901 | Jim McLennan on Bow River Fly Fishing Then and Now
Wet Fly Swing Fly Fishing Podcast
Dave Stewart
4.7 • 530 Ratings
🗓️ 25 March 2026
⏱️ 68 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
901 Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/901
Presented by: San Juan Rodworks, Pescador on the Fly, Togiak River Lodge, Toyota Prairies
In this episode, I sit down with Jim McLennan to explore Bow River fly fishing across generations. We talk about the shift from classic dry fly fishing to streamer fishing, increased boat traffic, and the challenges of managing a well-known tailwater fishery in Alberta.
We also get into key hatches like golden stones, how dam operations impact river conditions, and how fly fishing techniques have evolved on the Bow River. Jim shares stories about legends like Lefty Kreh and Gary LaFontaine, along with insights from his books, including Blue Ribbon Bow.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | A river can teach you different lessons depending on how long you stay. |
| 0:06.0 | Spend a season out there and you learn where to stand. |
| 0:08.0 | Spend a decade and you learn when you move. |
| 0:11.0 | And when you spend 40 years, you start to understand how it breathes. |
| 0:15.0 | Today's conversation traces the Bow River across generations from the early days of light pressure and dominant dry |
| 0:22.7 | flight culture to the rise of streamer fishing, heavier boater traffic, and management realities |
| 0:28.5 | of a major tailwater. We're going to talk about the golden stones in this nocturnal insect hatch, |
| 0:33.9 | how dam operation shaped one of the famous rivers in Alberta. And then we're going to dig |
| 0:38.2 | into the early years. We're going to get back to how Lefty Cray and Gary Lawn Fontaine, all this |
| 0:43.7 | came to be. Jim's got some amazing connections. We're going to hear all the stories today. |
| 0:47.6 | We're also going to get into and hear about some of the books that Jim wrote, including |
| 0:52.8 | Blue Ribbon, Bow, and some other books |
| 0:56.3 | around Alberta. This one's jam-packed. Excite to share it with you. Here he is, Jim McClennan. |
| 1:03.9 | How you doing, Jim? I'm doing it right, Dave. Great to have you on here. I've heard a lot about |
| 1:08.5 | you over the years. We've done a few episodes up in Alberta, but I know you've traveled a lot, so we're going to talk about that in some of the books you have going today and probably just focus on a good chunk of Alberta in the Boe River, which is obviously a big, famous river today. But maybe before we get into it, take us back. Are you still in, where are you at in Alberta these days? I'm in a little place called Diamond Valley, which is a town of about 5,000 people, about 40 minutes southwest of Calgary. Okay. Far enough from the big city, but close enough to the big city, if you what i mean yeah exactly yeah nice um let's start |
| 1:45.2 | it off because i know you've done a lot in fly fishing you know shows books where do you start |
| 1:50.3 | when you're trying to give somebody your bio on on things what do you think is the biggest impact |
| 1:54.3 | you've had out there do you feel like you know the books the shows what is the thing you really |
| 1:58.2 | love oh the biggest impact I've had? |
| 2:01.2 | Oh, I don't know. |
| 2:03.9 | Or maybe what do you think is the stuff you really love doing? |
| 2:06.5 | Do you love the TV shows or do you love writing more? |
... |
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