Originally Posted by JZ
I'm in Hinton Alberta so TAlbot lake is only 30 min away from my house. I have yet to fish it and am new to pike on the fly so It's a learning year for me this year. I have tied up 150-200 pike flies to try out this year. I'm hoping to get to Talbot for some ice out pike.
Talbot Lake is open early in the spring, and the Athabasca river on the otherside of the Highway is open year round so if the pike don't bite, the Bull Trout and whitefish might be another option. I know some guys were pulling pike around the 10lb class out of Talbot last fall with a few larger fish.
I have yet to fish within the National Park Boundarys as there is great fishing outside the park as well. I'm heading into the parks this year as seasons open earlier and there is open river fishing year round. First warm days in March and I'm breaking out the fly gear as the ice fishing isn't cutting it for me this year. I"d much rather stay in an tie pike flys than venture out in the cold after working out in it all day I work as a forestry consultant in the Hinton area so I am out in the bush all day everyday cold or not.
I have been tying everything from bucktails, rabbit leechs, bunny flys, gurglers, poppers, and a variety of baitfish patterns. With pike think big ugly flys, preferably durable and easy to tie. I have tied a few crease flys as well just plain foam, in a variety of colors just because they are simple.
Haven't heard of the local guys using them much so them might be a hot fly as they are not seen much. I was chucking bass tackle at the pike on a spinning rod last year as I never had a fly rod to chuck pike flys at the time and I seemed to do pretty well compared to some of the usuall local presentations. I figure it's just beause the fish are not use to seeing tube jigs and sort plastics around here.
When are you heading to Talbot? I'll let you know what I encounter this spring at Talbot, and if You decide to venture outside the park I can point you in the right direction as well. There are numerous local lakes with great fishing and many within the park as well.
Here are some of my pike flys I will be trying out this spring.
-Hillard