Early season NSR

[FisherPotch]

I've been keeping an eye on a few places on the NSR and there are some fishible spots in the Fort Sask - NE Edm region. Wet a line for a little beter than an hour on Monday with no luck, was fishing a spot that opens early but i never catch eye's there in the spring, figured I'd give it a shot though. Last year we did catch some little burbots in April, wouldnt' mind finding some big boys.

Banks are muddy and ice on the edges of the river make it dangerous (I dunked my one leg and gave my sis a heart attck) So if you are heading into the valley be extra careful.

Any body out there been on the river this year?

[buckmaster]

i am probably going next week! wonder if the sturgeon bite good this time of year?

[Alberta Bigbore]

i plan on giving it a good go for all its worth , not this weekend, but the next. Gonna be down in medicine hat for 3 days this weekend.

[-JR-]

I thing I will hold off until May ,unless the water warms up more to get those fish hungrey

[burbotman14]

Buckmaster it is illegal i think to fish for sturgeon. Can't keep them. I don't think you can even intentionally fish for them

[happy perch fisher]

yah u can fish for them its not illegal but the have to be released right away.

[wake]

Checked a couple of spots and still too much ice on the surface aswell a couple of spots that looked open had sunken ice.

The whitemud creek mouth should start seeing Walleye and Sauger starting to stage for spawning in the next couple of weeks though.

[buckmaster]

Originally Posted by burbotman14

Buckmaster it is illegal i think to fish for sturgeon. Can't keep them. I don't think you can even intentionally fish for them

you can legally fish them,just cant keep them!!!there has been zero limit for probably over 5yrs now.

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

Im ganna head down to the boat launch in town here last week I was there the ice was starting to move , I caught a few walleye there last year but I tottaly forgot that the river doesnt close for fishing. With the weekend looking to be mighty warm should get rid of lots of the ice and hopefully dry some of the mud up.

[FisherPotch]

Ya this weekend is supposed to be blazing hot. Doubt there will be much for ice left after the weekend. Timeing is key this time of year. One day theres ice, the next open water, minutes later ice bergs floating by then open water, then muddy water with zero vis. It can be very hit and miss. I'm guessing it will be getting very turbid very quick with these temps on the rise. It was looking like a promising early season/spawn with this nice slow melt we've had. Guess we'll see how that pans out.

I'm gona try a few spots today if need be. I have a feeling i'ma catch my first open h2o fish of the 08 season.

I've heard theres been multiple people fishing at the key hole by the h20 treatment. Have you ever fished there john? May be worth checking out, i may even see you there, depending accordingly on how things go at a few different spots. I've never fished the boat launch b4, what time of year were you catching walleye there?

[sirmike68]

I was down at the launch yesterday to see if I could get my boat in but there was still about a 2 foot thick chunk of ice blocking the way. It looked like somebody really can't wait to get out because it had been "ice chipped" part way through. After this weekend it should be accessable.

[buckmaster]

was out wednesday evening with no luck at all!Still lots of small ice floes that keep snagging the line.maybe try again in a couple of weeks!!!

[Appletree]

A friend and I went out yesterday afternoon in the driving snow. We picked up three walleye and a sauger in the 1.5-2lb range, but the fishing was pretty unpleasant, with lots of ice coming down the river. With all the cold and snow, you could see new ice starting to form on the surface again.

[FisherPotch]

Good stuff appletree. Glad to here someone has had some luck. My spring spots are still iced up, we've only found suckers thus far this year. Thanks for posting.

[Appletree]

I'm just learning the ropes of the NSR (it's my first year fishing it), so any help I give will be vastly outweighed by the help I get, both here and on the river. That being said, I'll try to share any knowledge I get once I get it. I have to say, all the guys I've run into on the river have been extremely helpful, letting me know about different spots and tactics. It's refreshing.

Oh, and I did get into a big sucker at the Whitemud Creek mouth. They don't fight all that well in ~2C water, though...

[buckmaster]

in what area of the city are you fishing if you dont mind me asking?

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

Originally Posted by buckmaster

in what area of the city are you fishing if you dont mind me asking?

No doubt id be interested in find out also, I havent fished in edm other then down by Capilano there where the water treatment plant is.

[Appletree]

Well, BigBadJohn, I'm not sure I can give you much help yet, as that's the area we were fishing, the fellows at the Fishin' Hole pointed it out as a good spot to try. I'd like to give the upstream treatment a try; is that accessible, or is fenced off?

The Whitemud Creek mouth was still pretty icy last week, without much flow at all coming down the creek. I'd be interested in working on my flycasting once the suckers start running, though. Some fellows were trying for burbot while I was there, but they didn't have any luck.

[Appletree]

I'm heading out fishing again this evening (can you tell it's been a loooong winter for me), with camera in hand this time. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Appletree]

Well, we did pick up one walleye, at about 1.5lbs, but I'd have been happier catching more, seeing as the wind chill was -19C. I released the fish too quickly for a photo, I was worried about him starting to freeze.

[FisherPotch]

Good stuff apple tree. Ya this weather is very hard on fish out of water. Last year we did well for little burbot this time of year. Whitemud creek is certainly a good spot especialy this time of year. So long as the ice doesn't give you too much trouble.