Tonight was like any other spring night in Alberta, Canada. Scattered showers and a cool breeze barrelling off the foothills. I pulled my vest over my shoulder and headed out the door. Five minutes later I was standing on a sand bar rigging up my eight weight with 8 lb leader material and a large brown spun deer hair bugger. The river was still off colour but was on the mend. My plan was to wake my fly in the shallows near the current break where the silt was not as thick. I was sure a brown or maybe a bull trout was using this as an ambush location for wayward suckers and sculpins. Several casts in I had a boil behind my fly and I quickly flicked the rod tip to get the fly back in the zone. Wham a 17 inch bull raced off with my fly and a short while later I did a quick flip with the pliers and he was on his way. The clean water from a spring was mixing with dirty water and a definite seam was forming downstream of me. I made a long cast and began my retrieve giving it some rod tip action and all of a sudden the line was ripping between my fingers. I was in to a big fish and quick minor adjustments to the drag on my real as he made time for the current. Pulling the rod low and the right I turned his head back into the back water. I thought for a second he had wrapped me in some junk but it was this bruiser dogging on the bottom. The feeling of being out of control with my eight weights was rare. Finally he got close to shore and I tailed him. By this time it was dark, I snapped a few picture with the flash and returned him to his lair. I had to use the lights on the quad as I rode the trails back to the house. Now back at my fly tying bench I made several more of these bulky sliders for tomorrow.
Sweet fish .. still have yet to ever catch a bull trout .. someday though. Nice looking fly too. I like the idea of waking big flies across the surface for large trout (who doesn’t:). If I recall correctly, you do this with mice patterns for big Brown Trout in your region of the world. You seem to have a pretty amazing fishery their in calgary canada. What are the options? Meaning, if I were to go there what could I target and what are the best seasons for each?
Although I have made many trips to Canada Bull Trout have escaped my net. It is a species I have yet to catch. As your going out again it would be great to see any fish you catch.
greg — i think the many trips you have made to canada have all been on the eastern seaboard? .. and, i think that bull trout in canada are only found in western territories? .. i could be wrong but i think that is the case? …
Late July or early August are the best months to fish for bull. The stream where they are more prevelent are closed for fishing until June 16 and runoff happen shortly after that. Most streams that are closed for the spring have cuttroat populations therefore they are spawning in the spring. There are some good early spring bull trouyt fishing but in late July they are moving to small tribs to spawn and can be really aggressive (I mean even more aggressive). Huge streamers and mice will do the trick. the key with bull trout is finding them after that they look after the rest.