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Saskatchewan jaunts

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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iceselkie said:
girlinfieldbkd2.jpg


i am so there.
i actually miss sask. :)

We should of guessed you would of had a picture like that. Trying to make certain people drool so they will come?
 
Well this morning I pre-packed the car with it's new rooftop carrier (donated by the previous owner of my wife's Beattle). Setup the tent, air mattress and sleeping bags just to make sure everything was in one piece. Then I put on my wetsuit and fired a couple spears off in the bathtub.

Everything seems to check out, now i just have to sit on the couch, car packed, wetsuit on, speargun in hand, waiting for thursday... :friday

See you thursday night in Edmonton!

PS I didn't really fire the spear gun in the bathtub, I waited till 2am and fired it in my neighbors hottub, they'll never notice the small puncture marks and water leakage right?
 
Great news guys :friday . I just talked with Messey, who directed me to look at the fine print at the bottom of page one of the Saskatchewan regs. Two of the Trout lakes in Meadow lake area have been open since May 6. This means fishing for this trip begins on Friday. As you know we can hit the other lakes on Saturday. I just so happens that Vivian (rainbows) and Little raspberry (splake and cutthroat) are adjacent to the Kimball lake campground! How do you guys like your trout cooked?

lee
 
Right on. everything is still go for us, may have some different fam members up there instead of my mom; the more the merrier. kimball IS in a good spot, and self-registration at the site. cell # in your PMs.
 
Hey Guys, just an update~! THanks for coming out, it was VERY awesome to finally see the faces behind the words I've been reading for so long. Well, unfortunately, it did rain, but after the rain came the sun again. Must have been the shift in weather, but the next day Gabriel went on a recon to Little Raspberry and grabbed three splake out of the bowl. Largest one was 5lbs, for a total weight of 14 lbs. We went back again, but were not successful in spearing any more. Gabe did get some footage of a little wreck tho! Will post pics/video clip when w're back in 'Loops. :D
 
iceselkie said:
Hey Guys, just an update~! next day Gabriel went on a recon to Little Raspberry and grabbed three splake out of the bowl. Largest one was 5lbs, for a total weight of 14 lbs.

:head

Seriously, it was great to meet you guys too. Somehow I forgot that it was still May, and was chilled after the first night of camping- couldn't get the core temp up. I was sure someone would do well the next day!
Just before I left, the guy across the campsite was telling me all the sweet spots :confused:
We shall return that is no doubt.
On Monday Jimmy, me and my brother-in-law Paul went to Twin to satisfy the frustration of the Sask experience. I think I got 12 perch, and Paul is now hooked on spearing after his first time!
See you in a few weeks,
Erik Y.
 
Brianna,

Yes, it was really nice to meet you guys. What time of day and depth did Gabe get those splake? Did you guys hit any more lakes like Lovering down south? I had tempura perch last night for supper. I will be hitting southern Sask later next week. I am going throught the map books planning my attack.

Lee
 
Hey guys sorry I missed it, and even sorrier I didn't call. We were humming and hawing until the last minute, but eventually I was informed that my involvement in the wedding in rosetown was going to require more than the 3 hours I had alloted. With the extra time commitment the drive up north just didn't seem feasable. Hope all you all had a good time...
 
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to see larger:http://static.flickr.com/57/155930549_0e53bf64d8_b.jpg

Gabe:

"Alright, here's the scoop on the productive day in Little Raspberry lake (Meadow Lake Prov Park – Sask). A fella camping next to us (who chatted with Eric for a while prior to leaving) had mentioned an area at the northeast end of the lake. On Sunday, at 1:30 PM, he was kind enough to drive me there. *** There is a drivable road from the tennis courts at Kimball, right to Little Raspberry*** The northeast end of the lake is like a little bay (sort-of). The bottom drops off (from about 6 to 20 feet) no more than 50 feet from shore. The vis was good, about 15 feet, just as you guys mentioned. I promptly dropped to 20ft and made my way back up the slope, seeing a big splake cruising the top of the drop-off. It was a great sight that kind of caught me by surprise. I decided to snake my way along the east-northeast end of the lake, passing back and forth over the drop-off as I progressed. After quite a ways, I turned and started heading back. Every now and then I'd head into 20-30 feet of water, with no fish sightings... Now following the drop-off directly, a big splake came into view swimming straight towards me. We noticed each other at the same moment and it swung toward the deeper water. I put the T20 on it and pulled the trigger just as it faded out of vis. A bright flash and I knew I had nailed it! As I approached it quickly began to swim away, but I was able to briefly see that it was secured to the mono. It was fighting hard and I let go of the T20. I was almost giddy with laughter, knowing that I had this big fish on the mono, and watching the T20 as if it were alive, doing it's best to evade me. I simply followed it, letting the float line pass along my fingers ever time the fish took off. It eventually settled in deeper water. Eventually, knowing I was directly over it and the depth it was at, I dove, equalized and powered right down on top of the splake, quickly securing my hand under it's gills. This was the first time I've ever started laughing at depth. It was great.
With the fish secured, I continued along the drop-off toward the shoreline where I initially entered the water. As I arrived, I was greeted by four fast-moving splake, again cruising the drop off. I was not ready for them. As they disappeared, I looked up and noticed that I was directly out from my things on shore. Having had this encounter twice now, I decided to try something ridiculously simple. Noting that the fish preferred deep water after spotting me, I began floating on the surface, facing shore, a few feet past the drop-off, keeping the top lip of the drop-off within range. Then the fun began. I kid you not, every 5-10 minutes, anywhere from 2-6 big splake would come cruising into view from either the left or right... quite quickly, and right a the top of the drop-off. Once I was spotted, a couple would turn toward deeper water and get close enough for a nearly 'gimme' shot. If I wasn't ready for the first fast fish, another would be right behind. I speared three more big splake this way. My shots are not high accuracy yet, so I was not nailing the head shots. Each time though, I was delighted to have to let go of the T20 and follow it as it meandered through the water, eventually diving to 25 feet to retrieve each fish. One of the four fish speared that day managed to dislodge itself from the spear before I could secure it against the flopper or on the mono. The other three came back to camp with me, totaling 14&1/4 lbs. All in all, a great time. I ended up with a photo taken by the store owner, and I'm humbled to have the first spearo pic on display there. The splake have very tasty pink meat, and lots of it :) As I've mentioned previously, the highlight of these jaunts for me, remains the opportunity to meet and dive with fellow divers/spearos. A good days' catch is a bonus. We were very very happy to meet a few of the Alberta crew, and really look forward to meeting up and diving again. Hopefully sooner than later ;)
A couple of important closing notes:
the store owner thought that my success might be in part due to the changing barometric pressure as I was hunting. It was transitioning from cool and cloudy, to sunny and warm as I was in the water. By the time I was out, it had pretty much cleared up.

The splake were doing exactly what the fellow camper had suggested, circling the lake along the drop-off.
This all took place from 1:30 to 4:30 PM."

Sorry we didn't see ya James~!! but there will be more trips, hopefully to AB there, and you are welcome to check out our local haunts on the way to V.I. ! We didn't hit any other lakes through SK, just beelined to Regina and potlucked the splake with our families!
 
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Gabe,

Awesome account. Man, James & I should have gone back there like we had talked about. I think we hit the wrong place at the wrong time when we were all there. I know all of us tried hunting along the drop off, but saw nothing. Those are great looking fish.

lee
 
Next time you guys plan a trip in the area, let me know. I was born and raised in Meadow Lake and I know most of the lakes pretty well. Been fishing most of them for 20 years...


SS
 
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Good to hear Sam, will definately touch base next time. Do you dive often in any of those lakes? Are there any others that have decent vis besides little raspberry? Although, it probably fluctuates throughout the year.
 
There is a lake south east of Meadow Lake called Lac Eau Claire which has very good visibility. While fishing there we could see our anchor on the bottom at nearly 100 feet of depth. There are lake trout in that lake as well as pike. I have never dove it, but I have seen some guys there. Smallish lake, with a nice secluded campground.

Most of the lakes in the park have average visibility. Obviously earlier in the year is better due to algae growth.


SS
 
Do you know of any lakes south of the Meadow Lake area that are closer to Edmonton with good visibility?
Lee it sounds like we need to get on the line and practice for some deep lake trout hunting. Maybe a tasty pike for dinner too.
 
We should get atleast three of us to go. It seems about 500 km from Edmonton so that over $100 with the current gas price round trip.
Sam if you are in the area can you give it a look over for us to make sure it in it quality state still? Do you know how good the fishery is?
 
Sorry JP, I live in Sherwood Park now. I head out to our family cabin at Makwa Lake (by Loon Lake) a lot, but I don't make it much past Meadow to see my Grandparents. The last time I was there it was a nice campground. I don't know that there were utilities, but it wasn't a huge lake or campground. Play area for kids and stuff. As far as the fishery goes, I would check and see if it is on the Saskatchewan Environment CR1, CR2, or CR3 lists. Presumably only the lakes with poor fisheries get put on them. I know that when I was there last a Zodiac with a bunch of divers went out on the lake. I spearfished for lake trout and saw a bunch, but they were pretty elusive so I didn't get any.

SS
 
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