How was your opening day?

[philybllt]

Amazing pictures.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by AlbertanGP

Probably the only picture you'll see of me with a pike as I don't fish for them. I caught this guy at 10pm last night while hammering walleye off my dock...38.5". Apparently I wasn't the only one fishing for walleye.

That beast would eat a lot of walleye and the pike would too


Targeting walleye you were probably a little under gunned for that pike!


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[mlee]

My boat has been out of commission until this week (good to go now) so we decided to do some river fishing on opening day.
Was a bit slow and not sure I ever remember the NSR being this low this early ....but we landed a few fish.

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[SNAPFisher]

Nice pics all!

My opening day was the long weekend in Jasper. Specifically fished Talbot for whites. Though did catch some pike on the fly both days...i.e get the skunk off and then target "real" fish

Weather was really calm both Sat and Sun. Monday as well but didn't fish.
Put in a decent day on Saturday. Launched around 8 a.m. -5 in the morning...
There were a couple of boats out already. Looked around the launch area and found only 1 white. Headed into the main lake eventually. Took a bit to find a school of whites. Mostly was ignored all morning though I did miss on two tugs - really quick takes that are hard to time.
Finally around lunch I didn't even see the take but started stripping in and felt the weight. Nice white! Fought like a wet sock though.




Kept this one for the smoker.

Had a few more misses and another hookup but this one got off.
Just a great day though. Didn't see a ton of fish like last year. Heard from the guides that there was a big summer kill in the heatwave last year. Not surprisingly really since that lake is only 7 feet deep max and most of it being 3-4 FOW.

Sunday was another near perfect day. -5 start again. Flat calm again. Lots of snow on the mountains...more than I've seen this time of year, ever. Also even the AThB River was running low and clean. Spring melt has not started.

Managed to land another white on Sunday. Nice fat one that fought much better. Sent it back though. Had another on and lost. Missed another few hook sets. Good! Was off the lake by noon.




Random scenery pics:

[swampy45]

Looks awesome SNAP!

[fish99]

was a tough summer on the whites last year with all the die off.

[Penner]

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

Nice pics all!

My opening day was the long weekend in Jasper. Specifically fished Talbot for whites. Though did catch some pike on the fly both days...i.e get the skunk off and then target "real" fish

Nice work SNAP. Tank Whites in Talbot.

Do you happen to know if the ice is off Maligne yet?

[Savage Bacon]

Dang I'm jealous of everyone that posted pics. Some real monsters that's for sure!

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[58thecat]

Dam snap the scenery would get in the way of fishing!
Well done.

[KGB]

Awesome pictures guys! I haven’t done much fishing lately but now I’m feeling the urge!
And those sturgeons! What an awesome fish! I remember trying to catch one in NSR in Edmonton, that was probably 20 years ago…. Didn’t get any.
What are you using for a bait and what kind of a set up?

[mlee]

Originally Posted by KGB

Awesome pictures guys! I haven’t done much fishing lately but now I’m feeling the urge!
And those sturgeons! What an awesome fish! I remember trying to catch one in NSR in Edmonton, that was probably 20 years ago…. Didn’t get any.
What are you using for a bait and what kind of a set up?

We use 8'6" MH rods, 4500 series spinning reels spooled with 50lb braid. 3-5oz sliding pyramid weight on the main line....150lb swivel....18-24" of 80lb dacron to a 4/0 circle hook...and worms or minnows or sometimes both at the same time for bait.

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by Penner

Do you happen to know if the ice is off Maligne yet?

It was locked tight and solid on the long weekend. I'm contacting Online Sports tomorrow to see if it might be good enough on the weekend. Fingers crossed. I'll report back.

[dave99]

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

It was locked tight and solid on the long weekend. I'm contacting Online Sports tomorrow to see if it might be good enough on the weekend. Fingers crossed. I'll report back.

Ice is typically off Maligne right around June 1. This spring has been very cold and the rivers are still running fairly low and clear so it might be a little while until Maligne is ice-free. Hopefully I’m wrong!

Keep us posted.

[Penner]

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

It was locked tight and solid on the long weekend. I'm contacting Online Sports tomorrow to see if it might be good enough on the weekend. Fingers crossed. I'll report back.

Right on. Keep us posted.

[58thecat]

a good read about this lake.

https://www.streetdirectory.com/trav..._revealed.html

[AlbertanGP]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

a good read about this lake.

https://www.streetdirectory.com/trav..._revealed.html

That was some good reading. Cheers.

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by Penner

Right on. Keep us posted.

Full ice over still. Online says if you want to fish from the warden's dock...
So it is possible with a lot of sun and wind it could open enough on the weekend but more likely next weekend. I'll still be there in person regardless so will post back a first hand experience.

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

a good read about this lake.

https://www.streetdirectory.com/trav..._revealed.html

Yep, good stuff. Pretty much how I fish it when trolling but I even slow it down to fish in 35 FOW and pull up some real nice brookies from that depth.

But my go to for a long time is to fish the chronomid hatches. There are several and in multiple locations. I've never seen hatches like this. Fish come up with chronies falling out of their mouths. Throat sample is clogged...
Record so far is 49 casts and 49 landed on the same fly. Lost the 50th on the way in.

Nice to get away. Put you feed up and watch that indicator go down constantly. While the trollers just troll on by...either amazed at how much and what you are catching or comment how slow it is... hehe

[AlbertanGP]

Lol. Whenever I talk to fly fishermen, they always talk about how they outfish tackle/bait fishermen. When I talk to tackle/bait fishermen, they always talk about how they outfish fly fishermen.

I'm heading out in the morning to map Two Lakes for the day. I'll see if I can rustle up any comparable scenery pics.

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by AlbertanGP

Lol. Whenever I talk to fly fishermen, they always talk about how they outfish tackle/bait fishermen. When I talk to tackle/bait fishermen, they always talk about how they outfish fly fishermen.

I'm heading out in the morning to map Two Lakes for the day. I'll see if I can rustle up any comparable scenery pics.

Lol, yeah. I've been that guy on the Bow watching two kids outfish me with spoons. There is no argument here.
I'm just surprised how many ignore to see what they are actually eating and to mimic it. That is one of the things that keeps me fly fishing - to figure out timing and match it. When you connect the dots the results are amazing...and you feel that
Of course there will always be the days you would be better off just fishing and less analysis. Typically those days I end up analyzing a beer somewhere.

Good luck out there. Looking forwards to more pics!

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by AlbertanGP

Lol. Whenever I talk to fly fishermen, they always talk about how they outfish tackle/bait fishermen. When I talk to tackle/bait fishermen, they always talk about how they outfish fly fishermen.

I'm heading out in the morning to map Two Lakes for the day. I'll see if I can rustle up any comparable scenery pics.

Pics are very much appreciated and don’t forget to wet a line as ya never know

[Bushleague]

Broke 40" yesterday! Drove to a different lake that holds more big pike, I didnt think a boat would be neccessary so with the current price of fuel I left the truck/ boat behind. I just took my little car, my 9 1/2' steelhead rod, and a pair of waiders.

Fishing was slow for much of the day, probably covered over 5km of shore, but eventually ended up in the right place at the right time. First I wasnt catching anything so I covered water real fast, then I started catching lots of hammer handles and kept covering water fast...

... then, late in the afternoon I nailed two big ones in about 20 yards so I slowed down, covered everything very thoroughly, and picked through alot of smaller fish. By 6pm I'd caught one pike a bit over 40" and a half dozen more that were just under, plus a bunch that were in the mid 30's, in about 200 yard stretch of shore that looked exactly the same as the other miles of shore I'd covered. Only difference I could tell was that I was occasionally pulling in the odd bit of green seaweed.. Great Day!

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

Pics are very much appreciated and don’t forget to wet a line as ya never know

Sorry didnt take any pics, dealing with a big Pike by myself, while waiding, without a landing net is tough enough. Theres really no good way to get a good picture in a timely manner without adding a fair bit of needless stress, so I've just quit trying. If I'm out with someone else I'll take pics, solo I dont even bother....

The last pic I bothered to take in that situation, this fish is about 36" or so....but without any refferance you cant even tell.

DSCF1465 by , on Flickr

[Poppa]

Haven't had a chance to really wet a line yet this year. Interestingly, I think my first "real" fishing for this year will be back in Manitoba next weekend. Flying home for the Bombers home opener, and we'll likely get out on the Red River (which has pretty much engulfed the southern part of the province) for a bit while we're home. Hopefully I'll have some pics to add to this thread.

Great pics, all - love to see it!

[SNAPFisher]

Maligne. Locked tight.


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[AlbertanGP]

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

Maligne. Locked tight.


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Ahhh ice. Now that is a picture of beauty. Makes me pine for November already.

My day started out nice. But the clouds and rain rolled in shortly after getting on the water. Still nice to get out to some of the more remote lakes in the area.

[SNAPFisher]

My save was either Talbot or Pyramid. Choose Pyramid. But, water was already off Color. Melt is on! Athb is high as well. Patricia is strangely up to the road…never seen it this high.

Took one tour around the lake to find lakers near one of the inflows. Managed to consistently catch them, stained water or not.





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[Penner]

It’s been a cool spring up high. Run-off is late at least a 2 weeks I’d would say. North Saskatchewan is a low and clear as I’ve even seen it at this time of year.

[SNAPFisher]

Didn't fish on Sunday and just drove around looking for wildlife and adventure.
Saw momma black bear with cub, a female grizzly that looked to be in the 5--600 lb class, and some sheep. Good day!

We did end up back at Maligne on Sunday. Ice opened up a bit more. Should be good to go for this up and coming weekend. ...man is that late!
I won't be back until July long.

One thing that I keep forgetting to post. Whatever mountain pines that did not get decimated by the pine beetle are getting destroyed by a black moss that covers the pine needles until the tree is dead. Does anyone know what this is?
It looks like it infect 100% of the remaining mountain pines. That means to me that in about 5 years, Maligne is going to be far from picturesque. Getting worse every year but guessing in about 5 the trees will all be gone or mostly gone. I'm sure it will spread down the lake. It seems to be doing that. One tree touches another or is next to one that has it, gets it. That will be sad to see.

[CptnBlues63]

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

Didn't fish on Sunday and just drove around looking for wildlife and adventure.
Saw momma black bear with cub, a female grizzly that looked to be in the 5--600 lb class, and some sheep. Good day!

We did end up back at Maligne on Sunday. Ice opened up a bit more. Should be good to go for this up and coming weekend. ...man is that late!
I won't be back until July long.

One thing that I keep forgetting to post. Whatever mountain pines that did not get decimated by the pine beetle are getting destroyed by a black moss that covers the pine needles until the tree is dead. Does anyone know what this is?
It looks like it infect 100% of the remaining mountain pines. That means to me that in about 5 years, Maligne is going to be far from picturesque. Getting worse every year but guessing in about 5 the trees will all be gone or mostly gone. I'm sure it will spread down the lake. It seems to be doing that. One tree touches another or is next to one that has it, gets it. That will be sad to see.

Here's a handy resource that can be used to check ice situation

https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/

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