Fishing near Calgary

[Andrew.L]

Looking to take my son out fishing.
Anyone know any decent SHORE FISHING area's near Calgary?
I don't fly fish either lol.
Looking for Pike mostly. (My son is doing a project on them in school)

Thank you all.

[millsboy79]

Chestermere ... you can usually see people fishing from the canal.

[Bemoredog]

Originally Posted by Andrew.L

Looking to take my son out fishing.
Anyone know any decent SHORE FISHING area's near Calgary?
I don't fly fish either lol.
Looking for Pike mostly. (My son is doing a project on them in school)

Thank you all.

Try Glenmore Reservoir. Lot's of little hammer handles in there and close to shore this time of year. Cast small spoons or spinners--anything flashy. Medium to slow retrieve. Bait isn't really important with Pike since they can't smell much. It's all sight and movement. Gaudy Rapalas and crankbaits in the 3 to 4 inch range might work too.

You can keep three Pike from Glenmore, but IMO they're too small and not worth it. Fun enough to catch though.

Not sure if you've caught Pike before, but if not make sure you bring longer pliers to remove hooks. They tend to take them deep and won't hesitate to bite your fingers. Ask me how I know.

Some members use jaw openers like this to safely get hooks out of the Pike's mouth. I've also read you can simply put your fingers back behind their gill (being careful not to damage their filaments) and then proceed to unhook them.

Here's an extremely good video dealing with the topic of catching, unhooking and releasing pike properly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS7XBbF4Cf8

[Andrew.L]

Originally Posted by Bemoredog

Try Glenmore Reservoir. Lot's of little hammer handles in there and close to shore this time of year. Cast small spoons or spinners--anything flashy. Medium to slow retrieve. Bait isn't really important with Pike since they can't smell much. It's all sight and movement. Gaudy Rapalas and crankbaits in the 3 to 4 inch range might work too.

You can keep three Pike from Glenmore, but IMO they're too small and not worth it. Fun enough to catch though.

Not sure if you've caught Pike before, but if not make sure you bring longer pliers to remove hooks. They tend to take them deep and won't hesitate to bite your fingers. Ask me how I know.

Some members use jaw openers like this to safely get hooks out of the Pike's mouth. I've also read you can simply put your fingers back behind their gill (being careful not to damage their filaments) and then proceed to unhook them.

Here's an extremely good video dealing with the topic of catching, unhooking and releasing pike properly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS7XBbF4Cf8

Oh yeah I fish a lot. Just haven't bought a boat.
Thank you for sharing the fishing area's. I'm sure he will love it.

[fishyfish]

Originally Posted by Andrew.L

Looking to take my son out fishing.
Anyone know any decent SHORE FISHING area's near Calgary?
I don't fly fish either lol.
Looking for Pike mostly. (My son is doing a project on them in school)

Thank you all.

I don't know if this was just me but when I went to lake Chestermere my spoon kept getting stuck in the rocks, at the bottom of the lake. I ended up losing my big 5 of diamonds. Be careful!

[millsboy79]

Originally Posted by fishyfish

I don't know if this was just me but when I went to lake Chestermere my spoon kept getting stuck in the rocks, at the bottom of the lake. I ended up losing my big 5 of diamonds. Be careful!

This comes back to what I mentioned before about getting better line on your reel. With a stronger line you could have tightened your drag and pulled your hook straight. So you could replace a hook instead of a lure.

[fishyfish]

Originally Posted by millsboy79

This comes back to what I mentioned before about getting better line on your reel. With a stronger line you could have tightened your drag and pulled your hook straight. So you could replace a hook instead of a lure.

You'll be happy to know I literally just got new line this evening, it's braided and green, I think it's powerpro, the clerk recommended it and they spooled it on for me. It ended up being free because the guy thought he broke my reel and I was there for like an hour and a half.

[millsboy79]

Originally Posted by fishyfish

You'll be happy to know I literally just got new line this evening, it's braided and green, I think it's powerpro, the clerk recommended it and they spooled it on for me. It ended up being free because the guy thought he broke my reel and I was there for like an hour and a half.

Let me know how it casts.