Some Good Fishing in Calgary?

[Calgary Fisherman]

Hey guys
I been reading this forum since last night looking for spots that are mentioned on the board

Just got my new Rod
Browning® Fishing Safari Travel Rod 6'6

Reel
Shimano Sahara 3000FD

Some new SpiderWire Camo and I also picked up some Berkley Gulp Alive Leeches that were on sale 30% off, Figured might as well try em

All this wonder equipment was picked up at Outdoor World Bass Pro Shop in Balzac, Alberta
I highly recommend any fisherman, outdoors person, or Hunter go in there
Truly amazing place, and nicely designed.

Anyways, I'm looking for some good place to hit up here today
I live in NW Calgary Creekside Area
Looking to test this new rod on some PIKE and Walleye
What do you guys recommend these days for fishing around the Calgary Area>?>
Say within a Hour Drive. Maybe 2

Any input is appreciated

Thanks

[slingshotz]

Hit Chestermere Lake south or Carburn park ponds in Riverbend for something close by to test out a rig . Nothing worse than driving for an hour to discover something doesn't work right.

[Calgary Fisherman]

I am actually on the way to Chestermere first
Then I was thinking of checking the Glenmore Res But Im not sure bout that one
Still Checking out info while buddy drive and I play on my Iphone
Thanks

[Renslipevol]

Glenmore res. seems to be alot of hit and miss with alot more misses. Ghost Lake is good, the Bow river at McKinnon flats is good. Chestermere is good for pike

[Calgary Fisherman]

Thinking about heading out tomorrow from Calgary for Travers Reservoir
Seems like there is lots of hits there with the Pike and Walleye
Hoping to score a good size walleye

I moved from Northern Alberta up in High Level Area, and the Fish there
The only word I can describe is MUD in the Flavor
Seriously, even the dog looked at me for offering it to her. LOL Priceless look on her Face.
Her Nose told her All she needed to know LOL

But yea, Whats the take on Travers Lake/Reservoir??
Only 1.5 Hrs from Calgary, Seems like nice weather for Tomorrow, work week, so hopefully the area and lake is quiet

[elkfriend]

there are a number of threads dealing with glenmore reservoir, they will pop up if you use the search function

[Calgary Fisherman]

Hey guys
Went fishing today to the Chin Lake and Travers Resevoir

Had one bite all day off the docks in the park
Nothing under the bridge for me or my brother
However, I met Donavonszoo on the bridge fishing and he seemed to be doing quite well
Nice guy to chat with while I was there.

I also tried finding the Chin Res that was mentioned on the Google Maps thread
Think it was on the other side from where I was, I kept running into farmers fences, even saw some Cows on the trip along the river.

Travers Res Wasn't any better for me or my brother, we had a Pike that kept on following our Spinners, Jigs with Gulp Alive, and some Lures.
But just wouldn't strike

Was hoping to catch a good Walleye but hey, Trip was fun and sometimes, fishing is like that

Hope that help with anyone else heading to these areas for fishing.
Off for some Beer and Relax.

[nicemustang]

IMO, you need a boat to properly fish travers and chin. You can't always cast off shore and expect the fish are going to be in front of you. Those are big bodies of water.

At travers, you can jig right off the dock though with some success. I guess right at dawn and dusk is the best. Green jig heads and minnows or leeches. If you go over to the spillway, you can cast from shore too. In the shallows are usually pike there.

Chin lake and chin res are the same as far as I know. You mind be thinking of Stafford reservior. Lots of pike in there I guess. Out of the Barry Mitchell guide. "Travel 18 km west of taber on hiway 3, then south 6.5km. Res is west of the road.

[Calgary Fisherman]

Honestly Man
I can of expected the fish to be near shore because in Northern Alberta where I came from
Rarely did I even get a chance to head out fishing, so when I did
I was hitting up Winagami Provincial Park by Mclennan.
The Rock Setup Dock they have there is just amazing, great for fishing
Everytime I was casting off there, I was just having an absolute blast playing with the Pike, I have yet to pull a Walleye out of this Lake.
Fishing was just awesome though to say the least, at the shore

I was reading here about the best shoring areas.
Figured Chin and the Travers Res was the best shot at it
Im thinking of Heading to PCR from Calgary today, shorter drive, only a hour or so outside town.

Im going to get my boat here next weekend, no more shore fishing for me@!!! LOL
Going to pick up a 93 Bayliner with a 4.4 or 4.5 Inboard/Outboard Motor
Sweet little machine and can't wait to try it out.

So, It seems PCR is having good shore fishing so I might be headed out there.
Let me know if anyone else has some great shore fishing in and around the calgary area.

[kevhod]

hi looking to do some fishing in calgry I live in calgary am 42 I looking for some one to go fishing with show me were the best place to fish and help me to fish thanks

[Calgary Fisherman]

Depends
You shore fishing or got a boat???
What are you willing travel?? What kind of fish you looking for
Different answers for every question

[Donavonszoo]

Originally Posted by Calgary Fisherman

I met Donavonszoo on the bridge fishing and he seemed to be doing quite well

Hey Steve
nicemustang is right it is difficult to fish the lakes from shore BUT it can be done. I do it all the time and do well 90% of the time. Next time your down my way let me know ahead of time and I'll get you set up to catch the walleye
As for the confusion about the chin lake/chin reservoir it IS the same lake. It says in the regs its a lake I believe but its a reservoir. The farmers drop that lake a foot in 24 hours when they are irrigating. The only other thing that could lead to confusion I can think of and thats the chain lakes... its close enough in spelling that an error in reading can happen. Done it myself a few times:P

My map isn't a public map and thats why it cant be found on Google maps search, It was actually made for nicemustang for his upcoming southern Alberta greater reservoir fishing trip ( hope you don't mind that I named your trip nicemustang lol) at the end month
Donavon

[Calgary Fisherman]

Thanks man
I will let you know 4 sure when im headed that way again
Maybe even tomorrow morning, talk to my buddy, but I think we are going to closer waters this time. But I will definitely make another trip up there, Nice area.

Can you believe my browning Rod snapped at the first EYE yesterday
I was so choked when it happened, barely used it 4 Times LOL
Bass Pro Shop was very nice in exchanging for another one

Anyways, I got another question for members of the forum
I saw the live bait machine at the Front of the Bass Pro Shop Checkout
What minnow you recommend these days for walleye???
Saw so many different kinds of minnows, had no clue which to try LOL
Maybe just keep it simple, LOL
I saw Large Minnows, Regular Minnows, Salted Minnows, Herring, and a few other ones that were more expensive above the rest

Let me know your guys opinions on these

Thanks

[Calgary Fisherman]

Well
Here are some fishing reports from Shore Fishing at Travers Spillway Out into the Lake and out Pine Coulee By the Bridge.

I caught one pike on Saturday Afternoon, my buddy caught 4, nothing close to keeping size, but a good fight in all
Using just a Red and White Devil
At Pine Coulee, I caught 4 Pickeral, Buddy caught nothing, was getting frustrated LOL
I was only using a Green Jig with a Blood Tippped Hook, No Bait, and a Gold/Black Minnow with a small Weight.
Every Time I changed up, I was catching one, was interesting as the 4 guys next to me using bait didn't catch much and was surprised I was catching with nothing on.

One guy got lucky on the other side and pulled a a Burbot while I was there.
In all, not a bad day of fishing.

Hoping to Hit Bassano Area next, or Sauger Reservoir
Maybe even head back to Travers or Chin Lake and Try again.

[Jack&7]

Hey Guys...

I am planning to hit Travers for the first time ever on Sunday so I appreciate the reports. I have also sent a PM to Donavon to see what I "need to know" before I get there since he's a "local".

I am planning on taking my dad and my 5 year old daughter for her first lake fishing experience in a boat so I am trying to get all the info that I can to make sure it is a success!

From all I have heard and read, Travers is the place to go for pike and walleye. I came from manitoba where that's all we fished for so I am hopeful for something similar and I guess that's the closest place for me to go to get it (I live in Cochrane).

If anyone has any info/tips/locations to share, it is all greatly appreciated.

[Calgary Fisherman]

I will be honest dude
If you really want a good successful trip, you should get some Minnows Bait to go with ya
That way if the lures/Jigs are unsuccessful, You know you can catch something on a Pickeral Rig with the Minnow and a big Fat weight with a Bober LOL

[nicemustang]

To answer some questions here.

At travers, use a boat and fish the spillway. That's all you need to know to start. There are other locations but that's where the walleye are. Use jig heads tipped with leeches or minnows.

As far as minnows and leeches. BIgger isn't always better. Water clarity, weather, cloudiness, etc all matter in this. Generally, if the walleye are biting fast and furious, use minnows as leeches are expensive. Leeches tend to be more successfull on fussier fish. I usually use medium or large minnows (or smelt) for walleye and pike fishing. Smelt works better on a pickerel rig IMO. Salted or unsalted, doesn't seem to matter much but I usually use salted as they seem to last longer and are stronger.

Herring/smelt is your only option if you can't use baitfish or minnows on a lake. If you after the big pike, you need to use a bigger smelt or herring. Herring and smelt come from the ocean, so they aren't classified as baitfish.

I find, the bigger the worm or bigger the leech the better, especially when trolling them.

These are just my experiences and a guideline that I follow, it's no way 100% the right way. Use at your own risk

[Calgary Fisherman]

Thanks for the suggestions
I give those a try next time I head out

Got one question though
Im thinking of salting up some Minnows I got from the Canadian Tire

I assume I should just take like a rubber container?? Put some salt in the bottom, and put the minnows in, add some water, and then salt the top of them as well and leave overnight in the fridge before I head out >>???
Any other ways to do it unless thats wrong.?

[Calgary Fisherman]

BTW
For the salt to use????
Should I use Canning/Pickling Salt???

Or will gold old Household Food Salt work?>?

Im thinking the Canning Salt but im not to sure.

[baitfisher83]

Rock salt is what i've seen used, seems to firm them up quite good...

[Calgary Fisherman]

Im assuming I can hit the Coop Grocery Store for that stuff??
Or Superstore, etc

[baitfisher83]

i'm not sure but i'd avoid co-op for anything, they'll bleed yer wallet dry....stupidstore is likely your best bet, or wal mutt

[nicemustang]

You want pickeling salt, available anywhere. Course. Dump in minnow tub on thawed minnows, swirl around, re-freeze. Or you can make a salt brine and soak them in the brine for an hour, them dry them on the table for another hour or so, then re-freeze in course salt. Usually you can buy them salted too. Definitely worth doing for smelt as well.

[Calgary Fisherman]

What a joke
I went to SuperStore and Coop
The people I spoke to, barely spoke English
Told me to check the places I already looked over a dozen times.
Nothing that I could find saying Rock Salt or Pickling Salt.
I saw some Coarse Sea Salt Stuff.
Think It would be best to hit up Canadian Tire or WalMart as my next looking spot.

[WayneChristie]

get mine at Wallyworld. usually cheaper too

[commieboy]

Originally Posted by Calgary Fisherman

What a joke
I went to SuperStore and Coop
The people I spoke to, barely spoke English
Told me to check the places I already looked over a dozen times.
Nothing that I could find saying Rock Salt or Pickling Salt.
I saw some Coarse Sea Salt Stuff.
Think It would be best to hit up Canadian Tire or WalMart as my next looking spot.

I'm sorry, maybe it's just me being sensitive, but I think this post has a mild racist overtone to it. You criticize people for not speaking english, and yet that is what Canada is supposed to be about. A multicultural landscape. And speaking about poor english skills, might I add that in your sentence "The people I spoke to, barely spoke English", there should not be a comma between "to" and "barely".

I love fishing, but I hate the culture. It seems to me that the fishing world in Alberta is dominated by what some would describe as rednecks. That is always the feeling I get when I'm out fishing. It saddens me that I see mainly caucasians on the water, and when I do see those of other origins, they are usually the subject of complaint from other fishers. I know that some of you will take offense to what I have just written, but so be it. I have observed this many times. And no, I'm not a visible minority. I am an average white male. I don't like even the slightest bit of racism or bigotry.

Although you may not have meant any racism by your post, I sincerely hope you will consider that to be a Canadian does no mean you need to speak english perfectly. The country was built and is sustained through a healthy flow of immigration. The diversity, in my opinion, is what makes Canada such a wonderful part of this world. Just my two cents.

As for the salt, any grocery will have it. If you use your head you will find it. Then you can avoid having to speak with foreigners. Try the baking aisle. Look for any area that has boxes of jars for sale. Essentially, you are looking for canning and preserving materials. Once you get into that area, you should find pickling/preserving/canning/rock salt. Walmart has it. Not sure about CT. Coarse sea salt is not what you are looking for.

Addressing the comment posted by someone else about Co-Op being expensive... well on one hand I agree. On the other hand we have so few Canadian and local businesses which thrive and I would really like to support them. The other is that if you have a co-op number, you get a check back at the end of the year. I do nearly all my groceries at Co-Op, and my cheque at the end of the year is about $85.

Sorry if I have offended anyone.

[Calgary Fisherman]

First off
It wasn't racist

I went to multiple employees who are supposed to be working in Grocery
All I got was I don't know, or Talk to someone else, other just shrugged their shoulders and said nothing to me, it was very very frustrating being sent in circles, and maybe I vented a bit on here.
That came from the whole workforce there, not just the minority.
Coop and Superstore
I looked in Bulk, Camping, and Grocery Area, I looked everywhere.

As to correcting my typing, sometimes there I screw up typing and don't read over my stuff before I post
Nobody is perfect.
Don't need to be told that, Thank you.

I finally gave up and found what I was looking for at Walmart.
Didn't get the run around, person in grocery knew exactly what I was looking for.

[Calgary Fisherman]

Hey
Thought I'd Post that I went to Travers Yesterday
Hour and Half South of Calgary
Fishing was Alright, Best at Night
Had lots of Luck using Pickeral Rigs, as well as the Cotton Cordell Walleye Divers/Demons
Anyone going fishing there, Pickeral Rigs seem to be the most Popular

At Pine Coulee
Anything seems to have those walleye Nice and Happy
Always a pleasure fishing there.