Beaver Lake near Caroline

Rick and I decided to head out to Beaver Lake today. It definitely has been a while since either of us fly fished at Beaver Lake. Beaver Lake is an excellent fishery and it is usually quite busy!  Rainbows and tiger trout are in Beaver and it is a catch and release fishery! We were both surprised to be the second boat on the water at 10:30 am. We immediately noticed that the aerators have been turned on. The water was 48F, pretty much ideal. I tied on two Glen's Leeches while Rick started off with a Candy Corn Leech. It did not take too long to connect with a chunky rainbow in 15 feet of water about 12 feet down. Soon after Rick caught two rainbows on his Candy Corn. I switched up to a Candy Corn and immediately caught a tiger trout and small rainbow. It was apparent that Beaver was recently stocked and we got lots of curious hits at our flies. As the day wore on, we probed with several flies but a Glen's Leech was definitely our best fly. We caught 4 large rainbows, a tiger trout and a mess of stockers! Near the end of the day, Rick started to cast and retrieve a flashback and he connected with a very decent rainbow. I tried backswimmers and got only one take. 

We were lucky, there were few boats on Beaver today. Later in the afternoon, showers moved in, the fly fishing slowed and most of the fly fishers headed to the boat launch area and called it a day!

The best part of the day was having my friend Rick join me in my pram. It is nice to have a good friend in the boat. We talked lots and the day went way too fast! Rick knows Beaver Lake and I learned a few of her secrets today. The fly fishing was not fast and furious but we did catch our share of trout today.

Yep the aerators are on!

 

Sylvan Lake was Amazing (Thanksgiving Monday)

Sylvan Lake was special today. The vibrant fall colours of the aspen was an fantastic backdrop as Karen and I fly fished for lake whitefish. There was virtually no wind today and the chinook arch that sprawled across the western sky helped frame one of those days you don't want to end. The water temperature was 52F, pretty much perfect and the lake whitefish were definitely in the shallows. We spent half of our time in 5 feet of water looking for whitefish. We would cast our small blood worms just in front of them. We tried to keep our bloodworms about 8-12 inches off of the bottom. Sight fly fishing is definitely fun.

The only downside to Sylvan Lake at the moment is the low water. The boat launches are practically impossible to launch larger boats as we found out! Luckily we could hand launch our pram and paddle out to water deep enough to use our electric motor! If you launch at Palm Bay, you can avoid boat launch fees ($20). Definitely bring boots and a paddle or two!

Karen and I also had a great time watching immature bald eagles get flying lessons from their parents.

22C on Thanksgiving Monday is definitely a treat!

 

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

After stumbling to the coffee pot, I noticed frost on all of my neighbour's roofs. I check the temperature and I was shocked to see it was -7C. That will definitely drop the water temperature. Trout will definitely be putting the feedbag on in the coming days!

I have been enjoying fly fishing at Boulder Lake near Blackfalds. You will not catch a lot of trout and you will definitely have to work at it but I love the challenge. I have connected with some tiger trout too.

The above picture is Barry Mitchell Pond at Heritage Ranch. It definitely has rainbows in it!

Karen and I want to wish everyone a Happy Canadian Thanksgiving. Enjoy some precious family time!

Boulder Lake