Is it me????

[MaxxiD]

After fishing all year round, through the ice and open water I have a life affirming question I need answering; Does the fishing suck in Southern Alberta or am I a crappy fisherman?

I mean, I get lucky some times but I'm certain that's all it is. After spending $1000's of dollars on fishing gear including a finder, tent, even a boat the wife starting to ask questions. The old poetry of "it's just nice to be out" wears thin after a while

[calgarygringo]

My first natural answer is yes it is you. Saying that there is some real good fishing in these parts but not everwhere and takes a lot of time, effort, gas etc. before you find the good ones. Hence why nobody talks about them because most just want us that do spend the aboe to tell them. You know the rest and I will leave it there.

[oilngas]

Need a little more info like what you are fishing for? Time of year? etc.

[Drewski Canuck]

It was a tough year for the foothills streams with 40 C heat and a prolonged drought. More so in Southern Alberta than Northern Alberta. Southern Alberta, like Southern Saskatchewan, simply does not have the lakes or opportunity like the northern part of the Province.

But if you want to experience a slice of paradise on June 1, PM me and I may be able to show you world class fishing.

Drewski

[HuyFishin]

Originally Posted by MaxxiD

After fishing all year round, through the ice and open water I have a life affirming question I need answering; Does the fishing suck in Southern Alberta or am I a crappy fisherman?

I mean, I get lucky some times but I'm certain that's all it is. After spending $1000's of dollars on fishing gear including a finder, tent, even a boat the wife starting to ask questions. The old poetry of "it's just nice to be out" wears thin after a while

Some really good trophy fisheries down that way and its too far for me to reach.

I think it maybe you.. haha sorry. I hope you have a better year!

[MaxxiD]

A lot of quick replies on this post haha. Thank you

First of all, it seems like the general consensus is that it is me, which I'm gonna take as a positive thing, it can be remedied

Secondly, here is an example of what I mean. The last week I have been to McGregor reservoir 3 times, each time a have 4 rods rigged with different plastics, spoons, rapalas, wire worms etc. I have studied bathymetric maps and picked out drop off and other areas of interest. I have been mobile and drilled holes all over ranging from 6ft to 20ft. I see fish on my finder coming up to inspect my offerings but no takers, it's frustrating!

I have tried a lot of lakes like this all year round for trout, pike walleye, whitefish, perch, burbot and like I said, sometimes I get lucky, but not often

[slough shark]

Originally Posted by MaxxiD

A lot of quick replies on this post haha. Thank you

First of all, it seems like the general consensus is that it is me, which I'm gonna take as a positive thing, it can be remedied

Secondly, here is an example of what I mean. The last week I have been to McGregor reservoir 3 times, each time a have 4 rods rigged with different plastics, spoons, rapalas, wire worms etc. I have studied bathymetric maps and picked out drop off and other areas of interest. I have been mobile and drilled holes all over ranging from 6ft to 20ft. I see fish on my finder coming up to inspect my offerings but no takers, it's frustrating!

I have tried a lot of lakes like this all year round for trout, pike walleye, whitefish, perch, burbot and like I said, sometimes I get lucky, but not often

You might want to focus more on slowing things down, generally bait is your friend ice fishing other than wire worms for whitefish. Working a lure aggressively can attract the fish but they aren’t always interested in taking said attraction. Not saying it’s the only strategy but as an example there have been times where I’m out pike fishing with friends and we have our tipups setup around us, sometimes someone wants to try and jig a big spoon as there are times it works, oftentimes we see fish through that hole yet the vast majority of the time if we catch the fish it’s on one of the tipups. In the cold water fish are more sluggish as a rule.

[MaxxiD]

Originally Posted by slough shark

You might want to focus more on slowing things down, generally bait is your friend ice fishing other than wire worms for whitefish. Working a lure aggressively can attract the fish but they aren’t always interested in taking said attraction. Not saying it’s the only strategy but as an example there have been times where I’m out pike fishing with friends and we have our tipups setup around us, sometimes someone wants to try and jig a big spoon as there are times it works, oftentimes we see fish through that hole yet the vast majority of the time if we catch the fish it’s on one of the tipups. In the cold water fish are more sluggish as a rule.

That's really good advice. I have been thinking that my jigging is too vigorous lately. I was going to try a more subtle approach earlier this morning, but I forgot my gloves (always something) and had to leave.

[Binati]

I have good luck usually with a tip up semi close to where I'm jigging. Jigging brings them in and if you can't get them the tip up might. After I got the camera I've changed how I jig. Depending on the lure a little movement on the rod equals a lot of movement below. Try different depths and speeds. Sometimes if they come to a bigger lure and never bite a smaller of the same size colours will get them. Keep trying different things and remember what you're doing. Can even keep a log of what works doesn't time of day weather etc.

[AlbertanGP]

Keep logging the hours Max...it'll come. Keep a journal of what you do so you remember and don't make the same mistakes. The notepad on my iPhone is full of daily notes from recent trips until I transfer them to my laptop. It helps speed up the learning curve.

[Worm]

Lots of variables, but my top 2 tips

1: Especially ice fishing I'm a believer in light line. I often see people with thick braid or even leaders worried about breaking a fish off, not surprising they don't do as well as us using the same lure.

I go with as light a fluorocarbon leader as I feel can get away with. Retie often. Same in summer but with fish more active in summer and water not as clear it is more forgiving.

2: if fishing predators like walleye find structure. Can be subtle but good structure produces when other spots won't.

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[MaxxiD]

All good advice guys and girls, I appreciate it. Don't worry, I am gonna keep at it, shame gas is so expensive, but could be worse

I feel better now having a fish finder, at least you can semi-see what's going on down there. Loadsa time left in ice season still

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by MaxxiD

All good advice guys and girls, I appreciate it. Don't worry, I am gonna keep at it, shame gas is so expensive, but could be worse

I feel better now having a fish finder, at least you can semi-see what's going on down there. Loadsa time left in ice season still

Just advice.
Spend a little more $$$ and get an underwater camera. It will help you immensely in seeing how the fish react to your baits, jigging, you name it. E.g. A big pike if a fickle eater and takes a lot of finesse under the ice. Camera has taught me over time what to do to get them to bite most of the time.

[EZM]

99% of the fish are caught in 1% of the water comes to mind. Have to find the structure, the cover, the forage and you will find fish.

Also using the right lures, action, technique.

Any one of those things is off, and it's a long walk of shame back onto the dock at night.

I realize some watersheds are better than others, but you can generally figure out what to toss when you find the spot.

The VERY BEST thing you can do is go out with someone who knows the lake or is a reputable fisherman (not a BS'er). Learn from them and things will be good.

If you are out there alone and nothing is happening, best "general tip" is to downsize and slow it down and keep moving until you fid the structure and fish. Tossing the same Len Thompson a 1000 times into a dead shallow bay all day long is worthless. My rule is 20 minutes and 3 different presentations and I'm gone.

[Smoky buck]

The fact is it’s a small portion of fishermen that catch majority of fish and a lot of “good fishermen” actually just go lots and are just moderately successful

The comment that fish only really inhabit a small % of the water is true. Learning to pick the structure, transitions and depths the species likes. Some guys rely on electronics entirely but often I just use a depth chart to truly find my spots

When it comes to what to use is something that people make more complicated then it really is. You will always hear us “x” lure/bait but really just pay attention to what the species eats and use bait/lures that fall into those categories. I don’t listen to what the local favorites because if you travel around enough you will hear a ton of different must have lures/baits for the same species. Here is the thing they all work and often better in the areas it’s not the common tactic

I could keep going but I don’t have time to type right now

[walleye guy]

90% of the fish are caught by 10% of the fishermen and
90% of the fish are in 10% of the water

keep trying, ask questions, watch what others are doing and you will join the 10% eventually. Most important have fun!!

[WayneChristie]

camera will up your catch ratio umpteen percent, you can tell if they are feeding hard or if you need to try different techniques to unlock their jaws. Ive seen so many fish I would have never known were around since I got a camera, and it helps you figure them out. tons of fish down south you just have to talk nice to them. I dont chase fish, they move around so I let them do the walking. jigging a rattling lure when the fish are away will lots of times bring something around then you can feed them your bait if they are just curious

[SamSteele]

Originally Posted by slough shark

You might want to focus more on slowing things down, generally bait is your friend ice fishing other than wire worms for whitefish. Working a lure aggressively can attract the fish but they aren’t always interested in taking said attraction. Not saying it’s the only strategy but as an example there have been times where I’m out pike fishing with friends and we have our tipups setup around us, sometimes someone wants to try and jig a big spoon as there are times it works, oftentimes we see fish through that hole yet the vast majority of the time if we catch the fish it’s on one of the tipups. In the cold water fish are more sluggish as a rule.

I would second this. I was out on LLB yesterday and the walleye would only hit lures that had very subtle movement. I’m talking having the tip of the rod twitching 1/4-1/2 an inch. I would do a couple good rips every now and then to get some attention and then small subtle movements. If there were fish on the sonar and I did larger movements they disappeared.



If you’re seeing fish on your sonar but they aren’t hitting it’s likely the presentation. Try downsizing as well.

SS

[Crankbait]

A great way to test if you're the problem while ice fishing is to set up two rods with bait,, one just at the bottom, the other slightly higher up in the column, about a foot. Then lay both rods on the ice with nothing to stop them from going down the hole. Then go to your car, pour a coffee and place it somewhere that it might spill with the slightest bit of wind, then take a Wizz but don't remove your gloves.

When you go back to the ice, at least one of your rods will be down a hole. You now know 50% more of where the fish are... Of course, both rods might be gone and you've learned nothing at all.

Tight lines... Loose lines are great too.

[Unregistered user]

It sucks because a lot of anglers chase few fish in very few water bodies compared to other parts of the country. I was in Ontario for part of the summer and a few guys laughed at the amount of tackle I brought with me. They just stick a live minnow on a hook, steel line and slow troll, crack a beer and fish in the boat. Few years ago I was fishing Walleye just outside of Flin Flon, same thing plain lead head jig and frozen minnow, limits in no time.

[Gbuss]

A jig and a minnow will out fish most baits. Me personally I like to run a jig and minnow on the dead stick/rod that has no movement. Then use a rattle bait or hyper glide or a jigging spoon to attract fish in. If they are aggressive they will hit the bait that is moving if they are lethargic they will hit the dead stick.

Gbuss

[deschambault]

Mid summer in almost every southern reservoir troll a bottom bouncer in 20 - 25 feet of water with a spinner rig and either a worm or artificial worm at about 1 mph and you will catch fish, either walleye or pike. I have tried to find areas in Crawling valley or Newell at that depth without fish and have always found them to be there. Pike will be in shallow bays early but the big girls will migrate deeper as the lake warms. I can't help you with ice fishing as the last time I ice fished was in university days in the late 70s. If you get desperate next summer PM me.

[58thecat]

Finding fish, marking fish is half the battle but once your on them ensure you have enough fishing tackle/bait etc to figure out what they like on that particular day.
Fart around with presentations too some like it shuttle and some more aggressive faster movements.
Fishing is ok but catching is a blast!


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[mulio]

no it is not just you. Compared to most other parts of Canada of which I have fished all. I would say Southern Alberta is definitely the toughest with the least opportunities to keep fish as well as the least abundance of numbers and species. But it's where you are, so you just have to make the best of it. The more you fish the more you'll learn and catch.
Anybody that says any different has not experienced the rest of the country extensively.

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by mulio

no it is not just you. Compared to most other parts of Canada of which I have fished all. I would say Southern Alberta is definitely the toughest with the least opportunities to keep fish as well as the least abundance of numbers and species. But it's where you are, so you just have to make the best of it. The more you fish the more you'll learn and catch.
Anybody that says any different has not experienced the rest of the country extensively.

I can think of many locations outside of southern Alberta with crappy fishing and can also think of some great fishing in southern Alberta too

What I have learned over the years from fishing a lot of different locations there is decent fishing everywhere if you put in the effort. I have also found that no matter how good the fishing is fishermen complain

I have also experienced places where I could catch fish every cast on a plain silver hook but I know realistically fishing should take more effort in majority of waters

[Jayhad]

Yes.

Hire a local guide and flatten the learning curve, it may seem expensive but if catching is your priority, your wasting time.

[slough shark]

Originally Posted by mulio

no it is not just you. Compared to most other parts of Canada of which I have fished all. I would say Southern Alberta is definitely the toughest with the least opportunities to keep fish as well as the least abundance of numbers and species. But it's where you are, so you just have to make the best of it. The more you fish the more you'll learn and catch.
Anybody that says any different has not experienced the rest of the country extensively.

Nobody would disagree that sure the number of waters are limited as well keeping fish is not going to happen everywhere for everything like other places. That being said I can do about as well catching fish in southern Alberta as I can in a lot of other places (excluding some of the obvious places where it’s remote or sparsely populated). It’s unfortunate that we can’t keep many for obvious reasons but that’s the hand we are dealt, we simply don’t have the amount of water needed to support catch and keep fisheries in all our waters

[brass410]

I would take a poor day of fishing anytime! It's not about catching its about all the other stuff, however a coupla a days with a local guide should getcha hooked up.

[mooseknuckle]

Originally Posted by MaxxiD

After fishing all year round, through the ice and open water I have a life affirming question I need answering; Does the fishing suck in Southern Alberta or am I a crappy fisherman?

I mean, I get lucky some times but I'm certain that's all it is. After spending $1000's of dollars on fishing gear including a finder, tent, even a boat the wife starting to ask questions. The old poetry of "it's just nice to be out" wears thin after a while

Have you tried spending a couple thousand more? Lol. Don't do that, didn't work for me.

[oilngas]

While I am far from a expert on S. Alberta reservoirs, I do like to fish CVR. So PM come spring ad maybe we can head out to CVR.