30” eye or 40” pike?
 

Which is easier or harder to come by in Berta?

I figure 40” pike is easier.

Agreed...in AB. Trophy walleye are few and far between...it's a shame, really. Everyone just wants eaters.

30” eye or 40” pike
 

A 30” eye is definitely harder to get. Been trying for over 50 years. Have several 40” pike to my credit.

Yeah pike is easier for sure....I've had 4 this year already in very few outings. I'm still looking for a confirmed 30" eye....I've had 2 28" this year lots between 26-28 and one that was I think bigger than 28 but had no measuring device at the time. Still dont think it was over 30 though.

I’ve had 4 walleye this year between 26-29 inches. Haven’t targeted pike yet.

I've caught 40 inch plus pike in Alberta over the years, but only managed a 26 inch walleye in the same time frame.

BW

I target river walleye. Usually catch 2 or 3, 30"+ a year. I fish almost every weekend in Sept. and Oct.

Have caught several of both...lakes and rivers. Easier to find a 40" pike IMHO

I'd say 40in pike, although 30in 'eyes aren't particularly rare in rivers in September and October.

There are 30" walleyes in Newell and Crawling Valley as well although I wouldn't call them abundant.

I was born and raised and continue to live 100m from the red deer river, I've caught many walleye over 30" first when i was in junior high. My biggest pike (45.5") also comes from the red deer but in this area 30" walleye are more common. Imo

I have only ever seen 30" walleye in Lake Winnipeg, where they're extremely common. I can't even imagine a black and gold 30"er.......that's a unicorn right there.

caught them both, none live up to even a 4 foot dino. :sHa_shakeshout: more 30 plus eyes than I can remember, would like to beat my 33.25 though especially on the flyrod

Both exist, but at this time of the year, look where a good size creek flows into a river, especially on a year that has had such heavy current flow like this one.

Look for a river that is pretty long and has few or no dams. Surprising little pressure all summer due to heavy flow rates this year.

Pools are nicely punched out and the fish are starting to move in.

But there are lakes with both. Trouble is most walleye guys throw jigs when they need to tow 6 inch Rap Husky Jerk #14s for the big fish.

Justg saying...

Drewski

Never even knew these were benchmarks of sorts until now, somewhat like a 60" moose? Really only been back fishing this year, caught a 40" + pike, he had a back on him like an Angus bull. Wife caught a 25" Walleye, it was pretty cool

40" pike are far from rare in some spots and without a doubt are easier imo. Still haven't caught a 30" walleye although I know some guys that consistently do.

For both it comes down to location, if you know the spots that hold these big fish it becomes a lot easier to catch them.

Edit: To me a 30" walleye is closer to a ~43" pike. Walleye in 28" range would be closer to a 40" pike.

I was just going to say the same thing. Although I have not cracked the 30" mark this year I have had a 29" and a couple 28.5". Got a couple 30's last year and 4 30" and over in 2017. To me a pike of the same caliber of a 30" walleye is in the mid 40's range. That being said the biggest pike I have had in the boat was this spring at 45.5". How rare that these fish are is all in where you fish. Fish the lakes that are capable of producing these size of fish and you could see multiple in a day.

Seems like it's entirely dependent on where you're located. In my area, the average fisherman who puts in time and can cast a pickerel rig has the chance to catch a 30in 'eye on the river, whereas some posters have said they've fished their whole lives without catching one.

30” eye
 

You’re right about that. Fished for them for 50 years, and have caught thousands of them, but still not a 30”er. Stayed tuned I guess. LOL.

I’ve caught a lot more 40”+ pike than I have Walleye.
Sometimes I catch multiple 40” pike a day fairly easily.

This was my personal best Walleye caught last year.

An absolute Hog.

A sort of interesting thing that Manitoba does (more as a tourism thing, to get people out fishing) is they have this "Master Angler" program, whereby they set benchmarks for each species that exists in MB waters. If you catch one, and get a picture with it on a bump board (to verify the length), you can submit it to their record book, which is available to see online. They'll send you a certificate and a badge thing. And you can see where your catch ranks all time in the province. It's kinda neat. They actually sell measuring tapes for your bump board that have the various species Master Angler length on it, to make it easier. Some guys don't like submitting to it because they don't want people to know where the big ones are, but it's a fun thing especially for kids...

That’s a super cool idea.
It should also be mandatory to provide a photo of that fish’s release though.

What if he wanted to keep it?

Yes, they have a notation in the record book as to whether it was released or kept! As long as it's within the regs, no problems. It really is a fun little program. When we were kids, it was always a sort of competition to try and get our "Specialist" designation (Catch 3 (??) Master Anglers of any species = "Specialist").

Yes master angler is a great concept. I first became aware of it watching uncut angling. Aron was after pike at clear lake for his girls master angler award.

Well by NOT keeping it,

It would promote catch and release conservation, give other people motivation to go try to catch that “same fish” now even bigger! Bringing more anglers and more tourism and a greater impact to the economy while returning the most productive and superior breeding stock fish to that water way.

All the guy that released that fish would be out is lunch.

It would be nice to have something like that. AB has a hard enough time managing their fisheries, I'm not sure they could handle a Master Angler program. There are a few other "master angler" awards that would apply to AB.

Mepps Master Angler (Mepps lures only)
https://www.mepps.com/master-angler/

In-Fisherman used to have one. I'm not finding a link for it. And the last post on their Master Angler page is from 2014.

And of course IFGA (species limited)
https://igfa.org/angler-recognition/

the biggest thing I've noticed about Alberta angling (that I see as a deterrent to this program) is that guys don't seem to be as interested in catching trophies as they are catching supper. I'm not judging or anything, but for me personally, I'm all about catching trophies. Attempting to get record breaking fish. I think if that was more of a goal for anglers in the province, it might be doable...

I'd argue the opposite. You just hear more from the catch & keep crowd because of their limited opportunity here.

We do have AFGA awards and also Alberta Angler of the Year so not like we don't have anything here in AB.