CanmoreAlberta.com

Common Name:

Brook Trout, Brookie, Speckled Trout

Scientific Name:

Salvelinus Fontinalis

Average Length:

10 - 12 inches

Average Weight:

1/2 lb. - 1.5 lbs.

Alberta Record:

12 lbs. 14 oz.

Fishing Techniques:

Spin casting with small spoons, trolling or artificial fly fishing.

Local Area Distribution: They can be found in the many of the cool, well-oxygenated streams and lakes including the Bow River, Spray Lakes Reservoir and the Kananaskis River.

Description/Biology: Native to the Eastern part of Canada, brook trout generally live an average life span of five years. Their coloring is typically a darker-green to dark- brown on the back with purple-silvery side and blue-haloed red spots. Spawning occurs during the late summer or autumn. During breeding, males develop a hook on the lower jaw while the female can lay up to 5000 eggs in gravel beds and shallows of headwaters and streams. The diet of this species includes insects, shrimp and even their own kind. They are considered by many to be one of the most popular game fish in Canada and have an excellent table quality.

Common Name:

Brown Trout, Browns

Scientific Name:

Salmo Trutta

Average Length:

10 - 16 inches

Average Weight:

1/2 lb. - 2 lbs.

Alberta Record:

17 lbs. 9 oz.

Fishing Techniques:

Spin casting with spoons, bait fishing, jigging or artificial fly fishing.

Local Area Distribution: Lakes, rivers and streams including the Bow River, Spray Lakes Reservoir, Barrier Lake and Goat Pond.

Description/Biology: Native to Europe, the coloration of the brown trout includes large dark spots with red dots on olive-brown body. Spawning in the fall, female Browns dig redds on gravelly stream bottoms to lay their eggs which hatch the following spring. River and stream dwelling browns are carnivorous, actively feeding at night on the larval and adult forms of aquatic terrestrial insects and small animals which may fall or swim into the water. Cautious by nature, brown trout present the angler with a true test of their skills.

Common Name:

Bull Trout, Dolly Varden

Scientific Name:

Salvelinus Confluentus

Average Length:

12 - 18 inches

Average Weight:

n/a

Alberta Record:

n/a

Fishing Techniques:

Catch and Release

Local Area Distribution: Bull trout are found in all rivers with headwaters in the Rockies.

Description/Biology: Native to Alberta and the official provincial fish, the bull trout has an olive-green to gray back and silvery sides which are marked with pale yellow to red spots. There are no black spots on the dorsal fin. Spawning in early fall they are slow to grow and are very vulnerable to predators and man. This species is protected with a zero possession limit, you must release all bull trout you catch!

Common Name:

Cutthroat Trout

Scientific Name:

Oncorhynchus Clarki

Average Length:

12 - 15 inches

Average Weight:

1 lb. - 3 lbs.

Alberta Record:

9 lbs. 9 oz.

Fishing Techniques:

Spin casting and troliing with spoons,or artificial fly fishing.

Local Area Distribution: These trout are found in many of the areas lakes, mountains and streams including the town reservoir, Galetea Lakes, Mud Lake and the Kananaskis River.

Description/Biology: Native to Alberta, one of the main color characteristics are the two orange to red lines in the skin folds of each side of the lower jaw. Cutthroat trout spawning usually takes place in in the spring in small, gravelly streams where the female lays up to 1700 eggs. The eggs generally hatch six to seven weeks later. The flesh of this hard fighting sport fish has an excellent table quality whether baked, fried or smoked.

Common Name:

Golden Trout

Scientific Name:

Oncorhynchus Aguabonita

Average Length:

n/a

Average Weight:

n/a

Alberta Record:

4 lbs. 6-1/2 oz.

Fishing Techniques:

Light to ultra-light spin casting with small spoons or artificial fly.

Local Area Distribution: Native to the Sierra Nevada of California, they are found in only a few high elevation lakes in southern Alberta.

Description/Biology: Due to their highly specialized habitat and the short season in which the species has to develop, most fish are rather small. The most intensely colored of all trout, the golden trout has an olive-green back with bright red-to-gold sides and belly. They spawn in the spring and are a highly sought after by serious anglers because of the relatively few that are caught. Some anglers consider that catching a golden trout is the same as winning the "Grand Slam" of trout fishing, with very few ever accomplishing it. Your chances of catching one of these fabled fish in the Canmore area are slim.

Common Name:

Scientific Name:

Salvelinus Namaycush

Average Length:

15 - 20 inches

Average Weight:

1-1/2 lbs. - 4 lbs.

Alberta Record:

52 lbs. 9oz.

Fishing Techniques:

Spin casting and trolling with large bright colored lures, jigging or ice fishing.

Local Area Distribution: Lake trout can be found in the Spray Lakes Revservoir.

Description/Biology: Native to deep cold lakes in Alberta, and living up to 25 years, lake trout tend to grow very slowly and can commonly reach weights in excess of 10 kg or more. Not a very colorful trout, it is a black-gray fish with worm-like white spots covering most of its body. Spawning occurs during the fall with the mature lake trout being eight to ten years of age. The diet of this species varies, dependant on location and can include freshwater shrimp and other aquatic invertebrates with larger lake trout eating other species of fish such as whitefish and tullibee. Excellent table quality when cooked fresh.

Common Name:

Lake Whitefish

Scientific Name:

Coregonus Clupeaformis

Average Length:

12 - 18 inches

Average Weight:

1 lb. - 2 lbs.

Alberta Record:

11 lbs. 4.3 oz.

Fishing Techniques:

Spin casting with small spoon, ice fishing or artificial fly fishing.

Local Area Distribution: Mostly found in large cool deep lakes such as the Spray Lakes Reservoir.

Description/Biology: A very popular winter sport fish, the lake whitefish has a scaled olive-green back and silver-white sides. Like the mountain whitefish, they have a very small mouth and primarily feed on the bottom where they forage for snails, insects and small organisms. Many believe they are the best tasting fish with flaky white meat.

Common Name:

Mountain Whitefish, Rocky Mountain Whitefish, Whitefish

Scientific Name:

Prosopium Williamsoni

Average Length:

10 - 14 inches

Average Weight:

1/2 lb. - 1-1/2 lbs.

Alberta Record:

5 lbs.

Fishing Techniques:

Spin casting with small weighted flies, ice fishing or artificial fly fishing.

Local Area Distribution: The mountain whitefish is abundant in the Bow River and many other area rivers and streams including the Kananaskis River.

Description/Biology: Found in most waters in the western part of Alberta, mountain whitefish have a bronze-white scaled body. Bottom feeders with very small mouths, their diet consists mainly of insects and other fish eggs. Large schooling migrations take place twice a year. Once in the spring for feeding and in the fall to spawn. Spawning occurs in shallow water with the eggs hatching in March.

Common Name:

Rainbow Trout

Scientific Name:

Oncorhynchus Mykiss

Average Length:

12 - 18 inches

Average Weight:

1 lb. - 3 lbs.

Alberta Record:

20 lbs. 4 oz.

Fishing Techniques:

Spin casting or trolling with spoons, ice fishing and jigging with bait or artificial fly fishing.

Local Area Distribution: Rainbow trout can be found in the Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes, Spray Lakes Reservoir and the Kananaskis river.

Description/Biology: Considered to be one of the top five sporting fish in Canada the rainbow trout has an olive-green coloration with black spotting and a red-colored stripe from the gills to the tail. Wild rainbow spawn in the spring with the female digging multiple nests and depositing up to 1000 eggs in each. These eggs usually hatch four to seven weeks later. Their diet consist of insects and as they grow older, crustaceans and other fish. Table quality is excellent and even better when smoked.