Tackle box starter kit for Northern Alberta

[johnagillis]

I'm new to fishing in the Northern Alberta and just noticed my tackle box has gone missing in transit somewhere over the past year. I was hoping I could get a few ideas on what to put in a new one for this area.

I'm in Fort Mcmurray and will be travelling all over to fish. Just tell me what has worked best for you. I was at Cantire yesturday and didn't know where to start besides the classics like hooks, swivels, and weights.

Let me see your best and maybe secrets.

thanks fellas.

[fish gunner]

no alberta tackle box is without a selection of 5 of diamonds,red devils. for pike.a good selection of twister tails and jig heads for walleye. trout will require mepps or panther martins. that would get your bases covered for most outings. dont forget wire leaders for pike.

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

Spoons
Bucktails
Jigs
Leaders various lengths
slip bobbers
crank baits
Spinners
swim baits
rubber swim grubs

It just really depends what you want to target . But All those above will catch everything this province has to offer then some .

[pickrel pat]

Originally Posted by fish gunner

no alberta tackle box is without a selection of 5 of diamonds,red devils. for pike.a good selection of twister tails and jig heads for walleye. trout will require mepps or panther martins. that would get your bases covered for most outings. dont forget wire leaders for pike.

this.

[Fish-killer]

You should always carry RAPALAS f-7 and f-9 rainbow or brown!
SOme spoons thats it!

[FishingFrenzy]

Really depends what your going for.

For pike:
Len Thompson red on yellow 5 of diamonds
Storm Wildeye Pike
Len Thompson red and white
Mepps syclops in a larger size
Couple rapalas never hurt
Spinnerbaits

Walleye:
Selection of different colored jig heads and twister tails
Bucktail jigs
Rapalas/crankbaits - selection of colors, some natural and some un-natural
Bait rig with minnows
You can catch walleye on most of the pike lures listed and visa-versa

Trout:
Small mepps or panther martin spinners
Small Len Thompson spoons
Small Mepps Syclops spoons
Small 1/32 - 1/16 oz jigs with white or pink twister tails
Flies and bobber if you dont flyfish

Goldeye/Mooneye:
1/8th-3/8th oz jigs with twister tails
Smaller spoons
Smaller crankbaits


Thats all I typically fish for. I hope that helps!

[fish gunner]

mr gillis asked for a starter kit not a complete tackle box of stuff. your lists run over a hundred dollars.Keep It Simple SIlly. in time the guy will get to where you are taking him. for now 30$ should suffice.

[bubba 96]

Jaw spreaders, pliers, nail clippers.....

[Cal]

Originally Posted by fish gunner

mr gillis asked for a starter kit not a complete tackle box of stuff. your lists run over a hundred dollars.Keep It Simple SIlly. in time the guy will get to where you are taking him. for now 30$ should suffice.

My thoughts exactly...

Jigs in black, white, and yellow. 1/4 or 3/8 oz with 3" curlytails, probably about 3 of each.

Len Thompson spoons, 5 of diamonds, red and white. Dont know the sizes off hand but ones 3" or better for pike and the smaller sizes for trout.

Spinner Baits. Chartruse and black, I prefer single blade ones to double bladed spinnerbaits.


If your going after trout too then add some small meps and panther martin spinners.

Other than that some terminal tackle for fishing live bait like sinkers, bobbers, hooks, some spare line, and some pliers and a good pocket knife.

Thats the basics but if you've got the cash for some plugs a couple deep divers, shallow divers, and rattle plugs are nice to have. No need to pay Rapala prices though, although I have a bunch of Rapalas most of my favorite crankbaits are made by Storm and Cotton Cordell, they catch at least as many fish and cost a fair bit less than Rapalas. In particular the large size Wally Divers, Hot'n Tot, Super Spot, and Thin Fin have caught me an awfuly big pile of walleye and pike over the years.

[fish gunner]

Originally Posted by Cal

My thoughts exactly...

Jigs in black, white, and yellow. 1/4 or 3/8 oz with 3" curlytails, probably about 3 of each.

Len Thompson spoons, 5 of diamonds, red and white. Dont know the sizes off hand but ones 3" or better for pike and the smaller sizes for trout.

Spinner Baits. Chartruse and black, I prefer single blade ones to double bladed spinnerbaits.


If your going after trout too then add some small meps and panther martin spinners.

Other than that some terminal tackle for fishing live bait like sinkers, bobbers, hooks, some spare line, and some pliers and a good pocket knife.

Thats the basics but if you've got the cash for some plugs a couple deep divers, shallow divers, and rattle plugs are nice to have. No need to pay Rapala prices though, although I have a bunch of Rapalas most of my favorite crankbaits are made by Storm and Cotton Cordell, they catch at least as many fish and cost a fair bit less than Rapalas. In particular the large size Wally Divers, Hot'n Tot, Super Spot, and Thin Fin have caught me an awfuly big pile of walleye and pike over the years.

yeah, I cant think of a north american fish I have not caught on one of those 3 colors of twister tails. my personal best large mouth, ont. walleye, and my fathers best rainbow were all caught on yellow twisters. two sizes of the len thompsons, 5- O-D. R-D
will help up your catch rate for pike. A few mepps/ panther martins, you are good to catch fish. a knife, a pair of pliers . a bait rig or two. jaw spreaders. done. till your next trip to the tackle shop. lol. then the addiction begins.

[silverdoctor]

bandaids, gauze, needle and thread... all the basics when I go piking

[harrydude]

Mmmmmmmmm beer....lolol

[Dust1n]

husky jerk and countdown

[FishingFrenzy]

Originally Posted by fish gunner

mr gillis asked for a starter kit not a complete tackle box of stuff. your lists run over a hundred dollars.Keep It Simple SIlly. in time the guy will get to where you are taking him. for now 30$ should suffice.

Well IM SORRY for trying to help a guy out. Don't worry it wont happen again.

[fishunter]

Originally Posted by FishingFrenzy

Well IM SORRY for trying to help a guy out. Don't worry it wont happen again.

It only gives him al list to choose from.

[Fishhunter]

Ye old pickeral rig!!!!!

[NSRfishing]

hundred buck quarter of a days wage thats a starter kit cheapgoofs annoy me

[fish gunner]

Originally Posted by FishingFrenzy

Well IM SORRY for trying to help a guy out. Don't worry it wont happen again.

exsqueze me did I offend you in some hanious way. merely stating your may have suggested a little more than a starter set to get a guy on the water catching fish. my bad. It may happen again. not peeing in your corn flakes or any thing. if I offended you, my apology.

[CamoDerrick]

Jeepers, you guys need to calm down. FishingFrenzy was just helping out. What if the guy is more into Goldeye/Mooneye? I don't see $100+ of stuff from what FishinfFrenzy suggested for them:
"1/8th-3/8th oz jigs with twister tails
Smaller spoons
Smaller crankbaits"

Stop jumping over every single comment

[fish gunner]

Originally Posted by NSRfishing

hundred buck quarter of a days wage thats a starter kit cheapgoofs annoy me

glad to be of service. a starter set. implying to successfuly catch fish with limited gear. I am sure you still have difficulty catching fish with your big dollar starter set. just think the whole time your fishing you could be at work. lol.

[Tyangelo]

Agreed with all listed so far, and to clarify spoon sizing, No. 2 and No. 4's are your bread and butter for jack.

[Jamie Black R/T]

buy every size of len thompson 5 of diamonds they make and you can catch anything in northern alberta.

i bet within a year you end up like most of us with a tacklebox on wheels and 2000 bucks worth of tackle in it at any given time lol

[BeeGuy]

I make a lot of my rigs and also use a lot of flourocarbon leaders.

I'd suggest picking up some flourocarbon line in 6lb, 10lb, 14lb and 20lb.

I just get the little spools and throw them in a little ziplock.

Floating rapalas from size 7-18
and countdown rapalas from 7-9 are good

I am a huge fan of little cleo spoons, all sizes and more/less all colours but silver/blue or gold/red in the larger sizes are my favorite.

for spinners, I used to use panther martins, but have been using Vibrax spinners for years now and I like them. Straight silver in size 1-3 are great.
Silver blade with an orange body are great when water visibility is really poor (glacial or muddy).


Beadhead nymphs in size 12 always come in handy.

Gamagatsu octopus hooks (single egg) in size 12 (small) to the large sizes are the best for bait fishing or replacing the hooks on other lures if you dont want to use trouble hooks

Circle hooks (demon circle) in medium and large sizes come in handy as well.

Bell sinkers from 1/2oz to 3oz as well as an assortment of split shot

[Geezle]

Originally Posted by NSRfishing

hundred buck quarter of a days wage thats a starter kit cheapgoofs annoy me

I think it's safe to say that many of us don't make $400/day...

Arrogant goofs annoy me...

[BeeGuy]

Originally Posted by Geezle

I think it's safe to say that many of us don't make $400/day...

Arrogant goofs annoy me...

I wonder if that $100 is before or after tax.

Come on though, doesn't everyone in AB make $150k before tax??

[Cal]

Originally Posted by Geezle

I think it's safe to say that many of us don't make $400/day...

Arrogant goofs annoy me...

x2, and many people that do that still dont think you need to invest a hundred bucks on hooks just to catch a few fish. I do have hundreds invested in tackle but I'm more ashamed of that than proud.

[Traps]

Pike: I agree a little cleo about two to three inches long, red and brass color will catch any pike anytime. A perch colored suspending husky jerk.

Trout and grayling: panther martins variety of colors

Walleye: pickeral rigs with minnows, jig heads and rubber bodies

Whitefish: wire worms and maggots

All costs you about $50 bucks.

[demolition101]

Originally Posted by fish gunner

no alberta tackle box is without a selection of 5 of diamonds,red devils. for pike.a good selection of twister tails and jig heads for walleye. trout will require mepps or panther martins. that would get your bases covered for most outings. dont forget wire leaders for pike.

was going to say the exact same....good thing I read some posts lol

Only thing i would add.....for walleye on the river.....Pickeral rig with minnows

[falroy]

I agree with everyone else when it comes to the five of diamonds of all sizes as a starter. I've caught 11 species of fish on that hook

[Cal]

Another good way to go would be to just buy a bunch of terminal tackle and fish bait. Get a tub of 3-4" minnows for pike and walleye and salt them to toughen them up. Fish them on jigheads, fish them on pickerell rigs, fish them under bobbers, fish them on lindy rigs, troll them behind bottom bouncers. Despite having a couple well stocked tackleboxes most of my fish are caught on a couple deep diving crankbaits and a salted minnow fished on one rig or another.

For trout and goldeye use worms on the same rigs but smaller tackle. I like fishing an unweighted worm about 4' behind a casting bubble, alternate between a very slow retrieve and just letting it sit there. Very deadly for stillwater trout.

I'm sure you could spend less than $30 on terminal tackle and bait and catch just as many fish as if you spent $100 on lures.