Kananskis help

[Deano]

My girlfriend wants to get away and enjoy some scenery. We are thinking about doing the long drive to Kananaskis and enjo the sights and hopefully catch some fish. Only been there once and had no success. Would love some advice on what lakes are worth the hike. Would like to keep the hike to under 3 k.m. if possible. Would also like to get into some Brookies, but size and species don't matter.
I assume the have a pretty detailed map at the park of where the hiking trails start.

Deano

[sheephunter]

Only brookie lake in K-Country that I'm aware of is Elbow Lake but they are very stunted there. For cutthroats....Rawson would be my first pick. A belly boat will help you there but not impossible to fish from shore. If you don't care about size, Running Rain Lake is loaded with small cutties.

[Deano]

Thanks Sheep!!!! Can I get directions to these lakes at the park info? How long of a hike is it to the lakes?

[sheephunter]

Ya stop at the info centre or if you want a more detailed map.....stop at Mount Kidd RV Park store and pick up a Gem Trek map. Just make certain it's for the right area. Rawson is about a 2.5 hour hike and Elbow and Running Rain are both 30-45 minutes.

[Deano]

Thanks again Sheep. How about any rivers or creeks in the area?

[sheephunter]

Most of my experience is with the lakes. No doubt there is fish in the major rivers and tributaries but I've always enjoyed the lakes. Cataract Creek at the south end of K-Country is loaded with small brookies but that's the only one I've fished much.

[Nerdapres']

The fish in Elbow aren't stunted. They're not monsters, but I've caught some nice ones out of there.

[sheephunter]

Elbow Lake? Boy that's news to me....maybe the F&W plan of taking a bunch out of there is working then. I've personally never seen a fish over 10 or 11 inches. How big have you taken?

[Salvelinus]

Chester lake is about a 4-5 Km hike with only around 300m height gain. My wimpy fiancee made it without a complaint (BTW, she became my fiancee up there :love: ) The cutties are good size due to C & R and are willing and there's still a few dollies kicking around that will hit streamers and spoons. Gorgeous spot with some subalpine meadows on the way and fossils on the rocky side of the lake.

[Ray]

If you are looking for brookies but are not too hung up on size, Elbow lake is perfect. Me and my boys have started fly-fishing this year, and Elbow is perfect for learning with all of the eager brookies. Mostly 8-10 inches, but with the liberal limit (and no guilt because they are non-native, and overpopulated anyway) we always bring home enough for mom to have a good feed. We like catching them, she likes eating them, and we are out of her hair for a day. win win win:)