Alberta’s best-known water is the Bow River below Calgary, a trout river that draws anglers from around the world, and its busiest are the lakes of the central parkland, Pigeon and Sylvan among them, fished for walleye, pike and perch in summer and through the ice in winter. The pages here carry live Water Survey of Canada gauges on the Bow at Calgary and on Pigeon and Sylvan lakes.
Reports current for Friday, September 25
Every one of the 3 Alberta waters we cover has a live read this morning. They are all sitting in the middle of the scale today. Water runs 11 °C to 16 °C. Pressure is rising on most of them, which costs a point in our model when the sky is clear. 1 has a better-than-even chance of rain.
Best right now: Bow River at Calgary 3/5, Pigeon Lake 3/5, Sylvan Lake 3/5
Live verdicts from this morning's reports.
The Bow below Calgary: one of North America’s great trout rivers, rainbows and browns from drift boats, with a live gauge in the city.
Pigeon Lake southwest of Edmonton: walleye, pike and perch in open water and through the ice, with a live level gauge.
Sylvan Lake near Red Deer: pike, walleye, perch and whitefish in central Alberta’s best-known resort lake, with a live level gauge at the town.
Species activity across the covered waters, written for the Canadian year. Peak of the year: June.
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.
Seasonal surface curve for the dominant water type here, in degrees Celsius (estimated, not a reading).
| Water | Type | Live data | Peak month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bow River at Calgary | River | Water Survey gauge | May |
| Pigeon Lake | Lake | Water Survey gauge | Jun |
| Sylvan Lake | Lake | Water Survey gauge | Jun |
The mountains and foothills send cold, clear rivers east across the province, the Bow the most famous, with rainbow and brown trout and native cutthroat and bull trout in the headwaters. The parkland and prairie lakes are warm-water fisheries for walleye, pike and perch, and most of them freeze for four or five months.
One sportfishing licence covers the province, bought with a Wildlife Identification Number; residents under 16 and over 64 need none. The Alberta guide to sportfishing regulations sets limits water by water, bull trout must always be released, and some lakes allow walleye to be kept only through a special harvest licence.
On the Bow, the gauge shows the spring runoff, which colours the river from late May into July, and the drop that opens the season. On the lakes, the water temperature estimate follows the long winter under the ice and the short summer; no agency certifies the ice.
Residents aged 16 to 64 and all non-residents 16 and over do. See our Alberta licence page.
No, bull trout must be released throughout the province.
The Bow River at Calgary, Pigeon Lake and Sylvan Lake.