Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada Drive in lakes for pike walleye in W Canada

Anyone have any suggestions for remote drive in lakes in Alberta or Saskatchewan, thinking of dragging boat up this summer . Have hunted up in BC and Alberta and duck hunted up in Saskatchewan. Really enjoy company of Canadian folks. My great grandparents immigrated to Saskatchewan over 100 years ago.

Fished Ontario and Manitoba for over 20 years want to try new area. Or even the Yukon if possible.

Ribka; check out the EID (Eastern Irrigation District) in South Central / South Eastern Alberta they have a good website. They are Irrigation Reservoirs and have some great fishing for Pike and Walleye, they may not fit your description of remote. When the fish are in the shallows in the spring it can be fantastic fishing.

Further north in the Boreal forests there are lots of lakes with good fishing, Lesser Slave Lake is a huge lake by Alberta standards, I have no experience fishing in northern Alberta.

Northern Saskatchewan is full of lakes as well, I have experience there either.

If you don't mind the drive there is some awesome fishing opportunities in the NWT, pike, lake trout, grayling.

Hopefully someone will chime in with some good input.

All the best.

Thanks

I’ve fished a few times south of great slave in the boreal forest region

Bump

And thanks for the EID info

Sounds interesting to explore

If you want to keep and eat fish, Alberta is probably not the best spot as a lot of our waters are catch and release only, or require limited entry draws. something to keep in mind depending on what type of experience you are looking for.

Come up to the NWT, and catch all you want, from a boat or from shore!!!

ribka;
Good afternoon to you sir, I trust all is well with you in your part of the world.

Since you've not exactly stated just how far you'd like to drive - or where - in Saskatchewan, I'll offer the following with the understanding that the information contained is nearly a half century old.

Be that as it may, way back when we drove west of Nipawin, SK where we were living at the time and headed north of Smeaton on the 106.

Linky thing:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bloomfield's+Ballantyne+Bay/@54.4059077,-103.9464394,10z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x92344e44b79038b3!8m2!3d54.915045!4d-103.36574

We didn't have a boat so all the fishing was from shore and I want to say we might not have fished Big Sandy Lake, but we did fish a few places just off the road on Deschambault Lake.

In particular we drove up to Ballantyne Bay in the link and I recall catching either a walleye - pickerel in Saskatchewan lingo - or a pike - jack fish in Saskatchewan speak - pretty much every cast.

The only fishing that ever rivaled that in my memory was Arctic Grayling fishing on the Fond du Lac River near where it was running into Black Lake Saskatchewan. That's a fly in then boat/hike in scenario or was then anyway and must still be.

Anyway sir, that's one former prairie boy's recollections of "the best" fishing from a few trips into some not too, too bad areas.

Actually the fishing on the Saskatchewan River around Nipawin used to be pretty good sometimes too, especially around the then new Tobin Lake reservoir.

Hope that helped a wee bit, safe travels and good luck fishing.

Dwayne

Dore Lake, Saskatchewan.
At over 500 square kilometres, Dore Lake is the 7th largest lake in Saskatchewan. This aquatic paradise is surprisingly quiet and faces little fishing pressure.
Duane Schroh from Dore Lake Lodge says that the low pressure allows the fish to get quite large. “Three summers ago, a world record pike came out of here. It weighed in at 33 pounds,” he states.

i fished it about 10 years ago. pike between 30 and 46 inches every day . huge lake

In Saskatchewan, Doré lake is a reliable bet, Tobin lake (reservoir) is very good, but not really "remote", Reindeer lake has so many islands and bays that you'll never explore them all in a lifetime. Amisk lake is similar. Lac La Ronge has many good spots, especially if you're willing to boat all the way into Hunter bay. Pretty much anywhere on the Churchill River ( a chain of lakes in reality) is good. Deschambault is Ok, but has been fished quite heavy in the past and fish stocks are not quite what Dwayne remembers. Athapapuskow near Flin Flon in MB is a really nice area, and Wollaston still has that " end of the road" feel and much to offer. Take your pick. We have 100,000 lakes to fish. I'd avoid anywhere in Alberta for your goals, Albertans fish in Saskatchewan.

Tobin Lake at Nipawin, Sask. is excellent for big pike. Also Last Mountain Lake outside of Regina isn't too bad either. Neither are what you would call wilderness lakes. I usually go to one or the other at least once a year.

What about around Cold Lake, AB?

The EID is in my backyard. Great place to chase pike. Not bad upland bird hunting and water-fowling there too. A few rattlesnakes though, always fun to encounter. The South Saskatchewan River is a good fishery for pike, walleye and goldeye. There are a number of places South of Medicine Hat that hold decent pike numbers. None of this is even close to remote bush though. You would base out of either Med Hat or Brooks. Some of the small prairie towns have camp grounds, most have motels.
Hope this helps.
Jeff

From what I hear, the folks from Cold Lake mostly go to Western Saskatchewan to fish. Meadow Lake Provincial park is full of Albertans.

They've been doing that for years. That, or driving straight south towards the Hat.