Sylvan Lake report

[BPman]

Opened the season yesterday off Sunbreaker Cove. Ice is 11 - 12" thick. Fishing was slow overall although we got small pike, walleye and some whites (C&R on the pike and walleye). Could hear augers far off in the distance but could not see anglers at other locations. Anyone else out there?

[Hueston]

Did you drive on

[BPman]

We did not drive on, nor did anyone else but I think we could have and would do so this weekend if I go back. Ice was really hard and i think my Tacoma would be safe. There were truck tracks along the shore but close in. There is a high ice ridge piled up on the boat ramp but a 4X4 could easily get around it and down onto the beach... might need the 4x4 or at least good ground clearance to get back up from the beach onto hard ground.

[Hueston]

Thank's for the info.

[Drillnfish]

Fished Sylvan today... Slow day but didn't move around. Ice is good 10" and safe to drive on.

[Bigtoad]

Originally Posted by Drillnfish

Ice is good 10" and safe to drive on.

Well, there is an oxymoron if I ever heard one...

Saw a Skidsteer off Sunbreaker a few years ago that went through with well over 18" of ice.

Why play Russian-roulette with your life? Get out of your truck and get some exercise until the ice is well over 12". Yikes.

[diamonddave]

Originally Posted by Drillnfish

Fished Sylvan today... Slow day but didn't move around. Ice is good 10" and safe to drive on.

Take before and after pics, and make sure you post them up here so all the new guys can see what a good 10" of ice does....

[Gumbi]

Will be out there all weekend or maybe split it up and fish gull one day,im goin to unload the qaud and pull the sled, i think to get to the fishin spots.... will give a reports.

[Zip-in-Z]

Had a lot of fun on Sylvan over the past week.

Dec 29th - Went out solo for a few hours, first day on ice, made sure all the equipment worked properly, tried Norglenwold area on sand bar in 8 ft just off a weed line. Seen a number of Whites on the camera, caught 2 small walleye's, 2 Whites & small Burbot noticed a few good sized Pike stalking the area. Was good to get out on the ice again!

Dec 30th - Tried about 1 km northeast of the Light House that vanished, depth approx 21 ft with sand and weed patches in area. The Mrs and I caught 12 walleye & hooked but just couldn't land 3 large Whites. Our best fishin was between 1:30 - 3:00 in the afternoon, Walleyes were very aggressive but no big one's.

Jan 02nd - Went back to the same spot we fished the other day, we caught 14 walleyes largest about 2 1/2 lbs, 1 small Pike & 1 cream colored Burbot about 3-4 lbs with dark leopard spots, ugly, but interesting coloring. Seen a few Whites, but they didn't show any interest in our offerings. Again, best fishin was in the afternoon.

The weather couldn't of been better, we had a lot of fun & released all the fish, I took the attached pic of the ice thickness, 16" of dark blue/black ice! Had some electronic problems with my AquaVu so I found a used Marcum 825 color camera that I'm planning to try out when I go back next week & explore some different area's I fished last winter.

Z.

[vettedreamer]

hey zip in z great report ..I sure miss the sylvan gull areas, sharpened my ice fishing skills in those holes. Nice to hear the old go out and HUNT ice fishin stories.....thats a breath of fresh air.

[Zip-in-Z]

Originally Posted by vettedreamer

hey zip in z great report ..I sure miss the sylvan gull areas, sharpened my ice fishing skills in those holes. Nice to hear the old go out and HUNT ice fishin stories.....thats a breath of fresh air.

Sylvan has always been a great place for the new, young & old to get out and enjoy the day fishing with friends & family! Unfortunately, I've noticed a decline in the Perch population over the past few years, on my recent outing all I seen over the 3 days was a hand full of 3-4" Perch minnows trying to make friends with my bait. Perhaps I was in the wrong area, however, I haven't seen any of those big fat 8-10" guy's for the past 3-4 years. On the other hand I've noticed the Walleye population has grown which is promising. You need to make a return trip in 2013, if you know the lake you won't be disappointed.

Zip ....

[tmaxx]

How thick is the ice. I hope to get out today. Any recommedations on driving on or use quad

[Isopod]

On Saturday the ice was 22" thick, all nice black ice, no floodwater except near a pressure ridge. Snow depth was maybe 6".

[Isopod]

Oh, and to answer the second part of your question, very near to me a bunch of people came out for a BBQ/fishing. They had 9 large vehicles parked side-by-side, parking lot style. That didn't seem to cause any problems, though I did feel better when I packed up and left the area.

[Zip-in-Z]

Went out at 2:30 this afternoon to a spot I had some good success at last winter. Was fishin in 7 meters in sand/silt with no weeds in the area. Caught a nice White and missed a real good one, then 2 small walleyes all in 1 hour. Stayed till 5:00 and all I seen was a few small whites and a decent pike about 6-8 lbs just cruising & watching the camera, no other bites/fish.

I decided to keep my first one for the season, for the Mrs to cook for dinner. After filleting, I always check the stomach contents to see what they're eating, normally find bugs, minnows, etc ... you know Protein! Well to my surprise, I couldn't believe the weed shoots & nothing else, that this guy had in him, they're still green, have a close look at the attached pic's, I believe I caught my first Vegetarian Whitefish, perhaps it's time to start trying Asparagus Tips for bait!

As well, I had the opportunity to test my Marcum 825C along side my old Aqua-Vu XL. The color at 7 meters was excellent, the 825C out preformed the Aqua-Vu at dusk, I was able to see my presentation for at least another 45 min. Overall, very pleased with the Marcum camera.

Zip.

[mikebossy]

those are cased caddis larvae, trout love em in stocked lakes as well, will have to add that to my repertoire of what to use thru the ice, interesting aside, the wireworm was originally tied by an Edmontonian named Roger Sabourin Jr. who figured it was the easiest to make, most effective imitation of a bloodworm ie midge larvae(chironomid) that he found many of in the stomachs of whitefish he caught thru the ice

[BeeGuy]

Yup caddis

Had some rainbows with a couple recently. 1 rocky too.

[bowhunter79]

Not from around the area but my son was moved down there and was wondering if a guy could walk on somewhere and be successful? I have a truck but prefer to drive the car down to see him? He is only 5 so need to have pretty steady action to keep him interested. I'll be headed down that way on Jan 22 to spend the day with my son so if the weather is decent would someone be willing to show me a thing or 2 for a couple hours? I have all the gear required.

[Zip-in-Z]

Jan 09th .... went out after lunch to an area that I had good action last week, however, today was real slow, seen a few Whites or perhaps the same one going around my shack in circles, just to bug me! Caught one small walleye around 2:30ish then around 3:30 it started to blow & snow & I had enough.

I wasn't the only one getting bored, seen a 2-3 different guys set up and take off after a few hours. While I was packing up a A/O member drove up & we had a good chat and shared a few stories. Perhaps it's time to take a day off from my Sylvan Lake Field Office & go into Red Deer to buy some more tackle.

Time for a Rum & Coke .... it's Happy Hour!

Zip ....

[BPman]

Yesterday, Jan 09 was good action all morning but dead after 11:30. Out off the town site in about 10' depth. Partner and I kept 6 whites, released 2 whites, 2 pike a burbot and 6 walleyes. One pike was about 12 lb. Wind picked up and temp was falling so we quit at 3 PM with only a couple of bites since noon. Driving back to Calgary last night in the blizzard was hell...

[ogre]

Any update on how deep the snow is on the access points on to the lake? Can small cars and CUV's still get on without getting stuck in the drifts?
TIA

[Alberta Bigbore]

Ive never opened a whitefish stomach. Interesting find.

[Zip-in-Z]

Access to the lake is no problem, there are a number of well travel ice roads to various locations around the lake, any snow drifts are beat down by ATV's, snowmobiles, & vehicles, nevertheless, we got approx 3-4" snow yesterday, so bring a shovel. I took the pic of the Pier the other day, see for yourself.

Zip....

[ogre]

Noted on the new snow layer. Thank you for the information.
Tight lines

[Zip-in-Z]

Was out on Sat & Sun, the Solunar Tables suggested fish activity would be excellent in the afternoon, they're wrong, it was just O.K. in both am & pm. That being said, I was up early both days & started in 8 fow on a sand/rocky area & moved the shack 4 times towards deeper water, ended up in 21 fow in sand/silt with very few weeds and packed it in today at 4:00 pm. Overall caught 9 walleye, no monsters, had lots that wanted to play and one today hit my jigging spoon so hard I thought it was a Laker, turned out be a 2.5 lb scrapper, small jigs & twister tails or jigging spoon with minnows were most productive. As well, caught 4 Whites, seen a lot, but most weren't interested or would come for a visit and sniff around but not inhale the presentations. A wire worm in a darker color with maggots worked best. Seen one Pike, perhaps 6-7 lbs that came & went, no perch & no burb's. Released everything but 2 whites that will go good with a nice Chardonnay over dinner tonight.

Going back out tomorrow on Lake "X" ... to do some exploring, maybe start in the middle and work my way towards the N-E-W-S shore line ...




Zip .....

[Zip-in-Z]

Went out today off Norglenwold, there was only 3 other trucks out, lots of heavy wet snow came down then rain & collapsed this portable, hope it's not yours! Caught 2 whites before lunch, nothing in the afternoon, seen very few fish. Had 2 Pike drop by at the same time for a look, it was interesting, you don't normally see them on Sylvan hunting in pairs. Didn't see any Perch, Walleye nor Burb's at this spot. Even though it was a slow day fishin it was better than being on the Hwy #2, heard nothing but accidents & vehicles in the ditch ...




Zip ....

[Zip-in-Z]

Had an O.K. day, couldn't complain about the wind when it was +8C. Tried a new spot & caught my the first White in 10 min of getting set up, then seen a few more but no action until after lunch, caught a couple more Whites & one small Walleye seen a nice Pike, released everything but one fat White, that I posted my autopsy findings on another thread.

The town staff put these up today .... it's too bad people need to be told to get their shacks off by March 31, nevertheless, at the end of every season, there's still a hand full abandoned on the lake.

Zip ....

[Zip-in-Z]

My last day fishin wasn't great, can't say it was even OK, got out in the morning moved 3 different times about 100-150 yds from each other just off a weed bed in 21-23 fow. Seen a few Whites roaming around, but didn't catch anything until 12:30 when I took my "Fish Call" out and attracted a few small Walleye's. Used the Caddis larvae that I extracted from a White yesterday see (Sylvan Whitefish Autoposy) the small Walleye in the pic hit it from my blind side, ended up catching/releasing 5 Walleye today. They also like small jig & maggots!

Did see something interesting, a 5 Lb +/- Pike came in for a look then settled down like a submarine in the sand/silt and watched me twitch my Fish Call for about a minute or more, then it pounced on the presentation like a cat would jump on a mouse, missed it, didn't get a second chance, Pike vanished.

Packed it up at 4:00pm & ended up stopping at the Norglenwold Ice Shack Village and tried 3 different locations/holes that people were fishing in yesterday .... got blanked, No Whites at all today!

This is the last of my updates for awhile, departing to Cancun & Playa for a month, hope to get in some deep sea fishing!

Adiós, muchachos .... Hombre Zip


Scary Lookin Caddis Larvae



Bait Thief:



Fish Call



Submarine Pike



Not Fussy

[ogre]

Great report again Zip, sounds like you didn't leave the lake empty. Thanks for sharing the insights.

Best of luck on your vacation, hope you catch tons of fish. I for one would love to see some deep sea reports, if you don't get too busy with catching fish and partying.

[BPman]

Hit Sylvan near the townsite yesterday and fished about 08:30 until 5 PM. Beautiful sunny day and calm enough we could fish bare hands and coats off most of the time so a great day on the ice. A burbot and 2 walleyes before the sun got bright then 5 whites before lunch. Moved a ways to try a new spot and got 3 whites until the sun got low enough to shadow our location then in the last hour we added 5 more whites and three walleyes. Burbot and walleyes all C&R but kept enough whites for a couple of suppers. Brass Wetaskiwin spoon was the killer lure and we concentrated on 9 - 12 ft depths. Strangely, no pike action at all, despite having 2 tip-ups with smelts set all day. ...can't wait to get back there next week!