Looking for a good place to camp and fish.

[Chris89lx]

I'm looking for a place to go camping and have some good shore fishing near by. (we have no boat)
Preferably not in a campground because it is a guy's weekend and I'm sure we won't be too quiet at night.

Somthing within a couple hours of Calgary would be nice.
It's for the weekend of the 24th and 25th.
There will be as many as four travel trailers if all the guys can commit.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris.

[Chris89lx]

No one wants to give up their spots I guess.

Campgrounds would be okay too.

[SNAPFisher]

Well, you have to realize that your request is so broad it is difficult to start to help. A couple of hours from Calgary is one monstrous area with more campgrounds than I could name. I live in Edmonton so I'm not a great person to respond and I also do not camp much....hoping to change in my own future.

Maybe be more specific. Is fishing a requirement? If so, what area are you more interested in - the area just around Calgary, more interested in heading East towards the foothills/mountains?

If fishing from shore is the only option then I would recommend a campground near to or beside a river. Maybe look for something along the bow river. If fly fishing is not an option then fish with casting rods using shinny spinners and/or spoons.

Just my 2 cents. Hope it helps.

[Chris89lx]

Thanks for the reply.
I didn't want to be too specific to get the most opinions.
A couple areas were were thinking was Crawling Valley but it's pretty weedy right now. (as with most) Chain Lakes. (Been there before)

The scenery is always nicer in the foothills/mountains. So if I had to pick it would be west of Calgary.
Casting from shore is the only option so we need shore access.

Any other suggestions.

[Chris89lx]

I guess no one want's to give up their secrets?

I'm just looking for some water were the fish will be biting and a place to park the trailer would be nice too.

[Lethalconnection]

PM Sent

[TreeGuy]

Hey Chris. We had our trailer out last weekend to Banff and set up at the main campground on Two Jack Lake (by Minewannka). We got there about noon of Friday and basically had our pick of sites. With up to 4 trailers, you may just get an entire loop to yourself. I think that it was around $20/night to have a site with a firepit. We had a blast! I saw lots of activity on Two Jack, and Minewannka is what it is. At least it gives you the option of renting a boat for a day, some might want to go out with the guides, and its $40 to do the boat tour. At least with that many guys, you have alot of options, not to mention the Bow. Good luck and have a great weekend. Just consider one thing.....livers remember!:D

Tree

[Chris89lx]

Thanks for the reply Treeguy.

Lethalconnection gave me a lead on what looks to be a great bush camping spot west of Sundre.
The guy's I'm going with prefer the bush camping to the campgrounds so I think we are going to try this spot first.

I liked the idea of being able to rent a boat on Minewannka but maybe another time.
Besides this gives me a great excuse to finally pick up some fly fishing gear to try out in the rivers.

Thanks again to everyone who replied.

[TreeGuy]

Hey Chris, I'm glad ya found a spot....you guys have a great trip, and if you ever think about heading out to Minewannka, PM me and I'll try to give you some tips (they're great tips.....I haven't caught anything in there yet, but maybe if you do the exact OPPOSITE of what I do, it might work for you):lol:

Tree

[Versatile]

Why not go to the forks? Sturgeon, walleye, goleye, pike, mud suckers and its down in the river bottom.

[Chris89lx]

The forks was one option but we'll try out luck at this other place first.
Maybe next time out.

[Chris89lx]

Well we had a great time but we did not catch one fish between the six of us.
we were just south of the James-Wilson rec area on the James river.
It was a beautiful spot but were unable to find the fish.

[buckhunter]

Go to Watervalley and follow into Crown land. There are some good creeks and dams back in there that have some pretty nice cuts. Thats NW of Calgary, but southwest of Sundre. Just pull of the road when you get into the Crown Land and set up. You will see alot of areas to do so. Keep it pristine and take your garbage with you. No power and water but then, thats what I call camping. Lots of Moose, Elk And Deer as well. Land owners before Crown Land don't mind giving permission to hunt, but ask first.
Have fun!!1!:)

[Chris89lx]

I have driven down Harold Creek Road many times (west out of Water Valley)
There seems to be a lot of trails out that way. Never really thought of fishing around there. It would be nice because I'm guessing it would be only an hour from my place on the north end of Calgary.