Alberta

Bow River

Alberta·Bow Valley and Calgary·50.89° N, 114.01° W

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About Bow River

The Bow below Bearspaw Dam is a big, fertile tailwater that runs straight through a city of 1.5 million people and still grows wild rainbows and browns that guides expect to push 20 inches on a good float. Two TransAlta dams upstream, Ghost and Bearspaw, take the edge off the mountain runoff and settle the silt, and the city's nutrients feed heavy weed beds, caddis, golden stones and an autumn soup of water boatmen. The whole river from the Banff park line to Bassano Dam is open all year, bans bait, and keeps nothing: every trout, whitefish, pike and walleye goes back. That rule exists because the fishery is under real pressure. Provincial biologists estimate anglers catch more than 60,000 trout a summer from a population of roughly 15,000 rainbows, so land fish fast and keep them wet.

It fishes like a big Western float river. The best water is the seams, gravel bars and cutbanks you reach from a drift boat, and the classic day floats run from Fish Creek Park to Policeman's Flats, Police to McKinnon, and McKinnon Flats to Johnson's Island above the Carseland Weir. Read the river at the Calgary gauge, which sits above the Elbow and reads Bearspaw's release. You can wade well at lower flows, and the late-summer settle around 80 to 100 m³/s is the easiest wading of the year. Drift boats like about 70 to 160 m³/s. A normal June runs 150 to 250, and above about 280 the city posts a boating advisory. Spring brings BWOs, midges and March browns before runoff colours the river from mid-May into early July. Golden stones and PMDs follow the drop, hoppers carry it from late July into September, and fall belongs to tricos, BWOs, October caddis and boatmen while the browns move toward their redds. Winter is midges and slow nymphing in the soft, deep runs.

Plan around the dams, the heat and the reserve. Bearspaw's releases cycle daily and can drop or rise fast, and the Highwood and Fish Creek can colour the lower river while the Calgary gauge reads clean. In July and August the province can close every flowing water in the watershed from 2 pm to midnight when the river runs warm and low, so a hot-summer trip is a first-light program. Below Carseland the river enters the Siksika Nation reserve and stays on reserve land for about 110 km to Bassano Dam, with no public launch between. You need the band council's permission to enter or cross reserve land, so for most anglers the river ends at the Carseland Weir or the short public stretch below it. Whirling disease has been in the Bow since 2016, so clean, drain and dry your gear and boat between waters.

Species

Rainbow Trout
Primary · Mar-May, Jul-Oct · 14-18", 20"+ on a good float
Wild, and the fish the province manages the river for. They spawn in spring, roughly April into June, so watch for redds and spawning fish on gravel. Their numbers fell through 2003 to 2013, one reason nothing may be kept.
Brown Trout
Primary · Sep-Nov · 16-20", some to 26"
Wild, and the streamer fish of the river. They spawn in October and November, so wade around redds in late fall, and expect the dams' swings to leave some redds high and dry in a bad year.
Mountain Whitefish
Common · Year-round · 10-16"
Native and abundant, and often the bulk of the winter nymphing catch. None may be kept on this reach.
Northern Pike
Present · Spring and fall · Varies
Most common below Carseland and in city backwaters. Released like everything else on this water.

Species	Abundance	Best Season	Size
Rainbow Trout	Primary	Mar-May, Jul-Oct	14-18", 20"+ on a good float
Brown Trout	Primary	Sep-Nov	16-20", some to 26"
Mountain Whitefish	Common	Year-round	10-16"
Northern Pike	Present	Spring and fall	Varies

Sections

6 reaches

Upper City (Bearspaw Dam to Harvie Passage)

Wade & FloatBrown Trout · Rainbow Trout

Fast, braided water past treed islands and the sandstone cliffs at Bowness and Edworthy, then city banks and bridge piers through downtown. Bearspaw's releases set the level, and the dam's daily cycle is felt most here. City parks give public access along most of the pathway: Baker Park, Bowness, Shouldice, Edworthy, Prince's Island and St. Patrick's Island. Floaters must give every bridge pier a wide berth and take out above Harvie Passage, a whitewater channel at the old Calgary weir, unless they are experienced paddlers.

Best for: Nymphs and streamers for rainbow trout and brown trout, with walk-and-wade water at lower flows and lighter pressure than below Fish Creek.

Lower City (Harvie Passage to Fish Creek Park)

Wade & FloatBrown Trout · Rainbow Trout

Bigger water once the Elbow joins, with long riffles, cutbanks and weedy flats past Inglewood, Graves Bridge, Carburn Park and Sue Higgins Park down to the Highway 22X bridge in Fish Creek Provincial Park. Launches at Graves Bridge, Carburn Park and Fish Creek Park make it the start of the classic floats, and it sees heavy traffic. The Inglewood Bird Sanctuary is closed to angling all year except the main channel. In irrigation season a canal takes water below Harvie Passage.

Best for: Rising rainbow trout and brown trout on the flats with caddis, PMDs and tricos, hopper-dropper along the grassy banks, and streamers on the cutbanks.

Fish Creek to Policeman's Flats

FloatBrown Trout · Rainbow Trout

About 8 km where the river leaves the city, past sandstone cliffs, treed islands and gravel bars. The Fish Creek Provincial Park launch has parking and a washroom. Policeman's Flats, off Dunbow Road, is a basic launch on private land kept open by agreement with angling groups, so treat it well. A standing wave train sits just above the launch.

Best for: Short half-day floats for rainbow trout and brown trout, nymphing and dry-dropper.

Below the Weir (Carseland to the Siksika Boundary)

WadeBrown Trout · Rainbow Trout

Big, fertile prairie river with fewer anglers, read at the Carseland gauge, which sits below the irrigation canal at the weir. Most anglers wade the weir tailout and the first runs from the Wyndham-Carseland side, since there is no public take-out until Bassano. Below this stretch the river enters the Siksika Nation reserve and stays on reserve land for about 110 km to Bassano Dam: you need the band council's permission to enter or cross reserve land.

Best for: Wading the weir tailout for rainbow trout and brown trout, and streamers in the first runs.

Police to McKinnon

FloatBrown Trout · Rainbow Trout

About 21 km of prairie-coulee river: long gravel runs, side channels, cottonwood bottoms and cliffs. The Highwood comes in about 4 km above McKinnon Flats and can colour the river after rain or in runoff while the Calgary gauge still reads clean. McKinnon Flats is provincial land with parking, a washroom and a gravel-bar launch down a steep road that has closed in winter in some years. No camping.

Best for: Full-day drift-boat fishing for rainbow trout and brown trout, streamers on the banks, and hoppers in late summer. Good wading upstream of the McKinnon lot.

McKinnon to Carseland

FloatBrown Trout · Rainbow Trout

The quietest of the classic floats: about 24 km of big runs, long flats and weedy edges, slowing toward the weir pool. Legacy Island, about 14 km below McKinnon, is a mid-float launch on provincial land leased to Trout Unlimited. Take out at the Johnson's Island launch in Wyndham-Carseland Provincial Park, above the weir. Never approach the Carseland Weir itself, a serious drowning hazard.

Best for: Long days with fewer boats, streamers and dries for brown trout and rainbow trout.

At a glance

Ideal wading flow: 59–119 m³/s
Blow-out: >280 m³/s
Ideal water temp: 10–17°C

Best seasons

Read at the Calgary gauge. Low fall and winter water runs about 45 to 70 m³/s (1,600 to 2,500 cfs), clear and technical but fishable. About 60 to 120 m³/s (2,100 to 4,200 cfs) is the best wading, and the late-summer settle near 80 to 100 m³/s is the easiest of the year. Drift boats do best at about 70 to 160 m³/s (2,500 to 5,650 cfs). From 160 to 280 m³/s (5,650 to 9,900 cfs) it is high but fishable with streamers on the banks, and above about 280 m³/s (9,900 cfs) it is unsafe. September and October are the best of it: hoppers, tricos, BWOs, October caddis and boatmen, and browns turning aggressive before the spawn. Late June through August, after runoff, brings golden stones, PMDs, caddis and hoppers, with heat and possible afternoon closures. March to mid-May is a pre-runoff window of midges, BWOs and March browns. Winter is slow nymphing in the deep runs. The Carseland gauge reads more than Calgary in most months, because the Elbow, Fish Creek, the Highwood and the Sheep join between them, and less in irrigation season, because it sits below the canal at the weir. Trout feed best at about 10 to 17 °C (50 to 63 °F). Above 20 °C (68 °F), the province's own trigger, stop fishing by early afternoon.

Regulations

The Bow from Banff National Park down to Bassano Dam is open all year, bait is banned, and no fish of any kind may be kept. Above the Highway 24 bridge near Carseland it falls in Alberta's ES1 watershed unit and below it in PP1, with the same Bow rule in both.

Bow River, Banff National Park down to Bassano Dam: open all year, bait ban, limit 0 for trout, mountain whitefish, walleye, pike and burbot (and goldeye and sauger below Highway 24).
Bull trout limit 0 everywhere in Alberta.
The Inglewood Bird Sanctuary in Calgary is closed to angling all year, except the main channel of the Bow.
From July 1 to August 31 the province can close ES1 flowing waters from 2 pm to midnight when the river runs warm and low. The closure covers the whole Bow from Banff National Park to Bassano Dam, below Highway 24 too, and the Ghost and Bearspaw reservoirs. Check mywildalberta.ca before a summer trip.
You need a WiN number and an Alberta sportfishing licence, sold through AlbertaRELM.

Some shop pages still describe barbless rules or a small harvest below Carseland. The 2026 guide has neither: no barbless rule, and nothing kept from the park to Bassano Dam. Below Carseland the river runs through the Siksika Nation reserve, and you need the band council's permission to enter or cross reserve land.

Source: 2026 Alberta Guide to Sportfishing Regulations (ES1 and PP1). Regulations change annually. Verify before fishing.

Getting there

Calgary, AB

The city launches are 15 to 25 min from Calgary International Airport. Carseland is about 55 to 65 km southeast of downtown.

Fly shops

Camping: Wyndham-Carseland Provincial Park has a large campground by the weir. Fish Creek Provincial Park is day use, and there is no camping at McKinnon Flats. Calgary has every kind of lodging.

City parks give public access through Calgary. The main launches below the city are Fish Creek Provincial Park, Policeman's Flats (private land kept open by agreement), McKinnon Flats, Legacy Island and Johnson's Island above the Carseland Weir. Take out above Harvie Passage in the city unless you paddle whitewater, and never approach the Carseland Weir. Below Carseland the river enters the Siksika Nation reserve: you need the band council's permission to enter or cross it, and there is no public take-out before Bassano.

Bow River

Alberta·Bow Valley and Calgary·50.89° N, 114.01° W

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Fishing: Good
Flow: 63m³/s; Steady · normal; Bow River at Calgary
Water temp: —

Flow

63m³/s

Steady ·

Bow River at Calgary

Water temp

—

Normal range

49–64m³/s

Median 55 m³/s

Weather

10°C

Mostly Cloudy

See the full conditions on the Bow River

Flow and temperature charts for every station, the weather, and the days ahead. Free, with an email.

A free account also gets you

5-day Fish Index forecastSee how each of the next 5 days rates on every river and lake, from the flow or wind, water temperature, weather and moon forecasts.
A dashboard for your watersSave your rivers and lakes and compare them on one board, with the last week and the days ahead.
A logbook that fills in the conditionsLog outings and trips with photos, even with no signal in the app. Troutline adds the flow, water temperature and weather for each day.
Your angler profileSee other anglers' public outings, and share yours.

Already have an account?

Want history, unlimited alerts and more? , with the first 14 days free for new members.

Solunar · next 7 days

About Bow River

Species

Rainbow Trout
Primary · Mar-May, Jul-Oct · 14-18", 20"+ on a good float
Wild, and the fish the province manages the river for. They spawn in spring, roughly April into June, so watch for redds and spawning fish on gravel. Their numbers fell through 2003 to 2013, one reason nothing may be kept.
Brown Trout
Primary · Sep-Nov · 16-20", some to 26"
Wild, and the streamer fish of the river. They spawn in October and November, so wade around redds in late fall, and expect the dams' swings to leave some redds high and dry in a bad year.
Mountain Whitefish
Common · Year-round · 10-16"
Native and abundant, and often the bulk of the winter nymphing catch. None may be kept on this reach.
Northern Pike
Present · Spring and fall · Varies
Most common below Carseland and in city backwaters. Released like everything else on this water.

Species	Abundance	Best Season	Size
Rainbow Trout	Primary	Mar-May, Jul-Oct	14-18", 20"+ on a good float
Brown Trout	Primary	Sep-Nov	16-20", some to 26"
Mountain Whitefish	Common	Year-round	10-16"
Northern Pike	Present	Spring and fall	Varies

Sections

6 reaches

Upper City (Bearspaw Dam to Harvie Passage)

Wade & FloatBrown Trout · Rainbow Trout

Best for: Nymphs and streamers for rainbow trout and brown trout, with walk-and-wade water at lower flows and lighter pressure than below Fish Creek.

Lower City (Harvie Passage to Fish Creek Park)

Wade & FloatBrown Trout · Rainbow Trout

Best for: Rising rainbow trout and brown trout on the flats with caddis, PMDs and tricos, hopper-dropper along the grassy banks, and streamers on the cutbanks.