MUIR LAKE: located west of Edmonton. Follow Hwy. 16 to Spruce Grove and turn right onto Range Road 275. The lake is about five km along this road on the right side. There is a day-use regional park at the lake and boat launch
Species: Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout
Regulations: OPEN MAY 1 to OCT. 31 – Bait ban – Trout Total: 1 trout over 50 cm
Additional Information:
In 2003, the Edmonton Trout Fishing Club, Trout Unlimited Edmonton, the Northern Lights Fly Tyers and the Edmonton Old Timers Fishing Club decided to mark the 50th anniversary of ETFC by forming a joint organization, the Fisheries Enhancement Society of Alberta (FESA), with the goal of re-establishing a trout fishery at Muir Lake. The plan also included the addition of a lake aeration system, a Welcome sign, a Walk of Fame honouring Alberta anglers who had contributed significantly to recreational angling in the province, and 8 Educational signs on the natural trout food items in Alberta’s lakes and angling tips for imitating those items at each stage of their lifecycle.
On May 14, 2004, an opening ceremony was held to celebrate the completion of the project. As the Province agreed to a restricted harvest regulation for the lake, anglers have been able to enjoy a ’quality’ fishery where they can also learn more about the relationship between trout and their food, related angling techniques, and some of the Albertans who have contributed significantly to the development of the sport. In 2007, Tim Doskoch, president of ETFC and FESA at the time of the project, received a National Recreational Fisheries Award from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for the Muir Lake Project.
Pictured above is the Welcome sign along with (from left to right) Tim Doskoch, the project’s president, Joe Sykes, treasurer, and Tak Shimizu, one of the best volunteers ever.
By 2020, the signs were showing the effects of the weather and becoming unreadable. The Northern Lights Fly Fishers Chapter (NLFF) of Trout Unlimited Canada agreed to undertake the task of replacement. ETFC and NLFF each contributed $4,000, the Alberta Conservation Association provide a grant and the help of its Graphics Designer, and the signs were all rewritten, redesigned and installed by the fall of 2021, including the addition of three new members to the Alberta Angler Walk of Fame. A QR code was added to each of the Education Signs so that the information could be read away from the lake. The signs can also be read on NLFF’s website at Muir Lake Signs. NLFF then went on to develop an expanded digital version of the material from the Education Signs that is now being used in Alberta’s schools – What Trout Eat – Digital Edition.
Muir Lake Angler Walk of Fame Inductees
