Glacier/Waterton Parks Fishing Report

[trollboy8]

In case any of you are interested:
My wife and I just got back from a week in Southern Alberta's Waterton Lakes National Park (which is the Canadian side of Glacier, that's where my wife is from). I have been waiting for my wife to get the pictures off the digital camera, but have given up. Anyway, we found a couple of lakes that offered some "once in a lifetime" fishing oportunities. After an 8 mile mountain bike ride followed by a 2 mile and 1600 ft elevation gain, we went to Goat Lake and aside from actually seeing some beautiful snow white mountain goats AND big horn sheep we also had probably the most exciting 2 hours of fishing I have experienced. The lake holds native cutthroat trout. They had really really emerald green backs, bright silver sides, strong dark spots and bright, bright orange/red cutthroat markings and a nice pink blush along the sides. Beautiful fish, and even better was the fact that I LITERALLY caught a fish on every single cast (take that back, I did lose two before I got them in). You are allowed to keep two, but we let them all go as we weren't sure how to transport them all that way unless we used our Camelbaks as live-wells. I used a renegade fly behind a bubble and, since it was obvious they would take pretty well anything you threw out there I used some of those flies that I have in my box that I have never caught anything on, just so I would feel better about having them. On most casts you would get 2 strikes: one on the fly and the other on the casting bubble. It was pretty amazing. The other lake--Twin Lake--was not quite as good, but I don't know if that is possible anyway. At Goat I caught about 40 fish in an hour and 45 minutes and that included a break for lunch (my wife and inlaws insisted or I would have forgone the lunch). At Twin I caught 9 fish in about an hour, but spent alot of time rigging up and helping out my 8 year old nephew who has probably now been ruined as he will probably never find a place with that fast of action outside of a Nevada brothel.
Anyhow, if you are ever headed up that way and can handle the lack of accessability, it is worth the hike.
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[Kent]

Sounds like a great trip and that certainly is beautiful country up there. Any size to those cutts?
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[trollboy8]

considering the elevation and the small size of the lake, they were remarkably big. There were plenty of smallish 6-8 inchers, but we did get quite a few fish in the 12-14 inch range that gave quite a fight on the ultra light tackle we were using. So, yes, they were all realatively small--not like the cuts up at Strawberry--but surprisingly big for native fish in a small mountain lake just below the tree-line with very few bugs to snack on.
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[TheCanadian]

I actually grew up fishing just about every lake and stream in all of that Park. I know exactly where you were, and you were in some dang beautiful country. Did you hike any further? Did you hike up to Avion Ridge? Were you guys on mtn. bikes or foot?

Waterton is a special place. The most beautiful country I have ever seen. The backcountry trails and excursions are like nothing else I have ever experienced in my life. To me, nothing quite compares to that area.
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[trollboy8]

I have known my wife for almost 9 years now and we have gone to Waterton every year we have known each other (at least once, and twice the year we got married because that is where we were married). I am lucky enough that my inlaws actually live in the park above their store and we stay in their motorhome in the campground. It is a pretty sweet setup and basically the whole trip costs us the gas money to get there. I am pretty lucky to do that--not to mention the inlaws have an ice cream store so, you know, unlimited ice cream too!

Anyway, we biked from the parking lot at the end of Red Rock Canyon to the Goat Lake trail head (about 5 miles or so) then hiked in to Goat (no way you could take a bike up there, even if it were allowed). When we went to Twin we biked all the way to Snowshoe Cabin then hiked the 2 1/2 or so miles to Lower Twin Lake (not as good of fishing and smaller brook trout than the good sized cuts at Goat but still very fun).

We fished Cameron a couple of time but very slow fishing and lots of people (of course lots of people up there is not like lots of people down here at, say, Trial Lake). At Trial Lake or Washington Lake lots of people means someone fishing about every 15-20 feet if you are lucky along with several canoes, tubes, toons, and other watercraft; up there, lots of people means about 8 rental canoes way out in the middle of the lake and a fisherman about ever 500 yards to 1/2 mile. Up at Goat you will be alone except for the goats and maybe a roaming bear.

Also, while we were there I finally talked to someone who seemed to know about fishing (which they are very tight lipped about anyway) up in the park. Ask most of the locals and they will tell you not to even bother fishing in Upper, Middle, or Lower Waterton Lakes, what they are not telling you is that, while fishing from shore is often fruitless, if you have a boat and some trolling equipment you can catch gigantic lake trout, and, if you drive out of the park you can catch gigantic Northern Pike (both things that I did not know about and will have to pursue next year).
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