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  #1  
Old 11-03-2018, 05:19 PM
ch_b ch_b is offline
 
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Default Downtown Edmonton Brown Trout

Was at the bottom of the island west of the 75th street bridge on the NSR today practicing with the spey rod and ended up pulling in a 20+" brown trout. Swinging a chartreuse clouser through a ~5' deep tail-out type area. It was definitely a surprise!

After checking on here it looks like others have seen trout in the Edmonton stretch. Any recent experiences?

Didnt notice any redds after I started looking (it was in an area with a fair bit of cobble and current), and he didn't seem to be displaying any typical fall/spawn colors.

A pretty great late fall day!

A few photos:


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  #2  
Old 11-03-2018, 06:13 PM
Bigwoodsman Bigwoodsman is online now
 
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You were rewarded for your efforts!

Thanks for posting and sharing those pictures!

BW
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Old 11-03-2018, 07:40 PM
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WOW!!! There are plenty of rivers that connect to the NSR that hold brown trout, but that is an amazing prize. That fish is in amazing shape.
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Old 11-03-2018, 08:11 PM
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that fish has definitely enjoyed a few good meals.
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  #5  
Old 11-03-2018, 09:47 PM
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Beautiful trout and excellent to see in this reach of the river. There was a brown trout stocking quite a few years ago in this reach. I have heard of a couple being caught in recent years around Edmonton.

I think there may be a few more around than realized. Just no one really fishes specifically for them. Bigger browns don't hang out in goldeye and walleye backwaters.

Before they put in the bighorn and brazeau dams bull trout used to be around Edmonton too.
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Old 11-04-2018, 04:53 AM
GrouseHunter GrouseHunter is offline
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Awesome catch man, congrats!
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Old 11-04-2018, 07:49 AM
SNAPFisher SNAPFisher is offline
 
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Great report and post! That might get a few more of us fly chuckers thinking about it.

Congrats on the great catch!
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Old 11-04-2018, 07:56 AM
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Sweet! Thanx for posting.
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  #9  
Old 11-04-2018, 09:31 AM
ch_b ch_b is offline
 
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Thanks for the kind words fellas! Glad my fly ended up in the right place and I got to briefly cross paths with this resilient specimen.

Anyone know why it is that some are able to thrive this far down? Maybe the temps are just low enough to allow them to live, but high enough to mess with reproduction? Or maybe there are just some genetic anomalies out there?


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Old 11-04-2018, 09:49 AM
GrouseHunter GrouseHunter is offline
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ch_b was wondering if you are catching any Redhorse Suckers with your fly rod?

I have fished NS River and have caught some, lb. for lb. they really fight hard and would be a blast to catch on a wet fly.
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Old 11-04-2018, 10:05 AM
ch_b ch_b is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GrouseHunter View Post
ch_b was wondering if you are catching any Redhorse Suckers with your fly rod?



I have fished NS River and have caught some, lb. for lb. they really fight hard and would be a blast to catch on a wet fly.


Not yet! Just walleye, pike and this trout so far. My gut tells me it would be tough getting deep enough but I’m sure nymphing/baitfish patterns would be productive if you can get in the zone


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Old 11-04-2018, 10:25 AM
GrouseHunter GrouseHunter is offline
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Give it a try near Devon by the water treatment facility lots of Redhorse Suckers there and they fight way harder then Walleye. I caught a 23" Walleye there this summer there too. Could be a nice place to try.
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Old 11-04-2018, 02:44 PM
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Great job- beauty trout......Thanks for posting.
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Old 11-04-2018, 04:10 PM
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Awesome fish. Thanks for posting pics.
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Old 11-04-2018, 04:42 PM
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Oct 27th I got a nice Brown also....


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Old 11-04-2018, 05:24 PM
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Nice fish fellows.
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Old 11-04-2018, 05:42 PM
wildbill wildbill is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ch_b View Post
Was at the bottom of the island west of the 75th street bridge on the NSR today practicing with the spey rod and ended up pulling in a 20+" brown trout. Swinging a chartreuse clouser through a ~5' deep tail-out type area. It was definitely a surprise!

After checking on here it looks like others have seen trout in the Edmonton stretch. Any recent experiences?

Didnt notice any redds after I started looking (it was in an area with a fair bit of cobble and current), and he didn't seem to be displaying any typical fall/spawn colors.

A pretty great late fall day!

A few photos:


That’s awesome, you never know where you’all find them browns!
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  #18  
Old 11-04-2018, 07:41 PM
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Red Bullets Red Bullets is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ch_b View Post
Thanks for the kind words fellas! Glad my fly ended up in the right place and I got to briefly cross paths with this resilient specimen.

Anyone know why it is that some are able to thrive this far down? Maybe the temps are just low enough to allow them to live, but high enough to mess with reproduction? Or maybe there are just some genetic anomalies out there?


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Browns were introduced to the river a few years ago so conditions must be compatible for the browns to do good. They were released in a couple places between Devon and Ft. Sask. Now that the water is cooling off the trout might be more active and traveling more too.

I swear there must be more browns around than we know. Just no one is fishing for them. It's like the 30 lb. pike in the river. Not too many anglers target them.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Deep's brown trout is gorgeous too.
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This country was started by voyagers whose young lives were swept away by the currents of the rivers for ten cents a day... just for the vanity of the European's beaver hats. ~ Red Bullets
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  #19  
Old 11-04-2018, 08:05 PM
ch_b ch_b is offline
 
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I think I’m starting to agree! Very cool. Will have to try targeting them!


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  #20  
Old 11-04-2018, 08:06 PM
ch_b ch_b is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Deep View Post
Oct 27th I got a nice Brown also....




That’s a beauty!


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  #21  
Old 11-04-2018, 10:42 PM
ddddd05 ddddd05 is offline
 
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Amazing!
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  #22  
Old 11-05-2018, 08:57 AM
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Wow - that is totally encouraging to see - nice catches there guys!
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  #23  
Old 11-05-2018, 10:25 AM
Pikebreath Pikebreath is offline
 
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Nice to see some browns being caught in the NSR,,, As pointed out earlier by Red Bullets, browns were stocked in the Edmonton area many years ago to see if they would take hold,,, but they didn't really take (issues with natural recruitment?)

So I would suspect these fish are not related to that stocking, but rather are fish that have migrated downstream from Rocky Mountain House area, or from below the Brazeau, stretches of river known to harbour a few browns.

The size and health of these two browns does indicate though that browns can certainly survive in the Edmonton area. I have always hoped that SRD would someday undertake to an annual brown trout stocking program to create a viable trout fishery in the NSR by Edmonton.
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  #24  
Old 11-05-2018, 03:12 PM
Bigwoodsman Bigwoodsman is online now
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pikebreath View Post
The size and health of these two browns does indicate though that browns can certainly survive in the Edmonton area. I have always hoped that SRD would someday undertake to an annual brown trout stocking program to create a viable trout fishery in the NSR by Edmonton.


I agree, and if they do I'd like to see it as a catch and release fishery only.

BW
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  #25  
Old 11-06-2018, 04:21 PM
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Great fish!

Curious about setup you folks use in a river like the N. Sask. I am waaaayyyyy down south, so not familiar with your waters at all, but assume there are some pike in there too. If you are using "lighter" leader/tippet, targeting walleye or browns, are you prone to lose the odd hook to a toothy slough shark? I haven't really fished warmer mixed-species rivers like this, so curious how others approach it.
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  #26  
Old 11-06-2018, 04:44 PM
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Ok thats real cool!!
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  #27  
Old 11-06-2018, 06:34 PM
ch_b ch_b is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jgib01 View Post
Great fish!

Curious about setup you folks use in a river like the N. Sask. I am waaaayyyyy down south, so not familiar with your waters at all, but assume there are some pike in there too. If you are using "lighter" leader/tippet, targeting walleye or browns, are you prone to lose the odd hook to a toothy slough shark? I haven't really fished warmer mixed-species rivers like this, so curious how others approach it.
Hasnt been an issue for me personally, although I usually just run a 5 foot section of 12lb mono from my tip to the fly. Havent had any lost pike yet, but I think I have just been lucky. I have lost a lot of flies to rocks/logs.
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  #28  
Old 11-06-2018, 06:42 PM
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I did catch a brown trout...not from NSR. A lot of big browns are in Lake X.....hehe.
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  #29  
Old 11-07-2018, 07:57 PM
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That’s awesome, thanks for posting!
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  #30  
Old 11-08-2018, 05:56 AM
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Amazing what lurks in the river through a city....just be careful what you snag onto periodically
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