Ice Fishing Calgary

poondocksaint · #1 12-06-2011, 09:51 PM

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to this forum, and to ice fishing. What are some good lakes around Calgary for ice fishing?

Thanks

Dan Foss · #2 12-07-2011, 12:16 AM

unfortunately your are in for a bit of a drive depending on what you wanna catch.

a winter favorite for me is always spray lake. ususally in decemeber only though. I just cant stand the trudge through the foot and a half of snow later on in the season but I still force myself to do it. lake trout in there

Lots of guys fish the K lakes.

You could head northwest toward burnt stick for perch or a couple other trout lakes out that way like birch.

for "big game fish" (walleye, pike, burbot) there are the usual suspects to the south; crawling valley, newell, macgregor, pcr, badger, travers, etc. or you could head north to sylvan, and one lake that I would really really love to explore this winter is gull.

more trout lakes scattered about like chain, sibbald, etc. others can provide more fishing advice on trout as I dont really fish for them much.

oh and dont forget our closest lake which has been getting lots of talk lately..... Ghost. Really hard to fish but there seems to be a few guys who have cracked the code on this lake.

skiwili · #3 12-07-2011, 04:43 AM

Chestermere lake is another option if you dont wanna drive far.

Dan Foss · #4 12-07-2011, 08:45 AM

right totally forgot about chesterslough......... there is also eagle lake if you wanna go that route.......

poondocksaint · #5 12-07-2011, 04:20 PM

Thanks very much for all the suggestions.... I'm thinking about heading out to Spray Lake this weekend, is the ice thick enough yet?

Dan Foss · #6 12-07-2011, 04:37 PM

be very very careful on spray. If I were you I would make a call to wapiti sports in banff and ask them on any ice reports from spray, more specifically the boat launch. also ask if they have gotten much snow today/ the last few days. I would be wary going there if there has been lots of snow. It is a big deep lake with alot of wind. the snow does not help ice formation at all. There are also several springs in spray. I know one particular section NEVER freezes over all winter ( it is in between the damn and the boat launch). Just be careful. I am sure there has been several people icefishing spray already but I am sure they know the lake and how the ice forms there.

But definitely step one is call wapiti. they will tell you ice conditions.

poondocksaint · #7 12-07-2011, 04:40 PM

Your the man Dan....

I think this is my last question... I've fished for pike and walleye and such, but never lake trout... What do you use for them? Do you go with a bait like smelt or do you stick to jigs?

Dan Foss · #8 12-07-2011, 04:42 PM

lol Gimme a couple minutes and ill dig up a swack of information for you and post it

poondocksaint · #9 12-07-2011, 04:42 PM

Alright... so for anyone interested, just got off the phone with Wapiti sports, the ice is 6-8" and apparently lots of people have been fishing already. I think I'll head out there on Saturday

Dan Foss · #10 12-07-2011, 05:00 PM

I cant seem to find It. I really need to go through my emails and saved documents and sort all my fishing info by lake.........

Anyways....... Use a 2" buzz bomb (white with a red / green stripe. lakers like white) use a full smelt or a half a smelt ripped in two by your fingers (not cut, the entrails make a nice action in water. ) Lakers like bite on the fall of a lure so always be prepared when your lowering your lure. Lakers also cruise all over the water column so you can get a hit anywhere while your on your way down.

** Big reccomendation to get a flasher here. Spray is a deep lake and fish can be cause anywhere from on the bottom in 100fow or suspended 20 seet below your hole. If your hook is on the bottom and a fish swims by 20 feet above, your clearly not going to catch him.**

I have found the lakers like aggressive jigging but like any fish they can be picky. Mix up your presentations. I usually give one or two bigger sudden drops to get the buzz bomb makin noise then let it sit for a minute and then mix in a couple slower smaller drops. additionally, If I am dropping all the way to the bottom I will stop every 20 feet or so and jig a bit to see if anything shows up. also helps prevent possible line tangles. just what I found anyways.

As for where you want to be fishing....... you can be almost anywhere. I have always fished deeper waters because thats what I have had luck with. I try to position myself on the main channel that used to be spray river. (80-100 feet of water. but I know you dont need to be that deep. Honestly they are all over the place. Look for inside turns or coves and I would as a rule of thumb say minimum 20-30 feet. and anywhere out to 100. I have gone off the boat launch, ive gone to sparrow hawk or whatever it is and I have also fished the campground cove. and have seen fish everywhere. My advise would be to go on google maps or go find a bathometric map and look at the structure chang and map out a couple spots that look appealing to you. and give those a shot.

If you have any further questions you can always send me a PM. and yes you can always try just jigs and smelts, spoons, and large white tube jigs that, to be honest, look like oversized tampons. (theyre squid) try different things out. but I have had lots of luck with buzz bombs

*Disclaimer* I am not trying to act like a pro or know it all, just passing on what I have learned which is mostly from being shown things from other forum members.

skiwili · #11 12-07-2011, 05:16 PM

Thanks a lot Danb for the report. your information is very good.

Soft Sailz · #12 12-15-2011, 04:45 PM

a bunch of us are heading out this sunday. we used jigheads and smelt last season. i caught a couple of 1.5-2 pounders last. bundle up in layers cause it can get cold out there haha. i'm going to try some buzz bombs and tube jigs this weekend. i'll let you know how they work. thinking of trying a couple of shrimp out as well.
take care and happy fishing!

jts1 · #13 12-15-2011, 08:18 PM

Do a search for my google fishing map thread. Shoot me a pm with any questions

adam8812 · #14 02-03-2014, 04:23 PM

Hi,

I am new Calgary, working here for 3 months from Wellington, New Zealand.

I'm an active sea fisherman back home and have recently started salmon fishing.

I was hoping to give Ice fishing a go whilst I'm here and was wondering if anywhere would know a good place to start?

Cory1 · #15 02-03-2014, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adam8812

Hi,

I am new Calgary, working here for 3 months from Wellington, New Zealand.

I'm an active sea fisherman back home and have recently started salmon fishing.

I was hoping to give Ice fishing a go whilst I'm here and was wondering if anywhere would know a good place to start?

If you have your own gear, this thread should have plenty of information on lakes around Calgary.
If you don't have your own ice fishing gear or are looking for someone to head out with you could try the "looking for fishing partner thread" or feel free to send me a PM and we could try to find a day to head out together somewhere.

Cory

WayneChristie · #16 02-03-2014, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adam8812

Hi,

I am new Calgary, working here for 3 months from Wellington, New Zealand.

I'm an active sea fisherman back home and have recently started salmon fishing.

I was hoping to give Ice fishing a go whilst I'm here and was wondering if anywhere would know a good place to start?

If you are off work this friday saturday or Sunday PM me I will get you on the ice if you are willing to drive a couple hours. I have gear for you to use too

SCHOOCH · #17 02-03-2014, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WayneChristie

If you are off work this friday saturday or Sunday PM me I will get you on the ice if you are willing to drive a couple hours. I have gear for you to use too

Bring earplugs if you don't like listening to him swear at the fish!!!!!!

fentochris · #18 02-04-2014, 09:16 AM

Spray lakes.... Lots of ice... 18" thick down at the Driftwood boat launch area...

NCFlyfishin · #19 02-04-2014, 08:36 PM

[QUOTE=fentochris;2310137]Spray lakes.... Lots of ice... 18" thick down at the Driftwood boat launch area...

Wow I am surprised the ice isn't thicker there by now since it's was around 18 inches when I was there about 3 weeks ago, and we just got another cold snap
It will probably get thicker soon though...
I have seen spray in the 4 ice fishing seasons I've been fishing it get up to 24" on colder winters it most likely gets thicker than that though!