Swan lake (northern one)

[Deep]

I have heard that swan lake-near Gr. Prairie is a good trout lake. I am hoping for any information, such as lake size,depth,camping sites, specific fishing regs. if any on this lake. I thank you in advance for all that I can find out....Deep

[HotHook]

A small lake,1kilometer long,1/2-3/4 kilometers wide.Maxium depth 23 feet
straight out from the campsite.Boat launch is very steep,need a 4x4 to
launch the boat.Electric motors only.
Campsite has no hookups or water,only 4 stalls plus parking lot.
I have caught fish up to 7 lbs and seen a couple in the 9 lb. range.
The fish are not that good eating,taste muddy.They are also infected with
what is known as black spot under the skin.It makes for a very unattractive
fillet.
It is a good lake for catch and release,although in mid summer there is a very
thick alegae growth in the water.A person spends a lot of time cleaning their
hooks,leaders and tippets.
I think I have covered most of the basics,its your decision.
HotHook

[pickrel pat]

small, fairly shallow, big rainbows. fished it once from shore. caught a 4 pounder, and a 2 pounder.

[bearbait]

good lake, nice fish but i perfer carson...

[fishman]

Swan lake is only a shadow of the lake it use to be

The depth of the lake is 16 feet and averaging from 11-13 with 2 bays that are feeding station that r 6 feet deep with staggering weeds

Some years they turns so bad that the birds actually change the ph of the water from thier droppings

Some years the pelligans show up

By the july 1 the blue algae sets in and the water is like soup.

In the winter time they airate the lake with up to nine units

These fish in this lake go through some hard times between all the elements


because the lake is shallow and has a high weed base the food for them is unreal and they grew fairly fast

Still no matter how you look at it is there any other place in alberta that you can go and catch 5 pound trout all day.......i doubt it and not carson lake for sure


This lake needs special regs to become the gem it use to be.
I have seen people making 3 and 4 trips to there vechiles with thier limits and more.

I think as a whole ALBERTA needs to wake up before we have no lakes to fish except a bunch of put and take lakes like carson....prime exa,ple how management has screwed up a good lake

I have been fishing swan lake since the 70's and i have pictures of rainbows that were averagin 4 1/2 pounds and catching them all day.......what has changed since then.................MAN has infested the place and has no care except for thier own needs..........do you have a right to keep every fish you catch........no...............i want to fish for years to come and have lakes that i can go catch big fish...........it is going to non exsistentant in a few years

The regs need to be changed at this lake and policing needs to be done.........use your cell phone comfront the law breakers...they will get the message if we stand up instaed of sitting back and watching it fade away


Just one mans words....You can take these words how ever you want and hopefully it will be in a postive way

[springfisher]

i do know that my top2 ever rainbows have come from swan, both just a hair under 9 lbs and that took a few years to say the least. in the last 3-5 years the overall quailty at swan has dropped off a large amount.while i do realize it is a put and take lake, i feel that far to many people take much more than they really need to.myself i love to drive up there and catch a bunch of huge 'bows and have a steak on the way back,leaving the big ones for another great day of fishing..... not to mention that the fish from swan taste like rotten weeds!!!:

[fishman]

springfisherman

I agree with you........it is still better then any other place to go but i do remember what is once was and what it is today it has gone from un beliveable to just great........and soon it will be normal and then poor and then carson..u get the drift


I was talking to a old friend of the family thta lives in valleyview he told me that there is a old farmer that ice fishes it everyday in the winter and keeps over a 1000 fish a year...that is alot of fish even if he is off on his count he is keeping way to many....i said to the friend that is unreal he told me there is about 5 old retired guys that do the same so u figure out the damage that is being done


I can remember in the 80's when there was brook trout in there and it would winter kill every few years sometimes make it 4 years...nobody knew about the lake except the locals and they had a hard time catching the brookies buttttttttttttttt man were they the fattest brookies i ever seen..........we caught unreal amounts over 4 1/2 pounds and they were maybe 17-18 inchs.....they didn't start aerating it until the 90's and by mid 90's we were catching fish until your arm fell off and big ones averaging over 4 pounds.........so u tell me is this lake like that today............noooooooooooo.............don't get me wrong it is still a good lake but for how long and if we sit on our butts and doing nothing about it there goes another lake down the drain......ohhhhhhh ya we have lots of other lakes to fish....yaaa right.......we have to ban together and stop the onslot......just because u have a fishing license doesn't give u the right to abuse it..............the day will come when i will but a dugout or get one built so i have my own manmade lake and i can control it my way and catch big fish all day long............but does it have to come to that.......i hope not.................you can agree to what i say or disagree.....




I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR OTHERS THOUGHTS

The point of most stocked lakes is people can go and keep 5 trout and not apply pressure to native stocks. We only have so many fish bearing lakes in Alberta, and there's a lot of fisherman. My best reccomendation to you would be to write your local SRD office and see if theres a chance a trophy put and take fishery could be established near you. Contact the local fish and game club, see if there's concern/interest from others (there likely is). I've seen some pretty heated discussions on this topic at fish and game meetings and warn you the number of people opposed to such fisheries are surprising. I frequent a few put and takes and only keep trout from a few (usually simply because a few are bound to be eye hooked/gill hooked after a day of non-stop catching). They can be a nice change (especially during ice fishing) and nothings better when trying to recruit young anglers. I would love to see a few more similar to the ones by Medicine Hat with special closures/ seasons etc. I love catching big fish whether it be on my fly rod or with spinning gear so i may not be speaking for all fisherman when i say i want to see a few more of these lakes.

Your lake is definetly not the only one that has changed in this way in Alberta. I'd love to see a pile of new put and takes developed but fundings hard to come by and fisherman generally don't write enough letters in support of the activity or with their concerns.

[fishman]

I had a discussion with my local fish and wildlife officier...he agrees with me on swan lake and other lakes....he told me it is very hard to get exsisting lake laws changed very easy to get new bodies of water changed.

I realize that we all have the right to 5 fishlimit everyday but there is also a law on how many fish u can have in your freezer and if catch 1000 fish in the winter i would bet that he has alot more then 10 fish in his freezer.

I think that the young people growing up have alot easier time converting to releasing fish and limiting there catch......also the farther north the more ignorant people r on this subject...........i have watched the southern part of the province come around to this alot mre then the north.....is it education...is it policing........i think it is both.

Swan lake is not the only lake i fish i live 2 hours away from this lake, i have fished all over alberta and have seen so many changes to our lakes. To many people want thier means met......some want nothing but a lake like carson were u can catch little ones all day.......lakes like this have thier place but also we need catch and release lakes, slot size lakes, 2 fish limit, closeures or zero limit........we need to blend lakes to all needs so we have a place to go........not just one type of lake with overstocked small fish u can catch all day.

I am catch and release but i have no problem with a person keeping a fish. All i want is for use to all have a lake we can go to and catch fish may it be small or big fish. So if could have more catch and release lakes u would have the certain fisherman that likes that happy.......or a lake with 2 fish limit, keep that fisherman happy who wants to keep a fish but maybe a bigger fish and slot sizes come in to this........how about time closures to preserve certain lakes that attract certain people...........and then we have the lakes which r overstock that attracts that type of person to go and catch little ones all day and also is a good place for our children to catch fish and learn all about fishing..............we all have our rights all i want is a balance and a place i can go which represents me and maybe others on how we fish and believe.......so big deal we offend some people how the heck do u get away from that these days..............we all have a voice and if we all have a place to fish for our needs i think that the fishing has a future if not then it will be nothing but a lake overstocked with small fish and lots of people will have to go to b.c. or sask to catch big fish does that make sense......

[GPBuzz]

The word around GP is you don't eat the fish out of there unless the water is real cold, others say they would never eat a fish out of there

[Deep]

Thanks a lot for all the Swan lake info. I am also a C&R guy, the common sense of it all- like a bigger fish next time....I have seen the stupid people that have the "I caught It and I'm keeping it" philosophy, what crap. I had been very sucessful this year at 2 local Edmonton aerated lakes and was looking for a bit larger size trout- so I was told of Swan. Looking forward to iceoff in the spring to check the place out... Deep

[SNAPFisher]

Hey fishman.

I agree with your points. I wonder why would anybody want to keep trout from a lake where they have a poor taste and black cysts in their meat to boot.

Regarless of the fish quality, it would be great to continue to see more projects Muir L., Cow L., etc. And, have stocked lakes where harvest welcome (e.g. Carson). The variety holds interest on both sides. I'm sure these projects will always stir up controversy but change is never easy.

Given the poor taste condition of the fish in Swan and that it is already a trophy lake...though declining.... I would be happy to throw my hat it to designate it a C&R fishery. I realize that this is only one lake but gotta start somewhere. Do you know the F&W contact for that area? If not, I'll contact SRD and find out and write a letter in support of this idea. If you have any other ideas to pass on, please do so.

Thanks.

[Brady]

Send a letter to your MLA, AFGA, and the premier, as well as Mr. Morton, and encourage others to do the same. I don't have the link for all their emails with me right now, but I am sure someone can flash it up for you here.

[Morph1]

I agree with most of you,
I do keep fish some time cause I like a good fish fry,
but long ago I've been thinking that there should be a size limit, lets say 14" and only 2 keepers, also what would help is a different price for a harvest license and different price for catch and release license.
For those that don't want to keep the fish the license cost would be much less oppose to ones that like to keep fish.

Something needs to be done for sure,
that's just my 2 cents...

cheers !

[fishman]

The eating quality out of swan lake( ihave no idea only been told by others) is good all year except the summer months......

Why not have flyfishing only lakes, catch and release,slot sizes lakes and lakes like carson..............sounds confusing but what ever it takes for the lakes to survive.

I am not sure who the guy is that fish and wildlife who looks after that lake

I know if at fish and game meetings they can bring up lots of topics that can have a hand in and there opionion is taken fairly highly....i know that they were having a debate on whether to try stocking carson lake with a limited amount of browns.

I think every club has some power and by usuing these clubs as a voice can only help............not sure what else to do maybe others have ideas

[bearbait]

wow hate carson hey fish man....i love carson good quality fish not huge but plentyful...great lake for the kids....swan has bigger fish yes....carson is more for a put and take.....thats why they put like 400,000 a year into it...ive caught the odd 5 pound fish from carson and the odd 1/2 pounder from swan...trophy lakes would be a great idea but look at the flack the government took over the walleye tagging system....cant have the best of both worlds.
jmo rob

[Kyle]

The Alberta government is retarted, way too many fish stocked in every single lake in this province. Drop stocking rates, drop limits of fish... this then in turn produces bigger fish and then everyones happy. Of course, you gotta have 1 or 2 "meat fisheries" like chain lakes in southern AB and from the sounds of it carson lake(never fished it) close to major cities. Then the people who want a day of "catching" (not fishing, too easy) can go to the meat fisheries, cast out there pickeral rig with marshmellows and bonk there 5 10-12 inchers every trip. Simple solution...?
Its really too bad, some lakes have such high potential for monster trout.

[Lethalconnection]

I agree with Kyle. I think that the way that the govt is running our fisheries maybe not the smartest way. Like why in lots of lakes are we able to keep fish that have just hit spawning ages or havent even reached it. I think the size limits arent correct instead of mostly fish OVER a certain length we should mostly beable to keep fish under a length and that length should be smaller then those of spawning fish, why would we want to keep a big spawning fish anyways, they are older, meat isnt as good, only reason is to get them mounted so therefore maybe they should only allow us 1 or 2 spawning fish a year like in manitoba. If we have more fish spawning that produces more fish for us to keep and also a better chance of fish reaching spawning ages, i think this is critical of especially the walleye. I think the walleye numbers and quality would rise if we were only allowed to keep a few of the fish that arent of spawning age(size). But we still do need to have those stocked ponds to keep the people that are after a quick fish and lots of of them as opposed to us that are out to really test our luck and go after the wild fish.

[fishman]

Bearbait

I don't hate carson.......... i think there is a place for lakes like carson.......but on the other hand i also live in whitecourt and i have seen the demise of carson........i fished it for the first time in 1974 and the average fish were bigger then the average fish at swan lake when it was in its prime......i can remember coming in from the south side of the lake through a well head down to the lake and every boat was a old wooden boat and nobody had a 4x4 and the holiday trailers looked like prewar items......things have changed......anyways back to this..........at shore after fishing the lake then watching people loading up there fish to take home.......and i seen many fish over 10 and 11 pounds and probably the average fish was 5 to 6 pounds.........so tell me is carson lake better off how it is now and will swan lake become the next carson lake...........food for thought.........and who is to blame for the way it is now government.....fisherman...........whooooooooooooo o

"The Alberta government is retarted, way too many fish stocked in every single lake in this province. Drop stocking rates, drop limits of fish... this then in turn produces bigger fish and then everyones happy."



Sounds good in theory but trust me, fisheries management is more complicated than you think. Temperature and water quality issues probably have more impact on growth rates and survival than stocking rates. Put and take fisheries already have some of the highest trout growth rates anywhere in North America (Tyrrell Lake in southern Alberta is thought to be the fastest- poor survival due to Alkalinity though). Fish being removed when small and fish becoming more difficult to catch as they get larger is more of a factor. Another is "high quality diets" are about as good for trout as they are people (think of a diet which would make you grow the quickest (like bacon and sausage stuffed in a pound of butter then deepfried ). If you look at the fat reserves around the heart of some put and take fish its amazing they live 2 or 3 years. The ones that do live have some interesting length to weight ratios (i've seen a 17'' rainbow which weighed 4 lbs from one by Lethbridge!!! 15.5'' brookie weighed 3.5 lbs from another, very interesting looking fish). Take a underwater camera out on a few trips to these put and takes, some interesting size fish down there. Better yet, fish them at ice out. I have had a few days where the rainbows averaged 20'' on many of southern Alberta's most popular lakes (always within a week of ice out, the big boys then hang out deep and evening is the best chance). The colder the water available the happier the trout seem to be (to an extent of course). Or if your really into big fish the rivers are still there (in the south anyway).

[Kyle]

jrs,
If it is so complicated, then why can lakes I fish in other provinces be doing so good by such little changes(stocking #'s and limits)
Most Alberta pothole lakes have tons of forage for fish, they are not lacking in this department. Bullshead reservoir is a perfect example of a lake that has so much potential for big fish, but it is overstocked. End result being lots of 16-20 inch(thick fish) out there(GREAT for a typical lake in AB) but I personally would LOVE to catch five or six 20-24 inch fish rather than thirty(or more) 16-20 inch fish. This could easily happen if stocking rates were dropped. Some people do not like to go for quality, they would rather get quantity(this is where meat fisheries come into play) this is fine...however it would be nice to see an option for those people who would prefer quality over quantity.

[SNAPFisher]

Hey Kyle. I think your reading into what jrs is saying. There are many factors in managments and stocking rates is only one of many factors. You are right though that it is indeed a factor. It is also taken into account in many lakes already (e.g. Obed) so it is being practiced by the powers that be. Hopefully they continue to fine tune specific lakes. Probably not at the rate though that most would like.

I would also be careful about comparing AB to other provinces. The sheer number of anglers in AB far surpases the other provinces. This is yet another factor.

I understand what fishman is saying about Carson. The former glory of Carson...if I had experienced that as well...I would be just as disappointed - who wouldn't.

I have fished Swan for the first time this year and enjoyed it thoroughly. The former days there sound utterly fantastic. I fished Carson as well for the first time and did not enjoy it nearly as much. That is my personal likes. The next guy though with kids, might think Carson kicks butt due to the numbers and the kids might have more fun then ever. I respect that! Having both types of lakes seems the best to me (my opinion).

[fishman]

I know there are many factors to take into consideration on management of these lakes but on the other hand thier is also some no brainers involved like swan lake is special lets do the right thing and not wreck it like so many other lakes around the province.

We have to find a balance yes i agree but we also have to conserve our fishing so we have lakes to fish in the future not just a bunch of ponds with stunted fish.

As far as making a list on what lakes needs special regs is not a hard thing....do a survey even here and you can find out. We have at least 6-10 lakes in alberta that could fall under trophy lakes if we managed them right am i am saying a special license who cares as what it cost for a license is nothing but a drop in the bucket......do something as far as protecting them.


Then there is lakes in the province that need the limits knocked down and maybe a slot size

Then there are lakes that can be left alone....they are fine the way they are........so in the big picture this would only affect maybe 25-30 lakes in the province.............big deal let the meat hungry fisherman and the put and take lakes for the kids and the guy who just wants to catch a fish. Is that rocket science no....i hear about all this info that is needed and how hard it is to do for data............come on now these lakes have been stocked for years and to figure how to manage them to a diffrent level can be figured out very easy.

I am a alberta and was born here and all i have seen since i was a kid was our money was taken for fishing license and the lakes were stocked........nothing has changed except maybe overstocking to accomadate the more fisherman..........

In all of this there is one fish and wildlife officier i have to tip my hat off to and he is ken schmit out of swan hills....i have watched as he has turned that area around why because he cares and understand about balance...........don't just throw in a 100,000 fish and walk away...........so don't give me a polictican answer about how complex it is and that it is not as easy as it sounds.........every lake has the bio mass to hold some many fish and keep that growth and find it perfectly will not happen but it will get alot better by stop putting in 450,000 fish in lakes................hey i am not looking for a fight this is my opinion...........opinions are like *******s everyone has one...............so if u disagree so be it but if u agree that is good as many we have one person to try and change this before it is to late

"jrs,
If it is so complicated, then why can lakes I fish in other provinces be doing so good by such little changes(stocking #'s and limits)".

The changes are not as little as you may think. Other provinces have different management objectives and resources and many many more lakes. BC for instance, has eight different genetic strains of rainbows for stocking in various lakes (BC also has more stocked fisheries than we do natural lakes in Alberta) .
Some types of rainbows do better in different types of lakes (depth, temperature, water quality) and on top of that some strains can create unique fisheries (Gerrards ). Heres some info if you're interested, i'd love to see Alberta get more into this.
( http://www.gofishbc.com/SiteCM/U/D/2208A06B4B85CFDB.pdf )

In Alberta it seems a trout is considered a trout and the vast majority of our lakes are stocked with the exact same "variety" so to speak. Efforts have been made but it just seems to hit dead ends and you never hear anything of it again ( example: http://www.grasscarp.org/post.asp?pID=198 ).
Again, management decisions are very important ((ex) limits- otherwise how do fish survive to attain large sizes?)


"Most Alberta pothole lakes have tons of forage for fish, they are not lacking in this department."

Thats an indicator that stocking rates aren't the main issue. If you're throwing too many fish in a pond and they won't get bigger its because they ate themselves out of house and home. It's nearly impossible to do that in most put and take ponds as the bug life and scud density is simply an amazing food base. (would be a factor in some, especially mountain put and takes where organics are scarce). The lakes i've seen the biggest fish come out of have excesive cover hurting angler success (Dippingvat, Police-weeds) or a large surface area meaning many fish are not accessable to many fisherman over most of the year (Payne, Police).; Lakes with a combination are desireable (little hint to where i fish every spring).

Lack of funding and real support (letters etc) are the main reasons fisheries like this are scarce in Alberta. Wouldn't it be cool to have a few Gerrard fisheries or to have access to Blackwater rainbows for the alkalide lakes? Or how about some production of Athabasca rainbows to add a little color to a few put and take lakes. Or more grayling catch and release ponds? I can dream. Maybe we should increase oil royalties solely for the management of our fisheries (disclamer, former comment just included as a little bit of humor )

[SNAPFisher]

jrs, thank you very much for the post back. That was a very interesting read from B.C. It is easy to just jump down to the pictures of the different trout (Gerrards!!!!!!!) but I found the section "AVAILABILITY OF SPECIALTY PRODUCTS" the most interesting read. I think your post has really clarified to me as to what you were referring to.

Man, what a difference in management and diversity between BC and AB. That AB report is so wordy......

Me on the other hand, apparently I have a job in AB politics waiting for me. Does it pay well to be a politician?

Well, nothing changes without at least trying. I'm writing to the suggested persons regarding Swan.

Cheers!

[Morph1]

[QUOTE=SNAPFisher;69320]Me on the other hand, apparently I have a job in AB politics waiting for me. Does it pay well to be a politician?

QUOTE]

LOL sorry snap, but getting paid anything in politics for doing hardly anything sounds great to me....

Cheers!

[fishman]

Sorry if i offended anybody that was not my intent but if i ruffled a few feathers then that is good, i really think it is time for people to open thier eyes and have a look at what is going on around us..........Our voice as fisherman has to count for something...i have met alot fisherman that are very knowledgeable and if we got the governmaent to put together a advisory board for each area to hear some of the concerns........just a board for at least one meeting with them.

I think the numbers of flyfisherman and catch and release fisherman has grown in bounds in this province in the last 10 years...but we have no more water to fish, just lakes that are depliting.......I as a avid flyfisherman enjoying nothing more then being at a lake were there is nobody there...........and why is that....the answer is i don't have to watch the fish mongers that are out there and so i fish a little lake outside of whitecourt that nobody goes to because only a avid fisherman would catch fish.....i don't mind at all..........the soliatude is worth it.............yet on talking about this lake the fish and wildlife has done a study on this lake to see maybe they r not stocking it enough..............what do they think there is not enough fish in this lake, is because the locals cry they can't catch anyfish out of it except through the ice..........daaaaaaaa the reason they can't catch them is they r fed so good and only a person with patience and some really good knowledge will catch them.............so why wreck this lake to like the rest of them.......this lake fits into the plan as i see it as a special lake and maybe special regs for.....i guess if nobody hears me i will beat the drum with a bigger stick.........so tell me do u disagree with me that something has to change for our lakes or do u agree

I like seeing people that are passionate about there local lakes like you Fishman. Go bang some drums and you will get some support. Not sure if it will work out for you but whats the harm in trying. I know i have put my support behind lots of similar ideas over the past few years.

This discussion had me searching around the web once again. Found some updates on stuff i've already been following a bit .
At least a few more fisheries are on the way .

http://www.elkvalleycoal.ca/operatio...ke-monitoring/

I like fishing many waterbodies in that area as pressure seems fairly concentrated and there's nice fish everywhere else. More lakes means people are a bit more spread out, should lead to some more positive fishing experiences. Guesse at least some of the lakes won't just be hatchery trout either, nice change. All this fishing talk is really making me wish i would have got out flyfishing a few more times this summer, at least ice season is on its way.

I know i got off the topic of Swan Lake specifically, it happens to me. I suppose since we have so few lakes most issues can be applied almost everywhere accross the province, everything is related.

jrs