Does Wabamun Lake Have the Potential To Become A Trophy Lake Once Again?

[HuyFishin]

Wabamun once a good trophy pike lake now gone due to all the walleye. Does it have the Potential to become a trophy walleye fishery? It just crossed my mind. since I saw one big walleye come out of the water.

Will this body of water ever hold Manitoba master angler sizes? 28 inch plus up to 32 inch.

What is your thoughts being a zero limit lake? Will they just always have big heads and slim bodies?

[Smoky buck]

Well all the talk of skinny fish with big heads makes me think there is a lack of forage for the predator population. Feed being a huge factor in creating trophy fish I would say it’s not looking good. There is still going to be some hiding in there though

I have not spent enough time on the lake to truly judge but it doesn’t sound like it’s going to become a trophy lake the way it is now

[HuyFishin]

I wouldn't necessarily say they are all starved haha they are just not plump or footballs

[WinefredCommander]

Not with Stephen Spencer as the fisheries biologist....

[Justfishin73]

Lots of fish, but in the 40-45 cm range---have a caught a 63 cm out of there last year--not many, but they are out there

[EZM]

The population of big pike in there has declined. I would bet few people have put as many hours on that water as I have ..... and it's not the same.

Sure, there are a few big ones in there, but caught a 45"-46" that was likely only 13-14 lbs (my educated guess - I didn't weigh him but I'm usually within a pound or two by the time it's beside the boat and I'm looking at it) - I just put a tape over him while he was in the water.

That same fish would have been high teens to mid/low twenties before the walleye.

According to studies, and to many people's surprise, Large pike USUALLY get 75-80% of their food from small minnows and small forage.

Since they have to compete with the schools of walleye - there's less for them to eat.

Either way ......... I really hope so. I am saddened to see this once trophy fishery RUINED.

[thorne]

Potential is always there...but not likely. It have to stay a 0 retention lake because, lets face it, there are thousands of walleye unlawfully removed from that lake every year...as for the good ole days of 10-20+lb pike being a common thing, that was due to the power plant. The plant would pump warm water in the lake all year round keeping vegetation alive at the outlet, keeping large amounts of bait fish going and the pike feed like kings. Now the plant is gone, massive amounts of competition have been introduced with the walleye, and fishing pressure is waaayy up...so in all likelyhood, no. It will not regain the glory days of pre-2012ish...

[Moosetalker]

I agree with Thorne most important change from the big pike days in Wabamun was the installation of discharge water coolers instead of warm water straight into the lake.

[pikergolf]

This province and it's love affair with walleye. The only thing they are good for is eating and you can't do that anymore. How many pike fisheries have been ruined because of walleye. It is ridiculous.

[-JR-]

10 more years and that lake will have monster walleye in there.
There are a few things that needs to happen to make it a world class fishery .
Feed them with live minnows.
Build more campgrounds with boat launches.

The ideal area for a campground and boat launch at Wabamun would be the old power plant cannel . For those that have been to south buck lake know what I am talking about.

[HuyFishin]

Originally Posted by Justfishin73

Lots of fish, but in the 40-45 cm range---have a caught a 63 cm out of there last year--not many, but they are out there

63cm would be a hell of a fish. I was hoping more of a Manitoba Master Angler for the future of the lake. 71CM plus

[pikeman06]

You don't need warm water and power plants to produce big pike. You need a predator prey balance and fatty whitefish to produce big pike. Introducing predators and protecting them till they winter kill or starve is not how it's done. End of story. Mr Nixon will staighten things out but some of these fisheries are gonna take a decade to come back.

[Bear Ballz]

Does anyone have any factual information as to why a person can’t keep walleye from Wab? Other than the 0 retention regulation. The oil spill has been long gone for years. Mercury contents in the fish were too high for consumption was one story I heard?

[HuyFishin]

Originally Posted by Bear Ballz

Does anyone have any factual information as to why a person can’t keep walleye from Wab? Other than the 0 retention regulation. The oil spill has been long gone for years. Mercury contents in the fish were too high for consumption was one story I heard?

This is the problem, I think nobody has taken the initiative to test the water, test the fish to see if its healthy for human consumption. It makes me wonder if Alberta outdoorsmen members should take the initiative to have the lake tested so we have hard data in order to start a petition to allow fish retention. Open it up for Slot sizing in the 21/22 season. This will maybe remove alot of fishing pressure in the surrounding lakes.

Send it directly to Stephen Spencer

[Sooner]

Are the whites still in Wab and in good numbers?


I remember fishing the canals, the big pike. Whites at Fallis with the family laying on a cushion with a blanket over your head.


Then the spill and the pics of the big pike after. Everyone was in favor of the pike fishery it was becoming.

Then the walleye experiment and all those skinny pike pics.


You really have to wonder what these Bio's are thinking sometimes. I guess we will see once the lake evens out if there can big big pike and walleye at the same time.

[wind drift]

As I understand, the walleye stocking at Wabamun wasn’t an experiment, but a conservation requirement. Walleye were eliminated by intensive commercial netting prior to the 1930s. Since then, restoring the population to meet the conservation mandate and commitment to the First Nations that have fished the lake through history has been attempted at intervals. The warm water coming from the old Wabamun plant likely messed the spawning conditions for walleye and they never took until the latest effort.

I’ve fished there for decades. Back in the 80’s it was an odd fishery, a real roller coaster. The whitefish would be thick one year, then scarce the next. There weren’t many pike, but the warm water meant that they grew fast. Bow hunters would hunt big pike in the open water of Town Bay during the winter. There was a bit of a perch fishery, but never anything of note that I recall.

I think, big picture & long term, that the pike fishing we experienced a few years ago, after the lake was opened to fishing again after the oil spill, will be viewed as an aberration. Likely had much to do with no fishing allowed for a few years. Once the lake was accessible again, even before the walleye were first stocked, I thought the pike population had started to decline within a year or two. I know we want to point fingers at walleye, but I don’t think we can eliminate fishing as a big factor.

[Talking moose]

A lake of that size......with proper management.......has the potential yes.

[EZM]

Originally Posted by HuyFishin

This is the problem, I think nobody has taken the initiative to test the water, test the fish to see if its healthy for human consumption. It makes me wonder if Alberta outdoorsmen members should take the initiative to have the lake tested so we have hard data in order to start a petition to allow fish retention. Open it up for Slot sizing in the 21/22 season. This will maybe remove alot of fishing pressure in the surrounding lakes.

Send it directly to Stephen Spencer

There were water quality tests done every year, since 1980.

Either way, the water is safe and clean.

The only parameters which are above average (but not crazy high) seem to be some heavy metals, but there are not attributed to the spill, but rather, to the former and present coal mining and power generation activities on this watershed. And NONE are anywhere near the limits imposed by Alberta Environment.

and yeah ........... surprised me too.

report from last year ...

https://static1.squarespace.com/stat...atchReport.pdf

[EZM]

Originally Posted by Bear Ballz

Does anyone have any factual information as to why a person can’t keep walleye from Wab? Other than the 0 retention regulation. The oil spill has been long gone for years. Mercury contents in the fish were too high for consumption was one story I heard?

I'm pretty sure this is reviewed every year and I think (my best guess here) is that it has more to do with proximity to the city versus any concerns over residual contaminants. See previous post.

I would, however, be in favor of culling a few million of those darn walleye out of there. Tags might be a good idea for a season or two.

I would guarantee the lake would be even more crowded than it is now on nice weekends. I live in West Edmonton, and from my driveway, thru Tim's drive thru, and to the boat launch is under an hour.

[pikeman06]

If the walleye aren't reproducing they might as well go now. If they are then a slot limit between 35 and 45 should thin them out a bit.

[Bear Ballz]

Originally Posted by EZM

I'm pretty sure this is reviewed every year and I think (my best guess here) is that it has more to do with proximity to the city versus any concerns over residual contaminants. See previous post.

I would, however, be in favor of culling a few million of those darn walleye out of there. Tags might be a good idea for a season or two.

I would guarantee the lake would be even more crowded than it is now on nice weekends. I live in West Edmonton, and from my driveway, thru Tim's drive thru, and to the boat launch is under an hour.

Thank you EZM excellent info. I agree with the proximity to the city as well. Tags would be a great idea to cull them, it reminds me of pigeon years ago with a dozen Skeletor walleye fighting for a bare jig head 6” below the water surface.

[Rikkles Fisher]

There is definitely some 28+ walleye in wabamun already from pics of friends that I have seen. I think the lake would need a good couple years of big baitfish before they would plump up, unfortunately the walleye are too greedy to share and they stocked huge numbers of them in there lol

[Don Meredith]

If you're looking for information on the Wabamun fishery, go to the Wabamun Watershed Management Council page on the subject. There, you will learn that net sampling of the lake occurred in 2015 (the next one is scheduled for this fall) and all current regulations are based on that sampling. The fish were clear of all pollutants related to the 2005 train derailment within a few months after the incident. The reason there are zero limits on all fish is to protect the growing walleye population.

The reason they do sampling netting only once every 5 years is because of the hundreds of pounds of fish killed in the nets.

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by Don Meredith

If you're looking for information on the Wabamun fishery, go to the Wabamun Watershed Management Council page on the subject. There, you will learn that net sampling of the lake occurred in 2015 (the next one is scheduled for this fall) and all current regulations are based on that sampling. The fish were clear of all pollutants related to the 2005 train derailment within a few months after the incident. The reason there are zero limits on all fish is to protect the growing walleye population.

The reason they do sampling netting only once every 5 years is because of the hundreds of pounds of fish killed in the nets.

Sounds like a lack of forage species and too many walleye is their conclusion

Alberta may want to consider some effort into stocking forage species and thin some walleye out of a fair number of lakes.

[Fishwhere]

Pretty doubtful i think. Reason that they got that way in the first place was the warm water from the plant allowing better growth rates and around the clock active feeding in my opinion.

[Fishin' Fool]

Originally Posted by Bear Ballz

Does anyone have any factual information as to why a person can’t keep walleye from Wab? Other than the 0 retention regulation. The oil spill has been long gone for years. Mercury contents in the fish were too high for consumption was one story I heard?

No facts that I can provide documents for, but according to a CO I had a nice chat with at Fallis last summer, as soon as it can be shown that the stocked walleye are reproducing there will be retention of some sort allowed.

[Don Meredith]

Originally Posted by Fishin' Fool

No facts that I can provide documents for, but according to a CO I had a nice chat with at Fallis last summer, as soon as it can be shown that the stocked walleye are reproducing there will be retention of some sort allowed.

The walleye have been reproducing in Wabamun ever since the first mature fish were transplanted, starting in 2011. AEP is waiting for the fish hatched in the lake to reach maturity in sufficient numbers to sustain a self-supporting population and ultimately a harvest.

That said, there are a number of non- or former government biologists who believe the walleye fishery could sustain a controlled harvest now. That would help sustain the populations of pike, white fish and perch that have suffered from the introduction of a new predator in the mix.

I wrote about it in 2017 for the AO:
https://donmeredith.wordpress.com/20...ishery-update/

Don

[Talking moose]

.

[Talking moose]

I say put lakers back into lesser slave!!!! Touchwood too!!!!

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

I say put lakers back into lesser slave!!!! Touchwood too!!!!

Don't forget Splake!