Athabasca River Fish Species

[beermilk]

ok quick question for you guys and gals.

got a buddy who claims to have caught a fish on the athabasca at the water treatment plant in Fort McMurray. he didnt know what fish it was other then it looked like some kind of trout. so he looks up online and tells me looked most like a Lake trout.

kinda weird i tought. what kinda of trout do you guys think would be this far north and or south of the lake ? could it have been a bull trout ? i have never heard of anyone catching anything remotely close to a trout around fort mcmurray.

[Xiph0id]

Rainbow if it was indeed a trout.

[beermilk]

just a little more info here he said it weighed around 4 to 5 pounds

[frpd]

I have heard of lake trout being caught at the Shell Landing north of Fort Mckay very rare. Speculation was they come from Lake Athab.

[pickrel pat]

Rainbow if it was indeed a trout.very highly unlikely.

[beermilk]

I have heard of lake trout being caught at the Shell Landing north of Fort Mckay very rare. Speculation was they come from Lake Athab.

hmmm that would be very rare indeed i didnt think they would actaully leave the lake nice to know that is a possibility. thanks for your guys help.

[duffy4]

A picture of the fish would be very helpful.

[Xiph0id]

very highly unlikely.

If it was indeed 4-5 lbs then probably not rainbow, if it was a lake trout then neat stuff.
Maybe it was not a trout?

Artic grayling?

[Sundancefisher]

If it was indeed 4-5 lbs then probably not rainbow, if it was a lake trout then neat stuff.
Maybe it was not a trout?

Artic grayling?


My first thought... Need to know how much the observer knows about fish. I doubt a rainbow. Outside chance a laker...

[Beerfish]

That would be one monstrously big Arctic Grayling if it was 4-5 pounds. If it was that large I doubt if it was a Grayling.

[1/2 oz Bucktail]

a bull trout was recorded in the 1970's near Ft. Mac. during an electrofishing program on the Athabasca.

A laker wouldn't surprise me at all.

[BGSH]

That would be one monstrously big Arctic Grayling if it was 4-5 pounds. If it was that large I doubt if it was a Grayling.

that would smash the current record grayling for Alberta

[Xiph0id]

that would smash the current record grayling for Alberta

And that's why they keep records! LoL

Who knows maybe it was a walleye and this guy was a moron, just flip your regulation guide to the middle and look.
This is yet another reason you should always have the regulations on you.

[beermilk]

the guy knows what walleye pike grayling look like. he was just not to familiar with trout species. he swears it had the head of a salmon type fish. so when i showed him bunch of differnt trout pictures he said Laker for sure. i just wanted to know if that seemed reasonable because i had no idea they would be in the river atleast not this far south of the lake.

[beermilk]

i know this thread is old but apprently another guy caught one in the same spot on the athabasca in fort mcmurray here is the pic tell me what u think

[nekred]

How did it taste?....

Like a bull trout?

[BeeGuy]

Bet that laker was delicious

[beermilk]

i have no idea if the fish was kept or released

[ReconWilly]

The pic is definitely a laker, what an awesome catch!!

[buckbrushoutdoors]

nice looking laker!

[BeeGuy]

And that's why they keep records! LoL

Who knows maybe it was a walleye and this guy was a moron, just flip your regulation guide to the middle and look.
This is yet another reason you should always have the regulations on you.

Which organization keeps provincial records?

[BeeGuy]

Oops meant to quote best guide

[ReconWilly]

The dates are pretty close if he caught the 1st one when you originally posted the thread, and the second one was posted close to when it was caught, i wonder if there is any correllation? Maybe the Lakers enjoy a late may stroll down the river?!?

[BeeGuy]

Yup,

likely related to the movement of a food source.

[beermilk]

nice catach there recon i didnt even notice the dates myself. makes you think for sure.

[ReconWilly]

nice catach there recon i didnt even notice the dates myself. makes you think for sure.

They don't call me recon for nothing ya know haha, it would be benificial if you could figure out what they're gorging on and try to mimic it, interesting place to nail lakers for sure.

[4theloveofthewater]

seen a laker pulled out of the clearwater down behind waterways, so it wouldnt suprise me any more than that did