Fly Fishing in Edmonton City Limits --- Info, Please.

[scel]

Ola,
So, I lived in Edmonton for 15 years, but I never fished the NSR. I have to spend 2 weeks in Edmonton, and I would like to get out for a spot of fly fishing. I have read through pages of archives, and there is very little information on access points.

I am looking for a couple good access points. In Calgary, I would say 'Go to Fish Creek or Policeman's Flats, and walk for a km in either direction for some privacy and good fishing".

I only have fly gear, so I would like a little extra space for casting. I think that the NSR is kind of high, so I would probably avoid wading. So, if you could point out a couple spots where I could park and walk-n-wade for a couple km, I would greatly appreciate it.

I would be targetting goldeye and whitefish, so if those spots could also coordinate with an increaded probability to catch those fish, it would be super duper sweet.

Many Thanks

[scel]

Seriously?

Can someone please give me even one public access point that is fisherman friendly?

[ice]

Ummm
I don't really fly in the city,
But you could try hermitage pond,
I've tried the broadmoor pond in sherwood park with no success,
There's also Leduc pond or reservoir I think
Ft sask trout pond..
But since you say in city limits im guessing you have no access,
You say you never fish the Nsr, you should give it a try, that's the only place I fly in the city, had lots of success,

Other then that yeah...
All I know of is hermitage, and I don't even know if that's in city limits,
You could catch a bus into the park and fish broadmoor,
I don't think there's many ponds at all in city limits,



Ice

[ice]

You could try some of the creeks, but as I said I've never tryd them
And I'm not sure if there's trout or anything, but I recall a thread of someone catching a type of baitfish that were growing large enough in the stream to be caught on the fly,
I think it was the blackmud

[Paul C]

Grass hopper patterns will produce good results for goldeye.
Wooley buggers for catching pike work well.

[Lefty-Canuck]

You have to go explore....it is pretty tough to find a "fly friendly" spot on the NSR in the city.....lots of steep banks, not alot of room for back casts etc....

The "public" spots are usually wall to wall packed with people especially on a long weekend with nice weather....and that makes them less "fly friendly" also...

Are you targeting goldeye? You could go try out by Devon bridge....at least there is some room out there and some areas to get a decent back cast.

LC

[Darren N]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

You have to go explore....it is pretty tough to find a "fly friendly" spot on the NSR in the city.....lots of steep banks, not alot of room for back casts etc....

The "public" spots are usually wall to wall packed with people especially on a long weekend with nice weather....and that makes them less "fly friendly" also...

Are you targeting goldeye? You could go try out by Devon bridge....at least there is some room out there and some areas to get a decent back cast.

LC

I agree. The toughest part of the NSR for fly fishing is finding a spot to back cast. Most Parks and boat launches have a place but it might be packed with people. You have to be creative with your casts and try and find spots with back eddies that can take your line out a bit. I would get a Park map from the fishing hole and it shows you all the best spots. From there you have to explore a bit and see what works for you and where you happen to have room that day as it is usually hit and miss. I have a ton of flies in all the trees and bushes around the city. We are all in the same boat.

[scel]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

You have to go explore....it is pretty tough to find a "fly friendly" spot on the NSR in the city.....lots of steep banks, not alot of room for back casts etc....

The "public" spots are usually wall to wall packed with people especially on a long weekend with nice weather....and that makes them less "fly friendly" also...

Are you targeting goldeye? You could go try out by Devon bridge....at least there is some room out there and some areas to get a decent back cast.

LC

Originally Posted by Darren N

I agree. The toughest part of the NSR for fly fishing is finding a spot to back cast. Most Parks and boat launches have a place but it might be packed with people. You have to be creative with your casts and try and find spots with back eddies that can take your line out a bit. I would get a Park map from the fishing hole and it shows you all the best spots. From there you have to explore a bit and see what works for you and where you happen to have room that day as it is usually hit and miss. I have a ton of flies in all the trees and bushes around the city. We are all in the same boat.

Thanks peeps.
I am not afraid of walking. Most trips fly fishing have at least 5km of walk. The NSR gets pretty deep fairly quickly, correct. Is it really worth wading to get a little extra back cast?

I would target goldeye and whitefish. I remember catching goldeye with earthworms. I bet an SJW will work wonders for both the goldeyes and whites.

The Devon bridge is a great suggestion. It is further than i would want to travel, but it is just far enough away to limit the people and maximize the enjoyment with fly gear.

The river is fairly consistent for its path through Edmonton, correct. The Bow river changes quite drastically after the Harvie Passage. Ironically, it is the waste treatment plant that assists in the killer fishing on the Bow River. Is NSR fishing better or worse upstream of the waste treatment facilities by the Ledge? I know that whitefish like the colder water so I assume that the rocky mountain whitefish population would be more concentrated upstream of Edmonton.

Ok. I am soaking this all up. I have been given good access points. Suggestions for flies have been issued. Anything else that I should know about the NSR?

[waterninja]

i fish the nsr within the city limits a lot and one place that comes to mind where you have space for your backcast from shore is the beverly bridge. an even better spot is legends just northeast of edm. acsess is good at both of these places but the way the river is right now i'd leave the waders in my vehicle. good luck.