fortress lake hike in ?

[spazzy]

Has anybody here aver hiked in to fortress lake , have it planned for early june 3 or 4 days . just curious witch flies worked well any tips , advice or experiences would be appreciated .

[ÜberFly]

Fortress Lake BC or AB?

[biggyJ]

With all the snow and cold we have had this year, there still might be ice on both this year that early in June.

Better take ice fishing gear to be safe :-)

[spazzy]

B.C weather and conditions pending would like to hit the chironomid hatch

[JReed]

Regardless if its BC or AB Fortress lake, worrying about what flies are working would be the least of my concern due to the timing. For one, the river you have to cross is probably too high due to run off, and the lake probably still has ice on it.

[Bigtoad]

Green Doc Spratley. Deep and slow. The more the hackle gets ripped off by another fish, the better : ) Any Streamer would work as well. Chironomids weren't great when we hit it which was just days after ice off.

Cheers.

[ADIDAFish]

Anything that imitates small brook trout. There aren't
any other fish in there, no baitfish or anything. Also, a large purple woollybugger worked well for me.

[Flieguy]

never been there.... But a mickey finn is my go to for brookies of a decent size. I tie mine with DNA holo fusion instead of bucktail

[adkbrooktrout]

My buddy and I are planning a trip for late august into early september for a few weeks to hike around, fish and explore. We plan to hike in with inflatable ultra light kayaks but I understand the suspension bridge at the Athabasca crossing is out. I was wondering, from some of you who may know, how hard would it be to kayak across the Athabasca? Would it be feasable to hike upstream and bit and paddle diagonally down to the crossing? The big brookies are our main objective but we also want to spend one week searching for bulltrout as well and I understand the creeks feeding into the Athabasca hold a decent number. Could anyone elaborate on that for me? Thanks

[Big Bull]

Yes, the suspension bridge is currently out at Athabasca Crossing, and I'm not sure if it will be fixed before your trip. In a normal or low water year, you should be able to find a safe place to wade across the Athabasca or use your kayaks. There are bulls, rainbows, and brookies in that section of the Athabasca, averaging around 1.5 - 2 lbs, but I have caught brookies and bulls in there up to 5 lbs!

[adkbrooktrout]

Thanks for the reply. Would you recommend late August for a trip, I just want to sight fish big kyped out male brookies in their spawning colors and I read the water clarity is good around this time. Whats the weather like in late August? I don't really know what to expect, I live in the Adirondack mountains in northern ny, the adks are ant hills compared to the rockies. Right around early to mid september the temp ranges from 4-10 Celsius at night where I'm from, I'm guessing it's fairly similar? I figure the fish will probably be well in to their spawning colors around this time? Bull trout and grayling have been on my mind for a long time, can't wait to swing a fly at them. Do the bulls and specks hybridize? Sorry for all the questions but all the info I'm looking for is hard to find and there is no substitute for experience. Thanks.