Wabamun Pike

dryflyguy · #1 07-16-2018, 11:29 AM

There's been lots of lament over the condition of the Northern Pike fishery at Wabamun since the lake was overrun with stunted Walleye

In two brief trips out this year, simply fishing off of our dock in 3-6' of water for about half an hour each time, we've caught a total of two very healthy Northerns. I didn't get a measure on the first one, but the 2nd fish was a feisty and solid 22 incher.

My question to you all is: What are your reports or feedback on how the Pike are doing in Wab this year? So far, in my very limited sample, the fish we caught looked and fought great. Anybody with conflicting reports?

travisanderson · #2 07-16-2018, 01:31 PM

A friend and i went fising in a boat with a rap shad trolling in 6-10 ft of water and caught 52 walleye and 6 pike in 3.5 hours. The walleye were anywhere from 38cm to 54cm. And the pike i didnt measure but all were less tha 50cm.

Fishin' Fool · #3 07-17-2018, 11:15 AM

I mostly fish Wab and haven't been elsewhere much recently, so I didn't realize how skinny the Wabamun walleye were. We fished the North end of Pigeon Sunday and I was quite surprised to see how much fatter the 'eyes were there in comparison.

The other big difference is that Wab has a lot of distinct size classes while in Pigeon they were a lot more similar in size.

As for pike numbers, they have dropped big time. At Fallis, it's often 50-1 or more walleye to pike, though the few jack I've caught have been in decent shape.
I fished Moonlight Bay a few weeks ago for the first time in a couple years. I don't recall ever getting a walleye in there before, but this trip that was all I caught. I had one smallish pike follow a spoon, but that was it.

I'm hoping that a natural equilibrium will be established now they've stopped dumping walleye in there, but it will definitely take a few years.

thorne · #4 07-17-2018, 08:38 PM

Interestingly enough I was going to start a thread on the same topic after my day on the water last Sunday. This is what I noticed....

So, I have been fishing Wab for a good 20ish years now...seen the befor and after the town power plant effects and the pre and post walleye repopulation. I loved being able to fish trophy pike...from my boat...less then an hour from my house....In March...lol. but the power plant did mess up the ego system. Some species benefited....some dissappeared. Then came the oil spill. Best thing to happen to the lake IMO. Catch and release just made the pike population go crazy. Catching 10-20lbers was not hard at all with over 20lbers being a decent chance as well....now those years were a lot of fun. Then the walleye were put back in....oh boy....the lake filled with juvinelle walleye....pike were all heads, spine and tail....they all looked like they were starving and wasting away, with not one over 6 lbs to be found. At least not by me....its was, for a few years, a total disgrace of what was a wonderful recreational fishing location. I pretty much wrote Wab off as a enviromental experiment totally ******ed up and ruined.

Last Sunday changed that. Me and my girlfriend spent the day from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM fishing all my old favourite places on the lake and what I found made me smile...I was going to keep a count...but somewhere it got lost lol...together we must of landed well over 100 fish. The majority were walleye, but to my surprise...and joy...about 40%ish were also Pike. Young very healthy pike. Sure nothing was over 5 lbs, but not one anorexic bastard among them. So we now have a lake....full of young very healthy fish. Kinda looked like someone hit the re-boot switch. I'm hopeful that there a still a few hogs lurking around in there, but it does look like if all keeps on as it was last Sunday, that in 5 years or so Wab will be a good diverse lake to catch both pike and walleye, with the occasional trophy to be had. So that made me smile a bit. This winter I'm going to look for a few whites and perch. Seen lots before the walleye went back...haven't really looked hard since.

Guess what I'm saying is because of last weekend I now have hope for the lake....its still good fishing...just a totally different body of water then it was 5 years ago....just my 2 cents..

Talking moose · #5 07-17-2018, 09:57 PM

As I’ve been saying all along when people were ranting.... give it time, eventually it will balance out and start to stabilize. Good to hear.

Stryker2 · #6 07-18-2018, 07:26 AM

Nice report Thorne! Good to hear things are on the mend in Wab, I've had many fun days ice fishing that lake!

walleyechaser · #7 07-18-2018, 08:30 AM

Don't target the walleye and then report back. Use some 10-14 inch baits and see what happens

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thorne · #8 07-18-2018, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walleyechaser

Don't target the walleye and then report back. Use some 10-14 inch baits and see what happens

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Lol...you got it! I hit the shallow bays, 8-5' of water trolling big spoons at 5kph....nothing but pike after pike with a few savage Walleye thrown in there. Look specifically for like and there are lots to be found.

dryflyguy · #9 07-18-2018, 10:03 AM

Nice report thorne, thanks for the input!

Hoping the trend of healthier pike continues, once I get out on the boat at Wab, I hope to have a similar report as yours

walleyechaser · #10 07-18-2018, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thorne

Lol...you got it! I hit the shallow bays, 8-5' of water trolling big spoons at 5kph....nothing but pike after pike with a few savage Walleye thrown in there. Look specifically for like and there are lots to be found.

I see that lots here in southern AB. Guys say no big pike anymore yet they are trolling 4 inch walleye cranks. Big pike hardly ever hit small lures, waste of energy. Get a big old bulldawg out or a bondy bait, surprisingly even the little pike hit the dawg.

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Talking moose · #11 07-18-2018, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walleyechaser

I see that lots here in southern AB. Guys say no big pike anymore yet they are trolling 4 inch walleye cranks. Big pike hardly ever hit small lures, waste of energy. Get a big old bulldawg out or a bondy bait, surprisingly even the little pike hit the dawg.

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Yup. I’ll pull out the biggest Lenny Thompson they make, people look at me like I’m on glue... then I start catching pike from 2 lbs and up all day long, out fishing their smaller lures by a large margin. Big walleye love the big Len Thompson’s too.

Timothy · #12 07-19-2018, 09:08 AM

I used to fish wabamun fairly often 6-7 years ago. All I ever caught there was 6-12 pound pike on average, with 12-18 not being rare and have seen people pull out 20+ pounders. Never caught a walleye. Started fishing it again this year, spent tons on 12-16” lures in anticipation of big pike and put 30ib braided on, I usually end up using my light trout rod now. I’ve caught about 200 walleye and about 10 dinky pike there this season.