Do you look for backwoods lakes?

[Sooner]

Even if you can't confirm it holds fish?

Where i hunt there are a dozen pot hole lakes, some are shallow and are weed choked in summer, some have muscrat mud piles right in the middle. Some though look to be spring fed and deeper and nice clear water. F&W tell me no fish that they know of when i have asked in our road side chats.

But you hear of secret lake X with bountiful perch etc. I have always wanted to and this summer we will Argo in and either kayak with the rod or Canoe. Probably Canoe as i can hook up the fish finder and check actual depth and drag a line. A day out is the worst that can happen right.

Anyone every go searching for a backwoods lake and actually find fish in a lake that no one thought held them?

[wildwoods]

Not yet but personally there are some waters around the FTR that must hold fish with zero pressure. Google maps is our friend. One day I will head out on a weekend with my little family and quad in to try them out

[cschache]

there have been a few that I have come across and have also wondered if they hold fish, I snowmobiled in to a couple and tried a couple years ago but was not successful but there are a few others that I would like to try that are close to a great fishery river that I don't think would be too hard to get into with an argo, I have flown over in a helicopter and it looks promising. Would love to get a couple guys together and take a couple of days to explore.

[topgun]

I like to try one or two a year thru the ice. Some turn out decent and others not so much but its always an adventure and that's what makes it fun. Im still hoping to find an absolute Perch Haven of my own lol.

[EZM]

25 years ago, as a teenager, maybe 18 or 19, we went out for a week to do some Elk hunting way down in the south west part of the province a stone's throw from the BC border and the park. Pretty much as far in the corner of the province where the last paved road ended, the last gravel ended, and then the mud/dirt access road finally yielded to an overgrown old logging trail where we parked the trucks and got on the ATV's to travel yet another day deeper into the sticks.

Of course, these were the days before google maps and hand held GPS so we were armed only with maps purchased from the government survey map place from downtown in Calgary - and our ability to read the maps was, let's say, basic.

We were heading up a trail (or what we thought might have been a trail as it was hard to tell at this point) and came to a final bend in flat area and there it was, a crystal clear little lake, like a gem where the map showed nothing. Likely we were not where we thought we were, and that thought did occur to us, but who cares when your 18 or 19 and on an adventure. We started to set up set up camp.

We had 2 spinning rods, and 1 fly rod (which none of us where any good at using) between 4 of us, and a dinky little tackle box with maybe 20 lures, mostly spoons or spinners that were too big for anything other than a pike, but again, who cares when you are 18 or 19.

I could see fish breaking the surface as the sun was setting and couldn't resist, I've set up camp before in the dark, and the tent was up already, so I raced down to my box, found the smallest spinner, tied it on to the coiled mono-filament (probably something heavy like 12-15lb and cast the 1oz spinner, probably 18 feet (more like a power lob and and a ploop) and then proceeded to untangle the mess I made. ( I don't miss mono, nor do I care for temperamental old spinning reels).

After figuring out the mess, and likely the moment my spinner came off the bottom and began my retrieve ....... fish on.

And that was it ...... a new gem was found.

We killed no elk on that trip, but we ate fish every chance we got. Even the 2 deer and half dozen grouse we harvested meant nothing compared to those little pan fryers. We'd done that before, but we had never discovered lake X before.

That was my first.

[FISHBATTEREDBEER]

We went on a fly in trip to Colin lk with Mikisew air around 2000-2001 ,once we left Fort MCKAY I was amazed at how many lakes are up there,the pilot said many have never been fished.If you look at an AB map it doesnt show that many lakes up there,you could see tons of lakes everywhere.

[wildwoods]

BTT out of curiosity. Be nice to know if anyone does this on a regular basis and what is the rough success rate on random hidden gems.

[Heavy K]

Originally Posted by Sooner

Even if you can't confirm it holds fish?

Where i hunt there are a dozen pot hole lakes, some are shallow and are weed choked in summer, some have muscrat mud piles right in the middle. Some though look to be spring fed and deeper and nice clear water. F&W tell me no fish that they know of when i have asked in our road side chats.

But you hear of secret lake X with bountiful perch etc. I have always wanted to and this summer we will Argo in and either kayak with the rod or Canoe. Probably Canoe as i can hook up the fish finder and check actual depth and drag a line. A day out is the worst that can happen right.

Anyone every go searching for a backwoods lake and actually find fish in a lake that no one thought held them?

You bet. Researching these spots is what keeps me ticking through the winter! Sometimes you win, more often than not, you lose. Archived information from Parks Canada has yielded some pleasant and unpleasant surprises. However, the biggest reward is finding your own way into somewhere awesome and infrequently travelled, without being spoon-fed information on facebook, blogs, and forums. Figuring these things out for yourself is becoming as lost art in this age of digital information and instant gratification...

Strap a rod to your pack, slap some boots on your feet, and go find out for yourself. It is so worth it, whether or not you catch fish! The rewards go to those willing to explore.

HK

[Holy Grounds Coffee]

While hunting in northern alberta a few years back, me and a buddy came across a lake after a few days of bushwacking. Was just a small lake nestled in a pine forest. Fished it for a bit and caught a good amount of 12-16 in brookies. Looked it up on a map later and could barely see it on the map. Had no name and to this day I have not heard of a name for it or anyone else that knows about it. Have not been back there in a while. Hopefully this summer..if I can remember where it is

[Vacation]

Found one Sunday. Hooked into some perches

[invasion]

Tried one called McMillan last year no luck though but was sure excited to give it a go anyway