Central Alberta Brown Trout Streams
~ Freestone Streams ~

Central Alberta has far more freestone brown trout rivers and streams than spring creeks. These vary between 6 and 50 feet across and offer quite a variety of scenery. The one constant is that the fishing is inconsistent and finding where the trout live on some of these waters can take a long time to discover.

All central Alberta brown trout streams seem to follow the same character: riffles and runs in continuum, then long sections of slower, deep water. The brown trout move around these water types during the year, using each to their advantage. Various hatches occur in both the freestone sections and in the slower, deeper water and good fishing follows.

Good hatches of stoneflies occur on many of our freestone streams. Low elevation runoff finishes by late April and stoneflies begin to flutter the streams. Rains can sully the waters in early June, but for the most part streams remain fishable most of the year.

Note the 21" brown at right has a #2 salmonfly dry fly pattern hanging from the jaw. There are excellent days of dry fly fishing during the overlapping stonefly hatches of central Alberta.

Mayfly hatches, caddis, and good terrestrial fishing (hoppers!) make for very good moments on the water from late April through the end of October.