Waterton Lakes 2016

[tomcat519]

Thinking about spending a week at Waterton in August and taking in some hiking and fishing. Has anyone done any fishing there this summer and how has it been? Other than Lakers, what species are in the lake? Which hooks and depths are working for the lakers ? I will be fishing in a 23' kingfisher hardtop boat that just got back from a trip off of Vancouver Island. I will be equipped with down-riggers, sonar, gps, etc.
Any advice is welcome.
Thanks in advance
TMM

[sandyman9]

Hey I am going down there this coming Saturday I have a day to fish with my girlfriends father while the girls hike. Just wondering if you had any luck?

Cheers

[Poppa]

While talking about Waterton....I've never been down, but the girlfriend and I are thinking about heading down for Labour Day weekend and renting a canoe to fish it. I've heard it's a really big lake and the wind can get nuts. Anyone ever canoe or kayak -fished Waterton? Was it more or less safe?

[vremesz]

Its hit and miss on the big lake as far as wind goes. I stopped trying to get my kayak on the lake after travelling down for the 3rd time to see more whitecaps. Its blowin hard outside in Lethbridge right now and I can only imagine whats its doing in Waterton. Other Lakes to fish would be Bertha or Goat Lake but those require a hike in. I fished Bertha on Friday got 2 rainbows. Yes the wind would be a concern on the big lake.

[Poppa]

Its hit and miss on the big lake as far as wind goes. I stopped trying to get my kayak on the lake after travelling down for the 3rd time to see more whitecaps. Its blowin hard outside in Lethbridge right now and I can only imagine whats its doing in Waterton. Other Lakes to fish would be Bertha or Goat Lake but those require a hike in. I fished Bertha on Friday got 2 rainbows. Yes the wind would be a concern on the big lake.Right on -- thanks for the info. Not worth our time, then. Gonna look at other options with canoe rentals. I'm not really into the whole small lake/river rainbow trout fishing thing. Have never been up around Slave area, but would love to get into Lakers, big pike and eyes....the real fishing. :)

[Wes_G]

Just a heads up as well that the Akamina Parkway (Cameron Lake road) is closed till November for repaving. So don't plan on trying to access any of the lakes up there for fishing.

[wildbill]

While talking about Waterton....I've never been down, but the girlfriend and I are thinking about heading down for Labour Day weekend and renting a canoe to fish it. I've heard it's a really big lake and the wind can get nuts. Anyone ever canoe or kayak -fished Waterton? Was it more or less safe?

I would be very careful in a canoe on that lake, wind can start gusting at the drop of a dime and, if you do flip over you'd better pray you are very close to shore or someone is near to rescue you, that water is very cold!

[wildbill]

Right on -- thanks for the info. Not worth our time, then. Gonna look at other options with canoe rentals. I'm not really into the whole small lake/river rainbow trout fishing thing. Have never been up around Slave area, but would love to get into Lakers, big pike and eyes....the real fishing. :)
Easy on the real fishing, fishing is more than catchin all hogs, it's about getting outdoors and spending time with people that are important to you, catching fish is just the icing on the cake! This year I caught one of the smallest fish ever a 1.5" spotail shiner that my 8 yo boy kept in a gatorade bottle and then released at the end of the day when we left Park lake, I will remember that fore ever

[nevercatchmuch]

While talking about Waterton....I've never been down, but the girlfriend and I are thinking about heading down for Labour Day weekend and renting a canoe to fish it. I've heard it's a really big lake and the wind can get nuts. Anyone ever canoe or kayak -fished Waterton? Was it more or less safe?


Fishing at Cameron Lake (15min from waterton townsite but still in the park) isn't usually too windy. They rent canoes and kayaks right there.
Shore fishing at waterton townsite is hard but can catch a few! Wind tends to die off in early evening

[Poppa]

What's all in Cameron? Is it just rainbows, etc? I'm from the Canadian Shield part of Eastern Manitoba, so I find Alberta fishing really strange. All these little streams and lakes you have here with lots of little (relatively speaking) trout that everyone gets excited about. I'm used to fishing big Shield lakes for Eyes, Pike, Smallies, White and Silver bass.

*edit*

Did a search and I see that Cameron is, indeed, Rainbows and Brookies...not really my kinda thing. Thinkin' we might head north rather than south for the long weekend...

[Wes_G]

Like I said above, the cameron lake road is closed till november so there is no access to that lake.

[wildbill]

What's all in Cameron? Is it just rainbows, etc? I'm from the Canadian Shield part of Eastern Manitoba, so I find Alberta fishing really strange. All these little streams and lakes you have here with lots of little (relatively speaking) trout that everyone gets excited about. I'm used to fishing big Shield lakes for Eyes, Pike, Smallies, White and Silver bass.

*edit*

Did a search and I see that Cameron is, indeed, Rainbows and Brookies...not really my kinda thing. Thinkin' we might head north rather than south for the long weekend...

K-country is beautiful, trout heaven, i was fishin k-lake and caught a 24" and 25" back to back, there are dollies, brookies, raibows, cuts, bulls, lakers, grayling white fish. Dont know why you want to go north to catch whats in your home waters. K-country is vast and beautiful, alot like waterton but less touristy. I wish I could spend a summer back there. When I worked in Altona Manitoba for 9 months caught channel cats, crappie, carp, pumpkin, seed, pike, perch, sauger, drum,and even, a lake chub. I cherished every minute of it landing all those species on 6 and 4wt fly rods. People would say to me "what are you doing?" and "why do you string attached to your fishing pole?" fly fishin aint big out there. It would be a shame if you missed out on Albertas trout fishing but, hey it's your life. They may not be trophs like in your home waters but Albertas trout fishing is world class! Anyway hope you have fun regardless!

[nevercatchmuch]

What's all in Cameron? Is it just rainbows, etc? I'm from the Canadian Shield part of Eastern Manitoba, so I find Alberta fishing really strange. All these little streams and lakes you have here with lots of little (relatively speaking) trout that everyone gets excited about. I'm used to fishing big Shield lakes for Eyes, Pike, Smallies, White and Silver bass.

*edit*

Did a search and I see that Cameron is, indeed, Rainbows and Brookies...not really my kinda thing. Thinkin' we might head north rather than south for the long weekend...

Let us know how you make out

[nevercatchmuch]

Like I said above, the cameron lake road is closed till november so there is no access to that lake.

Thanks! You've just saved me a trip

[tubgrill]

Fished Crypt Lake in early July, caught a 17" or so Cuttie and saw tons more in that size range. Hike in is gorgeous too, all uphill but very nice nonetheless. It was extremely windy when we were out there and there were almost no boats on the big lakes.

[wildbill]

Fished Crypt Lake in early July, caught a 17" or so Cuttie and saw tons more in that size range. Hike in is gorgeous too, all uphill but very nice nonetheless. It was extremely windy when we were out there and there were almost no boats on the big lakes.
Love it up there! Were they spawning when you went up?

[tomcat519]

Sorry I didn't see this thread take off until now. I did go to Waterton for 10 days and yes the fishing was excellent. I have a Kingfisher 2225 with a mercury 200 hp (more than enough boat). I also have down riggers and fished consistently at 70' with a slow retrieval so the fish could adapt to the rise. We usually caught 1-3 lb fish but did manage a 25-30 lb hog. We managed about 30 fish over the 10 days but like anywhere else some days were better than others. Three times our dinner consisted of 1 small laker and the rest were sent back to get bigger (like Walter on Golden Pond).

The weather was generally hot and calm (not the norm). When it became too windy (>18km) we went hiking which I might add was a wonderful change. We had problems getting a camp site but when we checked with Waterton Springs on the north end of the park, they accommodated us and many others in the same situation. Great camp site and the extra 5 minute drive was nothing.

I would, and will fish Waterton next year as it really is an untouched resource. We only saw 3-4 other fishing boats in ten days and since the fishing season is only open from May long weekend to Labor Day the fishing pressure really is minimal. There were deep spots in the lake that reached 500' so logic would dictate there are more hogs in there somewhere. Next year I will try for some of those.

All the comments about the wind and big waves are true so if you go be prepared, have the right equipment and enjoy!

[Kingfisher]

My wife and I were talking about going down to Waterton this summer. But we didn't get there. Next year we will have to make the trip for sure. How was the boat launch and the parking for your vehicle and trailer. I've got a motorhome, so I would have to pull up camp and drive over to put the boat in and leave it there for the day while were out fishing. Just wondering if there is room to park. Sounds like it would be an interesting place to wet a line.

[tomcat519]

plenty of parking on the street. I never had any issues and my unit is 55 feet long. Border patrol also parked on the street ahead or behind me. Parking may get tighter later in the day but there always seems be some somewhere.

[tomcat519]

Oh ya, the boat launch was typical federal govt (the best money can buy). It is concrete and very solid and long. Just be careful when loading / unloading at the same time as the tour boat - it docks 90 degrees to the launch and has a big jet spray from the motor which causes a severe current and may drift your boat into the dock. Wasn't a problem for us but we were paying attention.