Wabasca river trip. Anyone got any info?

[Cal]

This year me and my partner are going to do a canoe hunt for moose down the Wabasca river. My partner seems to want to put in on the Chip river off the alpac road rather than start at the lake, with hwy 88 being the destination. I've heard there are some fair size rapids in there but I am having trouble finding anyone who's actualy been there. Any info would be apreciated.

[nicholal]

Maybe a trial run now when the weather is warm may be in order??.......this way you can find out first hand as well mark camp spots??

Al

[Rackmastr]

I have some friends who used to do it years ago and always did well, but they took both zodiak boats or aluminum boats.....

[nimrod]

I ran the river a few years ago from the south Tallcree crossing to the north crossing, river was very shallow for our canoe, made it with a few scratches on the bottom, no wild like then in August, but a nice river trip.

[-JR-]

Fished the river up stream about 60 miles ,angle deep in spots.
Why not start from chip lake (150 km north of wab)

[Cal]

We were planning to start from the chip river where the alpac road crosses. Our tag is in 541 so starting from chip lake would mean alot of time spent in the wrong zone. Ive only fished the wabasca near the lake and where the road to gods lake crosses it. Neither time was in the fall but there was lots of water there. Thanks for the info guys, this is great. Nimrod is the south tallcree crossing near where 88 crosses it the first time? JR you fished the wab 60 miles upstream from where?

[alittlej]

back in the 80's [whoa 20 years ago ] had freinds run upstream from where the old mill was [ loon river runs into teh wabasc] adn then float back down... some big bulls come out of there.. but they worked something hard. there were some bad rapids up stream of there camp. also some very steep banks ... heard from father that down stream of the bridge was full of rapids and had a buddy of his get knocked out of teh back of his baot...

good luck sounds like fun... oh to be 20 years younger again !!!

[Cal]

Thanks for that alittlej. Part of the alure is that I can hardly find anyone who's been back there. Apparently at one point it was fantastic and then "it got jet boated out" in the 90's. The same outfitter who gave me this info has told me everywhere else that I've managed to get a moose out of was not worth hunting either and I have only found a couple guys who have actualy been back in there so hopefully we can find a nice bull. I'm sure its not like it was back in the 80s though. I lived in Wabasca the year befor the road got paved (89?) and the moose numbers were crazy. Spend alot of time there now and Ive seen just a couple in the last two years.

[alittlej]

not sure wher the "chip river" is but I did find an artical about the wabasac river in an "ALBERTA GAME WARDEN " mag. spring 2009 vol. 21 no. 1 issue !!!
the cover of the mag. shows a picture of an officer in uniform on the river test driving their new MUD MOTOR. The story says they put in at the TROUT MOUNTAIN BRIDGE and travel upstream as far as teh CHIPEWYAN RIVER. They talk about he rapiits that they go through at km 17 as being a "riffle compared the teh fun taht was to come " at km20..... The officers were from the Lesser Slave Lake Area Quentin Isley Jeremy Lindsay and a new recruit Chuck Best. The boat and motor was purcahsed in the spring of 2008.... finial line of the story says that Quentin Isley is a member of teh Alberta Game Warden Association in STONY PLAIN

this may help you out some more on what fun you are looking at getting into

good luck
derek

[Pikebreath]

The Wabasca two weeks ago at the Hwy 88 bridge was extremely low. Unless they get a bunch more rain up there before hunting season I certainly would question it's navigability.