Welcome to the fishing community, I can't speak for hermitage or fort sask in
the winter. But if your looking for hook and bait for trout, try using smaller hooks like a Swedish pimple, kastmaster, or demon beetle lure. Tip them with small shrimp pieces, and fish the bottom of the lake working your way up. Get maybe a fishing guide to help locate surrounding lakes and try some of these ponds/reservoirs around Edmonton.
Hope this helps
kevin