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Join my dad and I today as we venture out on a new lake in Alberta's Lakeland Area that is Stocked by the Alberta Environment and Parks. Neither of us had ever fished this lake before, but with the help of the online resources available we were able to search for Stocked Lakes in close proximity to try. After a little google research we landed on this particular lake and got up early one morning to get out there and give it a try.
We started out the day heading to the largest shallow weedy shoal to try our luck at first light. We fished the 3 foot depth down to 11 feet and only saw one fish all morning. This was dismal and not what I expected at all. The fish are usually feeding in the shallow weedy shoals at first and last light during the ice covered season.
After struggling during the morning and drilling some 30 dry holes, my dad went drilling across the lake. He started fishing them from shallow to deep. When he got into the middle he said he saw a mark half way down and when you intercepted it with his Slender Spoon the fish took the bait. After a great fight he had a healthy fat 18 inch rainbow on the ice.
I spent some more time in the shallows as I had seen one fish. I was really shocked they didn't come in to feed.
After failing in shallow around noon I moved out to the deeper water and started drilling towards the center of the lake and deeper water.
While dropping down one hole I noticed a flash on my Marcum just a few feet under the ice. So I brought the lure back up under the ice and boom. I hooked a big rainbow that came off right under the ice.
I started to replicate this type of fishing right under the ice and fish kept coming through in the afternoon. We set up some Jaw Jackers with Circle Tackle Tungsten Jigs and Blob flies. The trout started to hit the Jaw Jackers and the action became great right under the ice.
The fish were suspended right under the ice in deep water over 20 to 30 feet deep. They were eating minnows and bugs that were right at the top of the water column. These fish are often hard to find because they avoid being seen on your sonar and if you drop your hook to the bottom you will never know they are swimming right under the ice. Keep that in mind when fishing for trout.
Good luck fishing!
