Chain Lake South

[DarkAisling]

I'm thinking that after we hit up PCR tomorrow, I'll take the son over to Chain Lake if he decides he'd like to fish for trout.

Do I have to go north to Nanton from PCR, and then follow the 533 west to the 22? On Google Earth it looks like the road out of the PCR campground will connect to the 533 via another road. The roads aren't actually drawn on the map, but I can see them in the imagery.

Also, I can't find Chain Lake listed in the site specific tables for ES1.

So this applies: For other ES1 Lakes, Reservoirs and Ponds not included under (A) or (B) and for fish species not mentioned at a listed lake.
Open all year – Trout limit 5; Mountain Whitefish limit 5 over 30 cm; (where present, Walleye limit 3 over 50 cm; Pike limit 3 [no size limit]; Perch limit 15; Lake Whitefish limit 10; Burbot limit 10); Bait, except bait fish, allowed.

Am I right? Am I the only person that gets a headache trying to figure this stuff out? I feel like I need a lawyer to go through the regs for me.

[baitfisher83]

from pcr, go back to hwy 2, take the chain lakes turnoff just before nanton and it will bring you right to the south end of the lakes.....can be a tough spot to fish....corn and velveeta cheese are good choices even though the little guys like to swallow the hook with bait...i have never seen a walleye come out of that place....nothing but suckers and trout...but i've only fished the south part of it

[DarkAisling]

Just bought a really good road atlas for southern Alberta ("Southern Alberta Backroad Mapbook Outdoor Recreation Guide"). Yup . . . there is another road to take. Shorter distance, but lower speed. Should get there in about the same time, but with a little more fuel in the tank (which is a very good thing) :)

When coming out of the campground, head west on "Willow Creek Rd" which turns into "Flying E Rd" and then into "Stavely Rd" . . . this naming convention is weird, as Stavely Rd is nowhere near Stavely. Stavely Rd connects to the 533 four of five klicks east of hwy 22.

This is a great mapbook. It has loads of recreation info, including paddling routes (where to put in, and where to take out).

[baitfisher83]

alot of roads in this province are named after places nowhere near them.......haha i should really go pick up some tackle

[DarkAisling]

On the off chance that son #1 doesn't want to fish for trout, he might like to go chase some pike at Clear Lake. I'm thinking that's pretty unlikely, though.

[baitfisher83]

never been to clear lake....lol spent like 2 1/2 hours looking for it one time....

[DarkAisling]

Well, son #1 is home, and he'd like to do PCR then Chain. He reserves the right to change is mind ;)

[baitfisher83]

well he is a teenager so he probably will..lol

[WayneChristie]

Dark that map book is awesome, Flygirrl got me hooked on it. Have to try some of the Bow and Oldman paddling routes next summer, and maybe more. I fished Chain years ago, first time Id caught trout on spoons, I used little 1 inch Len Thompson red and whites, and caught quite a few off shore. If you want Clear, just go back to Stavely and keep going on the same road that brought you from PCR it goes right by Clear. the signs are pretty small tho. might not want to ask Christine to watch for them, if she looked for that long you will probably end up way down by my place LOL

[baitfisher83]

bite me puddle fisher :P

[WayneChristie]

bite me puddle fisher :P

Like I said, I fished 3 different lakes that day, and caught just as many fish in that puddle!!!!:lol: and didnt take 2 1/2 hours to find it :evilgrin:

[RedHeadedFisherman]

Well, son #1 is home, and he'd like to do PCR then Chain. He reserves the right to change is mind ;)

Originally Posted by RedHeadedFisherman
again i will post.. op's might you think about making a good sticky with the dir's to pcr?

Pine Coulee Reservoir
Fee: @20.00 per night/access to Pine Coulee campground


ok, your going south on # 2. you will pass Okotoks, High River, Nanton,, you will come to the town of Stavely (PCR) turn right off #2, onto TWS RD 527,
6km west & 4 km south of Stavely Alberta on SH 527 then 1km east on Township Road 140 Follow the boat launch signs on good paved roads ( till you get to Pine Coulee) Good Boat Launch.

go west 6 km ( aprx) you will come to a left turn ( Good signs at this corner), south 2kms ( aprx) turn est onto gravel road ( again good signs to boat dock)
WARNING!! DO NOT PARK IN THE BOAT TURN-AROUND, AS YOU WILL BE TICKETED AND/OR TOWED!!

( CLEAR LAKE ) from #2 Highway south, at Stavley, turn left onto TWS RD 142 go east aprx 9 miles. turn right onto a gravel rd, go south to a gravel rd 9 kms
signs marked Clear Lake Park) ta da your there ( Boat launch)



http://maps.google.ca/maps? find #2 highway, go south to Stavely ,.. west on 527 and you can zoom in on the lake real good L)
fish off the dock.. kids+a rod+ smelts = fish = happy kids!!!

Baitfisher,.. Chain Lakes is a stocked TROUT lake L) no 'eye. no pike. no nice women ( until you guys get there ) smirk:evilgrin:

DarkAisling, that set of roads may be slower. but gravel. bumpy,, id go back to # 2 n to (just before) Nanton, take the left.. its all paved. 100kph and a nice drive. 35 mins from PCR to chain..

hope to see ya at PCR tommorow.. i'll be sitting on the dock, releasing 'eyes :evilgrin::evilgrin::D:D

[RedHeadedFisherman]

P.S. checked the weather,.. it's going to me WINDY
tommorow (as it was today) Monday
Morning Monday
Afternoon Monday
Evening

Clear Sunny Sunny Clear
Temp. 9°C 9°C 16°C 12°C
Wind SW 30km/h SW 30km/h SW 30km/h SW 30km/h
Humidity 53% 53% 31% 38%
P.O.P. 0% 0%
lol bring a logging chain so you can tie your self to the dock :D:evilgrin:

[baitfisher83]

should we bring some chains for your chair so you dont lose another one???lol

[jet boater]

Don't use corn for bait. The fish can't digest the outer shell of the kernel and it gets stuck in their intestine and they die.

[DarkAisling]

Hmm. I didn't realize Chain was a stocked lake. Hopefully it hasn't been fished out.

I did know how to get to PCR, but only because I've been out there with Baitfisher once already. Not excited about the wind.

If that road is gravel (thought it was paved), I'll go back up through Nanton.

[DarkAisling]

Don't use corn for bait. The fish can't digest the outer shell of the kernel and it gets stuck in their intestine and they die.

What's your reference for this information?

[RedHeadedFisherman]

should we bring some chains for your chair so you dont lose another one???lol

have not lost any chairs ??
i am smart,.. i tie my chairs down lol and when im siting in it, would take a F3 tornado to move me lol :evilgrin:
have got 3 outa there lol and 1 rod/reel:D

[RedHeadedFisherman]

What's your reference for this information?

I use Berkly Power Bait (paste) in flr red.. the trout love it, falls off the hook readly tho. ( fixed that,. got some Roe netting from BPS, i tie some power bait in a small ball around a # 12 BARBLESS hook.. works all day :D

[jet boater]

What's your reference for this information?

Fish biologist explained it to me.

[jet boater]

I use Berkly Power Bait (paste) in flr red.. the trout love it, falls off the hook readly tho. ( fixed that,. got some Roe netting from BPS, i tie some power bait in a small ball around a # 12 BARBLESS hook.. works all day :D

Nylon stockings work even better. But wife gets mad when I raid her supply. (LOL)

[WayneChristie]

jet I believe there has been a long discussion about corn in here already.

[DarkAisling]

I use Berkly Power Bait (paste) in flr red.. the trout love it, falls off the hook readly tho. ( fixed that,. got some Roe netting from BPS, i tie some power bait in a small ball around a # 12 BARBLESS hook.. works all day :D

Cool. Too late for me to stock up on roe netting and #12 hooks (damn that's small!). That's the pink paste, right, even though it says red? I've got some of that, and the fake corn (as well as real corn).

I simply can't spend anymore money on tackle right now, anyway.

Fish biologist explained it to me.

But I guess we'll just have to eat the real corn. Humans have a hard time digesting corn, so I think it makes sense that other species would as well.

Nylon stockings work even better. But wife gets mad when I raid her supply. (LOL)

I'm leaving this one alone. :lol:

[WayneChristie]

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=27598&highlight=corn+bait

[DarkAisling]

jet I believe there has been a long discussion about corn in here already.

I'll have to dig it up and have a read.

EDIT: Apparently Wayne is much quick than me! Thanks Wayne :)

[WayneChristie]

I much quick than lotta peoples :tongue2: and bored too obviously LOL have fun tomorrow, dont know if I will get out or not, wind is not a lot of fun in the canoe, but I may try another reservoir from shore. dont let BF get you lost :) if you ever want to catch pike from your canoe let me know, always willing to play guide

[DarkAisling]

Went to Chain, but didn't fish. The wind nearly blew us away after getting out of the car!

BF is an excellent navigator :) It was my son who got us lost :lol:

[baitfisher83]

lmfao i only knew where to go cause i've been there...lol....if it was a new place to me i likely would have gotten us lost..

[Clgy_Dave2.0]

Hmm...the "new thread" button won't work from my Blackberry...so I'll post from here.

Anyone here this weekend? Came down last night with the trailer and got one of the last remaining powered sites. Place is packed. Went out on the lake this morning and got lots of little ones. All on willowleaf and worm. A few bites on the sinking fly line using a leach pattern. Just having a bite to eat now and head out again this aft.

Question: didn't bring any cash, thinking we'd pay for our campsite with the Visa like all the other provincial campgrounds, but it's cash only here. We put our Visa info on our registration card anyways, with a note explaining our situation. Anyone else run into this problem? Don't feel like an 80 km round trip just to get $40 cash.

[DarkAisling]

The whole "cash only" thing is weird. I tried phoning to find out what the deal is, but I just got a recorded message. I couldn't find anything to indicate on the website that it is cash only either. Unless they've got a debit machine in the store, there isn't much you can do.

Won't be there this weekend :( I'm hoping to try it out sometime this year, before hard water comes.

EDIT: Found this PDF: http://gateway.cd.gov.ab.ca/pubsandmedia/Chain%20Lakes%20PP%20WEB%20brochure.pdf (http://gateway.cd.gov.ab.ca/pubsandmedia/Chain%20Lakes%20PP%20WEB%20brochure.pdf)

It indicates cash or cheque. That's stupid.

[Clgy_Dave2.0]

I saw the exact same sites, Shelly. The alberta gov't parks page says nothing about cash/cheques only. All the other alberta provincial parks takes CC's.
So I was expecting the campground host come by but didn't see anyone the whole weekend.
Fishing was lots of action but all small guys. Best result was willowleaf and worm for the trolling and from the shore, corn seemed to be the best. It got REALLY windy Sat afternoon/evening. Winds gusting to 60 or 70 so there was no evening fish :( bummer. Very cold this morning. Frost all over everything in the morning, but fishing was good just before sunrise. Unfortunately we lost both our willowleafs on snags. Fun weekend none the less though.

[Sundancefisher]

I saw the exact same sites, Shelly. The alberta gov't parks page says nothing about cash/cheques only. All the other alberta provincial parks takes CC's.
So I was expecting the campground host come by but didn't see anyone the whole weekend.
Fishing was lots of action but all small guys. Best result was willowleaf and worm for the trolling and from the shore, corn seemed to be the best. It got REALLY windy Sat afternoon/evening. Winds gusting to 60 or 70 so there was no evening fish :( bummer. Very cold this morning. Frost all over everything in the morning, but fishing was good just before sunrise. Unfortunately we lost both our willowleafs on snags. Fun weekend none the less though.

Has anyone caught a bull trout out of Chain Lakes? A F&W bio was asking as it was stocked a fair while ago. I can't see why they would not be reproducing.

[DarkAisling]

Has anyone caught a bull trout out of Chain Lakes? A F&W bio was asking as it was stocked a fair while ago. I can't see why they would not be reproducing.

Bulls were released into the lake in the fall of 2000. I haven't heard of any being caught there, but I'm not exactly the first to hear of these things.

They should have been reproducing by now. Perhaps they all wound up on the dinner table.

[DarkAisling]

Winds gusting to 60 or 70 so there was no evening fish :(

The wind there gets crazy! I couldn't believe it when it was too windy for us to fish from shore. Our hooks would have been blowing back into our faces.