THE MOUNTAINS OF CENTRAL ALBERTA
It was mid June in Alberta, and the provinces high-country streams had just opened for the season. Not accidently, my cousin Garret and I had booked time off work, and had our sites set on the diverse waters to be found in the central part of Alberta’s front ranges. On our early season ‘to-do’ list were a couple tributaries of the Red Deer River— our sights set on both brown trout and bull trout. We also planned to spend a day in the legendary Ram River Canyon, home to some of the most scenic cutthroat trout fishing in the world.
A GUESSING GAME
Opening weekend in Alberta is typically a coin-flip — some years the rivers run clear, and others, they are at peak flows and not fishable for another several weeks. Luckily the timing was just perfect— the storms had just cleared out a few days earlier and the forecast looked to be mild and sunny, a perfect recipe for fishable flows. To keep it safe, we started our trip by fishing some small spring creeks on our way to the Upper Red Deer. We stopped in at one of my favourite sections of a small spring creek and were pleased to find clear water and eager fish.
Within minutes, Garret had hooked into a brown trout on his beetle pattern, and sometime later I followed up by catching a brown trout on my streamer pattern. It was a great way to start the trip, especially with the still unknown condition of the mountain streams. The fishing slowed down by mid-morning, however, and with both of us feeling satisfied with the couple brown trout we had caught, we decided to hit the road again, this time in search of bull trout.
BULL TROUT COUNTRY
We continued north up the forestry trunk road, navigating its endless potholes and switchbacks, before descending into a broad valley backdropped by jagged white peaks. At the bottom of this valley flows the Gatorade blue waters of the Red Deer River. The Red Deer is a relatively large river, with deep pools, interspersed between sweeping bends, braided channels, and rocky rapids. The prime trout water is plentiful, which can make it difficult to know exactly where to start.
While not as prolific as some of Alberta’s systems, the Upper Red Deer offers up consistent fishing for bull trout, cutthroat trout, and rocky mountain whitefish, all while providing a breathtaking mountain backdrop. It makes for one of the more scenic float trips in the province, while also having many access points for the walk-and-wade fisherman.
We navigated ourselves to a side channel of the main river that I knew was a holding spot for migratory bull trout. On this day, we shared the pool with a herd of bighorn sheep, who were using the steep bank as a mineral lick. They paid us no attention as we tossed our flies into the deep blue pool. We had a flurry of activity around our streamers; however, we were unable to land any bulls at this spot. So, we trudged another kilometer or so further downstream to the next deep pool; after several fly changes and adjustments, I was able to hook into a substantial bull trout that I successfully guided into the net, for our first bull of the trip.
SUCCESS
We each caught a couple more bull trout at our next stop; a small tributary of the Red Deer where the bull trout willingly take dry flies. The fish here were smaller, but easy to catch on attractor patterns. Seeing bull trout come from the depths to smash hopper patterns is one of the coolest types of fishing there is and is the main reason I continue to return here, year after year. It never gets old. But it was getting dark, so we packed up our gear and hit the road once more, watching the sun set over the mountains as we made our way northwards towards Ram Falls Provincial Park, where we were to make camp for the night.
As we awoke the next morning, and the air was crisp and cold, but the sun was shining. We were eager to lay eyes on the South Ram River, which lay at the bottom of the steep walled canyon. Wandering over to the edge and peering down— several hundred meters below– we could see the river carving its way through the shale. Upstream, we gazed upon the picturesque Ram Falls. The water hurdled over the precipice before plummeting nearly 100 feet into the pool below. It was a stunning backdrop for fishing. Excited, we hurried back to camp and got all our gear together in short order, eager to get down to the river. We knew it would be a day for the ages.
SHALE-SKI?
After a short hike, we found a good spot to access the canyon. The reasonable grade at this spot meant we could shale-ski our way down the slope, in what must be the most exhilarating method of accessing a stream by foot. After this short descent, we were beside the river; it was running hard and fast yet was undoubtedly clear and very fishable.
Whenever Garret and I fish here, we play a very simple game— last one to catch a fish must buy A & W on the way home. On this day, I hadn’t even finished tying on my fly before I had lost; after only a few casts I heard Garret yelling from the pool up ahead, his rod bent over with the weight of a hard fighting cutthroat. The Ram delivered again, and this time it meant I would be supplying the teen burgers on the way home. Oddly, that didn’t upset me— for only a few short moments later I had hooked into a fish of my own, and all my worries disappeared.
A RISKY BUISNESS
We encountered our first challenge after we had caught several cutthroats each. Due to the high, fast water, we found ourselves pinched off by the canyon, unable to cross. We pondered this for a few moments, after which it became clear what must be done— we had to swim across. We ditched our phones and electronics, gathered our essentials, and holding our packs above our heads we waded into the deep water, prepared to swim. Soon enough, the water was rushing over our chest and became too deep for wading— we kicked off and for a few panicked moments we frantically kicked our legs and swung our one free arm, swimming hard to avoid being swept away by the current, pushing through the rivers force until once again our feet hit the boulders below and we were able to scramble onto the opposite shoreline.
After the crossing, we basked in the morning sun to warm up, before gearing up and heading downstream to the plentiful pools and eager cutthroat that awaited us in the next section. We continued to have success the rest of that day, catching many cutthroat trout in the 12”-16” range on dry flies and nymphs. The fish were eager to fill their bellies after the muddy waters of spring, and overall, we were very satisfied with our day. Any person lucky enough to spend a day pursuing trout amongst the grandeur of this canyon is a lucky man indeed, for it is truly one of the most stunning places in the province.
At the end of the day, we swam the river once again, and this time it felt easy. We gathered our gear and scrambled our way out of the steep canyon, every muscle in our bodies exhausted— yet when we looked back upon the canyon beneath us, we knew every step was worth it.
GETTING THERE
The Ram River Canyon is formed by the South Ram River eroding through vast deposits of sedimentary shale. The rugged canyon begins at Ram Falls Provincial Park and carves its way roughly 36 kilometers downstream to the river’s confluence with the North Ram River. The river was stocked with westslope cutthroat trout in the 1950’s which allowed fish to colonize the stream reaches above the many waterfalls in the canyon. Due to the cold water and limited access to food, the cutthroat trout here grow very slowly and can be extremely long-lived— some adult fish can be upwards of 20 years old and may occupy the same stream reaches for most of their lives. For this reason, catch-and-release angling and good fish handling is very important in this stream.