One More Cast

I knew I wanted to make one more trip to the North Ram before the season closes next weekend; and with the forecast calling for reasonable daytime highs (and overnight lows) this weekend seemed to be the best opportunity.  I usually try to avoid trips where the time spent fishing is less than the time spent driving, but in late October, with most of the action taking place between noon and sunset, this is usually unavoidable. 

As I left Edmonton at 6:00 am, snow tires were the furthest thing from my mind. I knew it had snowed in the foothills the day before and I was expecting to see the odd skiff in the trees, or shaded areas. But by the time I turned onto the trunk road, snow tires seemed like a no brainer; slow and steady got me to the parking area without mishap, but mountain biking the trail into the lower reach was out of the question.

Mid-morning was a cool -2 Celsius. The mist and cloud clinging to the hill tops, along with the contrast between the dark water and the white blanket of snow covering the banks, made for a very surreal scene. The tranquility alone was worth the trip.

By noon, the sun was breaking through the clouds, my rod guides were no longer icing up, and a few Baetis duns could be seen fluttering off the glass clear water. I did see a few fish rise, but the hatch was too sporadic to consider fishing top water. Most fish were picked up by casting a Baetis nymph to visible fish in their winter holding lies.

There were a few other bugs active along the banks. Winter stoneflies (Capniidae) could be seen crawling on the snow, along with Ameletus duns clinging to the rocks on the bank. Although both of these bugs emerge by crawling out along the bank and therefore do not cause any surface feeding activity, the migrating nymphs will sometimes get caught in the drift.

The day turned out to be a perfect way to close out the season on the east slope streams.