ccmtcanada Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 Before I left for Alberta, I did a bit of research on fishing guides in the area and I found Keith Rae. His charter company, Get Hooked Fishing Adventures, has catered to Bob and Mariko Izumi, Dave Mercer and the Dixie Chicks. I called him up not thinking he'd have any openings, but to my surprise he was available while I was here! My brother and I were on the road by 6am, and we saw this incredible sunrise. Love the mist in the field here... We met Keith at a gas station at 8am near the lake and hopped into his truck for the remainder of the trip. I was impressed with the fact that when he started guiding in Alberta, there were no regulations or certification for guiding and he set out to do something about it. Here's an excerpt from a press release. "After completing a certification course that is offered through Emerit and the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council and passing the required standards as well as through evaluation and written exam Keith now becomes Alberta's first and only certified freshwater angling guide." He told us today that his other guides are all now certified. Anyhow, as he was launching the boat, I noticed the engine looked very different! It was a jet propelled outboard...I had never seen one before. We headed off to a "magic depth" where he says not a lot of people know to fish. On the shore, there were lots of reeds and weeds that I would have concentrated on. Although they hold fish, he said that's not where the numbers and size necessarily are. We used storm swim baits exclusively. I was a bit nervous about losing fish since Alberta is a barbless fishery...and to top it off, he uses only single hooks on all his outings. He explained that I had to lose the impulse to set the hook straight up...and that a side hookset is the best. When fighting fish, keep the rod low the entire time...and I have to tell you...he was absolutely right! In 4 hours, we boated 28 pike! We lost a bunch of fish too. Easily the best day I have ever had on the water for toothy critters. I will let the pictures tell the story from here! Steve with a nice one! Steve fighting one... We released most by the boat...so the fish had the best chance at swimming away healthy. By the end of the half day I had learned a lot about pike fishing and will break out the storm swim baits I've had in my tackle box for ages without ever being used! Here is Keith and I at the end of the outing. The next time I'm out here, I will be hiring him again...likely for a day on the North Saskatchewan River! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manitoubass2 Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 The smiles on your face say it all! I lived in alberta for 4 years, and never once got out fishing. Major mistake I'll regret for along time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solopaddler Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 Wow, great day bud! So were they all caught trolling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spincast Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 nice fish - thanks for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyb Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 Very cool! What's the magic depth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvette1 Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 awesome gators nice half day for sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercman Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 Now thats GATOR-AID Awsome report!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cl_fishin Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 Looks like you had a great trip, nice Pike! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 Best pike fishing of my life was in Alberta. Great report... You guys had beautiful weather and much success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccmtcanada Posted August 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 (edited) The smiles on your face say it all! I forgot to mention that my brother caught his personal best about a half hour into the trip! We were both having an awesome time out there. I lived in alberta for 4 years, and never once got out fishing. Major mistake I'll regret for along time My brother has lived there for almost 10 years and has only been out a few other times. Let's just say he really wants to start fishing again! LOL. Wow, great day bud! So were they all caught trolling? Only a few were caught trolling. We'd cast from one spot for a bit...he has a "two minute no action" rule and then we'd slowly troll to the next spot. Very cool! What's the magic depth? The magic number was 13...we looked for weedbeds...anything shallower or deeper didn't yield any action. Best pike fishing of my life was in Alberta. Great report... You guys had beautiful weather and much success. I believe it Rod Caster...can't wait to come back and fish other lakes and the rivers! Edited August 10, 2011 by ccmt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnsled Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 Great report Cliff! Some real nice fish there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asdve23rveavwa Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 Nice gators, Cliff!! Looks like the man knows his stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misfish Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 (edited) Look at all those smiles. AWESOME Cliff. If I could,I would be going there for the deer hunts and water fowl. Edited August 10, 2011 by Misfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeedLine Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 Great job. Those are some nice summertime gators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBW Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 Great report Cliff! Some real nice fish there. x2! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ah_long Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 hmm... jet propelled outboard.. I was always wondering how come they rn't as popular as they should be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccmtcanada Posted August 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 hmm... jet propelled outboard.. I was always wondering how come they rn't as popular as they should be I think its because you lose about 20% of the horsepower from the top end to the lower end. From what I understand, they are perfect for extremely shallow water. The guide I was with said it'll work in 3" of water. Another downside is in rough waters as the lower end can come out of the water as the boat goes up and down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leecher Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 Great report, fish and pics Cliff Just doesn't get any better than that Congrats Thanks for sharing Jacques Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rufus Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 Great Pics and Report! Looks like you had a blast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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