North Saskatchewan River Goldeye?

[Steven Noel]

Hello everyone.

I would very much like to knock Goldeye off the list of Albertan game fish I have yet to catch. However, I have no experiance fishing for them whatsoever, save one fleeting attempt on the Red Deer River at Tolman Bridge. If anyone was so kind, I would very much appreciate if among those here someone of these talented and experienced fishermen might direct me as to where and when (roughly) the Goldeye arrive in the Edmonton area (should they have left at all). Any insight as to a timeline and/or locale that might afford me a realistic chance of landing one of these fish would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Steven Noel

[tysonlazo2]

x2 wonna know to

[Speckle55]

The guy to talk to is Barry G Luopa he has lots of Line class World Records from the North Saskatchewan River in the Edmonton area in May... i missed mentioning him when i listed some of the World Record Fishing Holder's from Alberta .. but i hope the N.S.R angler's will help you. The other is Trevor R Slaymaker in the Red Deer River in Sept

Food for Thought
David:)

[cnjb223]

saw a guy pull one out today with a normal 2 hook rig and worms

[waterninja]

in the last few months iv'e seen many goldeye landed on the nsr and usually the person is disappointed. did not know they are considered game fish. iv'e seen them caught on pic. rigs with bait but copper colered lures used to be the way to target goldeye. as for myself i'm never disappointed when i catch one.

[npauls]

If you fly fish you should be able to get them on dries once it starts heating up during the day. I usually head out on the oldman in the evening during summer and sight fish the risers.

If you are using spinning gear you could try small spinners or any kind of bait set up with worms or minnows.

Good luck. It shouldn't be to hard to cross that one off of the list.

[tight line]

catch loads of them on the red Deer/Slave Rivers. for fly fishing try red-pink purple leech patterns, bead headed nymphs. i seem to catch alot more of them on wet flies, but if you see them jumping try PMD's or some light emerger patterns. lures- panther martins. bait leech's/worms. they are very good fighters/jumpers. dont recomend eating them, the flesh is kinda grainy and gray. they seem to school up early june. Good luck.

[Darren N]

The like the dries in summer, I have also caught a ton using muddler minnows, bow river buggers... for the wet option.

[pike_king780]

Goldeye are an amazing fish!!! So fun to catch! "freshwater tarpon"? Apparently they're good eating too!

[thorne]

I have slot of success with a #2 red and white mepps comet trailing a minnow. Walk the shores, pitch into the holes and current lines. You can cover lit of territory fast to find some holding areas, and its effective. Goldeye are a lot more predatory then most people think. Look for stretches of sandy beach areas with some pools. Once you find them worms a d minnows on the bottom work well, or below a soup bobber drifting in the current! Definitely one of mt favorite fish to catch on ultra lite gear! Soooo much fun! For starters try the east side of capilano bridge on the south side of the river.

[Redneck Renagade]

Quick question for you guys. I've been fishing the NSR for years and it has always been C&R. Where is the cleanest place to fish it as so a person can eat them. Or I'll just stick to C&R. Thanks

[duffy4]

Some time back there was a thread on here about goldeye fishing. A couple people recommended "wonder lure" so i went out and bought a couple. Figured I'd get more fun out of catching them on a light cast lure. Haven't tryed them yet.


When I lived in Edm. I used to fish the NSR a lot and the method of choice was a 2 hook "Pickerel rig" with worm for bait. A forked stick and a place to sit with a cold beverage and life was fine.

I knew a fellow who fished in the fall (out side of Edm.) with two forked sticks. One for his fishin pole and one for a 12 ga. waterfowl gun. (and no beer)

[Geezle]

I have slot of success with a #2 red and white mepps comet trailing a minnow. Walk the shores, pitch into the holes and current lines. You can cover lit of territory fast to find some holding areas, and its effective. Goldeye are a lot more predatory then most people think. Look for stretches of sandy beach areas with some pools. Once you find them worms a d minnows on the bottom work well, or below a soup bobber drifting in the current! Definitely one of mt favorite fish to catch on ultra lite gear! Soooo much fun! For starters try the east side of capilano bridge on the south side of the river.

Good call, I love using a soup bobber on the NSR! :cool:

[tonypower]

Good call, I love using a soup bobber on the NSR! :cool:

Not to sound like a idiot.... but what the heck is a soup bobber? :bad_boys_20:

[thorne]

A soup bobber is a hexagonal flotation device first used in latvia. it stands for Slip Over Under Popup. It basically floats semi submerged and after a strike literally pops up and out of the water. Really cool rigs. Can only get them online.

[coyotezh]

Some time back there was a thread on here about goldeye fishing. A couple people recommended "wonder lure" so i went out and bought a couple. Figured I'd get more fun out of catching them on a light cast lure. Haven't tryed them yet.


When I lived in Edm. I used to fish the NSR a lot and the method of choice was a 2 hook "Pickerel rig" with worm for bait. A forked stick and a place to sit with a cold beverage and life was fine.

I knew a fellow who fished in the fall (out side of Edm.) with two forked sticks. One for his fishin pole and one for a 12 ga. waterfowl gun. (and no beer)

This is interesting. I want to try. Is it perfectly legal to shoot waterfowl on the river? I mean out of the city....:sHa_shakeshout:

[coyotezh]

A soup bobber is a hexagonal flotation device first used in latvia. it stands for Slip Over Under Popup. It basically floats semi submerged and after a strike literally pops up and out of the water. Really cool rigs. Can only get them online.

do you have a pic of it? really interested!

[kidd]

Coyote, just a heads up, dont go shooting ducks on the river without having a reasonable means of retreiving them. They can get floating away in the current real fast. That will get you in hot water with the CO.

kidd

[Klondike]

Quick question for you guys. I've been fishing the NSR for years and it has always been C&R. Where is the cleanest place to fish it as so a person can eat them. Or I'll just stick to C&R. Thanks

I'm comfortable with keeping fish from the nsr anywhere upstream of Drayton Valley. It's pretty much winderness all the way to the dam.

[braxxtonn]

I find that minnows work better than worms

[pickrel pat]

I find that minnows work better than worms

i like minnows on rigs better as well, less suckers and more pike,eyes, burbs, and the goldeye will take either.

[Steven Noel]

Thank you all for your helpful insight and suggestions. I very much appreciate it and look forward to putting your knowledge to good use.

[WayneChristie]

I catch a lot of them mixed in with mooneyes around here, summer they love a grasshopper under a float, as well as minnows and worms on the bottom. they can be caught surprisingly close to the shore a lot of times, in very shallow water. upside to minnows and worms on bottom is you could also hook into the occasional sturgeon as well. They also really like panther martin spinners and small spoons.

[KegRiver]

I've caught Goldeye in several rivers, but not the NSR.

In the Peace and it's tributaries I catch most of my Goldeye on bait.
I Pickerel Rig bated and floated about a foot under water seems to work the best for baiting them.

They can be caught on the bottom, but they seem to prefer feeding near the surface.

For bait, any meat will do, but fish, frog, or beaver meat seems to be the most effective.

If the water is clear enough for them to hunt by sight, a small spoon or spinner will work.

Goldeye have a small mouth in relation to the size of the fish, so the smaller the spoon or spinner, the better.

I like the taste of Goldeye, but their flesh is rather mushy and the bones are fine, thus hard to find and remove.

Best thing about a Goldeye, once you have them, is that they are the easiest fish to scale that i know of. Simply slide a thumb nail under the scales at the tail and push toward the head. Most of the scales will come off easily in one motion.

The Goldeye I caught down south were very fat, and thus oily. They were okay cooked like a wiener, on a stick, over an open fire, but I found them to oily for my liking if pan fried.

[Dust1n]

if your in reddeer shoot me a txt and ill hook you up on some goldeye on the dry fly.
Bright colors swung across the rivers current and at dusk they will rise all around you even if your wading in 1FOW.
In winter I do not know where they head its almost like they disappear

[Dust1n]

too add on do NOT make your casts perfect and dont give your fly a perfect presentation. Strip in your dry fly like a streamer and you will get more results. Drifitng a fly naturally will only get a rise if your fishing at dusk when there rising all over.

Foam dries in orange and yellow
Streamers in white

[tight line]

agree w/ fish hunter! a fairly agresive strip when flyfishing seems to work, i noticed i hook alot after my fly is done its drift and i start retreiving it...lol

[-JR-]

I find alot of godeye in the river ,normaly when fishing for walleye and pike you will fell a slight bite always from the goldeye stealing parts of the worm off your hook.
If you want to catch them you have to go with small hooks on a pickerel rig. Just ask the guys at the fishing hole for a pickerel rig ,get a couple of them and some worms and a weight to go on the bottom of it.
No need for a bobber ,as the current will just pull it down stream if you do .
Just keep your rod high once the weight hits the bottom.
Good luck