Small lakes in Northern Ab, anyone tried?

[NorthernAbGuy]

Has anyone in the forum tried some of the small lakes around the Fairview area? I see Ketchum lake, Lake George, Sand Hill lake etc on a map around here, but have no idea if these places even have fish. I saw a website that claims "great fishing" in these places, but am somewhat doubtful because of the species they listed for these places. Any info appreciated.

[FishingFrenzy]

Did the list include: Bass, Salmon, Catfish, Bluegill and Trout??? Seen the crap on that site 1 too many times...

[GummyMonster]

Evening,
The lakes you are talking about are all sloughs, as far as I know. I have lived in the Fairview area for 6 years, and a lot of the guys I work with are from here, and have said they don't hold fish. Around here there is Cummings(not aerated and dead this year unfortunately), Stoney , Figure Eight, Sulpher, Kakut(closer to Woking) . All are on the Alberta backroads map, Alberta fishing guide, etc.
Hope this helps.
Ken

[glen1971]

Heard Sulphur was dead thanx to some less than awesome management...

[johnschmidt]

dont overlook running lake, its a little farther north but the fishing is always good there, if you have a sled you can also try ray lake of fish lake for NP and walleye of these 3 ray is the biggest

[NorthernAbGuy]

Thanks for the info. I noticed Google doesnt know how to get to Fish lake or Ray lake from Fairview. Is that why I need a sled? Are there no real roads going to these lakes? I am not much of a hard water guy, I am thinking ahead for spring/summer at this point. I don't have a boat, so I would just be shore fishing. Pretty sure the Jeep will get me there if there's any kind of track to be found.

[Pirate]

I was at Sulphur this past Saturday and we caught lots of brookies and rainbow! Had my underwater camera and there was tons down there.

[KegRiver]

I haven't fished further south, Fairview area. But I have fished Joker lake. IT held a ton of small to medium Pike several years back. I don't know what it is like these days, now that there is a road to it.

[SlewFish]

Drove out to Joker yesterday to see if there were any perch left. We checked several locations that have held them in the past but didn't see a single perch on the camera. There are a lot of pike in the small to medium size but no monsters.
Talked to a C.O. and he said that he had only seen a couple of perch caught there all winter and that they would likely re-stock it this summer.

[NorthernAbGuy]

Hey Keg river & Slewfish; WHere is Joker lake? I looked on google maps, but it did not come up. Maybe I should just chech Anglers Atlas or some other site?

[pickrel pat]

Originally Posted by NorthernAbGuy

Hey Keg river & Slewfish; WHere is Joker lake? I looked on google maps, but it did not come up. Maybe I should just chech Anglers Atlas or some other site?

its between peace and red earth, just north of the main road.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by pickrel pat

its between peace and red earth, just north of the main road.

To add to that, It's East of Peace River. Take secondary 688 East to secondary 986. Continue East on 986 to the Hamlit of Cadotte Lake.
Joke Lake is about ten miles north East of Cadotte Lake. One used to have to turn onto the Martin Lake road to get there. I'm not sure if that is still the case as most of the roads around there have been rebuilt, rerouted and new roads have been added.

There are Pike in Cadotte as well but the last I heard the fishing there was not good. Marten Lake and Lubicon lake are just big soughs, nothing in them.

[NorthernAbGuy]

Thanx again for all the info from everyone. I am thinking I would like to take the wife to fish lake or ray lake sometime in June, hopefully to catch some pike. I drive a Jeep, so I am thinking it should be capable of getting us there, but I have absolutely no knowledge of how to get there. If anyone cares to share their experience, that would be appreciated. Maybe we can even arrange a joint outing. PM me if it's something you don't wanna post openly, ie, don't want lots of people traversing sensitive areas etc. Thanx again.

[pickrel pat]

lived in the north most of my life, but never heard of ray lake. some people call haig lake fish lake.

[TUFFBUFF]

Stoney Lake is worth a shot, haven't been for 5 years though

[Peterupnorth]

I am in the area you've been looking at. There is some confusion with naming lakes, but the Ray and Fish Lakes that I know are north of Running Lake and accessible only by sled or quad. Running Lake has a nice campground, on top of the hills with good trout fishing.
Stoney Lake also good campground and can be fished from shore. Both lakes are stocked annually(rainbow & brook). No gas motors allowed. You can also drive north of Stoney to Sulfur Lake, also good for trout, though winter kill is a possibility.
Hope this helps.

[j3006]

Try Moonshine

South of you, just west of Spirit River. Was great for Rainbows and Browns.