Smiling guest holding a Bow River rainbow trout under a bluebird sky on a guided fly fishing trip with King Trout Outfitters near Calgary

Fishing Reportgood

Bow River Fishing Report

Week of August 10, 2026

By Dan King · Lead Guide, King Trout Outfitters

Bow River fly fishing conditions in Calgary on August 10, 2026: low, clear blue-green summer water at 92 cms flowing past the downtown Calgary skyline and Centre Street Bridge, the lowest water of the season and prime guided Bow River trout water from King Trout Outfitters — The Bow River through downtown Calgary on August 10, 2026. Low, clear summer water at 92 cms, right on the late-summer baseline and the lowest the river has run all season. Best wading levels of the year, with the fish holding tight to the banks. (Timestamp shown is from the camera.) Source: Calgary Live Camera (DELTATECH) on YouTube →

Bow River fishing conditions for the week of August 10, 2026 are good. Flow is 92 cubic meters per second and falling. Water temperature is 20°C. No angling restrictions are in effect. Active hatches include Trico, Terrestrials (Hoppers/Ants/Beetles), Caddis, Pale Morning Dun (PMD).

Flow (m³/s) ↓

20°C

Water Temp ↑

good

Overall Conditions

None

Restrictions

iFlow context: We've hit bottom. The Bow is reading 92 cms this morning, right on the 90 cms late-summer baseline and the lowest it has run all season. It kept sliding through the week, 121 last Monday, a little bump to 130 midweek, then a steady step down through the teens and into the low 90s. This is as low and clear as the river gets. Wading is as easy as it will ever be and the floats are skinny in spots, so pick your lines. The flip side of water this thin is heat. With no snowmelt left to cool it and hot August afternoons, temperature is now the thing that runs the day, not flow. Fish are stacked tight to the banks and into the deeper cool water, and they see everything. Source: Environment Canada

A red FLYPOD drift boat with two anglers on the Bow River near Calgary, ready to launch for a guided fly fishing trip

On the Water

Do You Need a Boat to Fish the Bow River?

You can wade the Bow in spots, but most of the best water sits along banks and seams you can only reach by drift boat. That is why guided trips here run from a boat. It covers miles of productive water in a day and keeps you safer when flows are up, like the 92 cms running this week.

What Are Conditions Like on the Bow River This Week?

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Dan King

Lead guide at King Trout Outfitters · 15+ years on the Bow River

First thing: fish at first light and be off the water by early afternoon, and check My Wild Alberta the morning you go. That's the report this week. The Bow bottomed out at 92 cms, right on the 90 cms baseline and the lowest it's run all season, so after a month of watching the graph fall the river's finally landed in its late-summer spot. Trouble is, low water plus hot August afternoons means temperature is running the show, not flow. The gauge doesn't read temp, but I'd put it into the low 20s by afternoon on water this thin, and that's the zone that gets a river closed. No official closure as I write this, but this is exactly the kind of week that triggers one, so look it up before you drive out. The good news is the cool-hour fishing is genuinely on. Tricos are peaking on the calm mornings, the upper river above Bearspaw holds its temperature best, and there's still an evening caddis in town. Land them fast and keep them wet. And September's filling up. Cooler water and fall browns is the best fishing of the year, so if you want a float, grab a date now.

Close-up of a wild brown trout held gently in hand showing distinctive spotted markings

What They're Eating

What Flies Are Working on the Bow River Right Now?

Right now the trout are keyed on Trico, Terrestrials (Hoppers/Ants/Beetles), Caddis, Pale Morning Dun (PMD). That is why our guides are fishing patterns like Trico Spinner, Foam Hopper, Foam Ant/Beetle this week. Match what is hatching, get a clean drag-free drift, and you will move fish. The full fly chart for this week is right below.

What Hatches Are Active on the Bow River?

Insect	Hook Size	Activity
Trico	#20-24	heavy
Terrestrials (Hoppers/Ants/Beetles)	#8-16	moderate
Caddis	#14-18	moderate
Pale Morning Dun (PMD)	#16-18	light

See the full month-by-month Bow River Hatch Chart →

What Flies Are Working This Week?

Close-up of a hand selecting a fly from a well-stocked fly box

Trico Spinner

#20-22dry

Foam Hopper

#8-12dry

Foam Ant/Beetle

#14-16dry

Elk Hair Caddis

#14-16dry

Perdigon

#16-18nymph

Olive Woolly Bugger

#4-6streamer

Pro Tip

No restrictions this week. Fish from dawn to dusk. The best window is mid-morning through late afternoon when the hatches are active and the water has warmed a few degrees.

Where Should You Fish the Bow River This Week?

Upper Bow

Above Bearspaw Dam

Above Bearspaw is the reach that beats the heat, and this week it's the whole plan. The Ghost dumps cold water in at the top, so while the rest of the Bow shuts down by lunch, the upper stretch holds temperature and keeps fishing later than anywhere else. Right now it's Trico time. The spinner fall comes off on the calm mornings, usually an hour or so after the sun hits the water, and when the fish key on it you're throwing a #20 to #24 spinner on a leader longer and lighter than feels reasonable. Size down as the fall thins out. It's the fussiest, best small-fly fishing of the year, and at 92 cms of gin-clear water you get one good drift before they slide off, so kneel down and pick your fish. When the Tricos taper, a small hopper with a Perdigon dropped off the bend gets you through the late morning along the inside seams.

City Section

Bearspaw to Carseland

Town water is the classic low-clear August picture, but the heat has squeezed the window. Forget the old afternoon hopper plan this week. The bank game is a morning and last-light deal now, because the middle of the day is too warm to be handling fish. Early, before the sun's full on the water, work a foam hopper tight to the grass edges, inches off, not feet, and if a brown flashes it and turns away hang a small ant or beetle behind it to close the deal. Then get off the water. Come evening, the caddis is still trickling off from Carburn down through Policeman's Flats in the last hour of light, thinner than midsummer but enough to bring a few heads up. Two short windows, cool water on both ends, and the hot middle left alone.

Lower Bow

South of Calgary

McKinnon Flats to Carseland is the warmest water on the river, and at 92 cms with this heat it's a dawn-only stretch. There's no soft way to say it: launch at first light, fish hard for a few hours, and be off before the day heats up. The steadiest bite has been a hopper-dropper worked tight to the banks in that early cool, and swinging an Olive Woolly Bugger through the deeper runs before the sun lands still turns the biggest fish of the morning. These lower browns are strong and healthy. Land them quick, keep them in the water, pop the hook, and let them swim off with gas left in the tank. When it's this low and this warm, fighting a fish into the afternoon heat can kill it, and no fish is worth that. When the sun's up, you're done down here.