Do you remember when it was Called Carson lake

[graymatter]

I remember the dirt road into Carson lake, first time was May long weekend in 1979. It was hell getting in once you turned off highway #33, but worth the rewards of big rainbow.
I was 15, mum,dad,my brother would drag in a travelairre 17' and you camped where you could as long as you were not blocking the way past you.
It was a doggy slope down to the lake shore with too many overhanging tree's making casting difficult.
Niblets corn on a small hook, worked well, sometimes a bit of marshmallow would work. Power bait did not exist.
I remember this lake fondly in my youth and have caught my share of rainbows out of it.
There was no shore wall to aid in access along the peninsula like there is now.
It was simply called "Carson lake" back then,

Memories !!

The reason I write this, is that I no longer live in Edmonton, where Whitecourt is a mere 90 minute drive.
I'm in Calgary now and would live to be able to catch a rainbow or 2 within a couple of hours of Calgary.
Any know a good rainbow lake 2 hours from Calgary

Gray

[hal53]

u are in Calgary and asking where to catch a rainbow???,, Hint "a river runs through it", fantastic fishing, but yah, I recall Carson the same way. Anyone remember Rock Island when you launched your boat from the crappy road and dragged/floated it about 3/4 mile down the creek to the lake?

[winger7mm]

Im only 26 and I remember it as Carson...... We had lots of great times out there growing up!

[EZM]

Having grown up in Calgary ..... I feel the same way about Minnewanka.

We used to go out there almost every weekend ..... and the Laker fishing was awesome. Lot's of fish and lots of big ones.

Sounds like it has declined tremendously over the years. My guess is the water levels, more often than in years previously, are being "manipulated" to generate power for the masses ..... and may have effected the spawning and/or survival rates of the eggs.

[Thunder Elk Hunter]

My dad never did call it Carson, it was always McLeod Lake. He says that they wrecked a great pike and white fish lake to stock it with trout. Talked lots about jumbo whites in that lake. I don't mention that lake around him as he it sets him off on a rant about government and their practices.

[jawa]

Originally Posted by Thunder Elk Hunter

My dad never did call it Carson, it was always McLeod Lake. He says that they wrecked a great pike and white fish lake to stock it with trout. Talked lots about jumbo whites in that lake. I don't mention that lake around him as he it sets him off on a rant about government and their practices.

had some walleye and perch as well what a waist when they poisend (killed) the lake off guess that's the price of progress

[Dragless]

Bow river....

[fsa313]

I remember Carsen very well as I fly-fished it very often in 1970 to 1974. The fish at
http://www.myalbum.com/MiniFoto-OYRPSRPL.jpg was caught Nov 04/1974 (Lake had a thin coating of ice). It weighed 13lb 2 oz and was caught on a #10 Werner Shrimp. Imagine my chagrin when the only other boat on the lake came in right behind me with a 15+lb trout caught on a 4"+ Five-O-Diamonds.

[fishman]

Carson lake old name was McLeod lake when the natives lived there was changed in the 60s or late 50s when Mobil started there gas plant. Little McLeod was changed to Pegasus after mobils trade mark
Carson didn't have walleye in it
The water out of the lake was never monitered and edson dropped the lake level so much over one winter all the fish died. So Esso restocked it with trout. But the jacks got in the lake so they poisoned it and restocked the lake the jacks still got in so they built the weir and poisoned it again and restocked it
The poisoning wiped out lots of the biomass and the shrimp and mayfly population just never came back to the hay day
The over stocking doesn't help
I remember if u didn't catch a ten pounder it was a bad day
Dolberg. Use to be the same way
It's all about catching fish not about managing it

[Mayhem]

Our family used to camp and fish there a lot when I was a kid, had many great trips there. My parents still have old Polaroid pics of trout the size of small salmon.

[-JR-]

Originally Posted by fishman

Carson lake old name was McLeod lake when the natives lived there was changed in the 60s or late 50s when Mobil started there gas plant. Little McLeod was changed to Pegasus after mobils trade mark
Carson didn't have walleye in it
The water out of the lake was never monitered and edson dropped the lake level so much over one winter all the fish died. So Esso restocked it with trout. But the jacks got in the lake so they poisoned it and restocked the lake the jacks still got in so they built the weir and poisoned it again and restocked it
The poisoning wiped out lots of the biomass and the shrimp and mayfly population just never came back to the hay day
The over stocking doesn't help
I remember if u didn't catch a ten pounder it was a bad day
Dolberg. Use to be the same way
It's all about catching fish not about managing it

I under stood the campground is called Pegasus but the lake is still called Carson.

[dfrobert]

Ahhhh the memories. That lake used to be a gem. We have lots of pics of very big rainbows from the late 80s and early 90s. My dad lost a couple in there that would of went close to 10lbs.

[waterninja]

Far as I'm concerned it still is Mcleod lake. Pegasus park around it.