Coleman Alberta, gateway to the forestry trunk road
and world class trout fishing
Coleman Alberta is located in the municipal district of the Crowsnest Pass. The “Pass” as it is most often called is situated along the highway #3 in Southwestern Alberta. It is only a short drive to the British Columbia Border.
There are many world famous trout creeks in the area. Coleman is the door way to some of the best trout fishing in the world. Highway #40 or The Forestry Trunk Road is the way to fish them all. The Forestry Trunk Road runs north from the pass all the way through Kananaskis Country, Jasper National park and eventually ends approximately 55 km’s east of Grande Prairie at highway # 43 near where the Smokey River crosses highway # 43
The forestry Trunk Road runs parallel to the Rocky Mountains and therefore crosses all the rivers streams and creek that are flowing east out of the mountains, eventually joining the bigger Alberta Rivers like The Bow, Red Deer, Saskatchewan River Systems among the many other watersheds in the province.
Blairmore, Bellevue, Coleman, Frank, and Hillcrest are the towns that occupy the Crowsnest Pass. The Crowsnest River Runs along the highway through the pass and it is not uncommon to see lots of wildlife in the area as you are visiting or just passing through.
The permanent population of the Crowsnest pass is around 11,500 people as far as I can tell. But in the peak tourist season and during there annual rum runner days I am sure the population is twice that. The finally to there annual rum runner days is Thunder in the Valley, an impressive fireworks show to say the least, always worth going to see.
The area provided 365 days of great recreation opportunities each and every year. Fishing, hunting, camping, golfing, hiking, site seeing, bird watching, wild life watching, dirt biking, 4x4 vehicle areas, backcountry camping, snowmobile trails and much more.
The reason that I included a page about Coleman Alberta on my website is due to the fact it is the doorway to the best trout streams on the planet. If you have ever fly fished in the pass then you know what I am talking about. Serious Fly Fishermen know the rivers and streams in the area and know them well. The Crowsnest River, Oldman, Castle and Livingstone rivers all hold great fish, There tributaries; Racehorse, Dutch, and others are just as good.
Just last year I caught and amazing specimen of a Bull Trout in the Dutch Creek Headwaters the first weekend in September. 24 inches and beautiful. The first Bull trout I have ever caught and it was amazing. He put up a surprisingly lazy fight but none the less I had a great time catching him. I threw every fly in my box at that fish and I was about to give up when I thought “I better throw a few more hoppers his way” sure enough two casts later I have a beautiful Bull on my line.
There is something to be said about fishing in a place as beautiful as the Rocky Mountains, watching the wildlife, listening to the flowing water and standing in the middle of a river casting flies. You must experience this if you have never. It simply doesn’t get any better.
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