Red Deer Lake Fishing Guide, County of Camrose No. 22, Alberta

• Overview

  Look for Red Deer Lake in the County of Camrose No. 22 part of Alberta. The bank gives way to mixed forest. This is big water, about 21.57 sq km, and in a wind it behaves like a small sea. The outline measures near 46 km, so a boat opens up water the bank never reaches. For supplies, Wetaskiwin is 37 km out. Further out sit Camrose (37 km) and Ponoka (37 km). The county edge is within a short distance of the bank.

• Where to Fish on Red Deer Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Records held for County of Camrose No. 22 cover northern pike, rainbow trout, brook trout and walleye. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. Read Red Deer Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 16°C and January at -13°C. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Count the season from break-up, usually mid April. Break-up near mid April, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. Red Deer Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Should this one be busy, Samson Lake is 14 km off. For Red Deer Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.