Golden trout?
 

Anywhere in south central alberta (within 2 hour drive of calgary) where i can catch these things? it says they have them in zone ES1 but i dont have my regs around to check where ES1 is.

3rd sticky from the top..

There are two lakes in the Beaver Mines / Castle River area that have them. One is South Fork Lakes on Barnaby Ridge, and the other is Rainy Ridge Lake. They both require a fairly hard hike to get to.

forget it....doesn't help you

Tombstone Lake in the Kananaskis used to have some. It's also a hike in lake. I haven't fished out there in over 10 years but I remember it was prone to winterkill.

is it possible to quad into rainy ridge lake in the summer? or are quads off limits and thanks for the replies guys.

Rainy Ridge lake
 

I fished Rainy Ridge last summer for the first time. It is probably about a 3 hour drive from Calgary to the trail head, then another 2-3 hour hike depending on the route you take in and how much gear you bring. It is in the West Castle area, and you'll need a 4x4 with some clearance to get past a few spots on the 2-track to the trailhead. As far as the hike in goes, well it sucks. I'm sure that is because I took the wrong way in, and I essentially bush-whacked straight up overgrown avalanche chutes choked with alder until I found the trail that goes around the mountain to the lake. I tried to find the right trail on the way out, and from the lake it starts off nice and easy and clear as day, but lo and behold it disappears and I basically came straight back down the way I went in.

I stayed there for 2 nights and 3 days, the weather was fantastic and the fishing was OK. The camp spot is awesome and we did catch golden trout, but they were quite finicky and there aren't too many places to fish from shore. The south shore of the lake is a fairly steep avalanche chute with large boulders, you can stand on the boulders and cast in certain spots, however the north shore has trees right to the water and it is hard to back cast. The fish in Rainy Ridge are smaller than they are supposed to be at Barnaby.

If you are thinking of going, send me a message and I can send you directions and google earth photos with the "trail" highlighted. Good luck, its a nice spot and the fish are beautiful.

I would say you are unable to quad in...trail in is too thick.

Michelle and Coral as well...

I've fished Michelle with good results. The largest golden was maybe 13 inches, but they're beautiful fish. The golden colour doesn't seem to show real well in photos, you have to see them live to really appreciate them.

where are michelle and coral located? are they all hike in lakes. i think i may have to take up hiking next year haha, thanks for the feedback guys.

The biggest Golden Trout ever caught in Alberta was in Battle river Dam, You might want to try there, But I am not sure about icefishing there though:confused:

Where did you get that information? The largest golden trout was caught from the lakes on Barnaby Ridge by Beaver Mines. You won't find golden trout in anything but alpine water bodies.

http://www.albertaoutdoorsmen.ca/record-book.htm

I very much doubt that there was golden trout in Tombstone lake. It has a long history of being stocked with cutthroats (at least 20 years).

I think I confused with Gold Eye:mad2:

If you’re thinking of fishing for golden trout you will have to pack light....light on tackle that is!
Small is an understatement...bring a wide variety of flies (12-22, 24) and tippet (7x or maybe smaller). Long leaders are also needed as they ARE line shy.

If you’re not fly fishing with this method I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn't get any fish. And after a long hike in, it's nice to get a fish or two!

Show us photo's when you get back.

well i was thinking fly fishing/ spin cast lol can you use bait in these lakes? i doubt it eh. but i am kind of a noob fly fisherman, I am getting better though, i would just enjoy gettin out there fishin for some golden trout even if i didn't catch anything, i could still say i tried and had a good time.

no wonder you hunt alone!:huh::lol::lol::lol:

Battery,

Michelle/Coral lakes are about a 10 hour hike in approx.

I don't think you could quad in or use bait there either.

seems like a lot of effort for a single trout.....I'd love to do it, with fly fishing, catch and release on a gorgeous summer day in the mountains! they are too pretty and rare a fish to cook up...take a pic and let them go....

but definitely if you are thinking bait fishing, most mountain streams lakes, is prohibited due to the delicate populations.

golden trout fall under a diff category if you want to take one home.

for each game fish species or group of species is listed below:

* Trout and Arctic Grayling – 5 in total, combined of:

0 bull trout (native to Alberta);
2 Northern Dolly Varden (stocked in Chester Lake only);
1 golden trout;
2 Arctic grayling;
3 lake trout;
5 cutthroat trout;
5 rainbow trout;
5 brown trout;
5 brook trout.