05/15/2026
From summer '22 -
by Nick Olexyn
Finally, the icy grip of winter has passed and the rivers of Alberta are beginning to look more lively. As an angler, this is the time to start thinking about the bugs that will begin to emerge from the depths of the water and how to imitate them. Imitations of insects are crafted in fly fishing using fur, feathers, and synthetic materials. The goal is to create a reasonably sized and shaped silhouette that can deceive a trout. Summer in Alberta brings an abundance of insect hatches followed closely by dry fly fishing. Drifting dry flies on the surface is my favourite form of fly fishing because you get to watch trout rise to the surface and take your fly. Notable hatches across Alberta include blue-winged olive mayflies, green drakes, caddis flies, stone flies, and everyone’s favourite: the “hopper hatch”.
Blue Winged Olive Mayflies and the Green Drake:
Blue-winged olives are centred around many of my greatest fishing memories. The first blanket hatch I ever witnessed was a blue-winged olive hatch in the middle of a rain storm and I will never forget the fish exploding from the surface like a boiling pot of water. The name of this mayfly leaves very little to the imagination as it has a tapered olive body with light blue wings. My favourite fly to throw during these hatches is a size 14-18 hook blue-winged olive comparadun. Hatches can happen at all times of the day; however, I have found that they are most prevalent after a rain shower or at dusk.
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by Nick Olexyn
