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The Accidental Trout
Although they thrive today,
brown are not native to the
waters of the Bow. While haphazard,
intermittent stocking efforts
occurred throughout the early
1900's, it was only by accident
that the brown trout population
truly took hold. In 1925, a
truck carrying brown trout intended
for more distant Alberta streams
broke down at the Carrot Creek
bridge, upstream of Canmore.
Faced with a tank-load of dying
fish, the driver released 45,000
fry into the creek. Many fish
survived, and today's blue ribbon
brown trout fishery was underway.
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From
Banff to Bassano: Fishing the Blue Ribbon
Bow
Big fish and lots of 'em-it doesn't get
any better for fly fishers than the Bow
River stretch between Calgary and Carseland.
That's where they'll find an astounding
1,500 catchable fish per kilometre, and
where hooking a 50 centimetre brown or rainbow
trout is all in a day's fishing. No matter
what the angling method-streamers, dry-fly,
nymph or bait-and no matter what the fishing
approach-standing, walking, driftboating
or canoeing-chances are good that Bow River
sport fishers will be rewarded with a good
fight and an impressive catch.
Enhanced by a natural network of ideal spawning
streams and apparently helped, rather than
hindered, by effluent-enriched flows below
the city of Calgary, the trout fishery of
the middle Bow has thrived over the last
five decades. Over 50 Bow River guide and
outfitting companies, serving at least 3,000
fly fishers every year, now bring $30 million
into the local economy.
While the 80 kilometre stretch of the Bow
from Calgary to Carseland is famous for
its brown and rainbow trout, the upper Bow
also offers superb fishing in a breathtaking
mountain setting. Native mountain whitefish,
bull trout (Dolly Varden) and cutthroat
trout thrive in the cold, glacier-fed waters
above Banff. As the Cave and Basin Hot Springs
and Banff town effluent slightly warm the
river below Banff, brown trout begin to
make their appearance.
Below
Carseland, on the lower Bow, the cold-water
fishery gives way to warm-waters species
such as northern-pike, walleye, goldeneye
and sauger.
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Mountain
Biking, Cross-Country Skiing
at Canmore
Nordic Centre Provincial Park
When Canmore, Alberta, on the
Bow River northwest of Calgary,
hosted cross-country skiing
events for the 1988 Winter Olympic
Games, subsequent visitors inherited
a world-class skiing and mountain
biking facility. Over 60 kilometres
of groomed, trackset trails
offer novice, intermediate and
advanced Nordic skiing, while
summer trails test the skills
of dirt-seeking mountain bikers.
Calgary's
River Pathways
Get to know the Bow by bike,
foot or in-line skates on one
of the finest urban pathway
systems in North America. The
city of Calgary maintains more
than 400 kilometres of paved
paths throughout the city, linking
many parks and natural areas
and winding along the Bow and
Elbow rivers.
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Hoary Marmots and
Harlequin Ducks:
Wildlife Viewing
and Birdwatching in Banff National Park
Reliable field guides, a pair of binoculars,
and a basic knowledge of wildlife etiquette
are all you need to enjoy the natural world
of the Bow Valley and Banff National Park.
Plan to stop at one of the Park Information
and Visitor Centres for comprehensive checklists
of birds and animals.
Look
Over There! There are 53 species
of mammals in Banff National Park, but what
can the day-hiker or the weekend camper
expect to see? Topping the "most likely"
list:
• hoary marmot, at up to 12 kilograms
one of the largest rodents in the park
• porcupine, frequent visitors to backcountry
campgrounds
• elk (wapiti), the park's most common
ungulate (hoofed animal)
• mule and white-tailed deer, often
seen feeding side by side along the Bow
Valley Parkway
• coyote, wild dog of the Bow Valley.
Occasionally, Park visitors
may see:
• pika, "rock rabbit" of
the upper mountain slopes (though more often
located by its piercing call)
• bighorn sheep, grazers of the alpine
meadows
• black bear, residents of the Bow
Valley and other forested areas.
Wildlife watchers can
count themselves particularly fortunate
to catch sight of the following:
• beaver, more likely to be found in
Jasper National Park
• moose, no longer found in the Bow
Valley, but still sighted along the Icefields
Parkway near Upper Waterfowl Lake
• woodland caribou, a protected animal,
found in the northern part of the park
• mountain goat, numerous but seldom
seen in their high, rugged habitat
• grizzly bear, more plentiful than
black bears but found only in backcountry
wilderness.
 Did
You Hear That? Park birdwatchers
have 260 species to challenge their identification
skills. Best viewing spots are the town
of Banff, the Cave and Basin Marsh, Vermilion
Lakes and Johnston's Canyon, along the Bow
River from Banff to Lake Louise, and at
the Bow Summit, 20 kilometres north of the
TransCanada Highway on Highway 93N.
Those who venture
out before the sun comes up may see or hear
birds such as:
•Cliff Swallows nesting on the Banff
Avenue bridge
•Clark's Nutcrackers, Pygmy Owls and
Cassin's Finches on Tunnel Mountain
•Mountain Chickadees and White-breasted
Nuthatches in Banff
• Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Green-winged
Teal, and Barrow's Goldeneyes at Cave and
Basin Marsh
• Warbler's galore-Yellow, Orange-crowned,
Wilson's, at Cave and Basin Marsh
• Tundra Swans, Bald Eagles, Northern
Shovelers, and Hooded Mergansers at Vermilion
Lakes
• Black Swift , American Dippers, and
Cordilleran Flycatchers at Johnston's Canyon
• Harlequin Ducks Spotted Sandpipers
and Bohemian Waxwings on the Bow between
Banff and Lake Louise
• Thrushes, Fox Sparrows, Grey-crowned
Rosy Finches and Water Pipits at the Bow
Summit.
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