Bow River Fly Fishing
Calgary Alberta Canada
Float Trips  | Walk and Wade | Lake Trips | Alpine Lakes

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Here is a definition of some of terms used in the sport of fly fishing.

Native Fish - a fish that is naturally occurring in a river or lake.
                   Example: Cutthroat Trout and Bull Trout in most rivers in Alberta

Wild Fish - a fish, while not naturally occurring in a certain river or lake has established a self-reproducing population. 
                   Example: Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout in the Bow River.

Stocked Fish - fish that must be stocked every year, or every few years in a river or lake to sustain the population..

Tippet - the fishing line that we use to add to the end of a leader to tie the fly on with.  Comes with a "Pound Test" rating, and an "X" designation which represents the diameter of the line.  The larger the "X" designation, the smaller the diameter, the lower the pound test.

Barbed Hook - a hook that has a barb will go into a fishes mouth easily, but will de difficult to come out.  It is illegal to use barbed hooks in Alberta.

Barbless Hook - a hook that has had its barb crimped with a pair of pliers or hemostats.  Allows fish to be released easily and improves survival rates.  Now mandatory in Alberta.

Hook Size - Hook size goes from 2 down to 28 by 2's, with the larger number being the smaller hook.  The number refers to the hook gap.  Large Streamer hooks, Pike flies, Salmon flies, Steelhead and Tarpon flies can be larger than size 2.  The larger sizes go 1/0, 2/0, 3/0 etc... with the larger the number denoting a larger hook gap.  Every size hook has a corresponding shank length.  Hooks can be longer or shorter than normal and have an "X" designation.  a 2X hook has a shaft length of the next larger hook, a 3X hook has a shaft length of two hooks larger, and a -2x, has a shaft length of one hook smaller.

Polarized Lenses - How they work.  Light from the sun behaves like a wave traveling down a slinky.  However instead of just moving up and down, it propagates in all directions.  Up and down, side to side and every angle in between as it travels forward.  When light reflects of a surface, most of the directions of propagation are removed leaving basically one plane of propagation.  This is the type of light reflected off of a shiny surface like a wet road or the top of a river or lake.  Polarized lenses are a light filter.  The light waves that reflect off a reflective surface are traveling in the opposite direction to that of the filter.  All other light waves enter the lens because of the multidirectional propagation, restricting the removal of light to only the one directional propagation of reflected light.  This can be thought of as vertical bars in a jail cell allowing a broom to be passed into the jail cell vertically, but not horizontally.  This is how polarized glasses allow us to see into the water and spot fish.

Rod Weight - Fly rods vary in weight from 0 to 14.  The lower the weight, the lighter the rod.  Matching the rod to the appropriate fishing situation will make catching all types and sizes of fish fun.  The proper rod can make catching a small 6" cutty feel like you are battling a steelhead - well almost.  An all around rod for the lower bow river would be a 6wt.  A good upper bow rod would be a 4 or 5wt.  A rod for a small cutthroat stream would be a 3 or 4wt, a rod for most steelhead and bonefish is a 8wt, a good permit and baby tarpon rod would be a 9wt, a 10 wt would be a good salmon and medium tarpon rod, and a 12wt is best for giant tarpon and trevally. 

Line Weight - fly line is measured by weighing the first 30 feet of the line.  the heavier the line the higher the weight.  This weight corresponds to the same weight rod.  If the line is not matched to the rod, casting will be difficult if not impossible.  If the line is to heavy for the rod, the rod will not be able to handle the heavy line.  If the line is too light, the rod will not load properly, and it will be like trying to cast monofilament.

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