How to start - try to get 1 of every species!

[RavYak]

Originally Posted by FreshAirGetter

Oh, I get the option to add pics now, yay! Now I gotta start taking more I guess...here's a few from this year...oh wait, argh, not working. I think the size of my pics are too much. Now how the heck do I fix that, take pics with a cheaper camera? lol

Make them smaller, microsoft office picture manager has an easy resize tool.

Or upload them to photobucket then post them here as this thread explains. No size limit then.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=82419

[FreshAirGetter]

Thanks Rav! Let's see here...can I cheat and post my whole library with one link, or does it make me do each individual...

http://s1374.photobucket.com/user/variot/library/

[Hunter Trav]

Originally Posted by FreshAirGetter

Sorry Hunter, but I'm not allowed to say, it's my dad's secret spot and now our Annual fishing spot for one week. It's in the Red Earth Creek area though, and to be honest the fishing seems to be about the same in all those lakes, and we've only scratched the surface - there's a lot of lakes up there! Vandersteene is a great lake, and I hear Graham Lake is awesome too. The only problem is you have to be wary of some of the "locals", you might end up with 4 wheels gone by the time you make it out of the bush! We actually experimented with a couple lakes when we went there, if you have the time to check out more than one it can be very rewarding! Need a quad with winches and a chainsaw though if you go too far off the beaten path and might end up with nothing, but there's quite a few good lakes with easy access. Sorry to be a little vague, that's the only lake I can't specifically name...

I've fished all of them lakes up there, thats why I was asking...

[WhitefishLady]

Wow that is an impressive list FreshAirGetter! Much better then me (I'm missing quite a few still like bull trout, lake trout, lake whitefish, etc).

You forgot mooneye! They are very similar to goldeye except they are smaller, have more of a silverish eye and the dorsal fin base in in front of the anal fin base. Maybe you have caught one already. they are hard to tell apart. I love to catch mooneye/goldeye on the fly but using minnows (as long as your allowed to) works well.

For sauger I have heard there are lots down in the Milk River (pretty far away I know). It seems to be hard to target them specifically, I believe they like a bit faster water then walleye. I think in the Milk River there are more sauger then walleye. I am also pretty keen to catch a sauger. Me and a friend have a flyfishing trip booked with Get Hooked Fishing on the NSR and I'm hoping to get one!

For mountian whitefish for sure try the bow. The crowsnest also seems to have lots. Maybe the red deer as well. Not sure about the NSR or areas near Devon.

[FreshAirGetter]

Haha, I've actually caught more Mooneye than Goldeye. They weren't among the "17 sportfish species" in the regs, so they're not part of the goal, although it's nice to catch a few bonus species (like mooneye and the suckers too). Thanks for the tips! Let me know how that goes on the NSR, that sounds awesome! Are you going to be on tv? And how did you get into that? lol. As for rockies, I've been getting addicted to fishing rivers in the Nordegg area and hear they are in pretty much all of them, so maybe I'll get lucky and catch one. Might have to research a bit more on what they like! I'll pm you on your remaining species

[FreshAirGetter]

Special thanks to Steven Noel for his help on Saturday. He was an excellent guide and got me into a Grayling! Only 4 species left now :-)

[3blade]

Cool thread, and congrats on the fishing success! something I've wanted to do for a while, wont get it done in one year though. jealous. Cutts and Rockies should be easy to take care of in one trip (think southwest, pm me for more info). Sauger I've heard are more east, the milk river, lower red deer, etc. have yet to catch one of them myself. Good luck, and keep posting pics

[FreshAirGetter]

Thanks 3blade! And for anyone viewing this thread, to make it easier I need Cutties, Rockies, Sauger, and Goldens (trip already planned for August).

[FreshAirGetter]

Got my Rocky the other day, sort of by fluke. I wasn't planning on catching a new species, I was actually trying to catch a big Brookie. When I got to the river it had drastically lowered and cleared, leaving it near-uninhabitable in my mind for any fish! I took a few casts anyway and did see a small fish a pound or less follow my hook, but didn't bite. I tried a smaller spinner and still no bite, but the darn fish was jumping at flies and mosquitos! Finally as a last resort after trying a bunch of tiny lures I tied on a fly and a slipbobber and casted it out. Whammo! In the first couple seconds fish on! I saw a nice silver gleam (which I thought was just a white bottom) 30 feet out, then reeled in very carefully having never caught a fish with a fly. Eventually I got it in and to my surprise it wasn't a little Bull, it was a Mountain Whitefish! Only 3 species left! :-)

P.S. I updated my pic library

[FreshAirGetter]

Another special thanks to Steven, helped me catch a Cutty! I think he'll be posting a thread and pics on the trip, we had great scenery and a lot of fun. So only Goldens and Sauger left...I say "only" like it's easy...lol. It's crunch time!

[FreshAirGetter]

Well, it wasn't easy, but I got a Golden! Hiked up Barnaby Ridge or Southfork Lakes trail, whatever it's called. Put my body to the test but eventually got to the lakes and caught one. Finicky fish! Once we each caught one we got off that mountain before any weather/wind decided to punish us for catching one of the rarest and most beautiful fish in Canada :-) Might do a little write-up on the trip separately soon, if I can stop myself from fishing for a week...haha.

Fyi I added the pic of the Golden to my photobucket link...

Just Sauger left, one species that scares me that I won't complete my goal...

[fish gunner]

For sauger Red deer river at tolman bridge or burbank at red deer. . any where down stream of tolman is probabaly best tolman is probably best no bait restriction . Hope that helps. If they stump ya for long gimme a pm . Il give ya a few more spots.

[FreshAirGetter]

Thanks Fishgunner...will definitely try that soon! Not many weekends left for me, but luckily Sauger are a river fish so it won't freeze as quick as the lakes, might give me a bit more time...haha...as long as the regs are on my side too! Will have to check..

[FreshAirGetter]

Well, regs are on my side, and you're right, Tolman and downstream would be best. At first I saw bait was allowed before that, but it was just for maggots...I'd have to put on 50 I think for that to be ideal...lol. So looks like I have quite a while to bait fish for Sauger - not my favorite way to catch a fish, but I'll take it! Thanks again Fishgunner! Now all I have to do is go find a pool of water that won't take my bait to Saskatchewan...lol

[FreshAirGetter]

Goal Complete! Big thanks to fish gunner for giving me an idea on where to go. Went to the Red Deer River and after a couple pesky Goldeye caught a Sauger! So it took me from Jan 1st to Aug 17th to catch all 17 species, plus I caught 4 other species not on the list (well, assuming Cutbow is a species..haven't figured out if it is, and if it is, what the difference is between a cutty and a cutbow - maybe i should start a thread on that). Anyway, I accomplished what I wanted this year to my surprise, I would've been happy catching half of them. Going forward I'll probably just keep travelling Alberta when I have a chance, finding new spots, and start beating my own records (although I didn't weigh and measure them all). Thanks for the help AOF, couldn't have done it without you!

[Speckle55]

Grats on finishing your angling quest

Thanks for sharing

David

[pinelakeperch]

Congrats! What are the chances of catching a burb or perch in the SSR?

[fish gunner]

well done that man glad to offer a little help . Best of luck on your next personal angling challenge.

[Steven Noel]

Congratulations man, that's very impressive. I've been working on this for quite a while and I'm still not finished: for you to have done it in less than 8 months shows a very high level of dedication.

[mooseknuckle]

Very cool! Congrats. I would be getting my girl to start a scrapbook!!