Pickle jar lakes

[JReed]

Hiking up to pickle jar lakes for the first time tomorrow, any tips on the best lake to fish and the flies to use?

[Steven Noel]

The second and fourth lake don't hold enough fih to merit your time, focus on the first and third. The first is shallower and better for topwater action with any Cutt flies while the third has sharper drop offs and is very deep making it good for small hardware.

[JReed]

Thanks for the advice!! Caught a ton of fish at the 3rd lake

[Nemo39]

Was up there today as well, third lake was too easy caught about 30 in an hour nothing worth keeping though.

[boounga]

I remember going up there, it's called pickle jar lakes because it's as easy to catch a fish as it is to grab a pickle out of a jar according to my hiking book. My two friends brought out waiters and caught a ****load of tiny fish. I've hiked almost every lake in Kananaskis, same thing.. Might as well plan on catch and release!

[Steven Noel]

Glad it worked out well for you. It's a beautiful set of lakes; I've fished them a few times. Picklejar Lakes hold the only true pure genetic Westslope Cutthroat Trout left in Alberta, so know they are special. My avatar is from the ridge above the third lake, before the fourth.

[JReed]

All the fish I hooked were rainbows hahaha, dont know how special they are yet

[Steven Noel]

I guarantee you they were Cutts. The ones in the deeper lake do tend to be darker and as a rssult look more like Rainbows though.

[Gary K]

All the fish I hooked were rainbows hahaha, dont know how special they are yet

all natural cutts, did you think they had stocked rainbows?
ive read that in a few places, but definitely NOT TRUE.

[JReed]

Very interesting, thanks for the info. That was my first time fishing for cutty's, I just assumed they all had that brown tinge to them judging from pictures. I didn't look at the ones I caught too hard because I like to release my fish as soon as possible. I do realize how special those fish are now, cheers!

@Gary K: I didn't think they had stocked rainbows but the ones I caught looked so much like them I just assumed that both species were in the lake

[Heavy K]

As others have said, only pure, native Westslope Cutts are up there. Barriers to upstream migration have kept the Rainbow genetics out. They are really pretty fish. Cold, unproductive waters keep the size very small though.

hk

[Gary K]

Very interesting, thanks for the info. That was my first time fishing for cutty's, I just assumed they all had that brown tinge to them judging from pictures. I didn't look at the ones I caught too hard because I like to release my fish as soon as possible. I do realize how special those fish are now, cheers!

@Gary K: I didn't think they had stocked rainbows but the ones I caught looked so much like them I just assumed that both species were in the lake

I used to think the same, only because on hiking websites the list it as "stocked with catch able rainbows"