Go Back   Alberta Outdoorsmen Forum > Main Category > Fishing Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #31  
Old 12-14-2023, 08:27 AM
RDFisher RDFisher is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2023
Posts: 25
Default

Definitely not your imagination on the low water levels. From Water Survey of Canada:



There are some large water license users that draw from Cold Lake. My bet is that they've had to turn off their pumps or will be having to very soon.

Would love to get up to Cold Lake and do some lake trout fishing. Haven't been, but as an Albertan, it's on my bucket list!
Reply With Quote
  #32  
Old 12-19-2023, 09:47 PM
FearNoFish FearNoFish is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 144
Default Any ice fishing yet?

Anybody have the latest ? Are we ice fishing over the holidays?
Reply With Quote
  #33  
Old 12-20-2023, 06:44 AM
58thecat's Avatar
58thecat 58thecat is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: At the end of the Thirsty Beaver Trail, Pinsky lake, Alberta.
Posts: 24,623
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by FearNoFish View Post
Anybody have the latest ? Are we ice fishing over the holidays?
Nope, unless you bring a boat or cast from shore, could be wrong if the weather dips to -20 or colder for a few weeks but that’s not in the forecast.....I am thinking mid January ish.....maybe
__________________

Be careful when you follow the masses, sometimes the "M" is silent...
Reply With Quote
  #34  
Old 12-20-2023, 08:01 AM
AlbertanGP AlbertanGP is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: North of Redmonton
Posts: 1,607
Default

I have around 20 locations in western Canada saved in my Weather Network app I check every morning, and the only place consistently cold in all of Alberta is High Level. Even Peerless Lake hasn't been that cold yet.

At least the shallower lakes are still making ice with the lack of snow. Sucks for the deep ones though.
Reply With Quote
  #35  
Old 12-20-2023, 09:10 AM
ragweed ragweed is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Airdrie area
Posts: 340
Default

Thanks for the continual updates folks. It makes a huge difference for us who have to plan ahead.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply With Quote
  #36  
Old 12-20-2023, 12:56 PM
58thecat's Avatar
58thecat 58thecat is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: At the end of the Thirsty Beaver Trail, Pinsky lake, Alberta.
Posts: 24,623
Default


Sitting on 16 inches of ice catching trout, not lakers and that’s not the island on Cold Lake.

But it scratches the ice hole itch.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
__________________

Be careful when you follow the masses, sometimes the "M" is silent...
Reply With Quote
  #37  
Old 12-20-2023, 05:08 PM
Egymcara Egymcara is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 236
Default

Looking back on photos from last year... I had my tent set up on French Bay Dec.10 catching lakers. What a difference from year to year.
Reply With Quote
  #38  
Old 12-20-2023, 08:44 PM
FearNoFish FearNoFish is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 144
Default

Agreed. It’s hours of driving and liters of gas. You guys rock.
Reply With Quote
  #39  
Old 12-21-2023, 06:09 AM
58thecat's Avatar
58thecat 58thecat is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: At the end of the Thirsty Beaver Trail, Pinsky lake, Alberta.
Posts: 24,623
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by FearNoFish View Post
Agreed. It’s hours of driving and liters of gas. You guys rock.
I feel for people wanting to go out on an adventure, make plans, book days off, meals, gas and travel all adds up real quick so I figure a little help along the way especially from a local can make the trip that much more enjoyable.

Last year I fished from Manitoba all the way to Vancouver island. Zig zagging the provinces and I sure did appreciate members on this forum for all the great assistance along the way

Gonna take a drive today and check on the big lake maybe toss a few spoons from shore.
__________________

Be careful when you follow the masses, sometimes the "M" is silent...
Reply With Quote
  #40  
Old 12-22-2023, 10:45 PM
pikeman06 pikeman06 is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,615
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by 58thecat View Post

Sitting on 16 inches of ice catching trout, not lakers and that’s not the island on Cold Lake.

But it scratches the ice hole itch.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You bet, hammer the rainbows at little bear till there's enough ice on cold lake!!! Thanks for the tips ecat!
Reply With Quote
  #41  
Old 12-25-2023, 08:29 AM
AlbertanGP AlbertanGP is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: North of Redmonton
Posts: 1,607
Default



MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Reply With Quote
  #42  
Old 12-25-2023, 09:10 AM
Egymcara Egymcara is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 236
Default

Its funny you posted this... I said to my buddies that Santa brought the best gift of all, -20!!!
Reply With Quote
  #43  
Old 12-25-2023, 12:20 PM
AlbertanGP AlbertanGP is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: North of Redmonton
Posts: 1,607
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Egymcara View Post
Its funny you posted this... I said to my buddies that Santa brought the best gift of all, -20!!!
Agreed. I'm still holding out hope for French Bay in a couple of weeks. Time will tell.
Reply With Quote
  #44  
Old 12-25-2023, 02:26 PM
58thecat's Avatar
58thecat 58thecat is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: At the end of the Thirsty Beaver Trail, Pinsky lake, Alberta.
Posts: 24,623
Default

And No snow forecasted which can be a a disaster if we get a few inches of ice and then a big dump of snow!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
__________________

Be careful when you follow the masses, sometimes the "M" is silent...
Reply With Quote
  #45  
Old 12-29-2023, 11:47 AM
Egymcara Egymcara is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 236
Default

Decided to make the trek out on French Bay and check the conditions. I believe FB froze 4-5 days ago, roughly. Drilled holes every so often and the ice is definitely black and solid. 3" everywhere I stopped, never seemed unsafe at any point. Keep in mind, I took quite a few precautions before venturing into deep water. Dropped a line for an hour or two and ended up with just 1 laker but was worth all the effort! I seen quite a few lake trout being extremely lazy, not interested in hooks at all. Just figured I'd share this with the group and use your own limits when deciding to go out fishing.

Cheers!
Attached Images
File Type: jpg GOPR09232.jpg (45.5 KB, 169 views)
Reply With Quote
  #46  
Old 12-29-2023, 02:17 PM
58thecat's Avatar
58thecat 58thecat is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: At the end of the Thirsty Beaver Trail, Pinsky lake, Alberta.
Posts: 24,623
Default

Good to see a laker!

Going to check it out but not walking out yet…..maybe.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
__________________

Be careful when you follow the masses, sometimes the "M" is silent...
Reply With Quote
  #47  
Old 12-29-2023, 03:03 PM
58thecat's Avatar
58thecat 58thecat is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: At the end of the Thirsty Beaver Trail, Pinsky lake, Alberta.
Posts: 24,623
Default



Come on -20 to give us a few more good inches of solid ice!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
__________________

Be careful when you follow the masses, sometimes the "M" is silent...
Reply With Quote
  #48  
Old 12-29-2023, 03:28 PM
ragweed ragweed is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Airdrie area
Posts: 340
Default

Beautiful pics! Wish it was worth the drive up for me. Maybe later next week? Come on -20!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply With Quote
  #49  
Old 12-29-2023, 04:42 PM
Egymcara Egymcara is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 236
Default

People must be throwing a lot of rocks from shore Greg. I checked that spot on Tuesday and wasn't a single rock, not its littered lol.
Reply With Quote
  #50  
Old 12-29-2023, 05:06 PM
58thecat's Avatar
58thecat 58thecat is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: At the end of the Thirsty Beaver Trail, Pinsky lake, Alberta.
Posts: 24,623
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Egymcara View Post
People must be throwing a lot of rocks from shore Greg. I checked that spot on Tuesday and wasn't a single rock, not its littered lol.

Yeah that area and the marina launch too…ya got me chomping at the bit to get out but I need more ice even though I got the striker ice climate suit that floats but don’t need to test it.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
__________________

Be careful when you follow the masses, sometimes the "M" is silent...
Reply With Quote
  #51  
Old 12-29-2023, 09:15 PM
AlbertanGP AlbertanGP is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: North of Redmonton
Posts: 1,607
Default

If the long range forecast proves correct, it looks like it should be quite cold at the end of next week into the week of the 7th to 12th when I'm returning from Saskatchewan. I'll be making some calls this weekend.
Reply With Quote
  #52  
Old 12-30-2023, 09:25 AM
thorne's Avatar
thorne thorne is online now
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: edmonton
Posts: 1,087
Default

Had to finally get my trout fix! I'm pretty sure this little guy identifies as an 18lb Laker...so that's good enough for me!

Well there was suspose to be a nice 6" rainbow pic from Cardiff...but it seem the upload pics function is entirely broken along with the Message and thread subscription notifications...maybe time for an update to our old fishing forum. It's been so good to us for many years...but like an old pick up, it seems to have out lived its functionality and in need of a big over haul...

Ok...figured out tge few extra steps to shrink a photo to be somewhat compatible...but like many other websites there should be automatic pic manipulation to fit the requirements of the site....oh well...maybe some day...
Attached Images
File Type: jpg 20231230_093645.jpg (117.7 KB, 123 views)
__________________
NO BAD WEATHER, JUST BAD GEAR!!
Remember 99.8% of fishin gear is ment to catch fishermen....not fish!!

Last edited by thorne; 12-30-2023 at 09:43 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #53  
Old 12-30-2023, 12:36 PM
58thecat's Avatar
58thecat 58thecat is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: At the end of the Thirsty Beaver Trail, Pinsky lake, Alberta.
Posts: 24,623
Default

I use Tapatalk to send pics etc on this forum and it works great.
Just download the app to your phone and now your one of the cool folks!




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
__________________

Be careful when you follow the masses, sometimes the "M" is silent...
Reply With Quote
  #54  
Old 12-30-2023, 12:46 PM
thorne's Avatar
thorne thorne is online now
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: edmonton
Posts: 1,087
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by 58thecat View Post
I use Tapatalk to send pics etc on this forum and it works great.
Just download the app to your phone and now your one of the cool folks!




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Easy now....never beennin that class before! K...Thanks...I'll give it a go!
__________________
NO BAD WEATHER, JUST BAD GEAR!!
Remember 99.8% of fishin gear is ment to catch fishermen....not fish!!
Reply With Quote
  #55  
Old 12-31-2023, 02:57 PM
Egymcara Egymcara is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 236
Default

Went out for the last few mornings and fishing was pretty slow. Managed a few lake trout each trip but definitely lazy and sluggish behavior overall. Ice is typically 3-4" anywhere I drilled and seems pretty uniformed all the way out. Hoping the bite picks up after the new year like usual.

Cheers
Attached Images
File Type: jpg CLL.jpg (44.4 KB, 126 views)
Reply With Quote
  #56  
Old 01-05-2024, 12:38 PM
58thecat's Avatar
58thecat 58thecat is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: At the end of the Thirsty Beaver Trail, Pinsky lake, Alberta.
Posts: 24,623
Default


Ok, enough no snow and warm weather, got the beast all in order for the big lake to make good thick ice!
Forecast is looking better.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
__________________

Be careful when you follow the masses, sometimes the "M" is silent...
Reply With Quote
  #57  
Old 01-05-2024, 10:51 PM
Moosetalker's Avatar
Moosetalker Moosetalker is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 781
Default

Forecast for next 10 Days looks to be an ice maker.
Reply With Quote
  #58  
Old 01-06-2024, 01:59 PM
58thecat's Avatar
58thecat 58thecat is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: At the end of the Thirsty Beaver Trail, Pinsky lake, Alberta.
Posts: 24,623
Default


Out in French bay now and pulling in lakers one after another, missing hooks sets too, 6 inches of good ice,
Walked out, spoons, tubes, of various colours seem to work.





Got ourselves set up mid shelf where the drop goes from 30-100 fow relatively quick.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
__________________

Be careful when you follow the masses, sometimes the "M" is silent...
Reply With Quote
  #59  
Old 01-06-2024, 02:05 PM
58thecat's Avatar
58thecat 58thecat is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: At the end of the Thirsty Beaver Trail, Pinsky lake, Alberta.
Posts: 24,623
Default

Ok so I just lost two fish and got crap from the old girl to stop playing on the dam phone!




Yes ma’am!


Gotta go.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
__________________

Be careful when you follow the masses, sometimes the "M" is silent...
Reply With Quote
  #60  
Old 01-06-2024, 04:33 PM
58thecat's Avatar
58thecat 58thecat is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: At the end of the Thirsty Beaver Trail, Pinsky lake, Alberta.
Posts: 24,623
Default


Insane bite today, wife had the Cold Lake special on and just couldn’t stop the bites, if she landed every fish she would have set a personal record and one was a beauty too, with clear ice of 6 inches you can see them so clear below the ice which may or may not be a good thing as the intensity gets ramped up big time in the tent!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
__________________

Be careful when you follow the masses, sometimes the "M" is silent...
Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:35 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.5
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.