a gorgous begginer stream

[chriscosta]

hey guys im gettin anxious to get my fly rod out I got a six wt rod for xmas I dont even know where to start I could hit a pond but id like some different terrain to me a fly rod is a ticket to do a lil hiking and enjoy the surroundings while also catching fish size is no matter for me but I wanna know a good stream to hit kinda near edmonton that I will be able to catch also whats a good species to start out on? honestly any info would be great as in good types of flys or whatever else I should know before I expand my horizon feel free to pm me and fyi im not into keepin fish while fly fishing if I wanted a meal id,hit a lake with pike and troll I promise to always do my part and conserve and always clean up after myself thx in advance

[philintheblank]

when the ice breaks in there are 2 lakes north of stoney plain. chickacoo and sauer lake, they are stocked with rainbows and chickacoo is also stocked with brookies. they are great little lakes the canoe on, couple places on the shore you can cast from. they arent trophy lakes by any means but they will help get you comfortable with fly fishing. i found fishing at lakes more relaxing also when i started out... sepnt a lot of time in the trees when first couple times at the rivers haha.

[chriscosta]

lol im sure I will to and yes I am familliar with those two lakes and I will definately give them a day in court so to speak and trophy fish dont matter im just gettin started and to be homest I never keep trout anyway thx for the info btw what kinda flys should I get before the spring thatll work alright thx

[philintheblank]

the trout i have fished for in the stocked lakes seem to eat almost anything you throw in front of them. my buddy and i have had great success with nymphs of varying size and colour, dries when the hatch is on. i havnt done much fishing for wild stream trout in alberta. best thing to do when you get to a stream is kick over some rocks and match what you find, or match the bugs and flies landing on the water. sorry i cant narrow it done more than that. every stream is different

[chriscosta]

dont be sorry the advise youve given is awesome thx again I look forward to my first fish on the fly

[grinr]

Good 'ol faithful Wooly Buggers are a great fly for beginners(or anybody for that matter)that are easy to fish,not really any wrong way to fish them,and should entice some strikes from those stockers or just about any other game fish that swims in appropriate sizes.WBs are my goto fly whenever I'm prospecting new to me waters,whether stillwaters or flowing,and a good bet just about anytime that you're not seeing any surface feeding.
Assuming you likely don't have a sinktip line yet,for small lakes/ponds I'd suggest a #8 beadhead WB in black and/or olive,or standard WBs with a wee bit of splitshot pinched on leader,let it sink,and strip it back in short deliberate twitches mixed with pauses.I stress "a wee bit" of splitshot as weighted flies are more difficult to cast,esp for beginners.With heavier weighted flies you'll need to slow down your casting stroke and open up your loops or else suffer painful 100mph dings to the back of your head,arm,shoulders,and hooks stuck in your back,or even worse yet,hit your new rod with the fly and break it!!

[JReed]

I just got into fly fishing a couple years ago and I found that a purple leech works best in still water for trout. Just cast it out, let it sink a bit, and then strip/retreive the line every couple of seconds. When I use the purple leech in moving streams, I just cast it and let it dead float down the stream and under an overhanging log.

The biggest thing is persistence and patience, I almost quit fly-fishing halfway through my second season but I started hooking into fish and now I never want to quit. Cheers!

[Bhflyfisher]

There's really no streams super close to edmonton to try, I'd recommend the caroline area, but those streams are not where a beginner should go. Whitecourt area has some decent grayling if you want to drive the 1hr and a half, that will keep you happy!

[scel]

Originally Posted by chriscosta

hey guys im gettin anxious to get my fly rod out I got a six wt rod for xmas I dont even know where to start I could hit a pond but id like some different terrain to me a fly rod is a ticket to do a lil hiking and enjoy the surroundings while also catching fish size is no matter for me but I wanna know a good stream to hit kinda near edmonton that I will be able to catch also whats a good species to start out on? honestly any info would be great as in good types of flys or whatever else I should know before I expand my horizon feel free to pm me and fyi im not into keepin fish while fly fishing if I wanted a meal id,hit a lake with pike and troll I promise to always do my part and conserve and always clean up after myself thx in advance

I am from Edmonton, but now a Calgarian. Around Edmonton, you do not have many choices on good trout streams.

I think that the closest one that is open is North Raven and it is NOT for beginners. Even if you do manage to cast through the tangle of willows, you are dealing with some of the spookiest and particular fish in the province.

Other than that, there is the Bow River in Calgary. It is neither particularly easy nor gorgeous, but there are fish. Lots of fish. Lots of BIG fish.

[grinr]

Originally Posted by scel

Other than that, there is the Bow River in Calgary. It is neither particularly easy nor gorgeous, but there are fish. Lots of fish. Lots of BIG fish.

I'd beg to differ,the Bow below CGY is beautiful IMHO,and even in the city 2 minutes from home in FC park,it's easy to get lost in the moment and forget that you are in the midst of a city of 1.2M people,lotsa wildlife,deer,ducks,geese,beavers and more...

Also to the OP,no need to wait for spring to break in the new rod,Bow is open year round,nice chinook days in Jan,Feb,Mar are good cure for spring fishn fever.
I started fishn Bow early Feb last year,probly had close to 100 days on the water before June ES1 opener.

[millartech]

Originally Posted by grinr

I'd beg to differ,the Bow below CGY is beautiful IMHO,and even in the city 2 minutes from home in FC park,it's easy to get lost in the moment and forget that you are in the midst of a city of 1.2M people,lotsa wildlife,deer,ducks,geese,beavers and more...

Also to the OP,no need to wait for spring to break in the new rod,Bow is open year round,nice chinook days in Jan,Feb,Mar are good cure for spring fishn fever.
I started fishn Bow early Feb last year,probly had close to 100 days on the water before June ES1 opener.

Agreed.

I have fished the bow 3 days already this year. I flew back to work on the
8th though, so that is going to slow me down a bit. Damn work always getting in the way. Lots of fish to catch this time of year. Tons of whites and rainbows. Some real big ones out there as well. I had a fish each day snap my 4x tippet. It was definitely a trout each day as well, cause the air show that was put on each time was incredible, but then a couple head shakes and snap gone. I fished the same area each of the 3 days and this happened each of the 3 days. Maybe the same fish, not sure, but exciting nonetheless.

[scel]

Originally Posted by grinr

I'd beg to differ,the Bow below CGY is beautiful IMHO,and even in the city 2 minutes from home in FC park,it's easy to get lost in the moment and forget that you are in the midst of a city of 1.2M people,lotsa wildlife,deer,ducks,geese,beavers and more...

Also to the OP,no need to wait for spring to break in the new rod,Bow is open year round,nice chinook days in Jan,Feb,Mar are good cure for spring fishn fever.
I started fishn Bow early Feb last year,probly had close to 100 days on the water before June ES1 opener.

You forgot to mention the eagles. I love the eagles.
Do not get me wrong, the Bow is an amazing river. Truly a world-class fishery and it is, imho, the most beautiful part of Calgary.

I would often rather fish the Bow than many of the ES1 streams. But is the Bow gorgeous like the Highwood. Not even close. But really, comparing anything to the Highwood is not really fair.

To the OP: if you make a trip to Calgary to try the Bow, give a message. I can set you up with a few killer flies to optimize your fish-catching-chances.

[Dust1n]

Head out to rocky/Caroline. Iv had some dandy days on every stream
We fished out their except for the Clearwater, that was hard even with some
Local knolage on holes.
Chambers
Prarrie
Vetch
Tay
The list goes on. The size of the fish were not the best but the numbers where there and if your up for a challenge go to staffer for some big browns

[Dust1n]

Stock up on foam flies! They never sink and try willast longer then feathers! Which is a great advantage when your casting through hundreds of tiny trout on small creeks.
Plus trout don't spook when you twitch them or make a bad cast because they imamate hoppers falling in and swimming back to shore which makes big browns go soft.
In the spring head over to a lake that doesn't winter kill or
Has a chance or surviving and hit it with big streamers near the outlets and bays as soon as the ice is gone. You'll be surprised on how good the fishing can be. I had success over gravel fishing leeches slowly stripped in that early.

[jkind]

I think the easiest species to catch would be goldeye/mooneye and you do not have to leave Edmonton to find them. I have never fished the NSR for them but I have caught hundreds of them in the Red Deer River.

In the RDR they will take almost anything and finesse is not needed...if dead drifting is not working then start dragging the fly...if your not getting any hits on your dry fly then drag under water and the will hit that...they do not seem to be picky.

I have caught them on humpy's, stimulators, wooly buggers, nymphs, caddis, etc.

Here is a video of me on the Red Deer catching a few on a hopper/dropper setup.

http://youtu.be/duUK_harxsY

Just Fishin'(before they shut down) use to bring their fly fishing students to this spot so they could catch something while practicing their casting.

[chriscosta]

right on you guys are awesome this is all good advise ill definately keep the bow in mind for the winter months as far as the nsr I doubt ill try cuz im into the exploring part the nsr is very dirty and smells dirtier not to mention the shores on the better known spots are usually packed full of trash not exactly what im after but I am very persistant so I should have some fn thx to all for the help I really had no idea where to start

[grinr]

Originally Posted by chriscosta

.......as far as the nsr I doubt ill try cuz im into the exploring part the nsr is very dirty and smells dirtier not to mention the shores on the better known spots are usually packed full of trash not exactly what im after......

As the old saying goes..."Head west young man"......as in cpl hundred Kms SW,the NSR is ALOT prettier the closer you get to the headwaters.

[chriscosta]

Yes your right I used to live up by drayton and it's no where near the same the water was very clear and clean looking and the quality of fish is unreal compared to the city here and the wildlife and scenery is awesome too I wish I lived up that way still I used to head upstream from the genesee bridge tho I never did find a solid spot so if you guys know of any descent areas to wet a fly up around there feel free to lemme know that's a good place for me to start

[mikeym]

if you want a couple of good streams to start out on that you will have a high chance of catching fish, head to either The Little Smoky by Fox Creek or the Freeman by Swan Hills. full of eager grayling and whites that are not overly picky (still have to match the hatch) and when you do find the right fly, 50 - 100 fish days are more common than not.

those are the two streams i would recommend for a beginner to start out on as grayling are not as picky as say cutthroats or browns are. also lots of water to explore on either stream as the farther you go from the amin access spots, the more and bigger fish you will find.

Rgds
Mike

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by chriscosta

hey guys im gettin anxious to get my fly rod out I got a six wt rod for xmas I dont even know where to start I could hit a pond but id like some different terrain to me a fly rod is a ticket to do a lil hiking and enjoy the surroundings while also catching fish size is no matter for me but I wanna know a good stream to hit kinda near edmonton that I will be able to catch also whats a good species to start out on? honestly any info would be great as in good types of flys or whatever else I should know before I expand my horizon feel free to pm me and fyi im not into keepin fish while fly fishing if I wanted a meal id,hit a lake with pike and troll I promise to always do my part and conserve and always clean up after myself thx in advance

Hang on there son! Can I lend you a few periods? LOL

Seriously, nice to see the excitement. Good luck.

[Xiph0id]

If I were you I would head west to nordegg for trout or north west to swan hills for grayling.