Brown caught during a Listening to the Bow School                    

Listening to the River Schools

1.   Listening to the Bow
2.   Private Listening to the Bow with two options.
3.   Bow River Intensive
4.   Listening to the Crowsnest

 

 

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Listening to the Bow

with Jim McLennan

 The Bow River is one of the world’s great trout streams, yet is still a stream that frustrates many anglers. Spend a day listening to the river, and learning how to approach and fish it.  This school focuses on observation, which is a foundation of fly fishing.  Through the day we'll talk about various ways of fishing the river, but the final curriculum is determined by the water, the bugs, and the trout.  This is an intermediate-level school that is intended for fly fishers with a year or more experience. It is a walk-and-wade day at one or more locations on the Bow.  

Though fish are usually caught during  these schools, the focus is on instruction and the goal is to help students progress in their understanding and application of the various methods used on the Bow.  The greatest benefit to these schools comes on your future fishing trips on the Bow.

Topics covered include:
-        reading the water
-        choosing a method
-        fly selection
-        basic entomology
-     short and long-line nymph fishing
-        streamer fishing
-        dry fly fishing to rising trout
-        prospecting with dry flies
-        wading safety
-        angling etiquette  

We will cover approximately one kilometer of river on foot.  Some shallow wading is required. Students bring their own lunch.  


2012 Dates:
                      Sun.       May 6 - FULL
                      Sat.        May 12 - FULL
                      Sat.        July 7 -  FULL
                      Sun.       July 15 - 1 spot  available
                      Sat.        Aug. 25
                      Sun.       Aug. 26


Location:  Private location on the Bow River

Cost: $175.00 plus gst.                            Minimum 4 students, maximum 6 students
A list of what to bring will be provided after registration.
 

What Folks Say
Follow this link to read a detailed description of this school from a recent participant: http://flyfishcalgary.com/board/index.php?showtopic=9260
This appeared on the Flyfish Calgary website.


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Private Listening to the Bow

Private one-day Bow-River school for one or two anglers.

Choice of two formats

1.  Walk & wade trip.

This is a private school at our private Bow-River location on a date of your choice.  It provides a unique opportunity for one-on-one instruction specifically relevant to fishing the Bow River.  Prior to the trip, email correspondence with Jim will shape the day's plan.

Lunch included

Instructor: Jim McLennan
Dates: as available
Cost:  $550.00 plus GST      (Total for one or two anglers)

 

2.  Float & Wade trip

We use a driftboat for a short float on the Bow.  The boat is used primarily for transportation, and the emphasis remains on wade-fishing techniques.  Prior to the trip, email correspondence with Jim will shape the day's plan. 

Lunch, shuttle, and transportation included.

Instructor: Jim McLennan
Dates: as available
Cost:  $550.00 plus GST     (Total for one or two anglers)

 

 

For more information, or to register for either Listening to the Bow River school,
click here

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Bow River Intensive
                                Max. 4  students         $220.00
A special school for just four students, held at our location on the Bow River downstream of Calgary. 
Prior to the school, students correspond with the instructor to set the curriculum for the day.  
Instructor:  Jim McLennan

Dates:  Aug. 4, 2012

 

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Listening to the Crownest
           $160.00
For anglers with previous experience.  We'll "listen to the river" together and decide which methods make the most sense that day.  We'll so some casting work on dry land, on the river we'll address reading water, and the details for effective streamer, nymph and dry-fly fishing.

Two groups of students with a max of 6 students in each
                                   
Location: Meet at the Crowsnest Angler Fly Shop, Bellevue, Alberta
Instructors:  Jim McLennan
                       Lynda McLennan    
Date:   July 8, 2012
For information or to register,
click here

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Jim McLennan is a fly fishing instructor 
and author of four fly fishing books
Trout Streams of
Alberta, Blue Ribbon Bow

Fly Fishing Western Trout Streams
and Water Marks

Lynda McLennan has been teaching fly fishing since 1985. 
She along with her husband Jim has fished the
Bow River for the past 35 years.

 
 

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All images, text, books, writing, etc ©1977 to present.
Jim & Lynda McLennan, Longview, Alberta  403 558 2128 Email