Bugs! So many bugs. Clouds of olives and midges along with the beginning of the caddis hatch. Splashy risers outnumber the sippers, which indicates they are hitting on the emergers. Keep an eye out for risers though. The smallest sip is often the largest trout.

The warm sunny temperatures that are forecast though the weekend, are to be followed by rain, both of which should ramp up the run off. The occasional sharp increases in flow has slowed fishing for short periods. Bouts of howling wind did not help either.

Water levels are up, and should continue to increase. Flood mitigation efforts are underway which means there may be spikes in the water levels, Which, in turn, may temporarily put the fish off. 

Bow River Flies - Staff Picks - Daniel Z

Dry fly fishing has difficult but some times rewarding. Blue Winged Olive and midge hatches continue, with the caddis now beginning to show up. Continue to watch for risers in the soft edge at the heads of pools, and in sheltered backwaters.

The nymph fishing continues to be your best bet for catching fish. Get your fly, or flies, down as deep as possible. If you're not ticking bottom, or hanging up occasionally, add more weight and/or tippet until that is achieved. Small BWO, and stonefly nymphs, along with caddis emergers have been working great.

Streamer fishing has been a touch slow, probably due to the quantity of bugs in the water. Why chase things when all kinds of food is floating right by their heads? Persistence has still resulted in some very good fish. If you put it close enough to them they will have a hard time resisting.

Using a trout spey to swing flies through riffles and runs is a great way to search for active fish. You can cover lots of water very efficiently. Small wet flies are very fun to cast, and swing, but also result in some spectacular takes for such small flies. Smaller flies are also easier for the novice spey angler to cast.