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Flycaster Newsletter

FlyCaster Newsletter Mar 2026

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Key Club Updates & Events

  • Ice Fishing: Members will meet at the Spring Lake shelter on March 8 at 10:00 am for trout fishing.
  • Fly Tying: A session is scheduled for March 24 at 7:00 pm (location to be determined).
  • Sportsman Show: Volunteers are needed for the event running March 19–22; volunteers receive free admission.
  • Educational Presentations: Upcoming Zoom sessions feature Paul Hvengaard on Peace River trout fishing (March 11) and Nicole Kimmel on invasive species (April 14).

Conservation & Partnerships

  • Awards: The ETFC recently received the Neville Lindsay Memorial Award for their aeration work at Spring Lake.
  • Whitewood Conservation Site: The Alberta Conservation Association is developing a new 3,200-acre site near Edmonton with four lakes, with plans to stock trout and splake (a brook/lake trout hybrid) starting as early as Fall 2027.
  • Support: The club expressed gratitude to Onoway Fish and Game for continued financial support regarding aeration costs.

Fishing Locations & History

  • Rock Lake: Highlighted as the closest lake trout destination to Edmonton, offering opportunities for Lake, Rainbow, and Bull trout.
  • Trophy Review: The newsletter features a multi-page retrospective on club awards, such as the Art Graham Award and the Founding Members Trophy. The executive is currently seeking a volunteer to manage these records and encourages members to submit their catches for recognition.

October 2022 FlyCaster

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Firstly, I hope you’re able to make good use of the remaining open water fishing days. Spring Lake has been quite productive recently with members experiencing some great backswimmer fishing – mostly in the afternoons. Rainbows over 20” have not been uncommon and the Tiger trout stocked a year ago are now about 15 to 16”.  Not many reports of Brown Trout being caught, however. 

The Cold Lake Fish Hatchery truck showed up at the lake on September 16th with some young triploid fish to stock – 4,291 Campbell Lake Rainbows averaging 6.8 cm and 2,000 Bow River Browns averaging 8.7 cm.  Another truck arrived on 20th September with some larger fish – 4,000 triploid Rainbows, Trout Lodge/Jumpers averaging 26.1 cm.

And a question – some members have noticed a wooden cross, about 6’ tall on the west side of the lake directly across from our boat launch but don’t know what, if anything, it commemorates. Anyone know?

ACA has installed the aerators at Spring and other local lakes ready for the winter. Let’s hope this is not for the last time at Spring Lake. As reported in the last Newsletter, ACA will be permanently removing them in April 2023 unless public access to the lake is not improved. (If you missed the Newsletter you can read it on ETFC’s website https://www.edmontontrout.ca/ ).  From what we hear there has been no progress in negotiations between ACA and Spring Lake Village Council. ETFC Executive is meeting on October 18 to discuss the issue.  Hopefully, there will be a possible solution in time for our in-person meeting at Queen Mary Park Community Hall, 10844-117 St on November 15th 7:00pm with Todd Zimmerling, ACA’s CEO, as our guest speaker.

In other news, our raffle closed on Oct. 4th and the winning tickets for each of the 5 prizes were drawn at the Penny McKee library that evening. Witnesses were on hand to authenticate the draw and the process was videotaped. The winners who have given permission for their name to be made public are:

  • 1st: Cut and Wrapped Pork Package with Freezer valued @ $650 – Sean Weberg
  • 2nd: Custom Made Sage GFL 9′ 6/7wt 2pc Fly Rod valued @ $500 – Kevin Chase
  • 3rd: Fly Box with 150 Handmade Flies valued @ $350.00 – Randy Hunter
  • 4th: Cabela’s Heavy Duty Cooler valued @ $275.00 – Myron Samycia
  • 5th: Pflueger 8′ 6″ 6/7wt Fly Rod valued @ $225 – Kate Weberg

Many thanks to Ernest Kitt for organizing the raffle, to all those who contributed to the prizes and helped sell tickets (special thanks to Paul Lanteigne) for selling a large number of tickets), to ACA for its help with advertising, to the Fishin’ Hole for allowing us to sell tickets at its store, and to Penny McKee Library for allowing us to use their facility for the the draw.

Deb Anderson
President