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  #31  
Old 11-08-2018, 07:58 AM
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I have to admit that I was worried what I would see when I opened this thread. I thought there was only one kind of “brown trout” in the NSR...
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  #32  
Old 11-08-2018, 12:26 PM
SNAPFisher SNAPFisher is offline
 
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I have to admit that I was worried what I would see when I opened this thread. I thought there was only one kind of “brown trout” in the NSR...
Is that the kind with corn attached...
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  #33  
Old 11-08-2018, 12:38 PM
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Is that the kind with corn attached...


You’re picking up what I’m putting down, but perhaps you shouldn’t.
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  #34  
Old 11-11-2018, 10:40 AM
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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.
I use to catch quillbacks across from Hermitage Park. Best fight ever.
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  #35  
Old 11-11-2018, 10:41 AM
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Originally Posted by Pikebreath View Post
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.
Not feasible. It would be a pike and walleye feeding program unfortunately.
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  #36  
Old 11-12-2018, 01:55 AM
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Originally Posted by Sundancefisher View Post
Not feasible. It would be a pike and walleye feeding program unfortunately.
The fact there were 2 very large brown trout caught within the last 6 months by people who were not even trying to catch them indicates that a brown trout fishery in Edmonton is feasible. Feasibility is not the issue, but the (im)practicality of making it happen is the fundamental stumbling point.

The Red Deer River has a significant population of walleye and pike, yet the brown trout managed to form a stable population. I have caught a brown trout in the NSR at the Clearwater confluence but that was a couple hundred kilometres upstream, where the NSR is still very much a trout habitat.
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  #37  
Old 11-12-2018, 08:31 AM
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Originally Posted by scel View Post
The fact there were 2 very large brown trout caught within the last 6 months by people who were not even trying to catch them indicates that a brown trout fishery in Edmonton is feasible. Feasibility is not the issue, but the (im)practicality of making it happen is the fundamental stumbling point.

The Red Deer River has a significant population of walleye and pike, yet the brown trout managed to form a stable population. I have caught a brown trout in the NSR at the Clearwater confluence but that was a couple hundred kilometres upstream, where the NSR is still very much a trout habitat.
I would imagine those two were probably mature fish that came down from the upper reaches of the NSR as you described..however any kind of stocking program in this area would be a waste of money, time and energy as the fry would be nothing more than walleye and pike snacks.
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  #38  
Old 11-12-2018, 08:35 AM
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I did say that my brown was not from NSR.....but rather a lake. I saw the first brown and thought others may appreciate another big fish picture.
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  #39  
Old 11-12-2018, 10:06 PM
Mr Flyguy Mr Flyguy is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Deep View Post
I did say that my brown was not from NSR.....but rather a lake. I saw the first brown and thought others may appreciate another big fish picture.
Yes, nice fish but you essentially derailed the whole thread about browns in the NSR
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  #40  
Old 11-13-2018, 09:09 AM
GrouseHunter GrouseHunter is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sundancefisher View Post
I use to catch quillbacks across from Hermitage Park. Best fight ever.
Never even heard of a Quillback had to look it up they are part of the sucker family, interesting looking fish! Which fly did you use?

Ever catch RedHorse Suckers? The meat is pure white, flaky and delicious. Great in soups. The fight twice as hard as Walleye, loads of fun
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  #41  
Old 11-13-2018, 06:02 PM
smitty9 smitty9 is offline
 
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Default Feasibility?

Quote:
Originally Posted by scel View Post
The fact there were 2 very large brown trout caught within the last 6 months by people who were not even trying to catch them indicates that a brown trout fishery in Edmonton is feasible. Feasibility is not the issue, but the (im)practicality of making it happen is the fundamental stumbling point.

The Red Deer River has a significant population of walleye and pike, yet the brown trout managed to form a stable population. I have caught a brown trout in the NSR at the Clearwater confluence but that was a couple hundred kilometres upstream, where the NSR is still very much a trout habitat.
I definitely would not interpret 2 brown trout = feasibility. Overall, the NSR - in the Edmonton stretches - is not ideal habitat from my understanding. It is not the same as the RDR (or the Bow of course). Besides lack of habitat, as others have pointed out, stocking fish here would only feed other apex predators. I think we have to be content in this specific case of getting what get: incidental catches from time to time.

I for one would be surprised to see any bio come out and support the stocking of brown trout in the Edmonton area.

But who knows, I could stand corrected; after all there were bull trout in the area until the 1950's.
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  #42  
Old 11-13-2018, 08:01 PM
flyrodfisher flyrodfisher is offline
 
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@Smitty
Although I agree with you....the ACA continues to feed apex predators by stocking nice young rainbows and even brown trout into local Edmonton area potholes.
In case you are wondering....yes the ACA are aware of the fact...and have been for several years.

The "feeding" continues....and our $ are wasted...
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  #43  
Old 11-14-2018, 01:25 AM
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Meant to say they stock these trout in local area potholes that contain PIKE.
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  #44  
Old 11-14-2018, 02:36 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smitty9 View Post
I definitely would not interpret 2 brown trout = feasibility. Overall, the NSR - in the Edmonton stretches - is not ideal habitat from my understanding. It is not the same as the RDR (or the Bow of course). Besides lack of habitat, as others have pointed out, stocking fish here would only feed other apex predators. I think we have to be content in this specific case of getting what get: incidental catches from time to time.

I for one would be surprised to see any bio come out and support the stocking of brown trout in the Edmonton area.

But who knows, I could stand corrected; after all there were bull trout in the area until the 1950's.
I had a supervisor who told me that 'feasible is the vague gap from possible to probable'.

I think that it would be somewhat crazy to dump brown trout fry in the Edmonton stretch of NSR and expect them to survive.

In the RDR, there is a hard break at Red Deer where it turns from a feasible cold species stream to a cool water biome. By the time the RDR hits Drumheller, The river is too shallow and warm to support trout. I wonder where that hard break point is for the NSR. Drayton Valley maybe? In Rocky Mountain House, the NSR is fully capable of supporting brown trout (I know, because I caught some, along with some bull trout). The OP's trout is definitely big and healthy. When the goldeye leave, there is not much competition for the bugs and the pike really slow down with the cold water.

I am genuinely curious to know how many trout are actually in the NSR.
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  #45  
Old 11-14-2018, 10:09 AM
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I too would love to know the numbers around the Edmonton region.
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  #46  
Old 11-18-2018, 02:57 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Deep View Post
I did say that my brown was not from NSR.....but rather a lake. I saw the first brown and thought others may appreciate another big fish picture.
I was suspect of your brown because the coloration of your trout was too green. The first trout pic posted looked more like a river run trout.
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  #47  
Old 11-18-2018, 07:08 PM
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Right you are Red, Obed lake has much different coloration than the river browns.
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  #48  
Old 11-18-2018, 07:38 PM
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I've read somewhere that browns were a regular catch around smokey lake?
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  #49  
Old 11-21-2018, 02:53 PM
Woolyoldbugger Woolyoldbugger is offline
 
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In the 80s a million brown fry were put in between DV and Ft. Sask. Unfortunately that spring / Summer saw one of the worst floods the NSR had seen in years. They are throuout the river and every now and then someone tags one. I would think that the general size of them and I've seen many would indicate natural reproduction.
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  #50  
Old 11-22-2018, 02:35 PM
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I've heard many a tale about historic stocking attempts in the South Sask system (specifically Oldman below the dam), and various reports of lingering numbers of browns venturing quite some distance downstream these many years later... into Lethbridge and beyond. I would guess the success (or lack thereof) of these "college tries" would be similar to what one could expect in the NSR.
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  #51  
Old 11-24-2018, 02:27 PM
Sundog57 Sundog57 is online now
 
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Although we like to think of Browns as fish of cold and pristine waters, once they achieve a certain maturity they can live in some pretty surprising conditions. I have seen some absolute slabs in some of the creeks flowing into Lake Erie. You just lay your fly upstream and work the riffle around the shopping cart and try for a drag free drift in between the old truck tires.
If they can mature upstream, the NSR at Edmonton is probably just fine for the larger fish.
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  #52  
Old 11-24-2018, 11:42 PM
ddddd05 ddddd05 is offline
 
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Great post Sundog!
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