All Activity

If you have any pictures of Dave, please post them here so I can send to Ferne for the slideshow June 2. Thanks, Michael

Dave Murray was President of Northern Lights Fly Fishers - Trout Unlimited Canada, an avid fly tyer, and an enthusiastic angler. A Celebration of his Life will be held on Friday June 2 at Mountain View Memorial Gardens in Calgary (1515 100 St. SE). A short remembrance will be held at the Garden of Memory, followed by a reception with light refreshments at Southview Community West Hall (2020 33 St. SE).

Great time was had by all. Fishing was tough but fish were caught. Thank you Dan for organizing the trip. Can't wait for next year. DennisS

We did not have to Evac from the hostel, but it was touch and go from late Saturday night through Sunday morning....otherwise a fun trip. Thank you to Dan for organizing.

Roundtable on the theme of 'Looking Ahead' Part 1: Based on what you've learned over the years what changes might you make to how and where you fish this season Part 2: What changes might NLFF consider taking for the rest of this year and beyond in terms of activities, meetings, speakers, projects and membership This meeting will take place at Queen Mary Park and on ZOOM. Wednesday May 17 at 7:30 This will be the last meeting at the hall before the summer.

There was an evacuation warning for nordegg my dad and I had to head home early.

How are you folks doing? I heard there was an evacuation alert for Nordegg area.

Dan, I’m leaving Calgary around 0830 so I won’t be there until noonish. If you head out fishing, leave a note with location and I’ll try to join you. jim

Dan Bill and I will be leaving around 7am should be there shortly before 11am Same regarding run off. Below dam should be okay See you tomorrow Dennis

One of the ACA grants for which we received funding this year was to assist in a pond rehabilitation project being conducted by ACA at Rainbow Park in Westlock. Our involvement was largely because of the possible implications of this work for other lakes experiencing declining water quality, especially in the greater Edmonton area. As part of that involvement, we submitted the article below to the local paper, Westlock News. It was published on April 18th although with some additions made by the editor: Some Local Fishing News Just another week or two and the ice will be off the local lakes, many of which will then be stocked with trout for those who enjoy a few hours of sport fishing. The provincial Fish and Wildlife division stocks many of Alberta’s lakes, but most of the fishing ponds in Edmonton and the area immediately north receive their new stock of trout each year from the Alberta Conservation Association (ACA). ACA’s stocking trucks will arrive prior to the May long weekend at Morinville, Lacombe and Hermitage Park Ponds, in Gibbons, Lamont, and Radway, at Legal Reservoir and the Fort Saskatchewan Lions Pond. Not everyone has the time or money to travel far out of town for a day’s fishing and these local opportunities provide not just fish but recreational, social, emotional and health benefits for all. There’s one pond in the area though that won’t be stocked this year until the fall - Rainbow Park Pond, east of Westlock. That pond is getting some extra attention from ACA. It was chosen as the best site to try fixing a problem that it and other stocked fisheries are now facing - many of the fish not surviving beyond mid-summer. The problem is related to an increase in nutrients in the water - primarily nitrogen and phosphorous - which decrease the level of dissolved oxygen (DO) throughout the pond. All aquatic animals need DO to survive and its decrease where water quality is an issue is leading to the death of fish. To add to the problem, summer temperatures are becoming higher and warm water doesn’t maintain DO as well as cold. Algae blooms and summer fish-kills are becoming more frequent. There’s not much ACA staff can do about the higher temperatures, but they researched the science on water quality, did some testing of their own and came up with a solution that Alberta Environment and Parks approved as meeting the requirements of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act. It involves treating the pond with a very specific amount of alum that will maintain more favourable water quality for fish and invertebrate survival by significantly reducing phosphorus concentrations. Improved water quality will help keep DO levels higher through summer, fall and into the winter. If this works as expected then it will be good news not only for Rainbow Park Pond, its fish and anglers, but for many other ponds experiencing the same problem. Meanwhile, there are many other ponds not too far from home to enjoy the pleasures and benefits of angling and maybe catch a fish or two for dinner. And, if there’s a pond in your area not on the fish stocking list that you think might make a good recreational fishery, please let ACA and your local council know.

Much needed renovations to the Cold Lake Fish Hatchery finally got approved this past year. With a temporary shut down of the hatchery, including its water supply, a significant decrease in the number of trout that could be raised for stocking in 2023 was anticipated. The drop in stocking numbers from Cold Lake (for this year only) is less than expected, however, because of some help from other provincial and private hatcheries around the province. Based on fish stocking numbers reported on My Wild Alberta, a comparison with actual fish stocked in 2022 with planned stocking numbers for 2023 (inc. some planned for September ‘23) in 4 of our local fisheries is shown below. Check My Wild Alberta for a full listing of all of Alberta’s stocked fisheries. As the hatchery isn't likely to be back in full operation until November this year, there may be a shortage of larger trout for stocking in 2024 as well LAKE/Species 2022 2023 SPRING Rainbow 18,291 5,490 Tiger 1,500 1,500 Brown 3,500 500 TOTAL: 23,291 7,490 MUIR Rainbow 4,000 1,506 Brown 500 500 TOTAL: 4,500 2,006 HASSE Rainbow 20,149 11,580 Tiger 5,000 1,000 TOTAL: 25,149 12,580 STAR Rainbow 8,437 3,208 Tiger 1,000 1,000 Brown 1,000 500 TOTAL: 10,437 4,708

Sounds good Dan. I will cancel my other booking and take Pauls bed. I am leaving after work Thursday, that should get me there around 7 or so. See you all Thursday. Jeff

Paul is doing better and waiting for some procedures. He is sending his regrets and won’t make the trip. Seeing Paul cannot make it Jeff you can take his bed. I may still be moving last minute items to our new home, so most likely will not make the meeting and packing for the trip. As for arrival to Hi hostel, Sue will not be there after 11:00, I hope to be there earlier to check in and assign rooms. I am hoping this warm weather will not colour up the rivers too much.

Hopefully the affected flyfisher is doing OK. Dan, if no one comes forward for the opening, I can cancel my individual reservation and if you are at the Hall on Wed I can provide payment then, or in Nordegg Thursday. Jeff

Yes William , you and your Dad are booked.

Hey Dan do my dad a I have a room?

We have an opening for one more fisher, one of our compadres ended up in the hospital. $30.00 per night May 4 to 7. Please reply on this post…

Here is a link to a video about the project: https://www.nlft.org/2022/12/16/arctic-grayling-research-project-2/

This is our major fundraiser of the year. There will be many silent auction items as well as raffles and a 50/50 draw. Saturday June 3 at Kenilworth Hall (7104 87 Avenue in Edmonton). Tickets are only $20. For Members and Invited Guests Only. The meal is pulled pork and a bun, beans and coleslaw. Come out for an evening of relaxation & fun. Bring your friends! Get your tickets early at EventBrite https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/northern-lights-fly-fishers-tuc-2023-auction-and-fundraiser-tickets-618250342417 Doors open at 5:30pm, and dinner will be served at 6:30pm Beer & Wine to be sold

Ken Monk will be talking about results from the eDNA study and plans for this year. Wednesday May 3 at 7:30 pm in person and on ZOOM. Our next in-person meeting will be on May 3 at Queen Mary Park Hall (10844 117 St NW in Edmonton). Everyone is welcome to attend either in-person or on ZOOM. Instructions for joining our ZOOM can be found here: http://www.nlft.org/Zoom

What a great presentation! These are Parks Canada videos about Hidden Lake. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOyXP6oZY6A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkrf_1THviQ

I haven't fish that section on the NSR. The fish tend hangout around any storm water outfall. You can catch Walleye, Mooneye, Goldeye and Northern Pike. The walleye numbers in the river seem to be down over the last 3 years. I find egg sucking leach on a sink tip effective for them. Mooneye and Goldeye can provide some dry fly action in the summer. Otherwise a woolly bugger about two feet below a bobber can really effective when they aren't rising. They rarely rise on a sunny day. There are suckers to catch as well on nymph.

Greetings. I may be moving to Fort Sask in the not to distant future. I thought I'd join this site and hopefully pick up some general tips about the species available and areas to fish. It will be a little different from my current locale. Can't swing a dead cat without hitting a lake or river; including some Blue Ribbon fisheries. I see that there are some shops in the Edmonton area selling fly fishing and tying supplies. Thank you, Google. Any suggestions for the North Saskatchewan river in the Fort Sask area?