Pike near Calgary...

[weedhaul]

Wondering if anyone could recommend a pike lake near Calgary. I've heard that TVR is good, not sure. I've been catching lots of rainbows here and there but want to get into pike.

[weedhaul]

Anybody? The only info I've found is a few years old, suggesting Clear Lake and maybe Park Lake although that's a bit far for me. Lake McGregor is fairly close and supposedly has pike but I haven't heard many favourable reports. Maybe CVR? Haven't been there lately. Any advice appreciated.

[Joe Quiroga]

Badger Reservoir might add another 30-40 minutes to your drive but might be worth it. My first time out there I caught a big damn fish. Could have been beginners luck though....

[Fishslayer99]

Glenmore res/Chestermere/Mcgregor/Travers/Clear. There are more walleye than pike at Crawling valley and PCR I have found but they can be caught there as well. those are your best bets for close by IMO.

[lds]

Never cought anything huge out of chestermere or glenmore res. but they are close and plenty of fish to be cought. Can even go for an evening after work which is nice

[weedhaul]

Thanks for the suggestions! Never thought that Glenmore would have pike in it but worth a try. I have a boat and quite often go to Chain for rainbow but there's no pike there. And yes I remember Crawling Valley being more of a Walleye place. Someone said that a Sylvan has lots of pike in it this last couple of years...

[HighRiver]

Keho lake is good. If you dont have a boat just cast from the spillway.

[DiabeticKripple]

travers doesnt have much for pike in it anymore.

they closed it to pike retention this year

[Don K]

Eagle lake

[weedhaul]

Well I had a nice morning at TVR with my son today, tried for pike and caught 3 nice ones just at the edge of the weed bank. Loved it, learned a lot and can't wait to go back!

[Fishslayer99]

Congrats weedhaul, pike fishing is always fun! I don't bring them in my boat and its a good idea to wear gloves, they stink and can make a mess in a hurry!

[weedhaul]

Thanks! Yes, I've heard that a pike should be declared "caught" when it's at the boat side, and released in the water for minimal harm. I wanted a pic of this one though, being my first. My son actually caught one too, but it broke the line before he got it to the boat. I'm using 8 lb Trilene (and have 14 and 20 lb also) but haven't changed out my son's yet.

[lovich12]

Travers is good. BUT you have to put the time and effort into it. I've done well on that lake (in the hard water season). Its not a lake where any Joe can catch umpteen fish anymore, like it used to be.

[weedhaul]

I was back at TVR last night with the boat, turned into a nice evening though windy. Caught a couple more pike in the west bay, but the weeds were horrific and with the wind it was difficult to navigate...hard to follow a weed edge.

Think next time out I'm going to try Clear Lake. Anybody been there lately?

[Richard B.]

watch out for blue/green algae at Clear Lake

[traxxis87]

Clear usually slows down in the hot summer months, but I guess that's Pike fishing in general anywhere.

[weedhaul]

Thank you and thank you

[weedhaul]

Went to Crawling Valley this morning looking for Pike. No problem, plenty around in the shallows and quite active in the early hours. I got a half dozen but broke my 14 lb line twice and lost my good pike lures. Got a nice sized walleye also then headed home. Great outing.

[lovich12]

Nice!!

[FreshAirGetter]

Nice! Sounds like you're chasing pike and loving it. You shouldn't be losing lures and breaking line though, even with the arrogant toothy jacks. If you're not already, try using a leader and make sure to use good knots (the improved cinch/ clinch knot should do, sorry drawing a blank on which one is the proper name). After tying them and after every catch i'd recommend testing the line quick to make sure it's still strong. Try not giving them any slack, otherwise they may wrap around and nick your line, and if you're using a steel leader could hurt them too. I catch them in streams with light line no leaders and tiny lures, so with a beefier setup there shouldn't really be any lost expensive lures. At wabamun i use the same advice i gave you here and catch 80 pike with one spoon.. Lol..and i can't even catch half as many as the pros! Glad to hear you're loving fishing...i just started last year and can't get enough

[aulrich]

Leaders and pike are pretty much a given, though I did land a large one this year on 8lb test and a 1/16th ounce jig while I was going for perch but that was in open water and lip hooked. As you chase pike more and more tight drags, light line and crappy leaders will cost you more fish and gear that you want to give up.

The last batch of pike rods I hauled up to the cabin had 17 lb mono and that worked OK short of all the line capacity I gave up. Over the winter I will hit the Fishinhole’s bulk line sale and finally upgrade everything to at least 30lb braid. If you want to fish the jungle you need the heavier gear to rip lure through.

Another thing I have done wrong over the years is keep the drag too tight a lighter drag makes those at the boat lunges easier to absorb.

[weedhaul]

Awesome, thanks for the replies! I use one of those Orvis Nail Knot tools, double loop around the hook. I started using 20 lb green Trilene and haven't had any breaks. Caught me a 28" pike at CVR on Sunday with this line and a $3 Blaze lure lol. Those pike will chase anything.

[fzo]

what a nice fish.

[weedhaul]

Originally Posted by fzo

what a nice fish.

Thanks - CVR is full of those. I've started dividing my time there between pike and walleyes, great fishing for both. Bit of a nightmare boating there though, the lake bottom is very uneven and you can bottom out if not paying close attention. I've wrecked 1 prop there and met a guy last week who did the same.

[Hotwheels81]

Originally Posted by weedhaul

Wondering if anyone could recommend a pike lake near Calgary. I've heard that TVR is good, not sure. I've been catching lots of rainbows here and there but want to get into pike.

7-8 maybe 9? Years back a fella was fishing in the Glenmore res... Managed to yard out a 50"ish pike... A pic of it laying next to his 3yr old daughter on the dock made the Calgary Sun paper....

I used to fish the ponds in Carburn park (riverbend)... Lots of 24" fish back then... Dunno about now.

[32-40win]

There are some decent pike in the Bow river as well. Caught a few using big Deceivers on my salt water rod, when practicing casting shooting heads. When I have specifically targeted pike I use Tyger wire leaders. I came to the conclusion that the wire leaders were just simpler to use, and the pike are either going to hit it, or just need to be teased into it a bit.

[weedhaul]

Pulled these out at Crawling Valley today. Definitely my favorite place to fish these days!

[Power engineer]

some nice walleye there, might have to go see myself