Alberta Worst Fishing In Canada?

[gdbugs]

Ok, before I get blasted here. Couple of buddies and I were talking and pretty bummed our northern Sask trip looks like it'll be canceled this year. We were just throwing ideas about where to fish and the debate started. "Is there any province worse than Alberta for fishing or fishing opportunities?" Just a question. And no I don't hate Alberta and I'm not getting the hell out if I don't like it. So if that's your only comment please save your breath. Would love to hear the arguments for and against. Thanks!
:argue2:

[Poppa]

Ok, before I get blasted here. Couple of buddies and I were talking and pretty bummed our northern Sask trip looks like it'll be canceled this year. We were just throwing ideas about where to fish and the debate started. "Is there any province worse than Alberta for fishing or fishing opportunities?" Just a question. And no I don't hate Alberta and I'm not getting the hell out if I don't like it. So if that's your only comment please save your breath. Would love to hear the arguments for and against. Thanks!
:argue2:

I'd say it's close.... but I'm really unaware of what goes on east of Ontario. From Ontario to BC, there's no question about it.

[CDNOutdoorsman]

I would agree that it likely is one of the worst provinces for fishing as it is one of the provinces with the least amount of water...

[AK47]

I can't compare to all places as I only fished BC, Alberta, SK and PEI in Canada. But yes, from those 4 Alberta is by far the worst:(

[StiksnStrings]

I would agree that it likely is one of the worst provinces for fishing as it is one of the provinces with the least amount of water...

^^ yep, this^^

We may not have to "best" fishing here but, we certainly have some of the most beautiful places to fish.

[Smoky buck]

Alberta may not rank high overall as a province for fishing but there is still some really good fisheries in this province

[SNAPFisher]

I would agree that it likely is one of the worst provinces for fishing as it is one of the provinces with the least amount of water...

Good comment.

I would add that our Eastern slopes are the envy of other provinces. We are lucky to border the rocky mountains.

[Scott N]

While it's true that Alberta's angling opportunities are limited by our limited waters, we do have some unique fishing available to us. Try climbing up a mountain in SK, MB, or ON to catch golden trout or cutties.... sometimes it's not about the # or size of fish, but the overall experience.

[Who Da Fisherman]

Ok, before I get blasted here. Couple of buddies and I were talking and pretty bummed our northern Sask trip looks like it'll be canceled this year. We were just throwing ideas about where to fish and the debate started. "Is there any province worse than Alberta for fishing or fishing opportunities?" Just a question. And no I don't hate Alberta and I'm not getting the hell out if I don't like it. So if that's your only comment please save your breath. Would love to hear the arguments for and against. Thanks!
:argue2:

There are great fishing lakes in AB.
I know a few lakes where a tub of minnows won't last an hour with the walleyes. Or the lakes that produce 7-12lb walleyes.
A couple of lakes that do produce 2lb perch.
A couple of lakes that we often see a couple of 30lb pike come out every year.
And this is from my little experience of only fishing a few of the lakes, imagine if I got out more....
WDF

[kilgoretrout]

You know they say 5% of the fisherman catch 95% of the fish...... my guess is your in the wrong group :thinking-006:

[fishinisgood]

Very few places in the world can rival our Rocky Mountain Fishing

[michaelmicallef]

I have always said that what Alberta lacks in fishing it makes up for in big game.

[OL_JR]

I can't realistically give an opinion of Alberta vs. other provinces considering I haven't done any fishing outside of Alberta but some of the stuff I watch on peoples fishing channels out east and to the west has definitely sparked some interest to sample some out of province waters. Won't be this year as planned with everything going on.

What I can say is if I had to never leave the province I'd be pretty happy with the fishing. We might have relatively less water to fish but most won't come close to fishing a significant portion of it in their lifetime. Of the fish we do have there is realistic trophy potential in all of them pretty much. If you are depressed that you can't fish out of province for a feeling that there is a lack of opportunity here I really feel like it's time to start searching a little harder.

Heck within a couple hours from my house I can catch trophy rainbows, walleye, browns, bulls, cutthroat, pike, perch, brook trout, lake trout etc. Extend that travel allowance a little further to target certain species and the likelihood of landing a dandy any given day or having a great day for numbers is pretty good imho.

[flyrodfisher]

Heck within a couple hours from my house I can catch trophy rainbows, walleye, browns, bulls, cutthroat, pike, perch, brook trout, lake trout etc. Extend that travel allowance a little further to target certain species and the likelihood of landing a dandy any given day or having a great day for numbers is pretty good imho.

I would think that many here would like to know where you live.

To most, a true trophy is a once in a lifetime occurrence...to catch trophies of 9 different species a couple of hours from your home?.....

[OL_JR]

I would think that many here would like to know where you live.

To most, a true trophy is a once in a lifetime occurrence...to catch trophies of 9 different species a couple of hours from your home?.....

West central Alberta is where I call home and as to where to get those I would be foolish to say. Do I catch a trophy everytime I go out? Absolutely not and I don't expect to. The potential is there though if you know where to go.

I don't classify a trophy as a once in a lifetime fish. A couple examples would be a 40" pike - trophy but not once in lifetime. 25" brown - trophy but not once in a lifetime...

A once in a lifetime fish is a once in a lifetime fish.

[pinelakeperch]

Definitely the worst fishing, but there are still some great opportunities.

Ontario anglers per fish bearing lake: ~2

Sask anglers per fish bearing lake: ~2

Alberta anglers per fish bearing lake: ~300

[liar]

Definitely the worst fishing, but there are still some great opportunities.

Ontario anglers per fish bearing lake: ~2

Sask anglers per fish bearing lake: ~2

Alberta anglers per fish bearing lake: ~300

are those hard numbers or did you make them up ? not trying to start a fight but that seems unreal .

[WayneChristie]

I guess you must be correct. Ive never caught walleye over 14 pounds pike over 34 or lake sturgeon muchover 6 feet so it must really suck. maybe get someone to teach you how to improve your fishing skills? Other provinces may have different species which are also great to catch, but we do pretty good here. maybe if people got out a little further than their hometown pond they would see what we do have in Alberta!

[Moe]

I have fished in BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick. We aren't so bad. I grew up around Lesser Slave Lake and caught a ton of fish in that lake. Love fly fishing the Little Smoky and the Ram system. Maybe we can't eat a lot of fish and mostly catch and release, but everytime I go out, i catch something. I can't remember the last time I was skunked.
Mind you, I remember a 200+ fish day of smallmouth bass in N.B. that was pretty cool.

[pinelakeperch]

are those hard numbers or did you make them up ? not trying to start a fight but that seems unreal .

I saw it in a provincial study a few months ago. My numbers aren't exact, but they're very close. Close enough to make the point. I'll look for the study.

Edit: Found the study.

Alberta: 315 anglers per lake

Sask: 2 anglers per lake

Manitoba: 2 anglers per lake

Ontario: 6 anglers per lake

https://talkaep.alberta.ca/3948/widgets/16888/documents/11867 page 6

[JohninAB]

Definitely the worst fishing, but there are still some great opportunities.

Ontario anglers per fish bearing lake: ~2

Sask anglers per fish bearing lake: ~2

Alberta anglers per fish bearing lake: ~300

Issue with those numbers is that a lot of the lakes in Saskatchewan and Ontario are very remote and very poor access but they still count as a fish bearing lake. Lakes with good access see more pressure than those numbers lead you to believe.

[anything_but_fish]

I suppose it would really depend on how you define "good" vs. "bad" or "worst"...

[pinelakeperch]

Issue with those numbers is that a lot of the lakes in Saskatchewan and Ontario are very remote and very poor access but they still count as a fish bearing lake. Lakes with good access see more pressure than those numbers lead you to believe.

For sure, but it does paint an accurate picture of a large population with a relatively low amount of lakes, especially in the south. Just take a look at Alberta on Google Maps as opposed to Ontario. You'd think Ontario was under water in some areas.

That said, I still think we have great fishing in Alberta. Just because it isn't as good as Sask, Man, and Ont, doesn't mean it isn't as good. Jack Eichel isn't Connor McDavid, but he can play on my team any day of the week.

[Pikebreath]

If your metric is anglers per lake,,, well,,,, Alberta certainly can claim the title of worst fishing in Canada!!!

Or if it the number of fish you can legally keep in a days worth of fishing,,, Alberta lags well behind the pack there as well.

Add to that a number of our lakes are quite shallow prone to both winterkill and summer kills that limit fish populations.

And the life of a trout in many of our foothill and mountain freestone stream is a precarious existence given things like anchor ice and stream bed scouring during ice break up and spring runoff (particularly so in the drainages from the Red Deer River north).

All that said,,, Not all of Alberta's fisheries are doom and gloom. Many fisheries do support long term survival, and for a number of reasons (natural and man induced) can be quite productive fisheries.

So Alberta does offer a number of fair to excellent fishing opportunities with average to above average catch rates and in a few special cases above average sizes as well... All this,,, in spite of,,, or because of,,, Alberta fairly strict angling regulations.

My username being Pikebreath, it should be obvious what my favorite species is to fish for in Alberta. I do lament the number of fisheries we have where the pike seem to max out in size in the 60 - 65 cm zone. However in each of the last 15 years, I have caught pike over 40" annually, and in the last 7-8 years I have been catching anywhere from 6- 20 pike annually over 40" from Alberta waters (all at drive to lakes btw)

Really hard to call that the worst fishing in Canada!!!

[CptnBlues63]

I would agree that it likely is one of the worst provinces for fishing as it is one of the provinces with the least amount of water...

I've fished MB, SK and AB and I can tell you any place sucks when the fish aren't biting. The big issue is the number of lakes. There are quite a bit fewer lakes in AB compared to SK and MB.

But get this, summer before last (2018) my bro from back home in Saskatoon came up to visit me for a week because he was having a terrible time finding any fish who were interested in biting. I have video of him out in my boat pulling in a 62 cm walleye and every time we went out together we caught 30+ walleye in 3-4 hours.

I was averaging 20-30 fish in 3-4 hours last summer too. So from my point of view, the fishing here in AB has been GREAT! :D

[lds]

For me it’s about variety and I’d say we have pretty good. Mountains and prairies. Just lacking the salt. On the downside though. We have too many people for the amount of water. You have to put in a lot of time and effort to get out of the crowds

[58thecat]

man surrounded by great lakes here...lots of species to be caught....cant complain....if this fishing sucks then I would like to see what is better...can catch tiger, lake and rainbow trout....white fish..eyes..perch..gators...all within 20-30 out my door....Around here we got it good:sHa_shakeshout:

10 more sleeps....:sHa_shakeshout:

[Bearski]

Certainly Alberta is very limited when it comes to fishable waters especially when compared to any Canadian Shield province. Fished Ontario, BC and Quebec for 40 years. Very hard to beat for species variety, access, abundance etc. Alberta fares poorly in a comparison. Still every area has it's 'shining light' location and for me that would be the east slope Rocky Mountain fisheries, you just cannot find that location experience anywhere else in Canada.

[Poppa]

It really depends what you're hoping to get out of your fishing experience. The variety of fish and the scenery of Canadian Shield just does it for me more than fly fishing in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains, but I fully understand that Bow River is a world-class fly fishing destination.

[flyrodfisher]

A couple examples would be a 40" pike - trophy but not once in lifetime. 25" brown - trophy but not once in a lifetime...


Fair enough...I guess our definitions of trophy are somewhat different...

[NorthernAggressor]

Ok, before I get blasted here. Couple of buddies and I were talking and pretty bummed our northern Sask trip looks like it'll be canceled this year. We were just throwing ideas about where to fish and the debate started. "Is there any province worse than Alberta for fishing or fishing opportunities?" Just a question. And no I don't hate Alberta and I'm not getting the hell out if I don't like it. So if that's your only comment please save your breath. Would love to hear the arguments for and against. Thanks!
:argue2:

Think of it this way: Canada has an embarassment of riches in terms of fishing. Alberta may not have the lake fishing of other provinces, but it's still very good compared to many places, and the Eastern Slopes are a jewel.

[rem338win]

Good comment.

I would add that our Eastern slopes are the envy of other provinces. We are lucky to border the rocky mountains.

BC has better apples to apples fishing in that regard. Ive done both. Not even a candle anymore.

The bulltrout and Cutties have a long way to go to come back and be enviable.

[SNAPFisher]

BC has better apples to apples fishing in that regard. Ive done both. Not even a candle anymore.

The bulltrout and Cutties have a long way to go to come back and be enviable.

I get that. It is not always about the size and quantity though. Certainly not going to travel all the way to B.C. to fish similar types of fish. Just to far for me from Edmonton. The Columbia and some of those massive bullies would be a fun trip though....probably will think about it but never do it. :)

[McLeod]

If we had control of the lakes in Jasper and Banff national park the fishing could be among the best in the world !

[smitty9]

Issue with those numbers is that a lot of the lakes in Saskatchewan and Ontario are very remote and very poor access but they still count as a fish bearing lake. Lakes with good access see more pressure than those numbers lead you to believe.

No issues...because Alberta has the same issues.

Anyone realize how much of our fish bearing lakes are north of Edmonton?

To pick the 2 largest urban centres: what do Edmonton and Calgary have in terms of what many of us would call good fishing lakes within one hour of town.

The answer is...not many.

[daveyn]

Fishermen and hunters are all pretty much the same when it comes to where they live. Doesn't matter where you are, the fishing/hunting is always better somewhere else.

[Red Bullets]

Alberta has 17 fish considered to be sport fish. That's quite a variety. And a few non sport fish that are fun to catch too.

In the Alberta fishing guide it lists 1200 or more locations to fish in Alberta.
Over 50 years I have fished at 135 locations and I haven't even gotten to some of the lakes an rivers I would like to try. Caught fish at most locations. For the variety of fish and the variety of lands to fish makes Alberta pretty good.

And statistically Alberta maybe isn't the worst in Canada. This survey is from 2015 and I'm sure not much has changed. Loaded with info. Like Alberta has twice as many recreational anglers than Saskatchewan or Manitoba. And amazing that Albertans spent more on recreational fishing than most provinces.

https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/stats/rec/can/2015/index-eng.html#4-1-1

[WV911]

I moved here from Ontario last year and brought my fishing boat. I should have left it at my cottage in Ontario.

Scenery and stream fishing here can't be beat.

Hunting compared to Ontario isn't even close. I see more deer from my deck here in a week than at our hunting camp in Ontario in 5 years. My view from my deck is like Omahas Wild Kingdom, Muleys, Whitetail, Moose, badgers, coyotes, fox, badgers, even Grizzly on my trail cams.

When I flew a float plane in Ontario, no matter when you looked down, there was water to land on so the comparison isn't fair.

Biggest change for me is that all my bass lures are too big for anything here and that there is a draw for pickerel (walleye). You have got to be kidding!

Despite all the shortcomings in fishing you couldn't pay me to move back to the Trudeau ass kissing Province of Ontario except to visit my cottage to go Bass fishing.

[Poppa]

Biggest change for me is that all my bass lures are too big for anything here and that there is a draw for pickerel (walleye). You have got to be kidding.

Yeah, this was it for me, too (from Manitoba)... all I want to do is fish topwater for bass. Sigh. There's absolutely nothing like it.

[35 whelen]

I moved here from Ontario last year and brought my fishing boat. I should have left it at my cottage in Ontario.



Scenery and stream fishing here can't be beat.



Hunting compared to Ontario isn't even close. I see more deer from my deck here in a week than at our hunting camp in Ontario in 5 years. My view from my deck is like Omahas Wild Kingdom, Muleys, Whitetail, Moose, badgers, coyotes, fox, badgers, even Grizzly on my trail cams.



When I flew a float plane in Ontario, no matter when you looked down, there was water to land on so the comparison isn't fair.



Biggest change for me is that all my bass lures are too big for anything here and that there is a draw for pickerel (walleye). You have got to be kidding!



Despite all the shortcomings in fishing you couldn't pay me to move back to the Trudeau ass kissing Province of Ontario except to visit my cottage to go Bass fishing.You're right I grew up in eastern Manitoba Fishing Ontario, Manitoba, great bass fishing there but you can't beat the hunting and the scenery here.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

[Smoky buck]

I moved here from Ontario last year and brought my fishing boat. I should have left it at my cottage in Ontario.

Scenery and stream fishing here can't be beat.

Hunting compared to Ontario isn't even close. I see more deer from my deck here in a week than at our hunting camp in Ontario in 5 years. My view from my deck is like Omahas Wild Kingdom, Muleys, Whitetail, Moose, badgers, coyotes, fox, badgers, even Grizzly on my trail cams.

When I flew a float plane in Ontario, no matter when you looked down, there was water to land on so the comparison isn't fair.

Biggest change for me is that all my bass lures are too big for anything here and that there is a draw for pickerel (walleye). You have got to be kidding!

Despite all the shortcomings in fishing you couldn't pay me to move back to the Trudeau ass kissing Province of Ontario except to visit my cottage to go Bass fishing.

Your bass lures are too big are you sure about that?

If you think bass lures are too big in Alberta you would look in my tackle boxes and think I am crazy

[Poppa]

You're right I grew up in eastern Manitoba Fishing Ontario, Manitoba, great bass fishing there but you can't beat the hunting and the scenery here.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

I dunno... The mountains are nice and all but I'd trade em in a heartbeat for Canadian Shield and East Lake Wpg beaches....

[spopadyn]

Love Alberta but we only have 3500 lakes and very few have any depth. I think Saskatchewan has something like 50000 lakes and a third of the population. Just means we have a lot of over fishing due to the limited access.

Still lots of fun to be had, but I guess we cant win them all.