Unique urban fishery in southern Alberta with some of the largest trout in North America. Relatively easy fishing from driftboats or rafts with some wading for big browns and rainbows on big foam dry flies and streamers depending on season. 5-wt rods with floating lines. Only fishing lodge on the river boast very comfortable accommodations, good food, great hosts. Good family destination as Calgary area offers many additional activities.
The Bow River downstream from the City of Calgary is well known as one of the premier blue ribbon trout streams in the world. The forty miles of river between Calgary and the hamlet of Carseland, is home to trophy size brown trout, as well as numerous and very large rainbow trout. The Bow River is a very unique fishery because the city of Calgary dumps its treated sewage affluent into the river, providing huge amounts of nutrients that supports one of the best bug populations in the world, and in turn, some of the biggest trout. In essence, the Bow enters Calgary as a freestone and exits as a spring creek! The river is best experienced when floated by drift boat or raft, but wading opportunities exist. What sets the Bow apart from other quality fisheries is the large average size of the fish it produces. Fish in the sixteen to eighteen inch range are commonplace on the Bow. It is an unusual day when an angler does not hook a fish larger than twenty inches with the possibility of trout exceeding 24 inches. These large fish can be taken by a variety of methods. Under the right conditions heavy caddis and mayfly hatches will bring fish to the surface and the dry fly fishing can be spectacular. If the fish are not rising, the versatile angler will switch to nymph or streamer fishing, which can be very consistent.
Direct flights are available from several US cities to Calgary International Airport. Ground transportation to and from the airport is included in you’re package when you book a stay with North Bow Lodge.
A typical day of fishing on the Bow will start at the ramp, where you and you’re guide will prepare the boat and tackle for the day ahead. The North Bow Lodge has teamed together with Country Pleasures, Calgary’s premier fly shop, to provide you with the best guides in the Calgary area. The guides will show you the most exciting facets of the Bow river, from catching the fish of a lifetime on a dry fly to huge grabs on floating line streamers, and, first and foremost, connect you with the biggest trophy browns and rainbows the Bow has to offer. After you leave the ramp you will immediately delve into fishing, likely not stopping until lunch time. As this is an urban fishery, you might even be able to order pizza! After lunch it’s an afternoon full of fishing until the pullout.
Built in July 2002, the Lodge is a 2 level post and beam structure. Family owned and operated, it is located on a beautiful stretch of the Bow river about 80 feet from its banks. The lodge boasts 7 bedrooms, primarily with 2 twin beds and a private bath in each. Satellite TV located in the Great Room, free wi-fi available throughout the premises. Being that the lodge is located in a 350 foot deep canyon, cell phone reception can be sketchy for some depending on phone and provider. Use of the Lodge phone is available at no additional charge for calls within North America.
Meals at the North Bow Lodge are home-style and served either “family style” or buffet. Breakfast is typically served between 7 and 8am. Dinner is usually served approximately 1 hr after the first guests arrive back at the Lodge from their day of fishing. Menus may include anything from beef tenderloin to Tarragon Crusted Salmon, to Beer butt Chicken, all accompanied with salad, vegetable, starch and dessert. Guests are welcome to bring their own alcohol into the Lodge, but the lodge does not stock alcoholic beverages for guests. Non-alcoholic beverages are available. Lunch on the river is usually sandwiches.
With a rental car a non-fishing spouse can access unlimited recreational opportunities in the city of Calgary and surrounding area. Fishing on the Bow is kid friendly, with no dangerous sections of raging water. However, the North Bow Lodge is not well suited for active young children.
The forty-mile stretch of the lower Bow harbors a large quantity of Prairie wildlife. Anglers should expect to see many species of birds, such as ducks, geese, and eagles. As the Bow winds its way out of South Calgary it becomes more canyon like and harbors two distinct ecosystems on its North and South banks. The North bank is filled with Cottonwood poplars in the riparian area, with shrubs, small cactus and exposed sandstone formations (Hoo-doos) along the hillside. The South bank often is steeper and contains Douglas fir trees as its dominant feature.
Mosquitoes are the one bug that you need to come prepared for. They, like fishermen, love the water and particularly love the slow moving water in the evenings at the boat launch/takeouts. As far as weather goes brief thunderstorms can brew up quickly due to proximity to the mountains and can sometimes be severe. Always take a rain jacket along. In late summer and early fall you will want to dress in layers, as conditions are cool in the mornings. Boats have ample storage space to keep your extra clothes dry.
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Tips for both guides and lodge staff are NOT included in the package price.
The Canadian Rocky Mountains is home to Banff National Park, Canada’s oldest Nation Park. It is about a 1 ½ hour drive to the west. The views from the top of Sulphur Mountain are breathtaking. The Candy Store on Main Street is sure to bring back memories as they stock hard to find candy from years past. The headwaters to the Bow River can be found north of Banff at Bow Lake.
The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology (Dinosaurs) is also about 1 ½ hours, but to the north. Here you can excavate in a realistic quarry, make your own fossil replica, or take a guided hike through the badlands, besides enjoying all the exhibits of pre-historic plant and animal. To the east, the native culture can be enjoyed at Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park, where you can either tour alone or with a local Siksika Interpreter.
South of Calgary you will find Head Smashed-in Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre. Here you can learn the interpretation of the ecology, lifestyle, mythology and technology of the Blackfoot People within the context of available archaeological evidence, both of the aboriginal peoples and the European settlers.
Within Calgary, Heritage Park is where you can go to discover “How the West was Once” at Canada’s largest living history museum.
When the North West Mounted Police built their fort at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers in 1875, they laid the foundations for the city we enjoy today. Now you can enjoy Fort Calgary, which is located on 40 acres of parkland on the eastern edge of downtown Calgary. Discover the colourful stories of Calgary’s past from 1875 - 1914 at a lively Interpretive Centre. Experience both sides of the law as you try on an authentic Royal Canadian Mounted Police uniform or spend some time touring their jail. Take a short walk across the Elbow River to The Deane House, the lovingly restored historic home of the North West Mounted Police Captain Richard Deane, now operating as a restaurant.
For those that like to enjoy other outdoor activities there are two 18 hole golf courses within 20 minutes of North Bow Lodge. Speargrass Golf Course, located south of Carseland on the top of the Bow River Valley, and Boulder Creek, at the south end of Hamlet of Langdon.
Country Pleasures' Mike Gifford, and Stu and Michelle Wheeler of North Bow Lodge.
Stu and Michele Wheeler built North Bow Lodge in 2001/2002 and have been the owner/operators ever since. Stu is the fifth generation to farm, and the lodge resides on a small corner of these farmlands. Michele spent 10 yrs in the travel and tourism business before “retiring” to the lodge. Marla, is their 11 year old daughter, who each year takes on more responsibilities at the lodge, but also keeps Stu and Michele running with her violin, soccer and ringette pursuits. The Lodge would not be able to operate smoothly without the assistance of Dianne and Linda, both employees for the past several years.
In their free time the Wheelers enjoy watching hockey and football, although rarely do they end up cheering for the same team! They try to make an annual trip to a NFL game, so far never the same destination. They are both active in the community coaching amateur sports.
Stu, of course, loves to fish every free moment he has. Michele’s free time is spent quilting, belonging to two different quilt guilds.
North Bow Lodge
Box 334
Dalemead, AB
T0J 0V0 Canada
403-774-4104 (July-Sept)
403-818-3474 (Oct-June)
info@northbowlodge.com
www.northbowlodge.com
