Best Crowsnest River Fly Fishing

Southwest of Calgary, the Crowsnest River is a popular fly fishing river for rainbow trout averaging 15 inches. There are plenty of deep emerald pools and shallow riffles to explore by wading or shore. The Crowsnest River has some prolific hatches of Stone Flies (Golden and Salmon), numerous Mayflies, Caddis and Midges. In addition to the rainbow trout, fly fisherman may encounter both cutthroat trout and brook trout. We have found that the best fly fishing on the Crowsnest Riveris normally during the months of June through August.

The Crowsnest River runs 25 miles down to the Old Man River confluence near Three Rivers Dam. There is good access from the nearby Highway 3 (Crowsnest Highway) from many of the public access points.

Overall, Crowsnest River is the 2nd most popular fly fishing river of all 9 fly fishing spots in Alberta.