I waited all year to float Alberta’s world famous Bow River with legendary guide Barry White. Barry is one of the pioneers of fly fishing the Bow and knows the river and its trout like no other. Floating the Bow with Barry White should be on every fly anglers bucket list.

This sunny calm September day started with me checking the total dissolved solids (TDS) of the Bow’s water showing a count 152 parts per million (PPM). I was stoked, a TDS of 150 ppm is perfect for the Fresh Water 1 Low TDS Electron Fish Attractor. Anywhere we have used the attractors in this range the results were fish after fish.

This was not the case today. The day started off with a nice 16 inch Rainbow Trout then a half dozen smaller fish and that was it. The three inch streamer fly’s I tied might have been too long as the trout were short striking it (just pulling the tail of the fly making it hard to set a hook).

There was clearly something wrong. Those trout should have pounded those flies, but that was not the case. Barry said it was a hopper day and if we were tossing hoppers it would have been a fish after fish day.

The TDS was the problem. After researching the chemical makeup of the Bow’s water it became evident that along with calcium, sodium, carbon and other micro elements the water has levels of cobalt, cadmium and thorium dissolved in the water. These three elements are slightly radioactive and although the TDS is relatively low the presence of three radioactive elements would increase the ambient electric field or the Casimir Effect and alter the Electrons ability to create the perfect electric field to attract fish.

Right now it is a head scratcher but since I live in Calgary now I’ll have time to work on it. I’ll figure it out, I always do. Watch for a new product next year, the Electron – B, for Bow River.

Rick Crozier