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Seasons on the Red Deer
The first 10 to 15 miles of the Red Deer below Dickson Dam usually stays ice free most of the winter as the bottom-release flows keep water temperatures above 40 degrees F. During our coldest weather of the year-often in late January-the river freezes to within five miles of the dam, but quickly thaws with warm west winds.

The Early Season
The Red Deer River is closed annually from March 1 to the Friday before Victoria Day (third Monday in May). This leaves only a short window of pre-runoff angling, but it can be the best fishing of the year. By the time the river is open to fishing, water temperatures are in the prime trout-feeding range and the river is clear. These conditions often remain until runoff starts around the second week of June. The weather is warm and dry with temperatures into the 80s. It is on these warm, sunny days in late May that squadrons of egg-laying Skwala stoneflies fall on the water like an invasion of paratroopers.

Heavy hatches of caddis, mayflies, and satoneflies bring large trout to the surface from late May until October but finding the scattered trout population takes local knowledge and experience.

These trout probably haven't seen an artificial fly in six or seven months, and they are hungry after a long winter. What can occur is magical. I have video footage of a large brown roaming a 35-yard stretch of water in the middle of the river, moving to eat every visible stonefly on the water-not just the ones that happen to be floating past. [To see this video and other highlights from the Red Deer River, visit www.flyfisherman.com/reddeer/. The Editor.]

In this short window, PMDs and caddis also begin to hatch. Like the nearby Bow River, there is a heavy Mother's Day hatch of #14 tan caddis that the fish feast on. You don't need special flies for these hatches. I use #8 Olive Stimulators for the Skwalas, #14-16 Thorax PMDs for the mayflies, and a #14 Elk-hair Caddis for caddis hatches all summer.

Near the dam, streamer fishing is effective before river levels rise. I often combine a large and small streamer by tying a 12- or 18-inch piece of 1X or 2X monofilament to the bend of a large streamer and trail the smaller fly behind. Patterns such as Muddlers, Woolly Buggers, and Clouser Minnows in sizes #2 through #8 are best on sinking-tip lines with 4- to 5-foot heavy 0X or 1X tippets.

Runoff
Things change quickly on the Red Deer as mountain snowpack melts and water levels rise. By the second week of June the river levels fluctuate daily as the dam releases water based on inflow to the reservoir.

Skwalas continue to hatch through June while caddis and PMDs continue until early August. If the weather is warm and calm, Western Brown Drakes hatch from mid June through early July each year. The spinner fall usually occurs right at dark. The duns begin to hatch right about the same time and continue well into the night. The largest trout in the river lose caution under the mantle of darkness and sometimes feed on the surface for hours. A #8-10 Brown Drake Paradrake is easy to see in the moonlight and the trout rarely miss them.

Heavy rainstorms from mid-June through mid-July are common. While snowpack is not an issue by July, the upper Red Deer River watershed is large, and prolonged rain or short, heavy downpours can raise water levels for a week. Although water clarity improves quickly, we frequently lose a day or two of fishing per week during this period.

The 2005 season was the wettest in recent memory with three heavy periods of rain in the upper Red Deer River drainage over a three-week period in June. The river-which normally flows at 1,600 cubic feet per second (cfs)-peaked at 60,000 cfs. Many people were worried about the trout population after the floods but I saw little change in the trout numbers or the insect biomass. Interestingly, we caught a few fish from the exact five-yard section of river that often held rising fish before the flood. Despite the flood, there were many good late-summer days with trout up to 28 inches caught on dry flies and some slower days with only a few trout caught.

Golden Stones and Hoppers
Prime summer conditions arrive by late July. Midday hatches begin to taper off, although fish continue rising to PMDs through mid-August. In mid-July, Golden Stones start to hatch and make egg-laying flights in the upper reaches near the dam. Anglers used to finding wary, large brown trout in low and clear water conditions are often surprised when a 22-inch trout crushes a #6 Yellow Stimulator tossed along shoreline structure.

Evening hatches of Brown Drakes and hexagenia bring large trout to the surface during June and July while hoppers and stonefly imitations produce best in the afternoons. Small flies are not required until the Trico and Blue-winged Olive hatches of September and October.

By early August, the Golden Stones are finished but on hot, sunny days the unmistakable clicking of hoppers begins and the same techniques continue to fool trout. From late July through early October it is always a good idea to tie on a hopper pattern. In 2002 we drifted one bank below the dam and found six trout rising in a row-all feeding on hoppers blown into the river upstream. Starting with the lowest fish, my lucky guest hooked all six and landed five, and all were over 20 inches.

Hexagenia mayflies hatch after sunset in mid-July. The Hex hatch is about a week long with a one-hour fishing window right at dark. Like the Brown Drake hatch, 25-inch browns are not fussy during the Hex hatch. Working at a slight angle from behind the trout, cast only the tippet and a short portion of the leader over the fish so the fly drifts into view.

Evening caddis hatches can be heavy at this time and the trout sometimes start feeding on them before the Hexes start to hatch. A #14 Elk-hair Caddis is a good bet during any hatch on this river but it's often easier to see a #6-8 Brown Drake Paradrake on the water.

By early August, swarms of mating Trico spinners hover along the edges of the river. On calm mornings, they mate and fall when the air reaches room temperature. The Tricos are most dense along the river banks, and trout often rise in skinny water along the shore. As if large trout on dry flies weren't enough, this hatch gives you the chance to catch hook-jawed browns on #20 dry flies in water as shallow as 18 inches. Most #20 Trico spinner imitations will work on this river as do #20 Parachute Adams.

Hook-Jawed Browns
Every fall we get a wonderful window of cold, drizzly or snowy weather as early as Labor Day. As a guide, I've usually just endured three months of long, hot, dry days and welcome this weather shift. The browns start to prepare for their mid-October spawn and become concentrated in the upper river.

On cool, dark days Blue-winged Olives (BWOs), Mahogany Duns, and fall caddis hatch. When BWOs hatch in the spring the river is closed to fishing, but on dreary fall afternoons we scout the shorelines for glimpses of rubber lips poking up at the often heavy hatches of #22-24 mayflies.

September and October is also the best time to observe the transformation of male brown trout. Big males develop large heads with a hooked beak, a deep orange/yellow body, and red and black spots. They are at their peak physical condition in late September when the red, orange, and yellow deciduous trees radiate against the deep-blue skies. From mid-September to late October the forecast is usually clear skies, warm afternoons, and cool nights. The water is low and clear and we rarely lose a day of fishing due to high, dirty water or bad weather.

Click here for a chart showing fly patterns for the Red Deer River, and the best times to use them.