It’s Friday, 5:00 p.m. You’ve arrived home after another gruelling work week and aren’t in a great mood. You’ve still got to load up the kids, the camping gear and the food. Then you’ll fight the weekend traffic. It’s going to take you the best part of an hour just to get out of the city, then another couple to reach your destination.
Last night, near the end of September, a group of us found our way winding through a dimly lit trail to reach the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. We were fishing smack in the middle of downtown Edmonton and ...
The tip of the Shimano Clarus twitched ever so slightly. From where it rested in the jet boat's rod holder it could easily be just a reflection of the pulse of the North Saskatchewan River's demanding current - brown and swollen with mountain run-off and the inevitable June Alberta rains.
Even though the lake sturgeon of the North and South Saskatchewan river systems is Alberta’s largest game fish, few anglers know much about it.
Talk river fishing in Alberta and most people immediately conjure up images of southern Alberta' blue ribbon trout stream, the Bow River. Next on the list might be another renowned rainbow and brown trout stream, the Crowsnest. After that talk moves to the growing fishery on the Red Deer River, the multitude of wonderful trout rivers along the eastern slopes of the Rockies. They may even mention the Athabasca River and her tributaries if there' a hardcore bull trout or walleye trophy angler in the crowd. Only if you're willing to sit through to the final credits might you hear anyone offer the North Saskatchewan up for discussion. For those who know the river well and fish her often, this is probably a blessing, as these folks are seldom faced with the crowds many more popular rivers host on a regular basis. Sadly, though, this lack of recognition is due to the fact that far too few anglers know of the quality angling the North Saskatchewan River willingly offers to those who cast her waters.
While attending the U of A last winter I met Colleen, a wonderful person, an ecologist and mom who wanted to introduce her children to fishing. We made plans to go out fishing and sometime towards he middle of August our schedules agreed. We met along the shores of the North Saskatchewan River and had a great evening.
