Back to the Red Deer River for Walleye

Doug and I had a fabulous day on the Red Deer River today fly fishing for walleye! We had the truck all loaded up ready to make a last visit to a reservoir but we woke up to -11C. We figured that the small lake was frozen. Recent intel revels that Beaver Lake and Mitchell Lake both have partial ice on. Mitchell Pond at Heritage Ranch in Red Deer is completely frozen over as is most ponds in the area. Interestingly enough, Dickson Trout Pond was ice free today! So after a second cup of coffee, Doug and I headed to the Red Deer River to fly fish! We brought lots of nymphs figuring we would be trying to connect with Rocky Mountain Whitefish but we rigged up with balanced silver minnows and we chased walleye for the next several hours. Snow geese came over us as we tried to entice walleye to our offerings. We were both pleasantly surprised at our success. There is a bit of finesse in catching walleye. Jigging really helps to get the walleye to strike. The takes are so soft. You really have to pay attention. Doug had a surprise when his line ripped away. He hooked a sizeable river pike on his 5 weight rod. Doug landed the toothy critter without a break off! I told Doug he had a 1% chance to land the pike. 

Balanced Silver Minnow

Take a look right below to see how to tie this excellent walleye catcher:

https://rdflytying.blogspot.com/2025/10/tying-balanced-silver-minnow.html

There was very little wind today. Sun felt great on our faces. We both love being outside!

Just a reminder that Sylvan Lake, Gull Lake, Pine Lake along with many eastern slopes rivers are now closed. Always check the regulations if you are unsure. 

Hey, that isn't a walleye!

We landed several decent walleye!

 

Fly Tying Mondays Start December 8th

 Good Morning Everyone!

I hope to get Fly Tying Mondays started on December 8th at Reliance Oilfied Services Learning Centre starting at 6:30 pm. Thanks to Adam Karras, we have an excellent facility and we are grateful for the the use of the learning centre. 

We are looking for presenters as well! You do not need to be an expert just willing to share a couple of your favourite fly patterns! The group will pay for the materials that are used!

Fly Tying Mondays is for everyone! Whether you are a beginner or an expert, we welcome everyone!

...Colin Allison photo

Here are the dates for fly tying Mondays.

Monday December 8th- Bob Vanderwater-Pumpkinheads and Blue Flash Damsels

Monday December 15th-Dr Bill Young- A Tribute to AK Best

Monday December 22nd-Bob Vanderwater- Christmas Theme

Christmas break

Monday January 5th-Bob Vanderwater- All Things Pheasant Tail

Monday January 12th-Rick Miyauchi

Monday January 19th-

Monday January 26th-

Monday February 2nd-Doug Pullan-ants

Monday February 9th-Rick Miyauchi

Monday February 16th- Family Day-No Fly Tying

Monday February 23rd-Bob Vanderwater- Mitchell Lake Chironomids

Monday March 2nd-Raymond Evanson

Monday March 9th-Garnet Clews

Monday March 16th

Monday March 23rd-Ralf Kuntzeman

Monday March 30th

Narrow Hills Provincial Park in Saskatchewan

I had the opportunity to fly fish with my good friend Reid Stoyberg last week. Reid lives in Nipawin in Central Saskatchewan and his home is just 90 minutes from the Narrow Hills and just 20 minutes from Tobin Lake. Reid picked me up from Saskatoon airport and we headed north to look find some big rainbows. The weather was cold and blustery. I brought the winter gear and off we went! Sadly fire devastated the Narrow Hills area this summer. Campgrounds were destroyed as were roads and infrastructure. The roads are being redone and we were able to visit and fly fish several of the lakes. We did shake hands with several large rainbows. We spent a day chasing browns with no luck and I connected on my first splake ever. Splake are not Reid's favourite fish. They are a cross between a brook trout and a lake trout! I was intrigued. Apparently they are excellent table fare!

I was using a clear intermediate line with a blue flash damsel most of the time. The big trout loved to chase big flies including minnow imitations. 

If you look at a map of the Narrow Hills. There are many lakes that have trout in them. Do a little research and you could spent several weeks in the area fly fishing and exploring! I think the campgrounds will be up and running by spring! You definitely have an opportunity to catch a wide variety of trout in the Narrow Hills.

The best part of my trip was spending time with Reid on the water and visiting his partner Kate and Baxter the hound. The weather was not the best but we were bundled up like we were on Great Bear Lake where Reid spends his summer as Head Guide of Plummers Arctic Lodge!

A 10 pounder. Yes it was weighed.

Splake