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Rockyman

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Posts posted by Rockyman

  1. Thanks. As I said, I didn't want to sound negative and I do appreciate the work that goes into this information. I know that East Pit isn't a secret lake by any means, but I have seen a major increase in use over the last several years with an increase in bad behaviour by many of the anglers.

  2. I really appreciate the work that you put into this but to me there are too few trout lakes in Alberta to be publicizing them in this fashion. I know that most are catch-and-release but I don't think they need any additional publicity. I used to fish East Pit but I don't go any more because it has become too busy.

     

    Can't people just look at the stocking lists and then go check out the lakes without all this prior information? Sorry to sound negative but I have had too many negative experiences in Alberta when fishing.

  3. I was up at the Blackstone a couple of weeks ago. The water was quite low but that can change overnight.

     

    I wouldn't advise trying to drive up to the Gap unless you have a 4x4 and even then be careful if the roads are wet. There were some bigger "puddles" than normal on the way in and part of the road can get quite muddy.

  4. Thanks for the quick response. I didn't poke around the downfall too much because I had forgotten my bear spray and it's quite bushy in this area. By Google Earth there doesn't appear to be any nearby roads.

  5. I was at my new favourite grayling stream (not one that is very well known) last week and was disappointed to find a major blowdown has occured a couple of kilometers up from the access point. I think there is a good chance that this is impeding upstream migration for the grayling and thus potentially hampering spawning. Based on the size of the trees I think it's going to be there for a while.

     

    Is it worth contacting the provincial fisheries people (not sure what department to contact) to let them know about this or are they unlikely to do anything? I hadn't been to this stream for a number of years because during my last trip beavers had dammed up some of the best areas of the stream to fish. However there were no signs of beavers around and the former dams were all gone. The fishing was great - many grayling and even caught a couple of athabows.

     

     

  6. Could be...However, I have fished this part of the Freeman for several years and always do well this time of year. But I'm sure there are people in the club with much more knowledge than me.

  7. I haven't made it out to many club meetings the last couple of years. Been too busy and my Spanish classes conflicted this year.

     

    I fished the Freeman yesterday. The water was about 2 feet lower that I have ever seen it for late summer or early fall. It was a nice day (except for the wind) but the fish were hard to come by. I caught some small ones but overall my usual good spots just didn't produce. I think the fish were present but they were often just rolling at the fly rather than striking it.

     

    When the water is lower and warmer than usual this time of year, where do people think the fish go in the Freeman? Do they start to migrate downstream or are they still around but not as active as usual due to the warmer and lower water?

     

    It's been a slow summer for fishing. I tried fishing in the Nordegg area about a week ago but when I got there it was 7 degrees and raining. I caught one small bull on a dry but didn't fish too much. I made one trip to the North Ram earlier in the summer. Fishing was good.

  8. Nice report. I was there on Friday, Oct 4 and I found the fishing to be quite slow but perhaps I didn't try hard enough. I caught a few, but not nearly as many as I did on a trip earlier in September.

     

    Not sure when you went but I came across some fresh grizzly tracks which also led me to not spend too much time on the Freeman that day. I went over to Windfall and wasn't succesful there either. However, it was a nice sunny day so I just did some other general exploring in the area.

     

    I had a similar mud experience on the Embarass River a few years ago and I was fishing by myself. I starting looking for twigs and berries to eat in case I couldn't get myself out. Of course I was fishing nowhere near where I told my wife I was going so if I didn't come home that night help might have been a while coming. At least I was in a good fishing spot should I have been stuck there for a while.

  9. I didn't make it to a single club meeting this winter. Not sure if my membership is still valid. Will have to check soon...

     

    Anyways, I have fished the Embarrass a few times and usually have a lot of fun with it. Two summers ago I found a section that gave up grayling with the same frequency as the Freeman on a good day. Can't complain about that in the summer. The athabows are fun to catch and can usually be found in the faster waters (but never as common as grayling, at least where I fish).

  10. By now I'm sure you have heard of the grizzly attack about 10 km NW of the town of Swan Hills. This isn't too far from the Freeman River. However, we pretty much have to assume that grizzlies can be found anywhere in the boreal forest area. They even make it as far as Dolberg Lake as per a year or so ago. I've also heard about them being in the Little Smoky River area (I guess it's called Grizzly Junction for a reason...).

     

    My favourite trout streams are up in the mountains and it's fairly easy to keep a long sight line and thus avoid any bear encounters. Not so easy when walking along the Little Smoky and the long grass, trees, etc.

  11. Just curious...what was the fishing pressure like at the bridges?

     

    I'm trying to decide between the LSR, the Freeman or Windfall for this weekend.

     

    I usually haven't worried too much about grizzlies in this area but I guess I should now given the attack yesterday.

  12. I'm heading to the Blackstone from Edmonton on Thursday (August 19) for a one-day trip. Anyone interested in making the trip and sharing the gas costs? Two people with streamside talk are also a bit less likely to run into one of the many grizzlies that live in this area. Send me a message or post here if interested.

     

    I'll be heading way up river...

  13. I joined the club last year but haven't made it to many meetings.

     

    I didn't make it to the conclave either obviously but I just wanted to say hi to Kat in case she ever checks in on this forum. About 12 years ago I commissioned her to do this beautiful watercolour painting of three brook trout (called "Taylor's Trio) which is absolutely beautiful and one of my prized possessions. Samples of her artwork can be found on her website.

     

    I can't believe it's mid-July and I still haven't fished the Blackstone yet (my favourite river). I made one trip to the North Ram a couple of weeks ago and did resonably well.

  14. I figured that's why brook trout were no longer going to be stocked. I don't have any problems with that since I think it's more important to protect the Cardinal River fishery. I guess the fisheries biologists must have figured there was some chance of the cutthroats surviving.

     

    I might head up next weekend if I can find out if the lake is ice-free yet.

  15. I had read where brook trout will no longer be stocked in Muskiki Lake. I guess that means that it's assumed the cutthroat will be able to survive?

     

    I'd like to get up to the lake for some early season brook trout fishing. Does anyone know if the ice is off yet?

     

    I haven't posted a report yet but I fished the Athabasca River upstream of Athabasca Falls on Easter weekend. Managed to catch a few nice bulls and even some rainbows! Tried lots of different things but the only thing that worked was a beadhead nymph below a strike indicator.

     

    I haven't been to any of the club meetings yet because of schedule problems but hopefully I can make it this Wednesday.

     

    Thanks,

     

    Mark

  16. Thanks for these great hints. I have never really targeted bull trout yet on any of my trips. I may toss out a streamer from time-to-time but never stick with it for too long. I will try your technique next year.

     

    I wish now that I had given the area around the bridge a bit more of a careful go but the LSR is one of those rivers that keeps you walking to see what's around the next bend. I was certainly impressed with what I saw.

  17. Last weekend I went to "my" grayling creek up in that same general area. Unfortunately it was almost totally frozen over. Although it was getting late in the day already (late start) I thought I would drive up to the LSR to take a look since I have never been there. I only had time to stop at the first bridge and I only fished a bit since I wanted to hike around a bit. I didn't catch any fish which was a bit surprising given your success. I have had some really good luck on grayling this fall so I think I was using the right techniques (strike indicator with nymphs, fishing slower pools, etc.). Is it just that the second bridge is that much better this time of year?

     

    Is there good fishing to be had right at the first bridge or is it better to hike upstream or downstream a bit?

     

    Nice looking river, that's for sure. But that road sure is busy for a bush road!

  18. How about we set up a collection of photos of "bad culverts" somewhere on this website? I recognize that people won't want to post photos of their "secret" waters but I think a bunch of photos showing that this is a real issue could be helpful in trying to capture the government's attention. Contributors could chose to label their photos in a generic sense if they so wish (e.g. grayling stream downstream of Whitecourt or Hinton doesn't exactly give much away).

     

    Jasper Park is interesting re: the hypocritical approach to fisheries management. Take a look at Kerkeslin Creek next time you are going up the Icefields Parkway. Tell me that culvert isn't having an impact on the fish population...

  19. The last time I went to Sundance Creek I noticed that the the culvert that goes under Hwy 47 was constructed such that upstream access of fish would be greatly impeded. I know a lot of club members fish this creek. Does anyone know if this has this ever been brought to attention of the Fish and Wildlife guys in Edson?

     

    For all you grayling fans here's a link to a report published by the provincial government earlier this year http://www3.gov.ab.ca/srd/fw/status/report...ic_Grayling.pdf. Hopefully additional waters like Sundance Creek will be given additional protection given the recommendations of this report.

  20. Hey Vince,

     

    Thanks for the response. I'll report on the Ram trip when I get back.

     

    A couple of weeks ago I hiked up the Wapibi upstream of the upper road. I didn't catch a ton of fish but enough cutthroats, bulls and rockies to keep my interest. The stream really got pounded in the floods - there are lots and lots of downed trees on the flood plain.

     

    Mark

  21. Hi Vince,

     

    Is this the Vince Creek we discussed last summer (i.e. tributary to a tributary of the Embarras?). I fished it once in late June but the water was still too high.

     

    If you go up that road be careful. More truck traffic than normal.

     

    Haven't been fishing much yet this year but I am going on a trip in the Ram system for five days starting Saturday.

     

    Have you fished the McLeod yet this year? I was there last weekend - seemed to be more rainbows around than usual.

     

    Mark

     

    PS - Dennis - thanks for the info.

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