Big Browns on the Bow River in Calgary With Dave Brown Outfitters

This past week, I had the chance to go up to Alberta and float the Bow River in Calgary – a river known for growing strong, beautiful trophy brown and rainbow trout. It didn’t disappoint; I broke my personal best for brown trout, not once, but three times — each one bigger than the last.

The Bow is best fished from a drift boat with a good guide at the oars. Luckily, I got to fish with Dave Brown, who's spent decades on the river and knows it inside and out.

Dave Brown Outfitters

Dave hails from Hamilton, Ontario – a steel town located a short drive from Toronto. He entered the Canadian Army as a young man, and after seven years of service, embarked on a guiding business that has earned an excellent reputation among anglers and hunters over the last twenty-five years.

Dave splits his time between Arizona, Montana, Alberta, and British Columbia – guiding and outfitting world-class fly fishing and wingshooting trips in some of North America’s most scenic regions. He takes his guiding seriously, but, be forewarned – he’s got jokes for days.

Fly rod rigging — Dave rigging up before a float trip. | photo by Jasper Taback

Big Fish on The Bow

Over the last couple of months, I excitedly reached out to fly fishing friends to let them know I’d be fishing the Bow. They all had more or less the same reaction — something along the lines of, “Oh ****, it’s got some huge fish.”

They weren’t wrong. The river regularly produces trout exceeding twenty inches that fight with every bit of strength you’d expect from such big fish.

Tough Conditions

The Bow isn’t an easy river to fish. It’s big water, and while there are huge trout, they’re spread out, which makes them difficult to find. To make things more interesting, Calgary got a heavy dose of rain in the days leading up to my trip.

When I arrived, the Bow was flowing high, muddy, and fast – the trout were pushed tight against the banks, visibility was virtually nonexistent, and we had to work for each fish we caught.

Why You Hire a Great Guide

If this were a DIY fishing trip, I would’ve landed in Calgary, taken one look at the river, and decided that I needed to find other activities to fill my time. Fishing new water is hard enough when conditions are good, and to say the high flows were intimidating would be putting it lightly.

I half expected Dave to cancel our first day on the water, but he pulled up with his Clackacraft drift boat and an air of confidence that let me know we’d find fish.

Landing Big Browns

Find fish we did. On day one, I broke the tip section of a seven weight rod trying to slow down a spirited run from a big brown trout. A true professional, Dave didn’t yell at me, but handed over another rod and lined us up for another shot at the bank. We swung flashy streamers of all shapes, sizes, and colors — and, in time, landed some pretty memorable trout.

Bow River brown trout — This is just an average Bow River brown. | photo by Dave Brown

Getting Back to the Bow

With just a few days of Bow River fishing under my belt, I can safely say that it’s one of the most impressive rivers I’ve been on. If you have a chance to get up to the Bow, take it, and give Dave a call. Whether you’re in the boat with him or another of the talented guides he employs, you’ll be in good hands.

When I boarded the plane to leave Calgary, I was already working on a plan to get back up and fish next summer. Easy river access, good company, and big browns crushing big streamers are hard to beat.