Red Deer River between Drumheller and East Coulee

[nicemustang]

Hey All, Looking for some info on fishing the RDR between the above stated areas. I want to knock a couple of fish off my list and hoping in this area I can do that (sauger, goldeye, mooneye). I've never fished the river before so I'd appreciate any tips, PM is OK if you don't want to publically share. Am I looking for slow moving water, holes or what? Again, I'm not really sure.

Thanks in advance.

[troller]

Goldeye and Mooneye are everywhere. Mostly, I have found, near the center of the river in just the regular current type areas. You won't be able to target Mooneye over goldeye in anyway, they are pretty much in the same areas and like the same stuff. Anything yellow or orange or a a red/white red devil has worked very well for me, worms for the wife. Where I fish it is probably 8-1 goldeye to mooneye but I do usually get one mooneye every outing. I fish a bit north of there though.

Sauger, good luck. In 30+ years of fishing the RDR I have only caught 2, both on the smallest red/yellow 5 of diamonds.


Just my experiences.

[nicemustang]

So I should look for holes if I want to find walleye and sauger but not necessarily if I want to catch goldeye?

I was thinking pickeral rigs but I guess I can try the spoon thing too.

[troller]

So I should look for holes if I want to find walleye and sauger but not necessarily if I want to catch goldeye?

I was thinking pickeral rigs but I guess I can try the spoon thing too.

Yeah the holes hold whatever Walleye or sauger OR pike that might be in the neighborhood, sorry I forgot that in my first post.

The wife does well with the pickerel rig with worms on goldeye/mooneye but she seems to struggle to get anything else. She plunks it right down in the middle or just a little her way of the middle. Lots of days she will out fish me with spinners but I don't have the patience to bottom fish.:angry3:. I do put a worm under a bobber (or big grasshopper if I can get one) and throw it upstream and let it float down. I do have good luck with that especially if you do hit a school and you are on the right depth, pretty much every cast. It's the only thing I like about the goldeye, get on to them and you can catch a pile of them in an hour or two, they fight pretty well also :).

Like I told the other fellow, I haven't been to Drum in so long I can't really tell you where a good place to start would be, I would if I could.

[Need More Fish'n time]

Sauger, good luck. In 30+ years of fishing the RDR I have only caught 2, both on the smallest red/yellow 5 of diamonds.


I had good luck my fist and only time on the RDR I caught a very nice & tasty Sauger. It was my second cast and I used a small "Storm" soft plastic perch with an ugly steel 6" leader. The rest of the afternoon I caught a nice fat goldeye casting a small jig with a black tail.

[nicemustang]

Ya I realize it might not be that easy. Thank for all the tips.

Now for the greedy part of the thread....really looking for a spot to try :)

[AK47]

I think water is still a little to high and muddy... wait for couple more weeks it should be much better. Good spot to try is near the bridge just near East coulee, there are some holes and some people fishing and catching all the time.

[Fishingnutter]

A few hundred yards up stream from the Morin bridge is a really nice spot too. What everyone else is telling you is perfect,, quick tip on catching grasshoppers; if you have one of those cheap comforter blankets, and old one where they seem to be getting stringier, bad word not stringy but hairier, lay it out where the hoppers are around. if they land on it, the barbs in their legs get caught in the hairs of the blanket and then they're stuck for you to pick them off,, they out-rank dew worms in my opinion. quick note on the dew worms, if you catch your own, keep them in the coolest soil possible or they tend to get less firm and lifeless. and when you thread the hook thru them try to cover as much of the hook as possible. I find just a snelled #10 or #8 without a pickerel rig is best. I fish them in deeper swifter currents so I can't recommend a weight type. Oh! and make sure your line is as tight as possible when waiting.
Goldeye are extremely addictive, grrrrrrrrrreat fun,,, I've never gone flyfishing for them but I imagine it would be something else.

Are you going to smoke them?

[nicemustang]

Yes thanks all for the tips. Never thought of the muddy water....guess that makes sense. As stated I haven't really river fished before. Wanted to go our after work tomorrow though, enjoy some nice weather...maybe I'll just go to Severn.

I wasn't sure if I was going to keep anything...but maybe I will. Are they good eating? I have to admit that I'm a smoking expert for whitefish, so if they are similar then I'd totally give that a try!

[AK47]

I wasn't sure if I was going to keep anything...but maybe I will. Are they good eating? I have to admit that I'm a smoking expert for whitefish, so if they are similar then I'd totally give that a try!

Oh man, smoked goldeye is the only reason I fish Red Dee River. They are superior to any other smoked fish IMHO.

[Fishingnutter]

Goldeye are the bomb smoked,,, marinate in a 50/50 seasalt and brown sugar brine over night, and try to keep a consistent heavy smoke and moderate heat over 8 hours at night,, my fave smoke is applewood but hickory seems to be the choicest. presoak some of the chips in the mix. Holy memory shock, I can smell taste my dads old smoker just writing this.

[troller]

I had good luck my fist and only time on the RDR I caught a very nice & tasty Sauger. It was my second cast and I used a small "Storm" soft plastic perch with an ugly steel 6" leader. The rest of the afternoon I caught a nice fat goldeye casting a small jig with a black tail.

LOL, that is awesome, congrats!! I'm going to try more of those kinds of lures this year!!

Funny story, well to me. When I was 16 or so I caught my first sauger. We were in about waist deep fishing and my buddy looked over, i was holding a fish just under the water looking at it. He yells "What did you catch?!?" I yell back, "I think I caught a redneck walleye *blink*". So he raises his eyebrow and walks over and hits me in the back of the head "that's a SAUGER!!!" I said "oh".

I had never seen one before and it looked like a baby walleye with one big tooth just off center LOL!!! I swore it looked like a classic redneck :sign0161:

A few hundred yards up stream from the Morin bridge is a really nice spot too. What everyone else is telling you is perfect,, quick tip on catching grasshoppers; if you have one of those cheap comforter blankets, and old one where they seem to be getting stringier, bad word not stringy but hairier, lay it out where the hoppers are around. if they land on it, the barbs in their legs get caught in the hairs of the blanket and then they're stuck for you to pick them off,, they out-rank dew worms in my opinion. quick note on the dew worms, if you catch your own, keep them in the coolest soil possible or they tend to get less firm and lifeless. and when you thread the hook thru them try to cover as much of the hook as possible. I find just a snelled #10 or #8 without a pickerel rig is best. I fish them in deeper swifter currents so I can't recommend a weight type. Oh! and make sure your line is as tight as possible when waiting.
Goldeye are extremely addictive, grrrrrrrrrreat fun,,, I've never gone flyfishing for them but I imagine it would be something else.

Are you going to smoke them?


Just goes to show you, after 30 years of doing something, you can always learn something new!!! Thanks for those GREAT tips!!! Use to be able to catch the buggers when I was younger but tried last year, not so fast anymore!!! LOL

Much appreciated!!!!!!!


I wasn't sure if I was going to keep anything...but maybe I will. Are they good eating? I have to admit that I'm a smoking expert for whitefish, so if they are similar then I'd totally give that a try!

A lot of people LOVE them smoked. The MIL is asian and she loves them cooked. They are an oily fish, I guess it's like the fish she grew up eating in the Philippines. The wife likes them too and she was born here LOL. All depends on what your taste is. Myself, I liked them canned. Our neighbor use to can them, no idea how she did it now :(

[nicemustang]

Yes after some research, they are just like whitefish, go figure. Sounds like a lot of bones though, i can do anything boneless but this sounds like a challenge.

As for canning, they'd probably be good pickeled. Want a good pickeled fish recipie?

[luckyme]

from downtown drumheller turn right heading south and pass walmart about 2-3 miles is in your right and look for this land mark.i was there today and have lots of gold eye actions (they a huge) and one small walleye.good luck.i have not tried smoked gold eye yet i'm still trying to get rid it's smelled (buddy decided to take couples home):sick:

[floppychicken]

If you REALLY want some fun, float the river and you WILL have a blast! The RDR is probably my favourite River to fish. Although it's not anywhere near Drumheller, we would float from Dickson Dam on down... Amazing DEEP pools and PLACES to pull off and fish from Gravel BARS! It was Un-Freaking Believable...

On a single float we landed Rainbows, Browns (one was 25 inches!), Whitefish, Gold-Eye (nice schools), Pike, Walleye (6lbs+) and a couple suckers! What a Hoot! LOL...

No Mooneye or Sauger though... Apparently they are between Dead Rear and Drumheller...

Cheers,

[jacenbeers]

I might head to Drumheller next week to try this out. Would it be bad if the river was muddy?

[nicemustang]

The wife and I are going to ditch work early and head out there today to east coulee and go from there. See what happens and I'll post results.

[McDeth]

If you want sauger, fish the SSR. I randomly followed my backroads map to a deep cliffside pool and hauled out 10+ sauger and a bunch of walleye over 20".

[nicemustang]

The point of my post is because this location is less than an hour away. The SSR is a great fishery, just too far to drive after work and fish for a fwe hours.

[Deer Hunter]

http://environment.alberta.ca/apps/basins/DisplayData.aspx?Type=Figure&BasinID=7&DataType=1&StationID=RREDDRUM

Looks like the river has just started to run higher. It will be muddy and faster so be prepared to sling bait with some serious weight on it.

The fishing was the ****s on Monday further downstream but good luck anyways!

[jinx]

I used minnows with the kids by morrin bridge caught suagers and goldeye

[mcampb]

I've fished Drum the majority of my life (live here). You won't find any bows or browns unfortunately this far downstream. Big walleye have been pulled out of this area though. Lots of 11 - 12 pounders. The pike seem like they're around some years and disappear the next, but I've caught 15 lbs pike in some years. Big deep holes are pretty much the only way to find the walleye and small sauger will usually hang around the edges of the holes. Tons of goldeye everywhere. I'd try any of the bridges or deep holes. Good luck!!!

[nicemustang]

My report from last night. I fished from 7-9 at a spot just south of the east coulee bridge. I wasn't there long and had my first goldeye. In total caught 4 but missed A LOT of bites. Had 3 others on but lost them before land.

The river is up high but not real high from what I could tell. Quite fast moving and quite dirty. Saw a rattlesnake, a beaver and deer 30 feet from me. Actually I was sitting there in my chair with me BB playing tunes and I could hear a rustle behind me in the bush (freaked me out a bit). A frickin deer pops his head out and was going to come down to the river. It finally saw me and spent about 2 minutes looking at me before backing away, snorting and went on her way. Sounded like there was more than 1.

I was using worms on the top of pickeral rig, minnow on the bottom. Lots of bites on both. The biggest one I caught was on a half minnow. I was missing lots of bites with the worms maybe because they were snapping off the ends or something. Needed 4 oz of weight just to keep steady which is also hard to feel the bites when using that much weight. All in all, another fish off my list and first time on the RDR (won't be my last). Weather was beautiful down there, 18 and no wind! Lots of mosquitos though.

A couple of pics.

First Goldeye from RDR!
http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp140/nicemustang11/Fishing/IMG00023-20100526-1912.jpg

Second...about the same size. How big do they get?
http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp140/nicemustang11/Fishing/IMG00024-20100526-1919.jpg
http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp140/nicemustang11/Fishing/IMG00025-20100526-1921.jpg
http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp140/nicemustang11/Fishing/IMG00026-20100526-1921.jpg
http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp140/nicemustang11/Fishing/IMG00027-20100526-2002.jpg

[jeprli]

Awesome report!

I've tried fishing it only once, and that was for 15-20 minutes, no luck but my friend who used to live there showed me some pictures of decent sized walleye.

Just after spawn when river starts to rise he said Rosebud river confluence is the place to be.

[the local angler]

i have gotta get a goldeye on the fly this year.great job man

[aulrich]

Grasshopper patterns work like a charm, bring lots, goldeye are remarkably tough on flys. Don't have alot of on the fly experience but I would think stimulators and other generic drys would work.

My experience with goldeye is that they are a bad C&R fish, in that even a simple lip hook can be fatal. you might not notice it in a faster moving river, but the lakes (winnipeg river system) that I fished growing up at least 50% mortality if not more, we ended up just keeping all we caught.

We rigged either a bobber or pickeral rig on the bottom, about a #10 sized hook and a piece of night crawler that covered the hook.

Never ate one that was not smoked, bones are not much different than a perch.

On the right gear one of the funnest fish in the water.

If a guy wanted to go near Red Deer where would he start

[WayneChristie]

Grasshopper patterns work like a charm, bring lots, goldeye are remarkably tough on flys. Don't have alot of on the fly experience but I would think stimulators and other generic drys would work.

My experience with goldeye is that they are a bad C&R fish, in that even a simple lip hook can be fatal. you might not notice it in a faster moving river, but the lakes (winnipeg river system) that I fished growing up at least 50% mortality if not more, we ended up just keeping all we caught.

We rigged either a bobber or pickeral rig on the bottom, about a #10 sized hook and a piece of night crawler that covered the hook.

Never ate one that was not smoked, bones are not much different than a perch.

On the right gear one of the funnest fish in the water.

If a guy wanted to go near Red Deer where would he start

try the RDR at Blackfalds, just up from the junction with the other river there (Blindman)? Last time I fished it they were biting right along the shore. Lots of other species in there too.

[Jamie]

Some good info here.

My wife and daughter will be camping around Nacmine for a few months. I was thinking about heading out and trying my luck right there.
Anyone have any info on Fly fishing at the Nacmine campground?
It would be my first time on the water with a fly rod, so please keep it simple.

Thanks
Jamie

[WayneChristie]

I fished below the bridge at East Coulee before, where the road goes up the hill and there is a small island. Had to wade to the island, then caught a ton of goldeye in the main river. And walleye, pike, and other assorted weird fish.

[Shiami]

So it appears I'll be fishing in the area late June this year. I'm all set up for a camping trip out to Dinosaur Provincial Park, so I figure I'll head out there, and see what I can find for spots in or within hiking distance of the campground.

I will probably be fishing like a mad-woman over those five days, since I've got a real score to settle with the fish in alberta... I haven't landed anything since I was 14! I wish I could say it was because I haven't been out, but I've definately been out there, just had some horrendous luck with weak knots, fish spitting hooks, and weak and wussy responses to what I'm fishing.

To rub salt in the wound, every time I take the boyfriend out with me, he will usually land at least two fish to my zero. Oi.

So I plan to go out and play with the Goldeye, and perhaps maybe see if I can get a burbot, or a pike. Thought I'll admit I feel bad catching pike most of the time. Partially because I figure hooking and releasing something (even gently) still has a chance of killing the fish, I'd rather catch a few tasty keepers than catch and release a hundred fish. So I won't be focusing as much on the pike. I find them less than tasty, and I've never landed a keeper. Besides, from the sounds of it, there are lots of anglers who love to play with the pike who I should be leaving the fish to!

Any suggestions would be helpful, although the thread itself has already given me some good ideas. I'm going to head out and replace a large number of my hooks before heading out, lest the issue be with the dullness or sharpness of my tackle, such as it is.

I think the game plan so far is to have a float with a gang hook underneath and fish some bait for the Goldeye and Burbot, and maybe buy a casting bubble so I can play with flies if I get bored. My mom gifted me a whole set of smaller ones (she's a flyfisher. :D ) and I really don't ever get a chance to use them, what with not owning a fly rod.

Any handy hints?
(I'll make sure to get photos of what I do catch, and report back if you like, too!)

[Mulestalker]

Tip of the day....chicken skin:confused0074: like previously post Goldeye are famous for stealing bait,cut your raw skin in slivers (like worms) then stick'm on your hook ,Goldeye love this stuff and good luck getting it off the hook!

Jamie, the last trail or opening before you get to the ball diamond at the campground is you best bet if you are targeting Goldeye,seems to be popular with the shore fishermen,runs about 6ft deep close to shore ,with shallows all around.

[Fishingnutter]

Some good info here.

My wife and daughter will be camping around Nacmine for a few months. I was thinking about heading out and trying my luck right there.
Anyone have any info on Fly fishing at the Nacmine campground?
It would be my first time on the water with a fly rod, so please keep it simple.

Thanks
Jamie

bring lots of water and a big umbrella as it's smokin hot there. also, on moonless nights, star gazing is phenomenal

[aulrich]

Shammi don't worry too much about releasing fish other than goldeye most of the time fish are tolerant with proper handleing of the release.

[Calgary101]

can any one post the river condition in Drumheller? I went to Drumheller on June 26 and July 24, 2010 and the river was very muddy with strong current.:)

Thanks in advance!
Yaba,

[monsoon567]

sorry if someone already mentioned it (i stopped reading after first page of comments) but one of the local favorite spot in the RDR around drumheller is the rosedale bridge, just walk past the first pillar under the bridge ( pretty shallow), then walk straight out towards the rosebud river merging and cast a lure (i love using 5 of dia spoon). Some GIANT wallys from there. Another good spot is just past east coulee, theres this island when it gets shallow enough, u can actually just walk onto the island there and have caught some big goldeyes wallys lings pike (a big one somehow snapped the hook off of my dads spoon ) lol.

I also see alot of people fish down by newcastle (straight across river from 18th street in midland). I live in midland so i fish on the midland side (caught a few 5-6 pounder wallys )

a final spot i should mention is the train bridge by 25th street midland (across river), caught a nice sauger there earlier, but the land there is owned by someone (luckily their grandson is a close friend of mine lol haha), so i fished there once in a while

hope this helps

[MikeGuo]

Yes thanks all for the tips. Never thought of the muddy water....guess that makes sense. As stated I haven't really river fished before. Wanted to go our after work tomorrow though, enjoy some nice weather...maybe I'll just go to Severn.

I wasn't sure if I was going to keep anything...but maybe I will. Are they good eating? I have to admit that I'm a smoking expert for whitefish, so if they are similar then I'd totally give that a try!

Where do you usually go to fish for whitefish? winter or summer? I'm have a tonne of trouble catching them :( (beginner here).