fishing the peace river

[Pierroy]

we are going to dunvagen gardens next weekend.thinking of fishing the peace river from shore.does anyone know what there is to catch there.

[Pierre]

I believe that I read the Peace is the most diverse river in Alberta and the 6th in Canada. It has 14 different species including Pike, Walleye, Goldeye, Rainbows, Bulls and Grayling, among others. We were fishing it Aug long weekend upstream of Dunvegan. My f.i.l won a silent auction item for a 1 day boat trip and we added another day. The river is extremely dirty right now, only 1"-2" visibility, as a result fishing was terrible. Out of 7 of us fishing, only 2 walleye were caught. By all accounts fishing is best in the fall when the river clears up. Look for back eddys, seams, boulders, etc...

[Pierroy]

wow thanks that's a good amount I think ill bring some pickerel rigs and try my luck.

[KegRiver]

I fish the Peace more then any other water.

Bait bait bait.

I prefer Beaver meat but any type of fish, like Chubs or Smelt are good too.

Pierre is on the right track, but the part of the river you will be fishing will hold Pike to 20 lbs, Walleye to 12 lbs, Burbot to 20 lbs, Goldeye to 4 lbs as well as Chubs and White Suckers.
There has been a few Dolly caught in that stretch of river but by all appearances, they are strays from other parts of the river.
The other fish do exist in the Peace River system but not likely where you will be fishing.

Back to catching them. Fish bait sitting on the bottom is the key when the water is dirty. Fish the current line at the tops of eddies or at the mouths of feeder streams.

Fall is a good time to fish the Peace, because the water clears up late in the season, but spring is actually the best. It is a bait or go home with nothing situation in the spring.

[Pierroy]

That sounds great thanks I'd be happy to catch any big fish.i haven't got a fish over 5 lb. since I left Yellowknife 10 yrs.ago.catching big fish is a way of life in the nwt.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by Pierroy

That sounds great thanks I'd be happy to catch any big fish.i haven't got a fish over 5 lb. since I left Yellowknife 10 yrs.ago.catching big fish is a way of life in the nwt.

Yeah I know, but now most of the NWT that a person can reach is on a one per day limit. Except for the Yellowknife area.

I've been plotting on how I could get to Rea Edzo area for some more of that incredible fishing like I used to enjoy down around Pine Point when I worked there.

[Pierroy]

I remember playing hockey there.we went by there about 12 yrs ago there's nothing left and forest had almost grown right in.regarding Rae we would get allot pickeral in the spring and then in the summer we would go up Russell lake to the wehcho river. Huge pike and pickeral.i remember we got a 37 lb. pike and many many in the high 20s and 30s.we lived fishing and ice fishing by ski doo.and not to forget.....the east arm.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by Pierroy

I remember playing hockey there.we went by there about 12 yrs ago there's nothing left and forest had almost grown right in.regarding Rae we would get allot pickeral in the spring and then in the summer we would go up Russell lake to the wehcho river. Huge pike and pickeral.i remember we got a 37 lb. pike and many many in the high 20s and 30s.we lived fishing and ice fishing by ski doo.and not to forget.....the east arm.

Pine Point one week ago.

Where the mill used to sit.


The main drag through the center of town.


The street where we used to live.


The fish I caught were all like this one. That's a 12 inch Goldeye. Small even on the Peace. On this lake, pathetic!


I kept this one for supper and let the rest go.
It used to be incredible fishing there twenty years ago. Now it's not worth going. The only pike I caught were a couple of eight inch babies. And I caught one seven incher five miles out in the main lake. Pathetic.

I was thinking of trying the north arm of the lake or else Mills lake.

[KegRiver]

I tried fishing the Peace this evening.
But this late in the year the nearest place I can reach is not good.
I didn't even get a nibble.

I wish they would fix up the boat launch, then I could get to where I could catch a few at least.

Where the boat launch used to be is all silt. This time of year one has to fish the eddies along the grave banks. Not grave bars, gravel banks.
The outside of bends. And the deeper the belly of the eddie the better.

There is nothing like that on my side, that I can get to without a boat.

[The Fisher Women]

Just wondering where the best place to fish in the Peace River would be??

[Talking moose]

Originally Posted by The Fisher Women

Just wondering where the best place to fish in the Peace River would be??

At the mouth of rivers and creeks that enter the peace. After that, any eddy where slow water meets the fast water will hold some fish. What general area did you plan to fish?

[idaman]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

At the mouth of rivers and creeks that enter the peace. After that, any eddy where slow water meets the fast water will hold some fish. What general area did you plan to fish?

This...And just to add it closed on Nov 1.

[The Fisher Women]

I am actually from the town of Peace River so I just go down to the Peace. But everybody says that you won't catch anything in the Peace I hope to prove them wrong!!

[Talking moose]

Originally Posted by The Fisher Women

I am actually from the town of Peace River so I just go down to the Peace. But everybody says that you won't catch anything in the Peace I hope to prove them wrong!!

I've caught a ton of fish at the mouth of the heart river behind the mall. Use a pickerel rig with bait. Minnows if you got em. If the water level is down and clear, you can toss hardware like spoons, jigs, and crankbaits. I prefer pickerel rigs though, because you never know what will take it. Could be a flathead chub, ,goldeye, burbot, pike, walleye or even a sucker. Tossing hardware you will only get pike and walleye unless your hardware is on the smaller size you may also get goldeye.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by The Fisher Women

I am actually from the town of Peace River so I just go down to the Peace. But everybody says that you won't catch anything in the Peace I hope to prove them wrong!!

I can show you some prime spots next year, but all flowing waters in this area are closet till at least May 1 2017.

I've fished the Peace for a lot of years and caught a lot of fish in that river, the people you are talking to must not be from this area, all the locals know there is good fishing in the river at certain times of year.

In the spring the best and to some degree the only option is to fish the feeder streams. The main river will be high and very dirty, at least till late in June.

Around town the best spot is the mouth of the Hart river, or if you can get to it, just upstream the mouth of the Smokey can be real good in early June.
I believe the Smoky I believe the Smoky itself is closed until June first but there should be decent fishing just downstream of the mouth, in water coming out of the Smokey.

The eddies along the Peace are generally not good until later, late July till freeze-up.

Around 1968 a 24 pound Dolly Varden was caught off the wharf in downtown Peace River.

I've seen 20+ pound Jack caught in that river but the largest I have caught in the Peace was around 18 pounds.

I've caught 12 pound Walleye and seen a 14 pound Eye caught in that river.

And the Peace has some of the best and biggest Goldeye in the west.
They are not as oily here as they are down south.

Other fish I know occur in the Peace are Sauger, Burbot, and Grayling, however, the Grayling don't move down to the Peace until after freeze-up and their numbers are desperately low at the moment.

Have fun out there, the Peace has a lot to offer.

[Talking moose]

Originally Posted by KegRiver

I can show you some prime spots next year, but all flowing waters in this area are closet till at least May 1 2017.

I've fished the Peace for a lot of years and caught a lot of fish in that river, the people you are talking to must not be from this area, all the locals know there is good fishing in the river at certain times of year.

In the spring the best and to some degree the only option is to fish the feeder streams. The main river will be high and very dirty, at least till late in June.

Around town the best spot is the mouth of the Hart river, or if you can get to it, just upstream the mouth of the Smokey can be real good in early June.
I believe the Smoky I believe the Smoky itself is closed until June first but there should be decent fishing just downstream of the mouth, in water coming out of the Smokey.

The eddies along the Peace are generally not good until later, late July till freeze-up.

Around 1968 a 24 pound Dolly Varden was caught off the wharf in downtown Peace River.

I've seen 20+ pound Jack caught in that river but the largest I have caught in the Peace was around 18 pounds.

I've caught 12 pound Walleye and seen a 14 pound Eye caught in that river.

And the Peace has some of the best and biggest Goldeye in the west.
They are not as oily here as they are down south.

Other fish I know occur in the Peace are Sauger, Burbot, and Grayling, however, the Grayling don't move down to the Peace until after freeze-up and their numbers are desperately low at the moment.

Have fun out there, the Peace has a lot to offer.

No sauger in the peace or its tributaries . No dollies either.

[Tom Pullings]

On my first cast ever in the peace I caught a decent Walter. Right out from the storefronts in Fort vermillion. Haven't caught a thing since.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

No sauger in the peace or its tributaries . No dollies either.

For a fact. So you don't believe the Record Gazette or me?

I caught a Sauger in the Whitemud river just a little way up from the mouth, below the 743 bridge.

The Dolly caught at the wharf in Peace River is on public record.

BTW

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/her...ace_river.html

Twelve species of sport fish live in the Peace River mainstem, downstream of the Peace Canyon Dam between Hudson's Hope and Fort St. John. The most abundant are mountain whitefish, Arctic grayling, rainbow trout, lake whitefish, and walleye. Bull trout, Kokanee, and northern pike are present in lower numbers. Marshes along the river provide excellent habitat for nesting and migratory waterfowl. Some of the songbirds that regularly migrate through the area are rare in the rest of British Columbia. Mule and white-tailed deer are quite common, and there are extensive areas of critical ungulate wintering habitat along the south-facing banks of the Peace River and its major tributaries.

For those who dont know, Dolly Varden are also called Bull Trout.

https://albertawilderness.ca/issues/...r/peace-river/

• Peace River-Dunvegan is an Environmentally Significant Area of national importance. It comprises 55,864 ha and stretches from the vicinity of the Smoky River upstream (the town of Peace River) to the B.C. border. The natural subregions are Peace River Parkland and Dry Mixedwood. This is one of the most diverse and productive river valleys in the Parkland and Boreal Forest of Canada.
• The river valley provides key year-round habitat for moose, elk and deer, as well as significant habitat for rare birds of prey such as golden eagles, bald eagles and osprey. The river contains high species diversity of fish, including lake whitefish, mountain whitefish, bull trout, northern pike, goldeye, walleye, yellow perch, and burbot. Bull trout overwinter in the river. Northern squawfish are only present in the Peace River, and distribution of rare largescale suckers is restricted to the Peace River drainage system. The river valley is an important movement corridor and provides provincially significant geese staging habitat. Wandering and red-sided garternakes hibernacula are common along the banks of the river.

[Talking moose]

There are no sauger in the peace and there are no dolly varden either. Yes there is bull trout which some people wrongfully call dolly varden.


Sauger

Distribution
This species is not found in any Alberta lakes, but can only be found in the following rivers:
Bow
Milk
North and South Saskatchewan
Red Deer
St. Mary


Dolhyvarden

Dolly varden were illegally introduced to Alberta and are only found in Chester Lake and its tributaries. Although it is not a game fish of Alberta, they are still regulated to a possession limit of 2.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

There are no sauger in the peace and there are no dolly varden either. Yes there is bull trout which some people wrongfully call dolly varden.


Sauger

Distribution
This species is not found in any Alberta lakes, but can only be found in the following rivers:
Bow
Milk
North and South Saskatchewan
Red Deer
St. Mary


Dolhyvarden

Dolly varden were illegally introduced to Alberta and are only found in Chester Lake and its tributaries. Although it is not a game fish of Alberta, they are still regulated to a possession limit of 2.

And some people call Jack, Pike while some books call them Pickerel. As in Chain Pickerel, while others call them Northern Pike and Walleye are called Walleyed Pike.

We can argue all day about what is the right proper name, matters not.
What matters is that what most sportsman call Dolley Varden do exist in the Peace River and I know a Walleye when I see one, what I caught was NOT a walleye, but it did fit the description of a Sauger, perfectly.

Without genetic proof no one can say it was a Sauger and no one can say it was not either. That's just the way it is.
On the other hand, it could be that it was a Sauger as I believe and that they do occur in the Peace system, but in such low numbers that they have simply never been officially recognized as present in that river.

Or it could be like the Lobster caught in Vancouver harbor, it could be a recently introduced species.

As I recall there are Crayfish in a lake near Whitecourt now, and carp in some waters around Calgary.

Not so long ago it would have been unbelievable had they been reported in those waters.

[The Fisher Women]

Just wondering what kind of bait to use at Winagami Lake?

[KegRiver]

I fish Winagami regularly.

I found no need for bait in open water. I have good luck trolling a Berkley Swim Shad.

[Talking moose]

Originally Posted by The Fisher Women

Just wondering what kind of bait to use at Winagami Lake?

Are you after pike/walleye or whitefish/perch? Bait increases the odds with the latter. If the latter, maggots on wireworms will work for both. If after pike/walleye no bait is needed.

[The Fisher Women]

I don't have a boat so I just go off the shore. About where would you go to catch a fish?

[The Fisher Women]

I am mostly fishing for pike.

[The Fisher Women]

You should call me sometime and give me some fishing tips... @ 1-789-624-3480... I'm not home right now but call me later. Just ask for Esther.

[Talking moose]

Fish off the rocks at the campground.

[Talking moose]

Originally Posted by The Fisher Women

You should call me sometime and give me some fishing tips... @ 1-789-624-3480... I'm not home right now but call me later. Just ask for Esther.

Send me a pic. Maybe I'll bring my boat down..😉