swan lake by grande prairie and debolt alberta

[bruce44]

has anyone gone fishing there yet. I have gone twice i got skunked once and caught a 3 pounder on the second time. i use spoons But i see all these people getting multiple fish nonstop using flies. I asked these 2 guys what they were using but i couldnt hear them. You guys know what flies work its for rainbow.

[QBC]

I'd stick with the old stand by patterns. Wooly Bugger, Doc Spratleys, leaches, Carrie Special. Lake rainbows can be caught on so many patterns and techniques though. My favorite is still working shoal areas using a floating line and a strike indicator with a chironomid or micro leach 6 inches off bottom. Painfully slow retrieve is required for this though.

[bruce44]

sorry i dont own a fly rod i just use a bobber and a fly that seems to work for other anglers but i dont know what flies they use

[TUFFBUFF]

The spoons work earlier in the spring there when the bigger ones are up shallow along the reeds trying to spwan, the males strike out of aggresion to protect their spot. Use some leech streamers in olive or purple with beadheads if you got 'em, they also like stuff with a bit of red and sometimes orange. later on in the summer you'll have to go deep and slow.

[bruce44]

Originally Posted by TUFFBUFF

The spoons work earlier in the spring there when the bigger ones are up shallow along the reeds trying to spwan, the males strike out of aggresion to protect their spot. Use some leech streamers in olive or purple with beadheads if you got 'em, they also like stuff with a bit of red and sometimes orange. later on in the summer you'll have to go deep and slow.

see thats what i was thinking. ill try spring next year i was told when the ice is still half covering the snow. Have you been there. I dont make my own flies but ill try to find some your describing. I realized they do like red that was the spoon i was using and it worked better than the others. Ill try the flies you suggested. I was just wondering though how is the fishing in the fall

[johnk]

They most definitely like chironomids:

[exportblue]

if u bobber fish from boat launch i know corn works well, give that a try. great fish in that lake good luck

[bruce44]

Originally Posted by johnk

They most definitely like chironomids:

holy that you cant even get your hand around that fish lol. Thanks everyone, i really needed your advice cause im only 20 and i have only fished for trout in rivers where i can see them so i just used to plop the worm right infront of them lol. But lake fishing is much harder specially in cloudy waters like the swan lake

[QBC]

Well, as soon I get my Pontoon boat here...I'm going to have to hit Swan...looks like fun!

[bruce44]

Originally Posted by QBC

Well, as soon I get my Pontoon boat here...I'm going to have to hit Swan...looks like fun!

yeah its really weedy on the shores but its one of those lakes where 80 percent of the fish are 3 pounds or bigger

[TUFFBUFF]

bruce -

I only fish it in the spring, in the summer it slows down quite a bit and I hit my other spots, and then it's hunting season. In the fall when the lake turns over it probably would pick up again, maybe someone else on here can comment on that.
this lake is popular but the average size has dropped off in the last three to four years.

good luck
MB

[bruce44]

Originally Posted by TUFFBUFF

bruce -

I only fish it in the spring, in the summer it slows down quite a bit and I hit my other spots, and then it's hunting season. In the fall when the lake turns over it probably would pick up again, maybe someone else on here can comment on that.
this lake is popular but the average size has dropped off in the last three to four years.

good luck
MB

what month in the spring. and what are other great places near grande prairie. I cant seem to find any other places where you dont need any boats just casting from the shore

[TUFFBUFF]

spring lake, kakut pond, moonshine lake usually shore fishes alright. there is also a pond at grovedale on hwy 40. those are the closer ones, only been to spring and two lakes this year besides swan. It all depends how far you want to go.

[TUFFBUFF]

-I fish swan ice out until end of may, the fist 2 weeks of june should be good also - sorry forgot to add that

[troutpirate]

i was there for a couple days last week and had non-stop action with big ,aerial, hard fighting rainbows. we were rippin' big ugly streamers FAST.
the dirty ugly water in that swamp gives the advantage to the fisherman in my opinion.
advice on what types of flies to use wont help you much if you just want to dangle it underneath some big old spin casting bobber. you would certainly do better with worms and powerbait.
buy a flyrod then the advice you are asking for might actually improve your chances.

[exportblue]

so where is this kakut pond i keep hereing about, close to gp? About the fish size in swan. I was there about 4 yrs ago now when all the fish were dieing and washed up on shore, %90 of the fish i saw all over the shore around the lake were all the really big ones, like 6-10 lbs hudge. I herd from a fishin game that they had a bad desiease then. thined out the big ones. Fishing is still awsome there but i sure wouldn't eat them. Heading there this sunday, hope its not to busy but i am sure it will be.

[exportblue]

hit swan today what an awsome day 25 fish between three people, can't ask for better fishing then that. Had alot of big ones and small ones and lost a hudge one at the boat due to not a big enough net. I was some choke with my self, totaly screwed up the gf nice fish. I would guess anywhere from 8-10 lb er. No joke it was a shame to see it get off the hook due to small net and hitting the hook din't help either. Well they r in there for sure and so goin back next days off. Little hint that was awsome for us...... florecent green fly was the killer of the day and next was panther martin with fake magets for bait. ENJOY!!!!!!

[Cal]

i think chronomids properly fished below a bobber work at least as well as on a fly line if not beter. My own theory is that with a flyrod the fly will be pulled straight during the cast and hangs unnaturaly below the strike indicator. With a spinning rod you can hang the fly horizontaly and throw it out there without the cast straigtening it out. As well I think that nymphs can be fished more efectively on a spinning rod in many instances. I still use a fly rod for all my trout fishing but the wife often outfishes me, once they start rising though the tables turn.

[TUFFBUFF]

X2 Cal
makes sense to me - i think trout would have a hard time telling between a nymph/bobber on a spin rod or strike indicator/nymph on a fly rod.

[QBC]

Originally Posted by Cal

i think chronomids properly fished below a bobber work at least as well as on a fly line if not beter. My own theory is that with a flyrod the fly will be pulled straight during the cast and hangs unnaturaly below the strike indicator. With a spinning rod you can hang the fly horizontaly and throw it out there without the cast straigtening it out. As well I think that nymphs can be fished more efectively on a spinning rod in many instances. I still use a fly rod for all my trout fishing but the wife often outfishes me, once they start rising though the tables turn.

I've fished Chroni's for years with great success, I've never fished with a chroni on a spinning rig, but if you're fishing them correctly on a floating line and strike indicator, it will hang properly and look very natural. It comes back to the old story, if you think you're fishing a Chironomid slow enough, slow down.

[Cal]

I dunno am I the only one that finds I get less bites on a wire worm or fly when it is hanging verticaly rather than horizontaly like every other critter in the pond? You would never hang a minnow by its tail under a tip up because it just doesnt look natural. If youve figured out some way to cast a fly line without straightening out your fly so that it hangs verticaly at rest than my hat go's off to you. I cant however and therefore my wife does better with chronys than I do, just adjust the fly in the knot so that it hangs properly and it will stay that way with no retrieve at all untill a fish hits it... Just to be redundant.

[QBC]

Chroni's do hang vertically in the water for the most part. Especially when they are just out of the mud and are starting their rise, hence why you fish them within 6 inches of the bottom. In a wind, which seems to be the norm here, you get a "chronomid chop" that makes the little bug rise and fall like they do until they make their final push to the surface.

[Cal]

I stand corrected, I'll have to come up with a new theory

[bruce44]

yeah ill try the fly because the lures keep getting weeds on them. Remember im shore fishing. So i hope the chironomids work in water that shallow and how far should the fly be from the bobber and should i just used the typical round bobber

[Cal]

I dont recomend ever using a typical round bobber if you can help it. I like to use a SMALL slip bobber. Like QBC said, you want to fish them just off the bottom so depending on the depth you may have to use a slip bobber. Use one just big enough to support your fly and your splitshot and make sure you add enough weight that the bobber is barely floating. The most comon mistake people make is using too big of a bobber with not enough weight.

[QBC]

If you use chroni's that are weighted or bead head chroni's, you shouldn't have to put any split shot anywhere near the actual fly. If you need some weight for casting, put them a good 24+ inches away. I tie my chroni's quite heavy using a bead head and even a few wraps of lead in the "gill" area of the fly before I start to tie on the materials.

[Cal]

You can cast those with spinning gear? The weight is as much to counter for the boyancy of the bobber as to aid in casting.

[QBC]

I don't think you could cast these with spinning gear under a normal bobber. One of those weighted bobbers though would probably work.

Under a strike indicator on a dry line, you definitely don't need any further weight. I use fairly small strike indicators anyway.

[saskfly]

maybe this will help,

Swan generally fishes the best in early spring (just after or before turnover). The group I know that fish it on a regular basis say there is basically a ten day window where the trout/conditions/bugs are just right. I can attest to this as three days last spring were probably the best I have ever had in all four western provinces. I have fished many trout lakes and Swan is tops for fish size and numbers and no crowds. On average we were landing between 30-40 fish a day with none under three pounds.

Best method was fishing chironomids and bloodworms under a strike indicator. The key was not moving around a bunch and just intercepting cruising trout. We also used other patterns under an indicator but I have been sworn to secrecy.

As earlier mentioned the lake fishes well again in the fall (Sept-Oct), especially when the water boatmen begin their mating flights. The summer I have heard isn't as good as the algae blooms and water warms up. I usually don't fish lakes likethis as the trout aren't in the best shape and most die after fighting them. Unless your keeping them then who cares.

Talked to the guys this spring and they said that the trout are even bigger as the aerators were turned on last summer and oxygen levels were high enough to deter fish kill. Here are some pics from spring 08'.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by Cal

i think chronomids properly fished below a bobber work at least as well as on a fly line if not beter. My own theory is that with a flyrod the fly will be pulled straight during the cast and hangs unnaturaly below the strike indicator. With a spinning rod you can hang the fly horizontaly and throw it out there without the cast straigtening it out. As well I think that nymphs can be fished more efectively on a spinning rod in many instances. I still use a fly rod for all my trout fishing but the wife often outfishes me, once they start rising though the tables turn.

pencil bobbers are way better for trout then other traditional bobbers. Less resistance when a trout takes the fly. Just match the size to the lure/fly weight.