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 5, 2026

By Dan King · Lead Guide, King Trout Outfitters

Bow River fly fishing conditions in Calgary on August 5, 2026: low, clear blue-green summer water at 130 cms flowing past the downtown Calgary skyline and Centre Street Bridge under sunny skies, prime guided Bow River trout water from King Trout Outfitters — The Bow River through downtown Calgary on August 5, 2026. Low, clear summer water holding steady at 130 cms, the lowest and most settled it has run all season. Bright sun and clean water: prime conditions for guided Bow River fly fishing. (Timestamp shown is from the camera.) Source: Calgary Live Camera (DELTATECH) on YouTube →

Bow River fishing conditions for the week of August 5, 2026 are good. Flow is 130 cubic meters per second and stable. Water temperature is 19°C. No angling restrictions are in effect. Active hatches include Terrestrials (Hoppers/Ants/Beetles), Trico, Caddis, Pale Morning Dun (PMD).

130

Flow (m³/s) →

19°C

Water Temp →

good

Overall Conditions

None

Restrictions

iFlow context: The long slide is over. After dropping all of July, the Bow stepped down through the 140s last weekend and then just stopped, sitting between 125 and 130 cms for three straight days now. We're reading 130 this morning, the lowest the river has run all season and closing in on the 90 cms late-summer baseline. No rain, no bumps, no drama. This is the settled August river, low and clear and predictable, the kind of water where you can plan a float a week out and know exactly what you're getting. Best wading levels of the year, and the fish are locked into their summer stations. 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 130 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

The river finally stopped dropping. We've been sitting between 125 and 130 cms for three days now, and this morning it's 130. Lowest water of the season, closing in on that 90 cms baseline, and after a month of watching the graph fall it feels good to say the word stable. So here's what August on the Bow looks like. Hoppers on the banks in the afternoon wind. Tricos on the calm mornings, and that spinner fall is peaking right now if you like the small-fly game. Evening caddis still bringing fish up in the last light. And everything happens tight to the banks, because at 130 cms that's where the water is. The one thing I'm watching is temperature. Afternoons are still pushing 19, so I'm on the water at first light and off by early afternoon, every day. No confirmed closure as I write this, but this is exactly the kind of water that triggers one. Check My Wild Alberta the morning you go. September dates are starting to move. If you want a crack at fall fishing, now's the time to grab one.

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, Pale Morning Dun (PMD). That is why our guides are fishing patterns like Foam Hopper, Trico Spinner, Foam Ant 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
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

Foam Hopper

#8-12dry

Trico Spinner

#20-22dry

Foam Ant

#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 place to be through the heat. The Ghost keeps this reach the coolest water on the river, so when the rest of the Bow needs the afternoon off, the upper stretch keeps fishing. August means Tricos up here, and they're at full strength now. Calm mornings bring a spinner fall that carpets the soft water, and a #20 or #22 Trico Spinner on a long light leader is the game. It's technical, but it's the best small-fly fishing of the year. Through the day, go hopper-dropper along the inside seams, a foam bug with a Perdigon a couple feet under it. At 130 cms the water is thin and the fish see everything. Slow down, stay low, and make the first cast count.

City Section

Bearspaw to Carseland

Town water is classic August. Low, clear, and the browns are pinned to the grass banks waiting on hoppers. A breezy afternoon is the trigger. Get the foam bug tight to the edge, and I mean inches off the grass, not feet. If they flash it and refuse, hang a little foam ant behind it and that usually seals it. Evening caddis is still going from Carburn down through Policeman's Flats in the last two hours of light, thinner than mid-July but plenty to bring fish up. With the water this low and temps hanging around 19, keep the city play simple. Mornings and evenings are prime, and the middle of a hot day belongs to the river, not to us.

Lower Bow

South of Calgary

McKinnon Flats to Carseland is the warmest reach on the river, and at these flows it's strictly a first-light program. Launch early, fish the cool hours hard, and be honest with yourself about when to quit. The hopper-dropper bite along the banks has been the most consistent thing going down here, and swinging an Olive Woolly Bugger through the deeper runs before the sun hits is still moving the biggest fish of the day. These lower-river browns are strong and healthy, so land them fast, keep them in the water, and send them back with their energy left. By early afternoon, wrap it up. The evening bite belongs to the cooler water upstream.