Athabasca River at Wapiti Campground

[ajm1]

I've gotten some good experience this year fishing for goldeye, walleye, sauger and suckers in the NSR using p-rigs and worms.

Heading to Wapiti campground in Jasper next week and would like to give the Athabasca River near the campground a try. I don't have a clue what tackle is appropriate.

I understand that live bait, leaded weights and barbs are not allowed - pretty much everything I've been using in the NSR.

I'm thinging of trying various spoons, casted out and reeled in quickly, and jigs on the bottom reeled in slowly.

What else is appropriate for the Athabasca River?

[uplander]

Heavy spoons and crank baits are best there anything that is heavy and slow your really only gonna tangle with bulls but there a blast!

[ajm1]

Heavy spoons and crank baits are best there anything that is heavy and slow your really only gonna tangle with bulls but there a blast!

So retreiving heavy spoons slowly for bulls, and faster for everything else?

[Speckle55]

where the Rivers run in the Rocky mountain Whitefish will be there now and you can use a weight on the bottom and come up 1 ft to 2ft and put a fly off on a 4 inch or so leader sort of like a Lindy Rig or pickrel rig.. the whites are feeding on the bottom .. if you have a fly rod full sink or sinking tip and a fly

you can use all kinds of flys on any given day..

i was there yesterday i got skunked(thats fishing) but my young buddy got a couple small
we only fish about 2 hrs and the musseys were gross:( ..

i have done great on some days and got my limit back then with 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 being the fish we kept.. its closed in Sept now but they are there right now.. my World Record was caught Aug 4 1986 at the Snaring

But i like the Maligne too and under the bridge to Jasper park lodge or Maligne

here is a Pic of my middle boy and his 4#15oz Bull Trout 2 years before Alberta went catch and release and did it taste good;;

Check out my pic's on here just hit my name and look i have listed where i caught the RMWF and there is a check from Berkley for 2K for the WR

David:)

57021
57022

[Speckle55]

So some Flys that work are

size 10 to 14 but have used 16 and buddys use smaller 18 20

Black Nat
Red Ant
Mosquitoe
Yellow Cow Dung
Nymphs
Prince
Royal Coachman
Royal Wulff
Royal Humpys
Chironomids

and most small flys if you work the bottom so a indicator with a small weight..Bismuth... size 12 to 16 will work if you put it say 3 to 4 ft down

you could use fly then come up your line and 2 or 3 spilt shots to keep it near the bottom

some flys are pre tyed with line so i just take my line with weight on bottom and make a loop in line then pass the line through the circle i made twice then pull and have a loop on my line up about 16 inches then stick the pre-tyed through the loop and pass the fly through the pre-tyed loop and pull it and it will go on your line and it is easy to take off then as you just push backwards to take pre-tyed off

this will work for Trout in rivers and Grayling /Bulls/Burbot

it is a type of Drift fishing or you can put enough weight to stop and wait fishing..

the Biggest Rocky i know of is 5# 3 oz from Athabasca in Park
but every year people catch 3# and 4# down stream even by Whitecourt

Hope this helps all

remember this is in my opinion

David:)