Another DEAD trip out to Wab

Safety D · #1 03-06-2015, 11:23 AM

What's with this lake? A year ago same spot same time hammering nice fish and lots. A year later it's dead. Another lake down the toilet !!????

crazyperch · #2 03-06-2015, 11:44 AM

i hope not lol im taking the niece and nephew to try ice fishing for the first time tomorrow

neekrivers · #3 03-06-2015, 11:54 AM

I think you need to find another spot on Wab, this year I have seen the biggest fish in my 3 years of ice fishing, 2 19 lbs, an 18lb and multiple 15's plus lots over 10lb.

Skoaltender · #4 03-06-2015, 12:11 PM

Wab is far from dead, can't keep the jack off the spoon some days

Red Neck · #5 03-06-2015, 12:43 PM

I have been hitting Wab hard all week.Camera fishing has been good. Yesterday Pike White's and suckers all in view at the same time.
How ever the fish biting has been horrible? There's lots of fish down there but there not taking what I offered

Red Neck Out

Safety D · #6 03-06-2015, 12:59 PM

Guys catch a few decent fish and they think they caught 25 fish and a 12 pounder they say is 20. Lots of that bs going on. If you type on here let's get some factual information. 4 hours in 1 ten pound jack. 7 lines out. I think most people agree it's dead in comparison to previous years

crownb · #7 03-06-2015, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Safety D

Guys catch a few decent fish and they think they caught 25 fish and a 12 pounder they say is 20. Lots of that bs going on. If you type on here let's get some factual information. 4 hours in 1 ten pound jack. 7 lines out. I think most people agree it's dead in comparison to previous years

In my experience this year I am still catching a ton of pike but it's tough to break the ten pound mark, other years it wasn't a problem catching into the teens and once and a while a 20 plus.

lromanchuk · #8 03-06-2015, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crownb

In my experience this year I am still catching a ton of pike but it's tough to break the ten pound mark, other years it wasn't a problem catching into the teens and once and a while a 20 plus.

Totally agree. Catching lots, just no size.

pikergolf · #9 03-06-2015, 01:29 PM

Pressured catch and release lake fish get smart. Fish get caught a few times they smarten up. Time to refine and tighten up presentations. Will still have some good days when everything aligns just right but for the most part I'd guess the days of easy fish are over. Only the best will catch big fish regularly.

SKSniper · #10 03-06-2015, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Safety D

Guys catch a few decent fish and they think they caught 25 fish and a 12 pounder they say is 20. Lots of that bs going on. If you type on here let's get some factual information. 4 hours in 1 ten pound jack. 7 lines out. I think most people agree it's dead in comparison to previous years

So your "this lake is dead" comments are factual? I have been out there six times in my life (all this winter), caught at least 8 pike every trip, some trips well over a dozen pike landed. The size of fish may not be the same as before, but that lake is FAR from "dead"...
What lures/baits are you using?

Safety D · #11 03-06-2015, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SKSniper

So your "this lake is dead" comments are factual? I have been out there six times in my life (all this winter), caught at least 8 pike every trip, some trips well over a dozen pike landed. The size of fish may not be the same as before, but that lake is FAR from "dead"...
What lures/baits are you using?

In my life. You been out this year ? My guess is no

SKSniper · #12 03-06-2015, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Safety D

In my life. You been out this year ? My guess is no

I have only ever been there this year and caught pike each and every time. I never got to try this lake a few years ago when it was apparently much better but so far I am very pleased with Wabamun.

Here's my biggest of the winter so far, caught at Wabamun on Feb 21, just shy of 12 lbs, no monster by any stretch but I am not going to complain

This one was just under 11lbs, caught on Feb 7th.

I have had quite a few in the 8-9 lb range too. I'm not saying the lake is full of monsters, but it certainly isn't dead.

cube · #13 03-09-2015, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Safety D

Guys catch a few decent fish and they think they caught 25 fish and a 12 pounder they say is 20. Lots of that bs going on. If you type on here let's get some factual information. 4 hours in 1 ten pound jack. 7 lines out. I think most people agree it's dead in comparison to previous years

X2

Not saying I don't catch fish but I agree with you that waiting until it is truly dead before something is done in just pure folly. For Pete's sake look at the Atlantic cod fishery, they were catching large quantities all the while it was collapsing. Over 2 decades later, still not even close to a reasonable recovery. The time to do something is not when it's too late.

ETOWNCANUCK · #14 03-09-2015, 08:54 AM

Sometimes the fish just don't bite...

SNAPFisher · #15 03-09-2015, 12:37 PM

Good thing I wasn't taking a drink after reading Geez's reply. I might have choked or spewed like a fountain.

If anyone can find that animation of the dead horse being flogged, post it here please.....

Hunter Trav · #16 03-09-2015, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

If anyone can find that animation of the dead horse being flogged, post it here please.....

I thought this one would be appropriate for the forum...

SNAPFisher · #17 03-09-2015, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hunter Trav

I thought this one would be appropriate for the forum...

LOL!

Safety D, maybe this is your issue. You can't always trust what others say...

edmhunter · #18 03-10-2015, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hunter Trav

I thought this one would be appropriate for the forum...

Here's another, you have to click on it! lol

chriscosta · #19 03-10-2015, 07:11 PM

lol didnt mean to rub anyone wrong it could very well be that the older these fish get the wiser they get and they know better than to swallow a hook..who knows ..were all digging for a reason i was just stating some of the possibilities that all lol ..i been fishing for pike since i could walk litterally so its not that i DONT know the fish i DO know theyll try to swallow anything so it was just a thought

SNAPFisher · #20 03-11-2015, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chriscosta

lol didnt mean to rub anyone wrong it could very well be that the older these fish get the wiser they get and they know better than to swallow a hook..who knows ..were all digging for a reason i was just stating some of the possibilities that all lol ..i been fishing for pike since i could walk litterally so its not that i DONT know the fish i DO know theyll try to swallow anything so it was just a thought

Fair enough. It was a comment only then.. How about you and I stick to fishing and leave the biology to the biologists.

Safety D · #21 03-09-2015, 09:13 PM

Ya geezle is pretty funny.

Geezle · #22 03-09-2015, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Safety D

Ya geezle is pretty funny.

J D · #23 03-09-2015, 10:41 PM

If there are a large number of small walleye maybe the big pike are not interested in feeding because they are not hungry

Warren77 · #24 03-10-2015, 07:33 AM

Don't believe any of this garbage. Wabamun is doing well. I'm going back again this weekend. Some people keep lake reports to themselves so nobody goes there ( i'm one of them), but you can't keep fish out of Wabamun so who cares. Its the best pike lake anywhere within 2 hours of Edmonton.

chriscosta · #25 03-10-2015, 07:48 AM

i agree its the best pike lake 2 hrs from edmonton however its been catch and release for so long it doesnt even turn my crank to catch big fish there ...and to each their own wab is nuthing what it was 4 yrs ago or so i also frequent the lake and have since i was young and if ya ask me its on a downward spiral it might take ten years bit it will likely become a walleye lake like many others have..pike will eat walleye yes ...easy prey but id be willing to bet not all pike survive trying to swallow one so lets hope that doesnt happen too much ..im sure others will agree that theyve caught a pike that had a drad walleye jammed gown there throat ..i seen it twice now once at wab and both times on fairly big fish (above 10 pounds ) ..sucks cuz if i wanted to catch walleye theres dozens of well populated ..protected walleye holes already..before you know it all youll find is walleye there ..time to shut er down on the dumping millions of walleye in there ...

SNAPFisher · #26 03-10-2015, 12:43 PM

Chriscosta, I respect your opinion on experiencing the lake for years. I can also agree that another walleye lake close to Edmonton is not needed at the expense of what could be a great pike fishery.

What had me laughing is your comment on pike choking on walleye....,WHAT? Do you really believe that is a factor? Fish choke on other fish all the time. So by your logic if a pike washes up at Wab with a whitefish in its gullet, we better address that too?????

If you actually believe an apex predator like pike hasn't figured out how to kill and eat a walleye, you do not know the fish you are chasing. It's just common sense that this is just internet BS and you, as an angler, should be able to figure this out with your own experiences. If you can't, maybe try fishing for goldfish. It is infinitely safer for everyone.

cube · #27 03-10-2015, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

If you actually believe an apex predator like pike hasn't figured out how to kill and eat a walleye, you do not know the fish you are chasing. It's just common sense that this is just internet BS and you, as an angler, should be able to figure this out with your own experiences. If you can't, maybe try fishing for goldfish. It is infinitely safer for everyone.

So exactly how many walleye have you found inside of a pike?

EZM · #28 03-10-2015, 03:56 PM

It's not about whether or not a Pike will eat a walleye .... it simple ....inter relational contributing factors and their immediate and long term effect is the key to this issue.

Walleye compete for forage with growing pike, at a critical point of their life cycle where growth is inhibited by lack of food. Pike (and any animal for that matter) who experience malnutrition at key junctions within their life cycle will experience reduced growth rates and therefore reduced average fully mature sizes.

Pike will eat walleye, but this is neither a preferred source, nor does it have a contribution to growth rates at an equal or greater value compared to the factor of competition.

The Walleye's competition for this food outweighs it's value as a food source itself.

Easy Peasy ....... the BAD effects outweigh the GOOD effects.

cube · #29 03-10-2015, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EZM

The Walleye's competition for this food outweighs it's value as a food source itself.

I very much like the way you stated it. Much better than I have in the past that's for sure.

I would still like to hear exactly how many walleye he has found inside of a pike. Since he was saying how easy it would be since you "should be able to figure this out with your own experiences". I imagine he has found very many walleye inside pike I just don't know how many hundreds he was referring to.

FreshAirGetter · #30 03-10-2015, 04:21 PM

I find that there's a lot of jacks still swimming in Wabamun, although being fairly new I don't have any years to compare except last year. With my camera though it's clear that they're in there. In a typical day I see about 20-30 jacks, 5-15 whitefish, a few tiny perch, 0-1 walleye, 0-1 burbot. Not sure if that's good or bad. As for how many I actually catch, I'm not telling...my favorite lure is also a favorite lure of jacks...they have a 90% ratio of bite-to-getting-off

I should add that the jacks typically aren't too interested in my lure - they have their eyes set on whitefish. They just follow them around and keep the whiteys from biting...and when they bite they usually wreck my gear and camera...so all in all jacks are a **** off...lol.