Rainy Ridge Lake

[honda450]

Anyone on here been to Rainy Ridge Lake its in the West Castle Area. If so how did ya get in. Is there a trail to it? And how much of a climb. And how was the fishing?

[gunsnreels]

eol

[Kingfisher]

My buddy and I have gone to RR lake 3 times over the years. Each time I saw a grizzly either on the trail or at the damn lake. After the third time I told my buddy that I figured our luck was running out. The last time was about 3 years ago. We haven't been back since.

Getting older. But wiser. But at least were still in one piece.

[jrs]

A friend of mine hiked up there a few years ago in the fall (late summer everywhere else), he saw 4 grizzlies that afternoon but none gave him any trouble (he was looking with binos so its not like they were all on the trail or something, but they did spook at long distance). He didn't catch any but the wind was pretty bad. I know small hooks are supposed to be key. I haven't been down to the lake as i have been rained out on every attempt but I'll make it one of these summers.

[honda450]

Were you guys going in as far as possible with quads? I want to make it in this summer as far as I can go on a quad then hike the rest of the way, Heard they stocked that lake with golden trout. You bet I will be armed.:wave: Going to scale the co-ods off my topo map and plug it into my GPS. The tributaties and outlet are closed for fishing so ya can only fish the lake. Should haul my raft in there maybe.:wave:

[lucaslogan]

Been fishing that area for thirty years and their are places the locals and Fish and Wildlife will not go into. The Grizz have a range of I think forty miles and their are points on the Castle that they all seem to congregate. The old guy that use to own the Beaver Mines store told me stories that would scare the hell out of you. Be very carefull and pack some heat.

[honda450]

Thanks for the tips lucaslogan. Get a chuckle of your name as my cousins names are Lucas and Logan and they are brothers.:wave: I like that Beaver Mines Store.

[DuckBrat]

Super hard (steep) hike and tough to find the trail. It breaks up quite regularly. You have bushwack in many places and thats were you'll find the grizzly. As for shooting Alberta Grizzly bears can't condone that but a shot in the air will send most of them running. Be alert in the thick stuff.

[Scott N]

Nice fish DuckBrat.

[honda450]

Super hard (steep) hike and tough to find the trail. It breaks up quite regularly. You have bushwack in many places and thats were you'll find the grizzly. As for shooting Alberta Grizzly bears can't condone that but a shot in the air will send most of them running. Be alert in the thick stuff.

Was that goldie from Rainy Ridge? Have yet to catch one of those.:wave: Man they are a nice looking fish.

[bessiedog]

The Griz are plentiful. This is the area where more giz vs human attacks have occured than any other area I know of. The fishing has tapered off over the last while as well.

I doubt that pic came from rainy ridge. If you did get it my friend... you ARE one good fisher.

Barnaby ridge is a tough hike, but a tad safer and you'll have three lakes to hit there. Sometimes the fishing is hot..... lots of times.. skunk city.

You'll also see some great rams hanging around there.

I'd go there if I were you. You don't wanna run into them griz. Theres lots!

bd

[Scuba]

There hasn't been a grizzly attack on a human in that area since '95(South Castle river)... and before that the most recent would have been 1983 in Waterton(Crypt lake trail)!

[Freddydog]

I have been to all 4 of the golden trout lakes several times. I generally hike bymyself or with a doggie. I have never seen a bear ever. I have seen signs of them. The trails are well defined and I have never been lost in there. These areas are absolutly beautiful. To not go in because of the bears would be like not driving because of the crashes. Hike safe and have fun.

[Lethbridge_1]

Hey Honda450,

I haven't forgot about getting you the maps with directions, I'm just waiting for Sagegundog to email them to me. We did not see any bears when we hiked in, then again we were making so much noise going up through the avalanche chutes any animal within 1 km was probably hightailing it out of the area. As others have said, the trail is steep and thick and tough to follow. The lake is beautiful once you get there, hopefully the weather works out. The fish are smaller than at other golden trout lakes, make sure you use small flies.

I have attached some fish pictures and a picture of the trail in to give you an idea of the hike. Expect to hike 3-4 hours depending on the route you take and how much gear you bring. There's a good campsite at the lake!

[jrs]

"I have been to all 4 of the golden trout lakes several times. I generally hike bymyself or with a doggie. I have never seen a bear ever. I have seen signs of them. The trails are well defined and I have never been lost in there. These areas are absolutly beautiful. To not go in because of the bears would be like not driving because of the crashes. Hike safe and have fun."

I would never suggest staying out of that region because of the bears, using common sense is great for the fisherman and the bears though. I emphasise taking spray or bangers anywhere along the eastern slopes, i talked to a guy down in the Castle River area a few summers ago that was treed for a good portion of an afternoon by an angry sow. A friend of mine actually had a black bear paw the back of his head north of the area a few years back when he decided to take a little nap in the woods. Guess it was just checking if he was still alive :lol: Not sure he ever spent another afternoon alone in the mountains.
Just something to be cautious of in the more remote alpine areas. I've ran into many bears out fly fishing but never ended up in a dangerous situation. Still more dangerous taking highway 3 on route for sure. Beautiful area though.

[honda450]

Thanks for all your input guys. With all these new flys I am getting from the swaps here on the forum something should work for those goldies. :wave: Plugged the co-ords of the Lake into my GPS. Also looked at it on Google Earth. Another adventure for me and my boy.:wave: Nice pics Lethbridge ya sure look like a buddy of mine from Arizona heck ya even have the same hat. just a different color.

[ElkhairC]

It is a nice lake, but there have been bluff charges at the lake, packs stolen in the night and surprise late night visits from bears. This is a good area to stay the hell out of IMO. Keep a clean campsite and pack your garbage out. Too many people were having fish frys and this brought the bears around.