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 21, 2026

By Dan King · Lead Guide, King Trout Outfitters

Bow River fly fishing conditions in Calgary on August 21, 2026: low, clear late-summer water at 93 cms flowing past the downtown Calgary skyline and Centre Street Bridge in the evening light, prime guided Bow River trout water from King Trout Outfitters — The Bow River through downtown Calgary on the evening of August 21, 2026. Low, clear late-summer water at 93 cms, dead stable on the baseline, with cooler nights starting to ease the heat as the season turns toward fall. (Timestamp shown is from the camera.) Source: Calgary Live Camera (DELTATECH) on YouTube →

Bow River fishing conditions for the week of August 21, 2026 are good. Flow is 93 cubic meters per second and stable. Water temperature is 18°C. No angling restrictions are in effect. Active hatches include Terrestrials (Hoppers/Ants/Beetles), Trico, Caddis, Blue-Winged Olive (BWO).

Flow (m³/s) →

18°C

Water Temp ↓

good

Overall Conditions

None

Restrictions

iFlow context: Dead stable, right where you want it in late August. The Bow read 93 cms this evening and it's basically idled on the 90 cms late-summer baseline all week, bouncing between the high 80s overnight and the high 90s through the day as the dam cycles. No rain, no runoff, nothing to shake it loose. This is the low, clear, settled river at its most predictable, and the best wading you'll get all year. The one thing that's changing is the calendar. The nights are getting longer and cooler now, and that's finally starting to pull some of the afternoon heat off the water. The floats run skinny in a few spots so pick your lines, and at this clarity the fish still see everything, so fish light and fine. 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 93 cms running this week.

What Are Conditions Like on the Bow River This Week?

“

Dan King

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

Dan here. The Bow's running 93 cms and it's been dead stable all week, parked right on that 90 cms baseline with no rain or runoff to move it, so this is the low, clear, settled river at its most predictable. Best wading of the year. The big thing this week is the calendar. It's late August now, the nights are getting longer and cooler, and that's finally starting to pull some of the heat out of the afternoons. The fishing's genuinely good. Tricos are peaking on the calm mornings, best up above Bearspaw where the water stays coldest, the hoppers are on tight to the grass banks in town, and on a grey afternoon I'm starting to see the first BWOs of the fall. Down low it's still a first-light deal, so land them fast and keep them wet. There's no official closure as I write this, but on a hot afternoon temperature still runs the show, so check My Wild Alberta the morning you head out. And here's the real news: September is filling up fast. Cooler water and fall browns is the best fishing of the whole 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 Terrestrials (Hoppers/Ants/Beetles), Trico, Caddis, Blue-Winged Olive (BWO). That is why our guides are fishing patterns like Foam Hopper, Trico Spinner, 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
Terrestrials (Hoppers/Ants/Beetles)	#8-16	heavy
Trico	#20-24	heavy
Caddis	#14-18	moderate
Blue-Winged Olive (BWO)	#18-22	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

Foam Hopper

#8-12dry

Trico Spinner

#20-22dry

Foam Ant/Beetle

#14-16dry

BWO Parachute

#18-20dry

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 still the coolest, most reliable water on the river, and right now it's the best small-fly fishing of the year up here. The Ghost feeds cold water in at the top, so this reach keeps fishing all day when the rest of the Bow wants an afternoon nap. Tricos are the headline. The spinner fall drops on the calm mornings, an hour or so after the sun hits the water, and when the fish lock onto it you're throwing a #20 to #24 spinner on a leader longer and lighter than feels right. Size down as the fall thins. At 93 cms of gin-clear water you get one clean drift before a fish slides off, so kneel down, pick one, and make it count. When the Tricos taper toward late morning, a small hopper with a Perdigon a couple feet under works the inside seams. And on a grey day, keep a few BWO parachutes handy. The fall olives are just starting to show, and cloudy afternoons are when they come off.

City Section

Bearspaw to Carseland

Town water is fishing well, and the cooler nights are quietly making it better. The mornings aren't slamming shut by lunch the way they did in the heat of early August. Work a foam hopper tight to the grass banks, inches off the edge and not feet, and if a brown flashes it and turns away, hang a small ant or beetle behind it to close the deal. That's the whole game along Carburn and down through Policeman's Flats. Evening caddis is still trickling off in the last hour of light, thinner than midsummer but enough to lift a few heads, and if you catch an overcast afternoon you'll see the first BWOs of the fall. On a hot bluebird day I'd still get off the water through the warmest part of the afternoon, but the window is opening back up as the season turns.

Lower Bow

South of Calgary

McKinnon Flats to Carseland is the warmest water on the river, so it's still a first-light program down here, but the cooling nights are starting to take the edge off the afternoon warmth. Launch early, fish the cool hours hard, and read the day. The steadiest thing going is 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. The lower-river browns are strong and healthy, and as the water cools over the next few weeks they'll start thinking about the fall. Land them quick, keep them wet, pop the hook, and let them swim off with gas in the tank. When the water's this low, fighting a fish into the afternoon warmth can still kill it, so if the day heats up, you're done down here by early afternoon.