River · Alberta, Canada
The Bow
Bearspaw to Carseland. Brown and rainbow through the city, cutthroat in the upper reaches, and the best trico hatch in the province from late July.
Current conditions
When to go
Water guide
What swims here
- Brown trout
- Mountain whitefish
- Rainbow trout
- Brook trout
- Bull trout
- Northern pike
- Westslope cutthroat trout
Bull trout. Alberta provincial fish and a threatened species. Zero retention province-wide. No black spots on the dorsal fin: if it has none, put it back.
Westslope cutthroat trout. Threatened in Alberta. Genetically pure populations survive in only a handful of headwater streams, so check the current closures before you go.
Before you go
Whirling disease. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency declared the Bow River watershed infected on 10 February 2017.
- Clean, drain and dry your watercraft and any equipment that has been in contact with water, completely, between trips.
- Never move live or dead fish or fish parts from one waterbody to another. This is illegal in Alberta, and so is using live fish as bait.
The province on whirling disease, opens in a new tab · Clean, drain, dry, opens in a new tab · The CFIA's declarations, opens in a new tab
Regulations
Nobody has written the plain-English summary for this water yet.
The official regulations, opens in a new tab
Regulations change. Check the official source before you go.