Fun in Jasper

[SNAPFisher]

Headed to Jasper for the long weekend. Weather was pretty decent during the daytime.

Hit Maligne up first. It is high and off color a bit. Didn't really get much on the troll but came for chironimd fishing anyways. They we eating a ton of these but not so crazy on my hooks. Got into double digit territory but not a fish a cast day. Tried a lot of combos as well.
Great day though and great weather for Maligne.







Hit up Pyramid for the rest. I was not disappointed. Dry fly action only for this guy. Caught a grand slam of rocky mountain whites, lakers and rainbows all on the dry fly. Talk about a blast! And a lot. Caught over 50 fish in 4 hours.

Caught a nice 21 inch laker and kept this one. First I've kept of anything from Pyramid. I have tried one laker from Patricia and it was awesome tasting. Hoping for the same here.











Jasper, where else can you experience chironimid blooms and fishing and then great dry fly fishing the next day. Love that place.

Patricia is very high. Still to the road. Medicine is almost ready to blow over the outflow. It is close to tree line. Lots of melt and lots of rain.

[58thecat]

Looks like an awesome time, the mountains make it that much more pleasant and toss in active fish can’t beat it.

[pixe1334]

Wow nice fish!

How do you know if you can even fish these lakes? I looked at the regulation book and I couldn't find any pyramid lake.

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by pixe1334

Wow nice fish!

How do you know if you can even fish these lakes? I looked at the regulation book and I couldn't find any pyramid lake.

They give you a copy of the regs if you get your license at The Fishin Hole which I do every year.

Also, see this URL:
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/jas.../peche-fishing

Scroll down to see open season timings including Pyramid. Not an exhaustive list - e.g. Patricia is not listed so falls under the general reg of July 1 to September 5. Edit: looking at the lakes only tab Patricia appears to be open until 31-Oct. You will also find a link to catch and possession limits on that page.

[McLeod]

Thanks for sharing your report. Love the Brookies !

[pixe1334]

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

They give you a copy of the regs if you get your license at The Fishin Hole which I do every year.

Also, see this URL:
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/jas.../peche-fishing

Scroll down to see open season timings including Pyramid. Not an exhaustive list - e.g. Patricia is not listed so falls under the general reg of July 1 to September 5. Edit: looking at the lakes only tab Patricia appears to be open until 31-Oct. You will also find a link to catch and possession limits on that page.

Oooh I see, no wonder I couldn't find it. So I need a national park specific regulations book.

Thank you for the info!

Also, that's crazy on the laker! I don't have any experience with them (or much info to be honest), but it's crazy that you got it on a dry fly. From what I know, they are a pretty deep water fish. What weight set up did you use?

[Sundancefisher]

Great story

My favourite all time park.

[SNAPFisher]

double post

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by pixe1334

Oooh I see, no wonder I couldn't find it. So I need a national park specific regulations book.

Thank you for the info!

Also, that's crazy on the laker! I don't have any experience with them (or much info to be honest), but it's crazy that you got it on a dry fly. From what I know, they are a pretty deep water fish. What weight set up did you use?

Yep. Separate license and different regs...some really annoying ones like stopping after catching and keeping 2 fish. But, that is what it is.

Yeah, normally I'm trolling them up using a sinking line in 20-30 feet of water. But when a hatch is on, most if not all fish can lose their minds. It is opportunity time and with the even shorter season in the mountings, these fish really put on the feedbag.

My year is set each month to hit certain hatches. Ideally as dry fly as possible in open water but chironmid hatches really are exciting as well. All the sizes also come out to play!

The one throat sample I took at Maligne the pump end was covering in lumps. It literally looked like someone took a long finger and stuck it up ... well a place... and pulled out a plum...so to speak. It took a bit for it to register that it was lumps of chironimids. Normally the pump is full with a few stuck on but this was off the charts. Just shows how many of these they eat. Basically until the can eat no more. Trolling around while that kind of feeding is going on makes no sense.

Thanks all for the comments!

[pixe1334]

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

Yep. Separate license and different regs...some really annoying ones like stopping after catching and keeping 2 fish. But, that is what it is.

Yeah, normally I'm trolling them up using a sinking line in 20-30 feet of water. But when a hatch is on, most if not all fish can lose their minds. It is opportunity time and with the even shorter season in the mountings, these fish really put on the feedbag.

My year is set each month to hit certain hatches. Ideally as dry fly as possible in open water but chironmid hatches really are exciting as well. All the sizes also come out to play!

The one throat sample I took at Maligne the pump end was covering in lumps. It literally looked like someone took a long finger and stuck it up ... well a place... and pulled out a plum...so to speak. It took a bit for it to register that it was lumps of chironimids. Normally the pump is full with a few stuck on but this was off the charts. Just shows how many of these they eat. Basically until the can eat no more. Trolling around while that kind of feeding is going on makes no sense.

Thanks all for the comments!

That's awesome!

I forgot to mention in my previous reply but how do you know what species are present in each lake? I looked at the national park regulations but none specify species, just when they open and close.

You're the second person that I saw who mentioned the stomach pumps. I'm interested in getting one too. Should I look for something specific? It just looks like it's a mini turkey baster to me. I found some on amazon but no idea if they would be any good.

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by pixe1334

That's awesome!

I forgot to mention in my previous reply but how do you know what species are present in each lake? I looked at the national park regulations but none specify species, just when they open and close.

You're the second person that I saw who mentioned the stomach pumps. I'm interested in getting one too. Should I look for something specific? It just looks like it's a mini turkey baster to me. I found some on amazon but no idea if they would be any good.

Just exploring or talking to Online Sports in Jasper. And other anglers.

I picked up my throat sampler at the Fishin Hole I think. Small turkey baster with specimen jars.

If a fish fights hard I don't bother sample (more stress). Or if I try twice and get nothing I give up and try the next one out. I keep in the water in the net when trying for a sample.

[Gerald J]

I also fished Maligne for a few days on the weekend. Chironomids down deep. You seem to have caught some nicer fish than I did. Rainbows were long, thin, spawned out females and only one Brooie caught. A great weekend.

[Moe]

That's awesome. I'm jealous as I obviously was not prepared when we went earlier in June.

[King Salmon]

Great post. Nice to see some Jasper pics!

[Red Bullets]

Thanks for sharing the pics and stories.
I used to love hiking to the Valley of the 5 Lakes. Used to catch some nice fish in the first and fourth lakes. Don't know if it is the same anymore though.

[SNAPFisher]

FYI, the laker tasted terrible. Tougher flesh and tasteless. Oh well. It was a first try from Pyramid. At least I know.

Like a stated, had one from Patricia 5-6 years ago and it was off the charts good. And, Maligne trout are really at the top. So no biggy.