Ghost River

The Ghost and its tributary, Waiparous Creek, drain the front ranges north of the Bow Valley and meet just above Ghost Reservoir, about an hour from Calgary. This is not big-trout water. The Ghost is a wide, braided gravel river where it leaves the mountains at Devil's Gap, and Waiparous Creek is a smaller stream with Highway 40 and a string of campgrounds along it. Brook trout live in the Waiparous, and they are the only trout you may keep there. Westslope cutthroat and bull trout live in the system too, and mountain whitefish hold in the Ghost's deeper runs. Both streams are open June 16 to October 31 with a bait ban, and the Ghost River Wilderness Area at the head of the valley is closed to fishing all year.

Read the Ghost gauge above Waiparous Creek for the main river and the Waiparous gauge near its mouth for the creek. The Ghost's flow stays steadier through the year than most Eastern Slopes rivers, and it usually runs about 3 to 6 m³/s (105 to 210 cfs) through the open season. Waiparous Creek peaks in June and drops to about 2 m³/s (70 cfs) or less by late summer, when it runs clear and the fish get spooky. Both streams are best from mid-July into September, on small attractor dries, ants and hoppers, with a beadhead nymph in the deeper corners. In winter the Waiparous gauge may send only its level, with no flow.

This is busy, rough country. The Ghost Public Land Use Zone is popular for off-highway vehicles, random camping, climbing and hunting, and the roads up the Ghost valley cross the river and suit high-clearance vehicles only. Off-road use has added mud to the streams in the past, so watch for dirty water below the trail crossings. The south bank of the Ghost below the South Ghost confluence borders Stoney Nakoda reserve land: stay off it unless you have the band council's permission. No Kananaskis Conservation Pass is needed here, but random camping on public land needs a Public Lands Camping Pass.