Which Alberta water would you say has the biggest walleye?

[Icehole]

My votes are:
NSR
Newel
Athabasca lake and river
Touchwood
Pinehurst
Seibert
Cold Lake
Heart Lake
Winefred


These waters have been good to me but haven't been to a few in 10yrs.

[Mitchthefisher]

NSR, SSR, Atha B and pembina river.

[laker taker2]

Cold lake

[FlyTheory]

I'd say NSR below Edmonton. Or Athabasca.

[mickeyjim]

Pick a river that has them in it

[verado eyes]

Primrose Lake Hands down

[Talking moose]

Peace River.

[AlbertaCutthroat]

Pakowki or Frank for sure

[cube]

Welcome back

[waterninja]

I vote NSR

[Gordoats26]

Gull lake has some really good ones now as far as quantity of walleye over 5 pounds I would say it's one of the best in the province. I also like Pinehurst. I would think Cold lake has some big ones to but why would you fish for walleye up there when you can slay lakers.

[1bluZebec]

PEMBINA river[emoji106]

[highwood]

Welcome back

Terrific.

[KegRiver]

The Leduc reservoir.

Sorry, may sarcasm container was getting a bit too full.

I think a lot of lakes and rivers in this province have the potential to hold huge fish. To try to guess which one holds the biggest is a fools game.

The record breaker could be lurking in a mud puddle along the highway or lounging in the middle of the biggest most remote lake in the country where no one will ever find him.

If you're only looking for conversation, how about looking at some remote lakes. Bistcho, Bison, Margret and others. Those lakes see relatively light fishing pressure, they might be fun to check out.

On the other hand, I've seen some huge Spikes come from the Peace River.
Not lately though, Since the pulp mill went into production the fish population has been dropping. It's hardly worth fishing that river these days. The Grayling are gone from the system and nobody fished for them so I expect the others will disappear completely over the next few years.

I've pulled a couple of huge eyes from Rainbow, but it's a small lake and one of the most popular lakes in the north so I expect that the potential there will drop with each passing year.

The other walleye lakes in the north never were good or haven't been for a lot of years.
Southern waters seem to me to have more and bigger fish, If I were a trophy hunter I'd look south.

[FlyTheory]

That's really sad to hear KegRiver, how has the pulp mill influenced the river? Just warm water discharge?

[cranky]

Some real hogs caught in NSR.

[ROA]

Lots of stories of huge record breaking walleye netted out of primrose.

[KegRiver]

That's really sad to hear KegRiver, how has the pulp mill influenced the river? Just warm water discharge?

I don't know.
The official story is that there has been no effect.

But I have fished this river since 1960, long before the pulp mill was built.
We lived less then a mile from the river so we fished it a lot, almost every day during the summer.

Before the mill, we caught fish every time we went, now we can fish for days without getting one bite. The most troubling are the Graylling. years ago there were so many that you could hear them going over the shallows in the middle of the night, now the season is closed because there are none left, and no one fished for them.
They can't blame their disappearance on fishing pressure.

I'm no scientist, even if a were I doubt I would know the answer, no one is studying the issue. The government doesn't want to know, the universities are in the south so they don't care. The fish don't have names or live in jungles. The only people who even care are uneducated hill billies like myself.

So whatever the problem, nothing is going to change and the fish will continue to disappear.

That's the way the world works. Whales, seal cubs, lions and Wolves have supporters.
Trout, Tuna, even toads have supporters, but fish in the Peace River don't matter. There is no glamour no fame in fighting for fish in the Peace River.
There is no motivation for the people who fight for conservation and the environment.

Some wonder why I am so against the animal rights and environmentalist movements.
This is why. because I see clearly what really motivates them.

If you ask them about this, why they aren't protesting for cleaning up the pulp mills in the Peace River watershed they will tell you they had no idea, that no one ever told them a problem exists. But nothing will happen and ten years from now if you ask them again they will tell you that they had no idea, that no one told them.

The Peace will die as a fishable river. That's just the way the world works.

Some battles are worth fighting, others are unwinnable.

[FlyTheory]

Thanks for that Keg, that's honestly a heart-wrenching story. Fishing pressure is definitely not the one to blame, and yet that's the main scapegoat in these situations. Too many industries disrupt the areas critical to the waterway's well being and claim ignorance.
Yet your story would be seen as "small scale" and "not a big deal" if you look at the Athabasca oil-sands discharge. No changes have been made even though there are significant impacts to the wildlife. Truly is sad. Hopefully things change someday in the near future.

[Newellknik]

No doubt in my mind that the north has the biggest walleye
Lakes. The southern ditches not so much .....
The worse part about Frank is that it has one of the poorest
Boat launches in the province . But the concession stand has
Burgers to die for !

[mac1983]

I don't know.
The official story is that there has been no effect.

But I have fished this river since 1960, long before the pulp mill was built.
We lived less then a mile from the river so we fished it a lot, almost every day during the summer.

Before the mill, we caught fish every time we went, now we can fish for days without getting one bite. The most troubling are the Graylling. years ago there were so many that you could hear them going over the shallows in the middle of the night, now the season is closed because there are none left, and no one fished for them.
They can't blame their disappearance on fishing pressure.

I'm no scientist, even if a were I doubt I would know the answer, no one is studying the issue. The government doesn't want to know, the universities are in the south so they don't care. The fish don't have names or live in jungles. The only people who even care are uneducated hill billies like myself.

So whatever the problem, nothing is going to change and the fish will continue to disappear.

That's the way the world works. Whales, seal cubs, lions and Wolves have supporters.
Trout, Tuna, even toads have supporters, but fish in the Peace River don't matter. There is no glamour no fame in fighting for fish in the Peace River.
There is no motivation for the people who fight for conservation and the environment.

Some wonder why I am so against the animal rights and environmentalist movements.
This is why. because I see clearly what really motivates them.

If you ask them about this, why they aren't protesting for cleaning up the pulp mills in the Peace River watershed they will tell you they had no idea, that no one ever told them a problem exists. But nothing will happen and ten years from now if you ask them again they will tell you that they had no idea, that no one told them.

The Peace will die as a fishable river. That's just the way the world works.

Some battles are worth fighting, others are unwinnable.

I hear ya Keg, i grew up along the smokey river downstream of the pulp mill.
good fishing in the river till the day the mill went online. the stink was incredible, and the river turned to sludge P $ G destroyed the river. It has improved though no smell, the river dosent look like sludge anymore.there is ok fishing in it but not like the old days hope it comes back. Am not an anti the mill brought a lot of work to the area and helped alot of us out in some hard times up here early 70's.

[Icehole]

Lots of stories of huge record breaking walleye netted out of primrose.


Primrose is off limits isn't it? I worked on the bombing range/prison and the inspector said they were night fishing on it?

[Ranch11]

Cold lake.

Pm me and I'll send gps waypoints.

[cujo1969]

newell,mcgregor produce good size.

[.243dude]

No doubt in my mind that the north has the biggest walleye
Lakes. The southern ditches not so much .....
The worse part about Frank is that it has one of the poorest
Boat launches in the province . But the concession stand has
Burgers to die for !

x2 those burgers are the best! :) the boat launch is poor, but man there is some hogs in frank.

[Brayden3131]

My buddy caught a 14 1/2 pounder out of the little red where it meets the Reddeer River

[Mackinaw]

Moose lake

Mack

[wmw9]

I've been a member on here for 5/6 years and from what I've seen Wayne Christie always has huge walleye in his pictures. Wherever he's fishing seems to have the most consistent big walleye fishing in Alberta.

[ol whitey]

Big eye's caught every fall out of the Red Deer River.

[jim summit]

The peace river treats me good, walleye to 12lbs and pike over 20lbs.

[wags]

Big eye's caught every fall out of the Red Deer River.

Yup.

[Newellknik]

Mobility and an open mind . Wayne has both.....fish 4 or 5 days
A week , don't get stuck on one presentation , understand
Your prey ......I plan on moving from lake to River this year ...

[The Spruce]

#1-NSR (I am including the inflows upstream 1/4 mile)

#2-Bistcho Lake (only getting better with no nets)

#3-Cold Lake

#1A-Primrose Lake (Not fishable...but hasn't been fished in a few decades...stocks every lake in the province...fish I have seen in nets average right around 6 pounds).

Spruce

[Moefoe]

Buddy of mine caught 5 around the provincial record and an other dozen or so around the 12-13 lbs range last season fishing for Sturgeon in the South Sask river...there's your answer!!

[Krisrf]

From my little experience, I have consistently caught 5 to 7 pound walleye out of Gull with a few bigger than that. Almost wonder if there's going to be generational issues there. For consistently good sized walleye's Gull is solid. For potential of record, I think Newell is there as I've caught some big walleye out of Newell with the one that got away being quite large. Then again, as a kid we caught quite a few out of the South Saskatchewan River not even realizing how significant they were. I recognize I have to fish more lakes north of Edmonton though.

[ishootbambi]

Buddy of mine caught 5 around the provincial record and an other dozen or so around the 12-13 lbs range last season fishing for Sturgeon in the South Sask river...there's your answer!!

Zero doubt in my mind. I know for absolutely certain that I have released 4 guaranteed fish to be a new provincial record, and another guy I know has caught and freed at least a dozen of his own that would do it. Some guys do everything they can to chase obscure records like line classes or the biggest fish on a Wednesday of a full moon...others don't care and just fish cuz it's fun. For those that it matters to have some shred of fame, the SSR has what it takes to produce a REAL fish record. Not a world record, but a provincial for sure.

[Old Wizard]

So far I've caught 3 10lbers in the SSR. some biggies in Chin as well.
Drove across Chin today and the water level was well up the boat ramp.
I was surprised.

[verado eyes]

Lots of stories of huge record breaking walleye netted out of primrose.

My dad personally caught a 22 lb, there is lots of 12-14 caught every year

[verado eyes]

Primrose is off limits isn't it? I worked on the bombing range/prison and the inspector said they were night fishing on it?

we net fish it every christmas, no angling year round

[deercamp]

we net fish it every christmas, no angling year round

22lb in Alberta? i dont belive that at all..Never been a walleye that size recorded in the country..

[Talking moose]

recorded ..

Key word...... I suspect every "recorded" provincial record has been smashed in the past.

[deercamp]

at 22 lb that would be the top 5 walley if not higher caught in north america in history . i agree that record gets beaten and not recorded but not by margins like this, 30 plus percent.

[Talking moose]

at 22 lb that would be the top 5 walley if not higher caught in north america in history . i agree that record gets beaten and not recorded but not by margins like this, 30 plus percent.

You realize it was netted and not angled.

[deercamp]

yes for sure but by any means doesnt make it any more believable that such a fish existed.Ive dealt with and talked to lots of commercial fishermen and always ask these question and none from alberta sask or manitoba have ever seen anything touch 20lb

[verado eyes]

yes for sure but by any means doesnt make it any more believable that such a fish existed.Ive dealt with and talked to lots of commercial fishermen and always ask these question and none from alberta sask or manitoba have ever seen anything touch 20lb

I have heard of a 26 lb caught back in the 60's, i think i know a few more commercial fishermen then you, My dad has been on primrose for over 50 years doing it, Believe what u want, i know what i see every year, its rare to get them over 14 but they do come once and a while, walleye over 12 lbs have so much power they flip and rip a hole and keep going, thats why its rare, And do your home work on lake diefenbaker then took spawn and had some in the 18 lb range to

[ROA]

Primrose has world records in it there is no doubt about it. Anyone that has netted it or has family or friends that used to net it has the same stories. 20lbs plus walleyes with over 10 very common.

[deercamp]

Primrose has world records in it there is no doubt about it. Anyone that has netted it or has family or friends that used to net it has the same stories. 20lbs plus walleyes with over 10 very common.

I have also heard of the stories, I'm not denying that the rumour is out there but no one ever seems to have a picture or an actual weight, length girth etc. Or kept one and got it stuffed for that matter. I have pulled nets with lots of guys and if we flopped one on the ice that's 5lb over the provincial record and beats the national record it sure wouldn't have gone in the pile. Not a chance.

[HookedOnKokanee]

How is one allowed to net, and receive permission, for Primerose Lake ... when it has been a "no fishing" zone for almost a decade?:thinking-006:

[Moefoe]

Primrose has world records in it there is no doubt about it. Anyone that has netted it or has family or friends that used to net it has the same stories. 20lbs plus walleyes with over 10 very common.

Dude I know who maintains the gravel roads up there on the Sask side told me cool story about Primrose...years back the river that flows between Cold lake and Primrose was blocked up with debris at a culvert so he, a couple of other guys and an excavator had to clear it. Being that it was early May the river was stuffed with Walleye, but not just any Walleye, the biggest Eye's he's ever seen...every pool was crammed with monsters! At the time I thought it was just a story but over the years I've heard a few guys talk about that place. Good food source, no fishing pressure, I could see it!!

[Smiity]

I haven't been to lake Newell yet but correct me if i'm wrong and i hope i am, but i think i read that lake Newell is catch and release this year for walleye.

[WayneChristie]

I haven't been to lake Newell yet but correct me if i'm wrong and i hope i am, but i think i read that lake Newell is catch and release this year for walleye.

theyve been on the tag system for a while

[WayneChristie]

http://i787.photobucket.com/albums/yy156/rollinghillbilly/119_1449_zpsak5ucboi.jpg

[darrell f]

Wayne. I assume that pic is for real. If so that is proof that there are real monsters in our fine province. Truly a once In a life time fish for most of us!!!!

They don't get big like that for no reason. Just have to get off the hard traveled path.

[Smiity]

I've never really looked into fishing lake Newell. It's a good size and I've never owned a boat up until this year. I just read about the Walleye tag system there, and am thinking of applying for one this year.

[deschambault]

Newell has some big girls, I would say less overall numbers than Crawling Valley for instance but a larger average size.

[Speckle55]

Athabasca/Pembina River :test:

David:)

[dbllung]

Gull lake or nsr by heinzburg

Some mega eyes in both

[reloader]

I tournament fish Pinehurst Lake and the quality as well as numbers are for sure UP. Lake Newel has produced some giant walleye through the ice. These would be my picks for good walleye weight and numbers

[deercamp]

Zero doubt in my mind. I know for absolutely certain that I have released 4 guaranteed fish to be a new provincial record, and another guy I know has caught and freed at least a dozen of his own that would do it. Some guys do everything they can to chase obscure records like line classes or the biggest fish on a Wednesday of a full moon...others don't care and just fish cuz it's fun. For those that it matters to have some shred of fame, the SSR has what it takes to produce a REAL fish record. Not a world record, but a provincial for sure.

That's awesome, I'm assuming you have some pics at minimum? Not saying is don't believe you, but care about record or not, the curiousity of how big the fish actually is must have prompted a measurement and a weight .

[Sheikens]

I'll nominate Calling Lake...

[Fishnafterwork]

Ssr followed by red deer

[ishootbambi]

That's awesome, I'm assuming you have some pics at minimum? Not saying is don't believe you, but care about record or not, the curiousity of how big the fish actually is must have prompted a measurement and a weight .

Of course I have pics. Nearly all of my personal best pics are captured in photos. About the only jumbo fish I don't have pics of are the perch we used to get nudging over two pounds. I was just a kid then and didn't pack a camera everywhere.

I didn't catch it but I was standing there when a bull over 20 hit the shore too. Digital spring scale said 20.4. Also watched a kid scoop one out of a river with a landing net that I'm sure would have been right there too. And before the dummies chime in I explained why he oughta not do that. I don't think he really got it before why that's not a good idea but I saw the lightbulb go on when I explained it so no, I did not report it.

[boroumand8]

Gull Lake. I have caught some good ones in the RDR too.

[Red Bullets]

Used to be some big walleye at Wizard lake. :)

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r637/snapclickflash/fishing_zps35977de0.jpg

[IAMBREAD]

I'm not telling you guys.