Fly Fishing Alberta's trout streams
 

Hello people of this thread. I cannot help but notice that everything seems so doom and gloom these days when we talk of trout and whitefish populations in our streams and rivers. Being the new guy here to fly-fishing it feels very discouraging. Should I even bother to make the 2.5 hour drive from Edmonton (With these gas prices) to go fish a stream where I will likely catch nothing. Having just read through Barry's forestry trunk road this past winter it made me excited to get out this summer to fly fish and experience these streams and rivers. So I want to know is the experience that Barry writes about in his book from all those years ago similar to what is now? Or should one travel further afield in search of excellent fishing and adventure?

Cheers

Nick

It can still be good, just more crowded these days.

Lots of fish to be had. The more you learn about stream fishing and fly fishing techniques, the more you’ll catch. Perhaps in the “old days “ things were better, but the fishing is still good. Just check stream flows and call some fishing shops in the area you’re going to. Make sure the streams are in good shape and not blown out by rainstorms.

I'm in the Edmonton area. My usual goto is in the Rocky Mountain/Nordegg area or south of Edson/Hinton. North or Edson/Hinton is also nice but for me I've usually head south. As Orvisman said check the stream/river flows. Flows are a bite high thus my fishing is local ponds. Good luck

Go explore and have fun. Like Orvisman said, there are lots of fish to be had, but time on the water and technique will determine success. It's like anything, put your time in and you will be rewarded. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

You will learn some hard lessons, but learning from them will make you a better fisherman. Catch and release does work, lots of guys will catch the same trout out of the same pool, year after year. Wet your hands before touching a fish, and keep them out of the water as little as possible. Good luck!

Plenty of excellent fishing to be had. Just do not expect or ask people to tell you their spots. Get out there, do some exploring and hiking, get off the beaten path. Things are more crowded these days and places that used to be good have been fished out but if you get away from the crowds you can get into some decent fish.

The only thing I would add is don’t start on the North Raven River (Stauffer creek). It’s a very tough creek. The trout are paranoid, and it’s a willowy jungle. Even really good fly fisherman get skunked here sometimes.

There can always be fun in the adventure.

The fishing is the bonus and the catching is the surprise.

Remember 100% of people fish the water writhing eyesight.

25% of people fish within a 15 minute walk. <5% fish past a half hours walk.

Don’t be afraid to explore.

x2 this. being able to refine skills on fish that down have 20 guys swinging flies over their heads daily makes the learning curve much less sharp as learning flyfishing can be tough enough without also getting skunked consistently. trial and error is the name of the game