Rocky / Caroline Lakes

[fishpro]

Anyone have any reports on the lakes up there? Any signs of winterkill to be aware of?

[Exploits]

No winter kill, however the crowds are off the charts all week long now. Fishing pressure will need to be addressed sooner than later at just about all central AB lakes. Was at Beaver Wed past, upper and lower parking lots filled, even a camper set up. Not worth the gas money unless you like gabbing all day with people 10 feet from you on both sides. Not for me but some people seem to like it. And for added bonus the fishing was terrible. I see less people on my urban fishing trips these days lol. Anyways just giving you a heads up on the over crowding. Take care.

[thrude1]

Was at beaver may 28, 25 vehicles in the parking lot by noon, Saturday same thing but add half a dozen cackling hens on kayaks 😆

[tallieho]

They need more of this[Beaver] type/style of fish regulation.It allows the fish to grow,get some usefulness out the the fish.A 10" fish released last week,from the truck.Makes absolutely NO sense.Allowing people,with lic.,to take 5 fish.No wonder the hatcheries ,cannot produce. Struble lk,no one was even there ,yet Beaver had 14 vechiles there by 9;30. Contact your area biologist,MLA to ask for reg changes...

[Snazyevey]

Originally Posted by tallieho

They need more of this[Beaver] type/style of fish regulation.It allows the fish to grow,get some usefulness out the the fish.A 10" fish released last week,from the truck.Makes absolutely NO sense.Allowing people,with lic.,to take 5 fish.No wonder the hatcheries ,cannot produce. Struble lk,no one was even there ,yet Beaver had 14 vechiles there by 9;30. Contact your area biologist,MLA to ask for reg changes...

Struble is a funny place. Beautiful spot, super clear lake and doesn't see nearly the fishing pressure (in the summer) of others in the area. The fishing can be on fire if you catch it right. Lots of little guys, yes, but you can get surprised with a few big ones that fight real well.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by tallieho

They need more of this[Beaver] type/style of fish regulation.It allows the fish to grow,get some usefulness out the the fish.A 10" fish released last week,from the truck.Makes absolutely NO sense.Allowing people,with lic.,to take 5 fish.No wonder the hatcheries ,cannot produce. Struble lk,no one was even there ,yet Beaver had 14 vechiles there by 9;30. Contact your area biologist,MLA to ask for reg changes...

Agreed to the limit.

Any lake within 2-3 hours of a major centre can not sustain a 5 fish limit and provide satisfactory or better fishing opportunities.

[thumper]

I was Tiger hunting at Beaver May 4/5th. 8 or ten vehicles & 1/2 dozen loons! only 2 cars at Birch, no one at Burntstick. I like seeing the cackling hens in their kayaks! Great to see everyone enjoying themselves.

[Mr Flyguy]

Originally Posted by thrude1

Was at beaver may 28, 25 vehicles in the parking lot by noon, Saturday same thing but add half a dozen cackling hens on kayaks 😆

They're all over the place. The same here in the Stony Plain area...yaka, yaka, yaka.

[Fishtracker]

Time they start stocking some real trout lakes instead of these dink ponds! We have huge trout lakes that have been neglected for years!

Case in point, more and more people are interested in quality vs. quantity as the folks are jammed in like sardines trying to fish in these sloughs.

[flyrodfisher]

Originally Posted by Fishtracker

Time they start stocking some real trout lakes instead of these dink ponds! We have huge trout lakes that have been neglected for years!

Care to name a few?

[Fishtracker]

Originally Posted by flyrodfisher

Care to name a few?

Here's a few: Ghost Lake, Glenmore Reservoir, Barrier Lake, Upper Kananaskis, Lower Kananaskis.

[chinchaga07]

I heard rumor that they stocked Cow with Rainbows this year after the pike winterkill of last spring. Not sure if it is true or not.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by chinchaga07

I heard rumor that they stocked Cow with Rainbows this year after the pike winterkill of last spring. Not sure if it is true or not.

Stocking is public info.

https://open.alberta.ca/publications/fish-stocking-list

Can you see Cow? I’m curious also.

[flyrodfisher]

Originally Posted by Fishtracker

Here's a few: Ghost Lake, Glenmore Reservoir, Barrier Lake, Upper Kananaskis, Lower Kananaskis.

Perhaps you should email SRD and ask them why the lakes you mentioned are not being stocked.

[flyrodfisher]

Originally Posted by flyrodfisher

Perhaps you should email SRD and ask them why the lakes you mentioned are not being stocked.

I'll say it again.....

[highwood]

Pdf won't open, try again? Regardless, lower K has always had resident bulls and cutthroat, as well as the K river and tributaries. Upper K and upper K river above the lake are not fertile fisheries and historically had no fish whatsoever if I remember correctly. No matter what they stock in upper, they will struggle to have any recruitment with the lack of suitable spawning tributaries. I'm sure the upper K falls immediately above the lake don't help with that, but it sure is a nice spot to visit.

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[Fishtracker]

Originally Posted by highwood

Pdf won't open, try again? Regardless, lower K has always had resident bulls and cutthroat, as well as the K river and tributaries. Upper K and upper K river above the lake are not fertile fisheries and historically had no fish whatsoever if I remember correctly. No matter what they stock in upper, they will struggle to have any recruitment with the lack of suitable spawning tributaries. I'm sure the upper K falls immediately above the lake don't help with that, but it sure is a nice spot to visit.

Sent from my SM-G986W using Tapatalk

Not sure why it will not open for you.

Anyway, the document indicates they started stocking these lakes with Cutthroats (non native) as far back as 1914. The upper lake had no fish at all before that time. The few (native) Cutthroats in the lower lake died off due to lack of spawning habitat, but the (native) Bulls survived.

They are never going rebound unless action is taken. It's heartbreaking to watch these lakes continue on the downward spiral.

So why not create a stocking program just like all the other ponds and continue to stock these lakes (Upper & Lower K, Barrier L, Ghost L, Glenmore Res.) EVERY year. At the least these fish will not die from winterkill, and lot's would probably survive to become nice sized fish. As some of these lakes already support trophy sized trout, both Cutthroats and Rainbows & Browns.

[Mr Flyguy]

How did a simple inquiry about Rocky/Caroline lakes drift over to arguing over the Kananaskis and other systems. Stay focused folks and keep your eyes on that indicator!

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by Mr Flyguy

How did a simple inquiry about Rocky/Caroline lakes drift over to arguing over the Kananaskis and other systems. Stay focused folks and keep your eyes on that indicator!

Don't worry. Fishtracker has it all figured out. This should burn itself out soon...

[Fishtracker]

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

Don't worry. Fishtracker has it all figured out. This should burn itself out soon...

SNAPfisher, you are going to need to step it up with a much more intelligent response then that, if you expect those of us to stop standing up for our Bow River system & reservoirs which are/were considered to many a top trout fishing destination in North America! Also, this system has (by far) the highest level of fishing pressure in the entire province.

SNAPfisher, maybe you could enlighten us with your response to the below questions!

How many fish have been stocked in the Bow River drainage (reservoirs) in the last 10 years?

How many Bow River drainage (reservoirs) currently have trophy trout swimming alive and well year after year with the potential to continue to grow more trophies?

How many Bow River drainage (reservoirs) are subject to winterkill?

When people ask why the subject went from Rocky/Caroline to the Bow River system, is because the powers that be, feel it was a great idea to dump 124,000, yes I’ll repeat 124,000 Trout into 1 single lake which just had a significant winterkill strong enough to kill the Pike! While many of us sit here and continue to watch the entire Bow River system go to **** without any kind of replenishment of fish in recent memory.

If this mentality continues, God help us!

[smitty9]

Originally Posted by Fishtracker

Not sure why it will not open for you.

Anyway, the document indicates they started stocking these lakes with Cutthroats (non native) as far back as 1914. The upper lake had no fish at all before that time. The few (native) Cutthroats in the lower lake died off due to lack of spawning habitat, but the (native) Bulls survived.

They are never going rebound unless action is taken. It's heartbreaking to watch these lakes continue on the downward spiral.

So why not create a stocking program just like all the other ponds and continue to stock these lakes (Upper & Lower K, Barrier L, Ghost L, Glenmore Res.) EVERY year. At the least these fish will not die from winterkill, and lot's would probably survive to become nice sized fish. As some of these lakes already support trophy sized trout, both Cutthroats and Rainbows & Browns.

From the report you linked. Circular argument, yeah? Reservoirs are not ideal unless you have stable water levels. Wasted money indeed.

[Fishtracker]

Originally Posted by smitty9

From the report you linked. Circular argument, yeah? Reservoirs are not ideal unless you have stable water levels. Wasted money indeed.

This data is from 25 years ago, ecosystems change. Stay away from K-lakes please, more trophy fishing for the rest of us who know better!

Suppose you think Ghost & Glenmore don't have the potential to support any trophy fish either...

[goldscud]

Not much change to the ecosystem at Lower Kan. There is a tiny bit more spawning habitat available since 2013, and winter draw-down appears to be a bit less drastic.
Government made an error in decreasing stocking size of Cutts back to tiny fish. Survivorship of stocked fish was far greater when they used yearling fish (less predation by Bulls). Adding fingerlings is not a good use of resources. Perhaps stocking a limited number of 2 year old Cutts could bump up catch rates without hurting the condition factor of resident fish too much. That number would have to be worked out. Holding fish over at the hatchery is expensive and disrupts the usual routine