How was your opening day?

[SamSteele]

I know some areas have been open for a bit, but for those that opened on the weekend how was your first day out?

I got out with the fam to get some fish into the new rig.

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SS

[riderprider]

Have you ever considered adopting an adult?

[Outbound]

Have you ever considered adopting an adult?

Right!? Fantastic fish. I need to find lakes that have lunkers like that in them. Best I've managed is about 24"...

[zabbo]

Some fine looking fisheeees there! Nice to see the family out! :)

[58thecat]

Not as big as yours but we killed it too!
Had a blast catching.


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[dodger]

Froze my b%tt off but had a 40 Pike day. I think one of your Pike total lbs is higher than all of mine combined :scared0018: But I do have a sore jaw from smiling for 8 hours.

Dodger.

[Bushleague]

I got off nightshift at 6 this morning, did some shore fishing on the way home for a couple hours. Caught one really nice walleye in the neighborhood of 6 lbs, one half decent pike around the 30" mark, and a couple smaller fish.

Got days off for the next 4 days, and then the family is taking off for the long weekend so I should be able to get a fair bit of fishing in this next week.

[Smoky buck]

One more shift then I am off for 5days some fishing will happen

[AlbertanGP]

Awesome photos Mark...I always look forward to your early season pike photos...even better with the family out. :happy0034:

Surprisingly, I actually managed to fish for a couple of hours Saturday morning after spending all day Friday mapping. I fished an electric-only trout lake I spent all last weekend mapping in the cold/rain/snow/whitecaps. I caught this nice 6lb rainbow trolling across the deepest part of the lake with a 3 way rig with PowerBait. I then had to promptly go home and have a shower since I felt dirty. :ashamed:

https://photos.smugmug.com/Open-Water-2022/i-L5qDtLz/0/0da951c0/X3/IMG_1417-X3.jpg

The kids got a Frenchie pup a few weeks ago and I swear that thing can sleep anywhere. It can make you second guess jumping into 48*F water when it farts as well. lol.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Open-Water-2022/i-2CJ4kbf/0/faf15232/X3/IMG_1396-X3.jpg

[roper1]

Awesome pics Gents! Well done!!

[SamSteele]

Nice work Dean! That pup looks like he’s going to be a great boat dog. I always wanted one of those, but my NSDT always wants to retrieve every cast and has been known to go in after a fish splashing in the surface.

Anyone else get out after them over the weekend?

[tirebob]

Wow great opening day boys! :sHa_shakeshout:

[WayneChristie]

I hit the lower Bow on Monday last week. water level is way down but I did catch a dozen fish, 2 types of suckers and a walleye, no dinos yet. hopefully we get some good runoff this year!

[SNAPFisher]

Nice pics and fish Sam and AlbertaGP!!
The family looks like they are all having a great time. The dogs look incredibly relaxes :)

I think runoff will be later than normal. It has been a cold start. Heading to Jasper this weekend and looks like two nights will be into negative temps.

[fish99]

caught lots of pike biggest was 42 inches . was cold most days.

[Outbound]

Great pics AlbertanGP!

I'm on days off next week so I'm hoping to hit one of our local trout lakes. Lord willing turnover holds off until then.

[AK47]

Got first sturgeon of the season ( 49 inches), 3 silver redhorse, 2 goldeye and 2 shorthead redhorse. So it was nice, except at the end of the day got hammered with rain and hail lol.
https://i.postimg.cc/fTF3zfwv/Sturgeon-49.jpg

[58thecat]

Well done!


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[dr.crentist]

Got out for an hour and a bit on Sunday night, sun was shining, couple of beers on the dock. Little Pike and Walleye, one each.

[Bushleague]

Took the boat out on Lesser Slave this morning with my daughter, pretty bad chop and dirty water so we didnt catch much. Hit it from the shore in a spot that tends to produce better under such conditions, using deadbait and a float. Got a half dozen or so pike, two were around 30 inches.

Tomorrow I'll hit an out of the way favorite ( long boat ride, or a tough hike through a swamp) that almost always produces some nice pike in the early season.

[Gbuss]

Managed a nice 23.5 and a 21 inch walleye Sunday morning

Gbuss

[Bushleague]

Hiked through the swamp to my "Super Secret Spot", its a bad enough slog that you basically always question your sanity on the way in.

Didnt land anything trophy class, but the afternoon was pure magic with non stop pike in the 30-36" range on deadbaits. Sometimes after the cast my float would just lay on its side and I'd think the bobber stop had slipped... only to find a pike had picked up the bait before it had time to sink.

Eventually a monster pike decided to eat my bobber and ended up cutting the line, instead of re-rigging I switched to lures. The lures werent catching as well as deadbaits, but covering water more aggressively I did land some nice fish that I likely wouldnt have put a herring in front of.

Hiking out I once again had to question my sanity... still deciding if I'll go back tomorrow.

[SamSteele]

Good stories and pics all!

[SamSteele]

First two fish yesterday were over 40”. That’s always the start of a great day!

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[Bushleague]

Nice fish Sam, I havent yet managed to hit the 40" mark this season. But I've had some great days, with fish in the 32-36" range real steady.

Today I got a massive walleye on a 8" herring before work, probably give it another go tomorrow morning on the way home.

Too, I've never really understood the point of double tailed jigs, but finally clued in to the fact that they can be fished much slower in shallow water. They're working really well for me, ya learn something new every season I guess :snapoutofit:

[sns2]

Way to go guys!!!!

[Smoky buck]

Made it out for my first open water trip and opted to go knock my first tiger off the list. The wife and I only fished for about 2-4hrs and caught about 30 trout between the two of use a mix of rainbows, Tigers and one brown caught at the river on the way home. Nothing big with the largest being 14inches

Only took a pic of the first little Tiger I caught

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[AlbertanGP]

Probably the only picture you'll see of me with a pike as I don't fish for them. I caught this guy at 10pm last night while hammering walleye off my dock...38.5". Apparently I wasn't the only one fishing for walleye. ;)

https://photos.smugmug.com/Open-Water-2022/i-xJXg9nK/0/aa132cec/X3/IMG_1565-X3.jpg

[Twisted Canuck]

Nice fish Dean!

[Outbound]

I got out to a local lake on Wednesday. Flies weren't producing so I switched to my spinning rod and dragged a Kwikfish behind me as I moved locations on the lake. That produced a very fat 22" rainbow that I'm estimating at 7 - 8 pounds. Easily the biggest I've pulled out of that lake to date. About 20 minutes later I got another fish about 4 pounds and an hour after that I got one about 1.5lbs. Then things died right off, the wind kicked up and the weather turned so I called it a day. Pretty good way to start the season.

Sorry, no pics. I was fishing alone and am primarily a C&R guy.

[philybllt]

Amazing pictures.

[58thecat]

Probably the only picture you'll see of me with a pike as I don't fish for them. I caught this guy at 10pm last night while hammering walleye off my dock...38.5". Apparently I wasn't the only one fishing for walleye. ;)

https://photos.smugmug.com/Open-Water-2022/i-xJXg9nK/0/aa132cec/X3/IMG_1565-X3.jpg


That beast would eat a lot of walleye and the pike would too
[emoji38]

Targeting walleye you were probably a little under gunned for that pike!


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[mlee]

My boat has been out of commission until this week (good to go now) so we decided to do some river fishing on opening day.
Was a bit slow and not sure I ever remember the NSR being this low this early ....but we landed a few fish.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220531/acc7ea2a216ced3f9686a6c6fe7c13f6.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220531/f8b7264b949e9e561808158811e3ee26.jpg

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[SNAPFisher]

Nice pics all!

My opening day was the long weekend in Jasper. Specifically fished Talbot for whites. Though did catch some pike on the fly both days...i.e get the skunk off and then target "real" fish :)

Weather was really calm both Sat and Sun. Monday as well but didn't fish.
Put in a decent day on Saturday. Launched around 8 a.m. -5 in the morning...
There were a couple of boats out already. Looked around the launch area and found only 1 white. Headed into the main lake eventually. Took a bit to find a school of whites. Mostly was ignored all morning though I did miss on two tugs - really quick takes that are hard to time.
Finally around lunch I didn't even see the take but started stripping in and felt the weight. Nice white! Fought like a wet sock though.

https://i.postimg.cc/xdXJ2smV/DSCF1453.jpg (https://postimg.cc/JyW435Kp)


Kept this one for the smoker.

Had a few more misses and another hookup but this one got off.
Just a great day though. Didn't see a ton of fish like last year. Heard from the guides that there was a big summer kill in the heatwave last year. Not surprisingly really since that lake is only 7 feet deep max and most of it being 3-4 FOW.

Sunday was another near perfect day. -5 start again. Flat calm again. Lots of snow on the mountains...more than I've seen this time of year, ever. Also even the AThB River was running low and clean. Spring melt has not started.

Managed to land another white on Sunday. Nice fat one that fought much better. Sent it back though. Had another on and lost. Missed another few hook sets. Good! Was off the lake by noon.

https://i.postimg.cc/j2tSLvD5/IMG-1440.jpg (https://postimg.cc/472g06bk)


Random scenery pics:

https://i.postimg.cc/MGgcKy0M/DSCF1451.jpg (https://postimg.cc/Ny7Gd2zB)

https://i.postimg.cc/KzdtV6pW/IMG-1435.jpg (https://postimg.cc/YGz4LsHN)

https://i.postimg.cc/Kz4RN10r/IMG-1437.jpg (https://postimg.cc/2bRkjSRV)

https://i.postimg.cc/jjMDPH4S/IMG-1438.jpg (https://postimg.cc/3yDrHDqs)

https://i.postimg.cc/Z57BXkCL/IMG-1441.jpg (https://postimg.cc/K1T8gH7K)

[swampy45]

Looks awesome SNAP!

[fish99]

was a tough summer on the whites last year with all the die off.

[Penner]

Nice pics all!

My opening day was the long weekend in Jasper. Specifically fished Talbot for whites. Though did catch some pike on the fly both days...i.e get the skunk off and then target "real" fish :)


Nice work SNAP. Tank Whites in Talbot.

Do you happen to know if the ice is off Maligne yet?

[Savage Bacon]

Dang I'm jealous of everyone that posted pics. Some real monsters that's for sure!

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[58thecat]

Dam snap the scenery would get in the way of fishing!
Well done.

[KGB]

Awesome pictures guys! I haven’t done much fishing lately but now I’m feeling the urge!
And those sturgeons! What an awesome fish! I remember trying to catch one in NSR in Edmonton, that was probably 20 years ago…. Didn’t get any.
What are you using for a bait and what kind of a set up?

[mlee]

Awesome pictures guys! I haven’t done much fishing lately but now I’m feeling the urge!
And those sturgeons! What an awesome fish! I remember trying to catch one in NSR in Edmonton, that was probably 20 years ago…. Didn’t get any.
What are you using for a bait and what kind of a set up?

We use 8'6" MH rods, 4500 series spinning reels spooled with 50lb braid. 3-5oz sliding pyramid weight on the main line....150lb swivel....18-24" of 80lb dacron to a 4/0 circle hook...and worms or minnows or sometimes both at the same time for bait.

[SNAPFisher]

Do you happen to know if the ice is off Maligne yet?

It was locked tight and solid on the long weekend. I'm contacting Online Sports tomorrow to see if it might be good enough on the weekend. Fingers crossed. I'll report back.

[dave99]

It was locked tight and solid on the long weekend. I'm contacting Online Sports tomorrow to see if it might be good enough on the weekend. Fingers crossed. I'll report back.

Ice is typically off Maligne right around June 1. This spring has been very cold and the rivers are still running fairly low and clear so it might be a little while until Maligne is ice-free. Hopefully I’m wrong!

Keep us posted.

[Penner]

It was locked tight and solid on the long weekend. I'm contacting Online Sports tomorrow to see if it might be good enough on the weekend. Fingers crossed. I'll report back.

Right on. Keep us posted.

[58thecat]

a good read about this lake.

https://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/40441/fishing/trout_fishing_on_maligne_lake_secrets_revealed.htm l

[AlbertanGP]

a good read about this lake.

https://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/40441/fishing/trout_fishing_on_maligne_lake_secrets_revealed.htm l

That was some good reading. Cheers. :happy0180:

[SNAPFisher]

Right on. Keep us posted.

Full ice over still. Online says if you want to fish from the warden's dock...
So it is possible with a lot of sun and wind it could open enough on the weekend but more likely next weekend. I'll still be there in person regardless so will post back a first hand experience.

[SNAPFisher]

a good read about this lake.

https://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/40441/fishing/trout_fishing_on_maligne_lake_secrets_revealed.htm l

Yep, good stuff. Pretty much how I fish it when trolling but I even slow it down to fish in 35 FOW and pull up some real nice brookies from that depth.

But my go to for a long time is to fish the chronomid hatches. There are several and in multiple locations. I've never seen hatches like this. Fish come up with chronies falling out of their mouths. Throat sample is clogged...
Record so far is 49 casts and 49 landed on the same fly. Lost the 50th on the way in.

Nice to get away. Put you feed up and watch that indicator go down constantly. While the trollers just troll on by...either amazed at how much and what you are catching or comment how slow it is... hehe

[AlbertanGP]

Lol. Whenever I talk to fly fishermen, they always talk about how they outfish tackle/bait fishermen. When I talk to tackle/bait fishermen, they always talk about how they outfish fly fishermen.

I'm heading out in the morning to map Two Lakes for the day. I'll see if I can rustle up any comparable scenery pics. ;)

[SNAPFisher]

Lol. Whenever I talk to fly fishermen, they always talk about how they outfish tackle/bait fishermen. When I talk to tackle/bait fishermen, they always talk about how they outfish fly fishermen.

I'm heading out in the morning to map Two Lakes for the day. I'll see if I can rustle up any comparable scenery pics. ;)

Lol, yeah. I've been that guy on the Bow watching two kids outfish me with spoons. There is no argument here.
I'm just surprised how many ignore to see what they are actually eating and to mimic it. That is one of the things that keeps me fly fishing - to figure out timing and match it. When you connect the dots the results are amazing...and you feel that :)
Of course there will always be the days you would be better off just fishing and less analysis. Typically those days I end up analyzing a beer somewhere.

Good luck out there. Looking forwards to more pics!

[58thecat]

Lol. Whenever I talk to fly fishermen, they always talk about how they outfish tackle/bait fishermen. When I talk to tackle/bait fishermen, they always talk about how they outfish fly fishermen.

I'm heading out in the morning to map Two Lakes for the day. I'll see if I can rustle up any comparable scenery pics. ;)

Pics are very much appreciated and don’t forget to wet a line as ya never know:)

[Bushleague]

Broke 40" yesterday! Drove to a different lake that holds more big pike, I didnt think a boat would be neccessary so with the current price of fuel I left the truck/ boat behind. I just took my little car, my 9 1/2' steelhead rod, and a pair of waiders.

Fishing was slow for much of the day, probably covered over 5km of shore, but eventually ended up in the right place at the right time. First I wasnt catching anything so I covered water real fast, then I started catching lots of hammer handles and kept covering water fast...

... then, late in the afternoon I nailed two big ones in about 20 yards so I slowed down, covered everything very thoroughly, and picked through alot of smaller fish. By 6pm I'd caught one pike a bit over 40" and a half dozen more that were just under, plus a bunch that were in the mid 30's, in about 200 yard stretch of shore that looked exactly the same as the other miles of shore I'd covered. Only difference I could tell was that I was occasionally pulling in the odd bit of green seaweed.. Great Day!

[Bushleague]

Pics are very much appreciated and don’t forget to wet a line as ya never know:)

Sorry didnt take any pics, dealing with a big Pike by myself, while waiding, without a landing net is tough enough. Theres really no good way to get a good picture in a timely manner without adding a fair bit of needless stress, so I've just quit trying. If I'm out with someone else I'll take pics, solo I dont even bother....

The last pic I bothered to take in that situation, this fish is about 36" or so....but without any refferance you cant even tell.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49919751041_e0664bbade_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2j4eLNM)DSCF1465 (https://flic.kr/p/2j4eLNM) by , on Flickr

[Poppa]

Haven't had a chance to really wet a line yet this year. Interestingly, I think my first "real" fishing for this year will be back in Manitoba next weekend. Flying home for the Bombers home opener, and we'll likely get out on the Red River (which has pretty much engulfed the southern part of the province) for a bit while we're home. Hopefully I'll have some pics to add to this thread.

Great pics, all - love to see it!

[SNAPFisher]

Maligne. Locked tight.


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[AlbertanGP]

Maligne. Locked tight.


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Ahhh ice. Now that is a picture of beauty. Makes me pine for November already. :)

My day started out nice. But the clouds and rain rolled in shortly after getting on the water. Still nice to get out to some of the more remote lakes in the area.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Open-Water-2022/i-nKsXNPx/0/3c67484d/X3/IMG_1581-X3.jpg

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[SNAPFisher]

My save was either Talbot or Pyramid. Choose Pyramid. But, water was already off Color. Melt is on! Athb is high as well. Patricia is strangely up to the road…never seen it this high.

Took one tour around the lake to find lakers near one of the inflows. Managed to consistently catch them, stained water or not.
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[Penner]

It’s been a cool spring up high. Run-off is late at least a 2 weeks I’d would say. North Saskatchewan is a low and clear as I’ve even seen it at this time of year.

[SNAPFisher]

Didn't fish on Sunday and just drove around looking for wildlife and adventure.
Saw momma black bear with cub, a female grizzly that looked to be in the 5--600 lb class, and some sheep. Good day!

We did end up back at Maligne on Sunday. Ice opened up a bit more. Should be good to go for this up and coming weekend. ...man is that late!
I won't be back until July long.

One thing that I keep forgetting to post. Whatever mountain pines that did not get decimated by the pine beetle are getting destroyed by a black moss that covers the pine needles until the tree is dead. Does anyone know what this is?
It looks like it infect 100% of the remaining mountain pines. That means to me that in about 5 years, Maligne is going to be far from picturesque. Getting worse every year but guessing in about 5 the trees will all be gone or mostly gone. I'm sure it will spread down the lake. It seems to be doing that. One tree touches another or is next to one that has it, gets it. That will be sad to see.

[CptnBlues63]

Didn't fish on Sunday and just drove around looking for wildlife and adventure.
Saw momma black bear with cub, a female grizzly that looked to be in the 5--600 lb class, and some sheep. Good day!

We did end up back at Maligne on Sunday. Ice opened up a bit more. Should be good to go for this up and coming weekend. ...man is that late!
I won't be back until July long.

One thing that I keep forgetting to post. Whatever mountain pines that did not get decimated by the pine beetle are getting destroyed by a black moss that covers the pine needles until the tree is dead. Does anyone know what this is?
It looks like it infect 100% of the remaining mountain pines. That means to me that in about 5 years, Maligne is going to be far from picturesque. Getting worse every year but guessing in about 5 the trees will all be gone or mostly gone. I'm sure it will spread down the lake. It seems to be doing that. One tree touches another or is next to one that has it, gets it. That will be sad to see.

Here's a handy resource that can be used to check ice situation

https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/

.

[SNAPFisher]

Here's a handy resource that can be used to check ice situation

https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/

.


Thanks! Yep, I use it. Did not use it this time since it was 100% cloudy back to 21/22 of May. Essentially useless this year in the timeframe I needed it.

[SNAPFisher]

Getting back to this black mossy stuff on the pines around Maligne. Anyone notice this....kind of hard not too. You will find a lot of pieces of pines now on all the walking paths as they are dropping branches and bits in the die off. I tried googling what it might be with no luck. Everything came back as mountain pine beetle but this is something else....noticed it started about 4-5 years ago and slowly spreading it it speeding up.

I'll get some good pics for sure on the July long. Not hard to find it...you will notice all the trees on the road in just before Maligne all look darker than normal. That is the mossy crap that is dark grey in color. Those trees will all be 100% dead along the road in a year or a bit more.