at 5 a.m. then I
make them breakfast at 5
a.m. We also give them
tips because my husband
and I are fly-fishermen.
We know the areas really
well, we tie flies and
we can give them tips."
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About the Author
Travel Alberta is
the destination
marketing organization
for the Province of
Alberta. Guided by the
Strategic Tourism
Marketing Council,
Travel Alberta is the
steward for the
effective delivery of
tourism marketing
programs. For
information about our
organization, please
visit our
Travel Alberta industry
web site.
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