Rainbow trout
Good
Under the ice where it is safe: small jigs and bait near the bottom in shallow bays. On open rivers, nymphs slow and deep. Catch and release only.
Bow River at Calgary Fishing Report
Updated Mon, Nov 9, 2026 from live weather and water data
The Bow through Calgary: catch-and-release water for naturalized rainbow and brown trout, bait-free and open all year, with a live gauge in the city.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
0.87 m52.7 m³/s
Air / High
6 °C / 10 °C
Wind
W 23 km/h
Sources: Water Survey of Canada station 05BH004, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Bow River at Calgary is in its winter rhythm: slow, deep and around the brightest hours. The gauge reads 0.87 m, up 0.07 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind W around 24 km/h, rising pressure near 1015 hPa and a high of 10 °C. Water sits around 3 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 12:23 AM-2:23 AM and 12:41 PM-2:41 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Brown trout
Good
Slow nymphs in the deep runs during the warmest hours; many waters close for the spawn. Catch and release only.
Tie on: Jigging spoon through the ice · Dead-stick minnow · Tip-up with dead bait · Tungsten jig and wax worm. Prime windows: 12:23 AM-2:23 AM, 12:41 PM-2:41 PM, 9:17 AM-10:17 AM. Similar at 11 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Alberta requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from C$30.00. Alberta fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with Alberta before you keep anything; the Rainbow trout page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Bow River at Calgary today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (08:42), sunset (17:56), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 12:23 AM-2:23 AM and 12:41 PM-2:41 PM; minor 9:17 AM-10:17 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Bow River Water Level today, and the weather
Live readings from Water Survey of Canada station 05BH004 (BOW RIVER AT CALGARY).
River level, last 30 days
Water Survey of Canada real-time hydrometric data, station 05BH004. Latest reading 2026-11-09 03:05.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp6 °C
High / Low10 °C / 1 °C
WindW 23 km/h, gusts 46 km/h
Pressure101.54 kPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset08:42 / 17:56
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~3 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Bow River at Calgary
The best day on Bow River at Calgary this week looks like Wednesday Nov 11, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.
Best day this week: Wednesday, Nov 11 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, Nov 9 — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 12:23 AM-2:23 AM and 12:41 PM-2:41 PM
- Minor period
- 9:17 AM-10:17 AM
- Sun
- 08:42 to 17:56
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 32 km/h
- Rain chance
- 1%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Bow River at Calgary: seasons written for the Canadian year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Rainbow trout
Lakes: ice-off to June and September to freeze-up; rivers through the open season
Release only Catch and release only, all year. Open all year with a bait ban and a limit of 0 trout: every fish is released. In July and August the province can add time-of-day restrictions by notice. Rule as read from Government of Alberta on 2026-09-27.
Canada’s most stocked sport fish, in thousands of BC, Alberta and prairie lakes and in the famous rivers, the Bow first among them. Wild rainbows in the rivers; stocked fish in most small lakes. Under the ice where it is safe: small jigs and bait near the bottom in shallow bays. On open rivers, nymphs slow and deep.
Brown trout
Best: spring and fall
Release only Catch and release only, all year. Open all year with a bait ban and a limit of 0 trout: every fish is released. In July and August the province can add time-of-day restrictions by notice. Rule as read from Government of Alberta on 2026-09-27.
The big-fish trout of the Bow below Calgary and of a handful of Alberta and Ontario rivers. Wary, nocturnal in summer and aggressive before the fall spawn. Slow nymphs in the deep runs during the warmest hours; many waters close for the spawn.
When to come: the Bow River at Calgary calendar
Activity by species and month for the Canadian year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
Species activity by month
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 3 °C (estimated, not a reading).
Angler reports
Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. Nothing here is copied from a shop or a charter. The water log below tracks each day automatically.
No angler reports yetBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Bow River at Calgary today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 45 km/h gusts make boat control the real battle. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 13 °C, wind to 45 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 48 km/h gusts make boat control the real battle. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 14 °C, wind to 48 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 14 °C, wind to 40 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Alberta sportfishing licence, from C$30.00 for a resident adult, with higher prices for other Canadians and visitors. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and protected areas are set by Alberta and, in salt water and for salmon, by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Alberta licence page before you keep anything. The zone-by-zone seasons and limits are on Alberta fishing seasons.
Access
The 2026 Alberta Guide to Sportfishing Regulations lists the Bow from Banff National Park down to the Bassano Dam as open all year with a bait ban and a limit of zero for walleye, pike, burbot, mountain whitefish and trout; in 2026 the province added catch-and-release rules on trout spawning tributaries, Fish Creek among them.
About this water
Bow River at Calgary is a river in Alberta, Canada, covered from the Alberta reports and listed in all Canada waters.
Fishing Bow River at Calgary: the full guide
The Bow at Calgary
The Bow River rises at Bow Lake in Banff National Park, runs through the mountains and foothills, and passes the towers of downtown Calgary before heading out onto the prairie. The Government of Alberta describes the stretch downstream of Calgary as the one that made the Bow world-renowned among anglers for its rainbow and brown trout. The Water Survey of Canada gauge on the Bow at Calgary, station 05BH004, supplies the level, the flow and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Rainbow and brown trout were first stocked in the Bow between the 1920s and the late 1940s and have since naturalized, spawning in the river; mountain whitefish share the water. Provincial biologists have documented a decline in older rainbow trout, and an early provincial model points to angling pressure, fish lost into irrigation diversions and river flow as the main stressors. Every fish caught on this reach goes back, so short fights and wet hands matter here.
Where to fish it
Inside the city the river is fished from the bank along its parks and pathways, and drift boats, rafts, canoes and kayaks powered by people are welcome; motorized craft are prohibited on the Bow within Calgary. The City of Calgary publishes a river access map and a float-time table for the lower city water, from Carburn Park and Douglasdale down to Fish Creek Park and on to Policeman’s Flats below the city. The Ogden Road launch was closed when this page was checked.
Planning a visit
Harvie Passage, the whitewater structure on the Bow in the city, has two channels: the city rates the river-left channel Class 3 and warns less experienced boaters away from it, while the river-right channel is Class 2, with a chance to get out and portage before the main features. The city also flags the wave at 10 Street and bridge pillars as hazards, makes life jackets a bylaw requirement, and reminds boaters that Transport Canada requires a bailer, a whistle and a 15-metre buoyant heaving line.
The water through the year
The city notes that the Bow runs higher and faster in June and July; late summer and fall bring lower, clearer water that is easier to wade and to read. Because the season never closes on this reach, open water below the city can be fished in winter too, but shelf ice along the banks makes wading and launching hazardous. In July and August, Alberta can impose time-of-day angling restrictions on southern rivers during low, warm flows and posts them on My Wild Alberta.
Reading this report here
The gauge at Calgary puts the runoff in numbers: a high, coloured river in June is hard to fish, and falling flows in July open more water to wading and dry flies. On warm afternoons late in summer, land fish quickly and keep them in the water for the release. The 30-day chart sits beside a score that weighs barometric pressure and cloud cover over the city.
Licence, access and rules
The 2026 Alberta Guide to Sportfishing Regulations lists the Bow from Banff National Park down to the Bassano Dam as open all year with a bait ban and a limit of zero for walleye, pike, burbot, mountain whitefish and trout; in 2026 the province added catch-and-release rules on trout spawning tributaries, Fish Creek among them. An Alberta sportfishing licence is needed by residents aged 16 to 64 and by non-residents 16 and over, bought through AlbertaRELM with a WiN number; our Alberta licence page has the fees.
Common questions
What fish are in the Bow River at Calgary?
Rainbow and brown trout, naturalized from stockings in the first half of the last century, with mountain whitefish.
Can I keep fish from the Bow in Calgary?
No: from Banff National Park to the Bassano Dam the 2026 Alberta guide sets a zero limit for every species listed and bans bait.
When is the Bow at Calgary open to fishing?
All year on that reach, although Alberta may limit fishing hours in July and August when flows are low and the water is warm.
Is fishing good at Bow River at Calgary right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Water level and flow readings
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Water Survey of Canada real-time hydrometric data, station 05BH004 — BOW RIVER AT CALGARY
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- Pages checked
- The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on How our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.