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Fishing Report - January 11, 2020

Happy new year! As we enter the new year and set intentions to fish more than ever in 2020, winter continues to punish us viciously, forcing us to stick to the vise most days, not the mighty Bow. Although the frigid temperatures can sometimes make fishing hardly enjoyable, the cold can ...
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By Matt
  2020-01-11 at 19:28 pm

Fishing Report - September 21, 2019

Although we are now well into the month of September, most of us are still refusing to concede the fact that our summer is coming to a close. There are still a couple solid months of regular fishing left before the number of fishable days decreases and we have no choice but to don our waders and warmest pair of long johns for a chance at a fish. For trout in Alberta, ...
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By
  2019-09-21 at 21:04 pm

Stay Warm This Winter

It's that time of year again. Fair-weather fishermen have already set their gear aside. Some anglers are now shifting their gaze longingly upon the mountains that gather blankets of fresh snow, feeling the call to lay down some carefully planned, yet aggressive slashes on a blank white canvas. However, if you are reading this, ...
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By BRT Shop
  2018-09-15 at 18:18 pm

Review: Winston Microspey Line-up

When Winston introduced their new series of two-handed rods, aptly named the BIII TH MS (Micro Spey), I couldn’t wait to get my hands on one (or three!). Being a steelhead fanatic who happens to live east of the Rocky Mountains, I’m limited to a few weeks of steelhead fishing per year. Fortunately, I live a stone’s throw from the world-famous Bow ...
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By Elliott Barnes
  2018-04-10 at 20:08 pm

Southern Alberta Hatch Charts

Below are hatch charts for the Red Deer, Bow, and Old Man river. These charts are a rough guideline for what insect hatches to expect in these three river systems, but as we know, nothing is certain when it comes to a day on the river. Hopefully this general guideline will be able to provide you with the information to properly prepare your fly arsenal for your trip. We ...
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By BRT
  2018-04-02 at 19:39 pm

Fish Handling Best Practices

Proper fish handling is essential to protecting our province's currently bountiful resource. Using proper catch-and-release techniques will help to ensure that the future of fishing in Alberta is a bright one. Before I get all purist on you, I would like to mention that it is not at all unethical to keep fish that are in accordance with a particular ...
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By Matt Hodgson
  2018-04-02 at 17:50 pm

Choosing The Right Running Line

Two-handed fishing has become drastically more popular over the last few years, particularly with the advent of 'trout spey,' or the use of light two-handers when fishing for trout. At Troutfitters, we're fully on-board with trout spey fishing because the casting is dang fun and there aren't many things that are more exciting than hooking into a fish on ...
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By
  2018-01-26 at 16:41 pm

Tying Flies With UV Cure Resins

UV cure resins are easy to use, make flies more durable, add a unique look to standard patterns and can even be used to create completely unique patterns. Here is a quick look at the variety of the uses and advantages UV resins have in fly tying. ...
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By
  2017-12-19 at 20:58 pm

Winter Fishing Layering Tips

Layering for winter fly fishing can be a bit different than layering for other winter activities such as skiing, snow shoeing and even ice fishing. The biggest difference is that the keen winter angler is still wading into the water to fish, even on cold days. This means we aren’t only losing heat from being in cold air (convection), we are also losing heat ...
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By Mark
  2017-09-07 at 20:49 pm

Trout Food - Skwala Stonefly

When it comes to hatches, stoneflies are arguably one of the most exciting there is. Few can argue that big flies on the surface aren’t one heck of a lot of fun and beyond mice; stoneflies are the epitome of this when we’re talking about trout. In Southern Alberta, we certainly dream of the early summer golden stonefly hatches, but what of their relatively ...
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By Mark
  2017-03-21 at 18:46 pm

Review: Loop Cross S1 8'6'' 3 wt

I got a chance to play around with the 386-4 Loop Cross S1 earlier on in the year. I used this rod on my favourite grayling lake and was surprised by some of the unexpected power of this eight and a half foot 3 weight. I paired it with a Loop ...
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By Jacob
  2016-12-01 at 20:38 pm

Review: B-IIIX 9 ft 6wt

In fall of 2016 I set out to find myself the perfect “do it all” trout rod. More specifically, I was searching for a rod to cover all of my medium/large sized river applications, as well as some cutthroat and stillwater stuff. I demanded a rod with enough finesse to softly present a sz. 18 dry, and enough power to launch an indicator rig or sink tip 60+ ...
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By Aiden
  2016-11-24 at 21:02 pm

Everything Fly Lines

So, your fly line is starting to get a bit beat up, it wont shoot through your guides, its covered in cracks and there may be a solid chunk of coating missing part way through your running line. What’s next? Replacing the line seems pretty steep since you’re looking at $60 to $110 dollars depending on the line. But wait, here’s a blog from BRT ...
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By Mark
  2016-10-08 at 21:14 pm

5 Essential Items That Make Great Stocking Stuffers for any Fly Fisher

We have put this short list together to help the non fisher make a more educated decision as to what are good inexpensive gifts for the fly fishing fanatic in there life. These ideas fit for the beginner fly fisherman to the grizzled vet. You won’t go wrong here and if they do want to exchange a gift we can easily accommodate. Remember fisherman that would be ...
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By BRT Shop
  2016-10-06 at 21:17 pm

Gear Review: R.L. Winston BIII LS 8' 3 wt

At the start of the 2015 season I was looking for a new light line weight rod as a tool to use in smaller headwaters and spring creeks. I love spending time on mountain streams and clear spring creeks throughout western Alberta and Eastern BC and I wanted the ultimate tool to softly present small dries in tight places. The ...
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By BRT Shop
  2016-06-27 at 21:44 pm

High Country Trout

Opening day of the high country streams. It’s that magical number 16, which seems to trump the number 21 in terms of signifying that it really is summer. It means you’re about to embark upon three months full of backcountry camping, smores and smokies over the fire and most importantly, west slope cutthroat on dry flies. There are a few rules of ...
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By John
  2016-06-14 at 21:47 pm

Caddis: Properly Match the Hatch

In this blog I’ll talk about dry fly fishing imitating caddis from May through to October, and share what insight I have on fishing them to rising trout. Why focus on caddis? Because if there's one aquatic insect order that a trout is liable to be looking for on any given month through spring, summer and fall, we'd guess that insect would be a caddis. Not ...
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By BRT Shop
  2016-05-18 at 21:49 pm

Gear Review: Loop Evotech Cast 7110 MF

Over the last two weeks I have had the pleasure if casting and fishing the LOOP Evotec Cast 7110-4 MF on the Bow River during our recent chinooks. This rod has been great for swinging small to medium sized trout streamers on the bow in the 1-4” range. My preferred flies of choice have been skittering smolts, Bow River buggers and small rabbit strip leeches. 10 and ...
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By Max
  2016-02-26 at 21:52 pm

Guide to Winter Fly Fishing in Southern Alberta

Winter fishing is a wonderful way to break the ice of the long winter freeze, stretch out the legs, and get that casting arm going again. Despite the chilly temps, winter fishing is a beautiful time to be on the water, and the low flows can really aid the angler to gain a better understanding and perspective of the holding water that exists on the rivers you may fish. ...
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By Mark and John
  2016-02-02 at 21:58 pm

Adventures with Hooké

In early November, John and I had the amazing opportunity to close up the shop and head out to Eastern British Columbia for some fishing with the guys from Hooke. Hooke is comprised of a group of fly fishers who, like us, are completely sick for fishing. Their goal is to share the excitement of fly fishing with the world through visual media and there's no doubt ...
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By BRT Shop
  2016-02-01 at 22:05 pm

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