Barnaby Ridge south fork lakes Golden trout?

[Battery]

Has anyone ever fished there? How is the fishing, and is it worth the hike? Wouldn't mind taking a hike there in the summer. The pictures i have seen look amazing.

[honda450]

Nope never been there but I am hiking into Rainy Ridge Lake this coming summer Its SW of South Fork. Also going for goldies. Never been to Rainy Ridge either but will be a good adventure. Pristine country for sure. Good luck to ya.:wave:

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=27686

[Scott N]

Both Barnaby Ridge and Rainy Ridge are on my "must do before dying" list, but I haven't done either. I plan on doing one of these next year for sure.

[Battery]

Sounds good! I'm planning to try it this summer i just need to con one or 2 of my friends to go for the hike, as theyre all pretty lazy. But man what a great day or 2 that would be, hooking into goldens and the atmosphere and quietness of that place.

[honda450]

Here are some pics of Rainy Ridge Lake I found on the internet.:wave:

[Browning]

I have fished the south fork lakes, we had some luck but not alot. The weather may have been a factor thou it rained the whole time we were up there. We fished the third lake but I heard the first lake is supposed to have the most fish in it. I would look into heading to grizzly lake, there is some big cutthroats there and the fishing is usually very good.

[Battery]

where abouts is grizzly lake? same general area? hike in lake too? and man rainy ridge looks nice

[Scott N]

where abouts is grizzly lake? same general area? hike in lake too? and man rainy ridge looks nice


Grizzly Lake is farther south, but in the same general area. The trail head to Grizzly lake is off of the South Castle River. I have never been there though, but have been on the trail to the lake.

Browning, I thought that there were brook trout in there rather than cutties. Can you confirm that it's actually cutties in there? Like I said, I've never been there myself.

[Scuba]

Grizzly lake contains brook trout, not cutthroats. If you are looking for cutthroat lakes- Waterton has a few that are worth the hike.(Goat, Crypt etc.)

[lucky_magic_stick]

I was creeping around throughout the fishing dicussion and came across this thread. After looking at the title, I thought to myself that my dad told me many stories of when he was in his "prime" and going into Rainy Ridge and fishing. It brought back many memories showing him the pictures in this thread and wanted me to throw in a few pictures of his adventures there. So I got to accept my dads wishes and show you a few of his favorite pictures.

http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o232/brett_lee/Rainy%20Ridge/?albumview=slideshow
*Sorry for picture quality, they are scanned from old photos*

Through the grape vine he heard fishing at Rainy isn't as good now as it was when he went fishing. The pictures of the fish then were average and now it would be difficult to catch something that size now from what he's heard. Also if you want to go to Barnaby Ridge think about bring waiters as there is a shallow shoreline. Beware there is a large poplulation of grizzly bears in this area.

Good Luck if you plan on going. If you would like some advice PM me and my dad could add some possible insight.

[honda450]

Nice pics lucky. I will take a pile when I go in there.:wave: Going to bring my spotting scope too and see what I can see.

[Unregistered user]

Barnaby a few years back. Skunked, windy, awesome views. You cross a cold river to start and end the hike, steep in places, well worth it.

[lucky_magic_stick]

The fly to use then was a gold ribbed hares ear on the shelf side south of the lake, but there at one time was a blind set up on the shallow end west the fish surface there often and they are spooky.So if you can cast far and are patient that is where I would be after the labour of love to get there. Cheers and good luck .

[thumper]

Nicely done Lucky!
Thanks for putting that slide-show together!

[Battery]

awesome, so now a second question. Does bear spray work? hahaha

[honda450]

awesome, so now a second question. Does bear spray work? hahaha

Don't know if it works or not and hope I never have to find out but both me and my son have it on our belts when we go into remote areas. We both have bear bangers along with flares that mount on the same unit. :wave:

[lucky_magic_stick]

Do you guys know the difference between black bear poop and grizzly bear poop?

The grizzly bears poop has the hiker's bells in it. :tongue2:

[raised by wolves]

Fishing was great until the 1980s. Then some knob decided to publish a few articles about the abundance of Goldies in the lakes. Suddenly way too much fishing pressure. The fish were easy to catch and too many spawners were taken out of the lake. The best fish I ever saw was a 14 incher back in 1984. Since those days, I have only seen and heard of a few 8 inch fish. There is only a small creek mouth for spawning so reproduction is limited. There could be a few good fish left.

It is still a great hike. Pretty mountain lakes that can be accessed without a Park's Pass.

[honda450]

Do you guys know the difference between black bear poop and grizzly bear poop?

The grizzly bears poop has the hiker's bells in it. :tongue2:

And smells like bear spray.:lol::lol::lol: Gotta do bettter than that to keep me away.:wave:

[honda450]

My son and myself found a spot where he duly named it the "secret spot" he was only 6 or so. Till this day and now he is 16 and is known as the "secret spot". West Castle Area. Great fishing. Ya got to be in good physical condition though. We don't keep nothing and we ain't telling no one. hehe he he :wave:

[Battery]

so, these lakes best method is to fly fish right? do you think they would take anything like a spinner or a spoon? i catch lots of trout on both but im not sure about the goldens, because i assume their only food source is flys and bugs etc.

[209x50]

Fishing was great until the 1980s. Then some knob decided to publish a few articles about the abundance of Goldies in the lakes. Suddenly way too much fishing pressure. The fish were easy to catch and too many spawners were taken out of the lake. The best fish I ever saw was a 14 incher back in 1984. Since those days, I have only seen and heard of a few 8 inch fish. There is only a small creek mouth for spawning so reproduction is limited. There could be a few good fish left.

It is still a great hike. Pretty mountain lakes that can be accessed without a Park's Pass.

Don't you just hate it when some idiot shares information with the general public? He should have known that this was for only the privileged few to enjoy! Jerk!

[Sbrooks]

Don't you just hate it when some idiot shares information with the general public? He should have known that this was for only the privileged few to enjoy! Jerk!

Just like the ones who talk about fishing spots on an online forum?

[209x50]

Just like the ones who talk about fishing spots on an online forum?

Exactly! Anyone who is going to share spots and name places should be banned!:rolleyes:

[Battery]

especially hike in spots where most people are too lazy to get to

[Badback]

Fishing was great until the 1980s. Then some knob decided to publish a few articles about the abundance of Goldies in the lakes. Suddenly way too much fishing pressure. The fish were easy to catch and too many spawners were taken out of the lake. The best fish I ever saw was a 14 incher back in 1984. Since those days, I have only seen and heard of a few 8 inch fish. There is only a small creek mouth for spawning so reproduction is limited. There could be a few good fish left.

It is still a great hike. Pretty mountain lakes that can be accessed without a Park's Pass.

I remember articles written about those lakes from the 80's and I still have the Alberta Fishing Guide magazine that they were published in...The author (whose name I will not mention) recommended catch and release and he is well known as ethical fisherman…

I will agree with you about how nice of area that is and no federal influence makes it even better!

[fishinisgood]

My dad caught this one in the mid 90's in rainy ridge lake, it's a beautiful lake for those ambitious enough to hike in

[honda450]

Dang ya mean there are other crazy people like me? Scary. The quest continues.:wave:

[Scott N]

My dad caught this one in the mid 90's in rainy ridge lake, it's a beautiful lake for those ambitious enough to hike in

Nice looking fish, how big was it?

[fishinisgood]

he was about 18" long not sure of the weight

[Scott N]

Nice... it's hard to tell how big it is with nothing else in the picture to compare size too. That's a true trophy in my book. Beautiful fish!

[Sbrooks]

Wow, that's a big Goldie!

[fishinisgood]

Didn't think of perspective so I thought I would add this 2 litre pepsi bottle

[honda450]

Awesome goldie fishinisgood. Nice job.:wave:

[epicangler]

do you have to use a fly rod? how long is the hike and is it a steep one? are there bears around there, don't really want to encounter one

[Scott N]

do you have to use a fly rod? how long is the hike and is it a steep one? are there bears around there, don't really want to encounter one

You don't have to use a fly rod, but flies will likely work the best. The hike is roughly 4.5 km to the middle lake. Yes, it's steep in places, and yes, there can be bears in the area.

[Unregistered user]

The weather can turn on a dime, prepare for it.

[whitetail Junkie]

do you have to use a fly rod? how long is the hike and is it a steep one? are there bears around there, don't really want to encounter one

Lots of Grizz around that Ridge!!!....dont forget your bear bells :evilgrin:

[epicangler]

where can you park your car near the lakes? is there a park nearby?

[Scott N]

where can you park your car near the lakes? is there a park nearby?

You can park near where you cross the West Castle River to get to the trailhead. It's a random camping area.

[epicangler]

thanks have you been there?

[Scott N]

thanks have you been there?

Yes, a few times.

[epicangler]

is the hike safe to you?

[Scott N]

is the hike safe to you?

Why wouldn't it be safe?

[epicangler]

maybe because you could get eaten or fell?

[Off in the Bushes]

Was already up there and the trail is a little grown over and all that water has washed some of the trail out. Still a good hike there is over 800m of elevation gain in the hike.
Watch out for the marmot tried chewing up our gear and was very persistent.

[jwelds191]

Are goldens good to eat? If allowed at all, lol never heard of em where im from and havent checked the regs for goldens out here

[epicangler]

ok thanks for the tips