Sylvan Lake Report

[Zip-in-Z]

Thought I would start A Sylvan Report tread & intend to keep it going over the ice fishing season!



Zip-Z



Dec 15th - Beauty day, went for a ride & took the camera to see what the ice & snow conditions look like. The local paper says we got over 80 cm/31 in. since Nov. Started at the town site across from the old A&W, no parking lot, no skating rinks, no X-Mass tree just lots of snow and flood water & no one fishin here.







Went over to Norglenwold - Sylvan Drive, two trucks were parked on the side of the entrance and no one was brave enough to try the 12-14" ruts with flood water at the lake shore, if you don't have an ATV or sled, plan to hike out like these guy's.

[Zip-in-Z]

Sun was shining, it was melting, decided to check out the other end of the lake. There were 3 vehicles on the ice, most people walked out, guys said there was between 5" to 12" of solid ice and some flood water in area's. I walked out, took my rod, camera, caught 2 whites, lost one in hole & one came home for Mrs.

























I don't plan on driving out under these conditions, just not worth the risk for a fish. Cold front came in and I departed, hope you enjoyed the pic's.

Zip-Z

[Alberta Bigbore]

Congrats on that white. Those are some great pics. Hopefully it gets better as the season goes on.

[StrayArc]

It was an awesome day out there for sure! Thanks for the tips on the wire worms, As we pulled away my son said " oh shoot, i didn't even ask that nice man his name" haha.

[BPman]

I will be ( walking ) out off Norglenwold tomorrow and will report tomorrow evening unless I am otherwise busy treading water....

[SNAPFisher]

Experienced similar conditions on the South end of Gull near Aspen. My sentiments exactly, not worth the fish.

[fish_fan]

Thanks zip. I would have never known how to get there without your posts. If only people would advertise the rest of the fishing spots in alberta as well as you do. I will never understand why there arent more threads like yours. Glad that we can always count on you.

[David Henry]

Thanks for the helpfull update, I live 4 miles from the north end of Sylvan and was planning to get out on the ice during the Chrismas holiday. Conditions look dangerous for vehicals alLthough your pictures show some brave driver out there. D.H.

[.270fan]

Originally Posted by fish_fan

Thanks zip. I would have never known how to get there without your posts. If only people would advertise the rest of the fishing spots in alberta as well as you do. I will never understand why there arent more threads like yours. Glad that we can always count on you.

Pretty sure that Ice fishing spots are no big secret...just look for all the tents and shacks. Unless Sylvan lake itself is the big secret...

This is a very helpful thread in early ice season and I for one appreciate the effort the OP put in.

[binnzer32]

Not sure if fish fan is being sarcastic, if so pipe down and relax. Its public info.anyone could find access points.If not my apologies. I like zips posts. I fish Sylvan a bit and nice to know what your getting into before driving 1. 5 hrs

Thanks zip

[diamonddave]

Originally Posted by fish_fan

Thanks zip. I would have never known how to get there without your posts. If only people would advertise the rest of the fishing spots in alberta as well as you do. I will never understand why there arent more threads like yours. Glad that we can always count on you.

LOL!! That's awsome!!
Have you ever been to gull or sylvan? There is a reason they both have locations refered to as shanty town...

Way to go Zip you let the best kept alberta secret out of the bag, now there will be 910 trucks and shacks out there instead of 905.

What were you thinking trying to be helpful and all, give your head a shake!!


Insert all the sarcastic icons you can find here....



Thanks Zip, Saved me gas and time, appreciate the info.

[JFK]

Thanks Zip great report

[briverb]

Thanks for the report. Crazy looking ruts out there for sure. Wow.

[fish_fan]

I was serious.

We need more threads that show albertas best fishing spots. Not that Sylvan is albertas best. Wab or gull probably beat it hands down. But we need more threads on How to get there, gps locations, records of fish caught, techniques for that site. Etc. Im kinda ****ed off that the top fishermen on this site, those with a real passion for the sport, guys like Wayne for example, dont provide this type of detailed information. It would sure help grow the sport.

Keep up the good work zip!

[BPman]

Three of us walked onto the ice about 09:00 off Norglenwold: access through my buddy's yard. I began drilling a series of 5 holes in a line perpendicular to shore and starting about 100 yd offshore to target 8+ ft depths and on out to about 18'. So my local friend walks along with me to check ice thickness while the other clears the first hole and puts down a line with Wetaskiwin Spoon, what else? Before I have the 3rd hole drilled he has a white on the ice and by the time I finished the 5th hole he is releasing his 3rd white - geez. By noon, I still hadn't had a bite but between the other two we had 6 whites on the ice, had released or lost another 6 or 8 and had landed a 42" X 17" pike. After lunch we landed another 3 or 4 whites, lost several and released 3 walleyes - never changed lures all day. We quit at 4 PM. We also had 2 tip-ups rigged with big herrings but never had a sniff on either one. All fish came from 3 adjacent holes in 8' - 12' depths.
As for ice conditions, we were 100 - 150 yds offshore and there was a good 12 - 14" of hard blue ice with 2 - 3 " of slush then about 3" of snow on top where I drilled. If I had confidence it was the same all the way to the public access, I would have no hesitation to drive on, but... There was evidence of several quad tracks and snowmobile tracks where we were fishing - probably from last weekend by the way they were blown over. "...just the facts, M'am, just the facts."

[WayneChristie]

Originally Posted by fish_fan

I was serious.

We need more threads that show albertas best fishing spots. Not that Sylvan is albertas best. Wab or gull probably beat it hands down. But we need more threads on How to get there, gps locations, records of fish caught, techniques for that site. Etc. Im kinda ****ed off that the top fishermen on this site, those with a real passion for the sport, guys like Wayne for example, dont provide this type of detailed information. It would sure help grow the sport.

Keep up the good work zip!

I'll tell you whut Im a gunna do. you cover the 400 to 600 bucks a month I spend on gas looking for my spots and fishing them, and I will give you a location or two, so it can be decimated and fished out just like Clear lake and the PCR burbs, cause everyone was so upfront and eager to share them with the whole province via the interweb. sorry, no offence intended but thats just the way it is. everyone wants a handout. I learned from experience, and am still learning every time I hit the water. there are enough tips, locations and all sorts of other info on this site and the dozens of other websites about fishing that all you need to add is some footwork . All the time we hear people bitching and moaning about the ratio of anglers to fishable water, so when someone finds good fisheries and doesnt want to share them, can you blame them? and if that ****es you off, so be it. as for introducing /growing the sport, FYI I get more enjoyment out of handing off or helping a kid or even a grownup catch a fish for the first time, than I do catching them for myself. doesnt mean Im giving out or publishing my special spots. some of those were shared with me by friends who know I dont pass the info along for the masses to overrun. sorry for the rant OP, great job with your report, you will save lots of people from getting stuck or making a drive for nothing. and fish fan, I still dont think you were serious, and if you were, you need to rethink your thinking

[Richmuiz]

Originally Posted by WayneChristie

I'll tell you whut Im a gunna do. you cover the 400 to 600 bucks a month I spend on gas looking for my spots and fishing them, and I will give you a location or two, so it can be decimated and fished out just like Clear lake and the PCR burbs, cause everyone was so upfront and eager to share them with the whole province via the interweb. sorry, no offence intended but thats just the way it is. everyone wants a handout. I learned from experience, and am still learning every time I hit the water. there are enough tips, locations and all sorts of other info on this site and the dozens of other websites about fishing that all you need to add is some footwork . All the time we hear people bitching and moaning about the ratio of anglers to fishable water, so when someone finds good fisheries and doesnt want to share them, can you blame them? and if that ****es you off, so be it. as for introducing /growing the sport, FYI I get more enjoyment out of handing off or helping a kid or even a grownup catch a fish for the first time, than I do catching them for myself. doesnt mean Im giving out or publishing my special spots. some of those were shared with me by friends who know I dont pass the info along for the masses to overrun. sorry for the rant OP, great job with your report, you will save lots of people from getting stuck or making a drive for nothing. and fish fan, I still dont think you were serious, and if you were, you need to rethink your thinking

I totally agree with you Wayne I moved to alberta three years ago new nothing about the fishing here and got a fishing lake guide and started going to lakes figuring out what works and finding out how the fishing is I'm not going to sit at the computer waiting till someone says ok it's good to drive on the ice or this is how you access this lake I go figure it out my self make the drive put in time. It's so fusterating hearing guys ask how much ice there is go get up off your chair and find out why should other people have to do it for you

[BPman]

Wayne is absolutely correct. Many of us have spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours doing our homework and paying our dues so we can sometimes have better than average success. Those who ask for all this for free have no idea of what effort has been put into educating ourselves. A classic example is the guy who is new to hunting so he gets a knowledgeable buddy to take him to a favorite, secret pheasant cover then a week or two later the buddy finds the newby has been back with other friends and cleaned it out - or the newby who never reciprocates by inviting the "expert" to share a hunt at a cover he may have later found on his own. That's the reality for those of us who have been doing this for decades - we were all newbies once apon a time.

[Zip-in-Z]

I’m pleased to read that a number of members found my info & pic’s useful. The purpose of my first post was to provide fellow anglers with some idea of the snow & ice conditions on a number of the well known lake access points on Sylvan. Every year for the past 6 years I’ve see someone go through the ice and fortunately all have escaped death. This year we have some of the worst snow/ice conditions that I’ve seen, please use some caution and common sense before you drive out on the ice at this early time of the season, you don’t what to be the first to go through. Even the locals are staying off the lake & not hauling their shacks out, what message does that send!

For those of you who take exception to the contents herein or future info provided in this thread, keep your comments to yourself, enough said!

I don’t have a problem sharing information, techniques, what worked or didn’t work and perhaps this info will assist others on having a fun day fishin with friends and family. Yesterday, I was fortunate to meet StrayArc and his son who was about 4 years old. His son came over for a visit and we got to chatting and suddenly I almost had my rod pulled out of my hands, after I set the hook I gave the rod to the little guy and asked him to help me catch this fish, the drag set light and line was being spooled out, after a short time I seen it was a big White, perhaps 18-20” that just wouldn’t come up into the 10” hole. I pulled up on the 4lb line trying to get this fish into the hole and then the line snapped and it was gone! The little guy was so excited to have caught and fought that fish and not at all concerned that we lost it, for me it was a rewarding experience.

Today I planned to meet up with Bwackwabbit and try RR23, showed up at about 3:00 pm, no one was out on the ice, had the lake to myself. Walked out & took my portable shed, got my camera set up about 10 feet behind me, was in 5 fow. I normally cut two 10” holes side-by-side & fish 2 rods. This helps me eliminate non-productive presentations when their a foot apart and the fish are only interested in one for whatever the reason.

Tied on a red wire worm/red bead and a brown wire worm with beads. Caught my first White in 3 minutes or less which turned out to be the biggest, got 4 more within the hour. The brown wire worm caught 4 to 1 over red today. Had a few Walleye about 1 ½ - 2 lbs come for a visit and a couple small pike were bugging me, too! As well, a small Burbot about 3 lbs or so brushed by my camera, fun to watch. Had lots of activity around 5:00ish, but it was too hard to see my presentation and ended up spooking more whites until it was too dark to see.

Dark brown with gold glass bead worm worked for me today with 4 lb floro carbon line, tied so the worm sits vertical, the Whites just swam up and inhaled it no sniffin, bumping or turning at the last minute. I make my own worms & these are from the brown wire from Cat6e cable and components from Wholesale Sports. I have a vise but don’t use it for worms the forceps that clamp work great. It’s rewarding to catch fish on home grown creations, the investment is cheap, give it some consideration.

The slush from yesterday was semi frozen, however, there’s still flood water under the snow. We need more cold weather to improve the current conditions.

Full Moon over Sylvan .... more to follow !



Zip-Z

[Kyle]

Originally Posted by fish_fan

I was serious.

We need more threads that show albertas best fishing spots. Not that Sylvan is albertas best. Wab or gull probably beat it hands down. But we need more threads on How to get there, gps locations, records of fish caught, techniques for that site. Etc. Im kinda ****ed off that the top fishermen on this site, those with a real passion for the sport, guys like Wayne for example, dont provide this type of detailed information. It would sure help grow the sport.

Keep up the good work zip!

Why don't you get off your ***, fill up the truck and go learn what fishing is all about. If you had a real passion for the sport you would be out there trying to figure out where the hot bite is happening not mooching info off others. Not everything is handed to you on a silver platter...

[bobalong]

Originally Posted by Kyle

Why don't you get off your ***, fill up the truck and go learn what fishing is all about. If you had a real passion for the sport you would be out there trying to figure out where the hot bite is happening not mooching info off others. Not everything is handed to you on a silver platter...

LOL.......with you all the way on this one!

[Isopod]

Originally Posted by Kyle

Why don't you get off your ***, fill up the truck and go learn what fishing is all about. If you had a real passion for the sport you would be out there trying to figure out where the hot bite is happening not mooching info off others. Not everything is handed to you on a silver platter...

Humanity generally advances by working together and learning from others. Except on this board, where sharing is taboo, and mocking anyone who asks for help is standard practise. If you don't want to share info, that's okay, but please don't then post pics and statements about "look what I got but I won't ever share with you".

If you aren't willing to share, keep it all to yourself... your secret spots and your successes. My two cents.

[boomstick]

great report and pics zip , keep em comin lol. I,m takin my daughter and her friend there on Thursday for their first time , should be a blast . maybe we,ll see u there . I,ll have my camo hunting tent set up for the girls ,so if u see us drop by .

[deanstroyer]

i may be missing something, but it seems people are upset that others want to fish the same lake as you? like cmon the boat launch @ sylvan is not some super secret spot, im sure there is a better honey hole on that lake somewhere but your not fishing it. why ? because no one wants to go further than they have to. I could give someone all the gear they needed to fish and set them up in a very productive spot and watch them get skunked. you cant learn how to fish over the internet. most of the people looking for places to go most likely have kids and want to get them interested in the sport, and if the kids dont catch fish there is not much chance they will want to go again. its like people who have fished a lake for more years than others feel like they have more rights to that.

[diamonddave]

You guys gotta pay more attention, fish fan is being a troll. He lives in or around Sylvan Lake. Check out all his other btchn and whyning threads, whenever some posts a thread about a lake. Not sure why he comes on here if he doesn't want to learn something or contribute with information? Oh yeah to be a troll....

[Zip-in-Z]

Originally Posted by BPman

Three of us walked onto the ice about 09:00 off Norglenwold: access through my buddy's yard. I began drilling a series of 5 holes in a line perpendicular to shore and starting about 100 yd offshore to target 8+ ft depths and on out to about 18'. So my local friend walks along with me to check ice thickness while the other clears the first hole and puts down a line with Wetaskiwin Spoon, what else? Before I have the 3rd hole drilled he has a white on the ice and by the time I finished the 5th hole he is releasing his 3rd white - geez. By noon, I still hadn't had a bite but between the other two we had 6 whites on the ice, had released or lost another 6 or 8 and had landed a 42" X 17" pike. After lunch we landed another 3 or 4 whites, lost several and released 3 walleyes - never changed lures all day. We quit at 4 PM. We also had 2 tip-ups rigged with big herrings but never had a sniff on either one. All fish came from 3 adjacent holes in 8' - 12' depths.
As for ice conditions, we were 100 - 150 yds offshore and there was a good 12 - 14" of hard blue ice with 2 - 3 " of slush then about 3" of snow on top where I drilled. If I had confidence it was the same all the way to the public access, I would have no hesitation to drive on, but... There was evidence of several quad tracks and snowmobile tracks where we were fishing - probably from last weekend by the way they were blown over. "...just the facts, M'am, just the facts."

BPman, great update & congrat's on your day. I drove back to the launch area just off Rustic Rd this afternoon to have a look, it appears one truck with monster tires drove to the edge of the ice seen the flood water and decided to turn around & took off, no one was fishing there today.



Zip-Z

[Zip-in-Z]

The forecast was +5C, the “to-do-list” was put on hold, packed up my stuff and went for a drive. Stopped here to have a look at the lake access, it was cloudy & the pic’s don’t do the 18-20” ruts any justice. To get down or back up you need a Quad, Sled or a 4x4 Farm Tractor! From what I could see only one truck was on the ice and you could see the flood water in his tracks just off the shore line, I’m sure he needed a tow to get out. No one fishin out here yet!

Tried the same spot as yesterday on RR23, what a difference a day can make, seen a few Whites or the same one that just hung around until he got caught after 1.5 hours of staring down the hole. A small pike came for a sniff, but wasn’t interested in my offerings. Tried all my favorite worms, a number of small jigs and small spoons, this was the only worm that produced a skinny White that got released. The color in the Pic’s not great, it’s bronze/yellow. Packed up at 3:30 had enough.



Zip-Z

[K born]

Originally Posted by deanstroyer

i may be missing something, but it seems people are upset that others want to fish the same lake as you? like cmon the boat launch @ sylvan is not some super secret spot, im sure there is a better honey hole on that lake somewhere but your not fishing it. why ? because no one wants to go further than they have to. I could give someone all the gear they needed to fish and set them up in a very productive spot and watch them get skunked. you cant learn how to fish over the internet. most of the people looking for places to go most likely have kids and want to get them interested in the sport, and if the kids dont catch fish there is not much chance they will want to go again. its like people who have fished a lake for more years than others feel like they have more rights to that.

I agree! I have a young son who loves fishing!!! Especially when he is catching fish, no one wants to sit out on the ice and freeze there ***** off and then have a cranky disappointed kid that no longer wants to go out anymore! If you don't want to give advice, then don't! Don't whine and complain, cause I'm sure someone showed you a "special spot" or what lure to use, or give advice on how to catch fish! So passing on information is away to keep traditions going, and where I'm from that's more important than any honey hole! Food for thought! You don't have to give info if you don't want to, just like you don't have to take any advice given! But don't bitch just because someone is looking for a little help!

[K born]

So thank you to all who have given information on lakes, techniques, and just tips for better fishing!

[Zip-in-Z]

Originally Posted by boomstick

great report and pics zip , keep em comin lol. I,m takin my daughter and her friend there on Thursday for their first time , should be a blast . maybe we,ll see u there . I,ll have my camo hunting tent set up for the girls ,so if u see us drop by .

Tks for the feedback ... sent you a P.M., need a rain check!



Zip-Z