Brown Trout Streams of Alberta
~ Insect Hatches ~

The central Alberta brown trout streams begin to pick up in mid April. Early hatches occur on given trout streams and risers begin to show. On a few streams, mid April to early May can produce some of the best dry fly fishing of the year as big browns emerge from their winter hibernation after a fall spawn ~ they need to eat and these hatches present us good opportunities.

From early April onwards, a predictable, annual cycle of insect hatches occurs through to the end of October. Some excellent fishing can occur throughout the season. Don't rule out hot, sunny days or cold, wet, or even snowy days as hatches can occur almost at any time.

Hatches can also occur any time from early dawn to well into dusk and continue through pitch black. It is a game of timing on these waters and fair weathered fly fishermen way not fare well. By planning to simply match conditions and fish the times when things are likely to be "on", your success rates will improve.

We know these hatches well and welcome you to join us to experience good dry fly fishing.

Excellent hatches of stoneflies (salmonflies, skwala, golden, tiny winter black, early brown, sallies, etc), mayflies (hexagenia, brown drake, green drake, blue winged olive, pmd, trico, etc), caddis, midges, and terrestrials (hoppers, ants, and beetles) all occur throughout the season.

Again, spring creeks are sourced from groundwater springs meaning that water flows and temperatures are consistent, which bodes well for all aquatic life in the ecosystem. The ecosystem truly begins and ends with aquatic vegetation; spring creeks are notoriously weedy by summer's end which adds an added element. Weeds will cause drifts to drag sooner than you'd hope, and once the fish is hooked will you be able to bring it in or will it lose itself by impaling itself into a mat of weeds?

The best time? Well there really isn't one as insect hatches begin in earnest mid April and last through late October. The larger bugs hatch earlier in the season while the trout are still in their wintering pools, which can make for exceptional dry fly fishing. The dry fly fishing can be exceptional every day on these streams - at some point during the day - all season. Summer heat leads to good mid day hopper fishing and evening caddis hatches. Blue winged olive mayflies can hatch into November during warm early winter months. Good fly fishing occurs through late October. For 7 months of the year, interesting moments can occur.