Peppers Lake in Clearwater County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  The Clearwater County entry here is Peppers Lake, in Alberta. It lies 1,555 metres above sea level. Surface area is around 12 hectares, which gives you real water without needing a boat. The bank runs about 1.6 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. The closest town, Rocky Mountain House, is 65 km away. Red Deer sits 132 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Peppers Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Across Clearwater County, recorded fish include bull trout, mountain whitefish, brook trout, longnose sucker and cutthroat trout. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. The near bank of Peppers Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 12°C, with January the cold end at about -11°C. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early May. Break-up near early May, freeze-up near early November: that is the shape of an average year. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. The season on Peppers Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. Non Motorized Watercraft provides a boat ramp about 300 m away. A car park lies 400 m away, so the walk in is short. There is a jetty 300 m off, worth knowing on a busy day. There is a marked fishing area 290 m from here. There are toilets 230 m off. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Lost Guide Lake at 22 km is the sensible second choice. Check the position on Peppers Lake before loading the car.