Fishing near Brooks?

[Joe Quiroga]

Hey guys, this was my first season out fishing. Bought myself a ton of gear and was having a blast on my holidays roaming around fishing the reservoirs etc near Brooks.

Anyone know good spots around here? Possibly looking for anything other than pike lol, though the big ones are hella fun to catch. I'd love to catch and try a Walleye. Here's where I've tried so far this summer and the result:

Tilley B - Slow fishing, some small pike, most had sores on them

Cowoki - Same as above, slower than Tilley

Kitsum - weeds, weeds, weeds. The canals that feed Newell had tons of little pike, 12" or so, fun for the kids to catch.

Bow River near Bow City - Water seemed way too shallow for fish

Badger Reservoir - Had my best fish here, 46" pike, had to be 25 pounds. Couldn't land it on the rocks. Had to get down and dirty to get my hook out and let him go.

Bassano Dam - Seems overfished, lots of people here, little 9-10" pike.

Brooks Aqueduct Pond - Skunked here everytime, took the kids to try for trout. Tried powerbaits, worms, small spinners. Very shallow. Fish & Wildlife said there was decent size pike in it?

When I head out I usually start out using a slip bobber with a worm, never had any luck with it. I'm sketchy on the pickerel rigs from the hardware stores, I tried one my first trip this year and whatever took the bait bent the hook straight and took off lol. I also found out too late about the special license needed for Walleye so I'll have to try my luck next year.

Anyone ever try the Bow near Scandia, what about Twelve Mile Coulee?

Thinking about trying the Red Deer river up the 36 near Emerson Bridge Campground on my day off Monday.

Joe

[Joe Quiroga]

Would a rig like this be suitable for fishing in the Red Deer river? Thinking my bobber would just float away. Maybe with a minnow or leach?

http://ultimatefishingsite.net/wp-content/uploads/3wayswivelrig.jpg

[pinelakeperch]

Hey guys, this was my first season out fishing. Bought myself a ton of gear and was having a blast on my holidays roaming around fishing the reservoirs etc near Brooks.

Anyone know good spots around here? Possibly looking for anything other than pike lol, though the big ones are hella fun to catch. I'd love to catch and try a Walleye. Here's where I've tried so far this summer and the result:

Tilley B - Slow fishing, some small pike, most had sores on them

Cowoki - Same as above, slower than Tilley

Kitsum - weeds, weeds, weeds. The canals that feed Newell had tons of little pike, 12" or so, fun for the kids to catch.

Bow River near Bow City - Water seemed way too shallow for fish

Badger Reservoir - Had my best fish here, 46" pike, had to be 25 pounds. Couldn't land it on the rocks. Had to get down and dirty to get my hook out and let him go.

Bassano Dam - Seems overfished, lots of people here, little 9-10" pike.

Brooks Aqueduct Pond - Skunked here everytime, took the kids to try for trout. Tried powerbaits, worms, small spinners. Very shallow. Fish & Wildlife said there was decent size pike in it?

When I head out I usually start out using a slip bobber with a worm, never had any luck with it. I'm sketchy on the pickerel rigs from the hardware stores, I tried one my first trip this year and whatever took the bait bent the hook straight and took off lol. I also found out too late about the special license needed for Walleye so I'll have to try my luck next year.

Anyone ever try the Bow near Scandia, what about Twelve Mile Coulee?

Thinking about trying the Red Deer river up the 36 near Emerson Bridge Campground on my day off Monday.

Joe

Joe,

That's a great name you have there! I'd add 12 Mile Coulee (in the evening), Newell, and Crawling Valley to your list. Great Walleye fishing in each. You're able to keep 3 Walleye over 20in at 12 Mile as well.

I'd recommend a slip sinker rig over the 3-way. I don't have a picture so I'll do my best to explain it. Slide two barrel swivels on to your main line with a bead in-between the two. Tie the bottom one on so that the one above it is able to slide up and down the main line. On the one that is tied to the main line, tie on a single hook with a 14in fluorocarbon leader. On the sliding swivel, tie on a weight with about 12in of low test line, approx 6 lbs or so. The beauty of this system is that the fish are unable to feel the full effect of the weight's resistance as the line slides. Furthermore, with the light line on the weight, any snags will only lose you the weight.

Congrats on the hog out of Badger!

[Joe Quiroga]

Thanks for the tip. I can picture what you are talking about, I'll give it a try. Yeah next time I go to Badger I'll buy something a little heavier. I was using a medium/heavy Ugly Stik with a Shimano Solstice reel and 12 pound test lol.

Had no idea how big the fish were there.

Actually help up quite well, the Ugly Stiks seem to be fairly well built for the price :)