Walleye (pickerel)
Good
Through the ice where it is safe: jigging spoons and a dead-stick minnow near the bottom at first and last light. Open rivers: slow jigs in the deep holes. Catch and release only.
Pigeon Lake Fishing Report
Updated Mon, Nov 9, 2026 from live weather and water data
Pigeon Lake southwest of Edmonton: walleye only with special harvest tags, pike released, perch and whitefish to keep, with a live level gauge in the provincial park.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Level
849.39 m
Air / High
5 °C / 8 °C
Wind
W 20 km/h
Sources: Water Survey of Canada station 05FA013, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Pigeon Lake is a cold-water proposition today: small baits, slow presentations and a long soak. The gauge reads 849.39 m. Today brings clear skies, wind W around 21 km/h, rising pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 8 °C. Water sits around 4 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 12:23 AM-2:23 AM and 12:41 PM-2:41 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Northern pike (jackfish)
Good
Under the ice where it is safe: tip-ups with dead bait in the shallow bays. Catch and release only.
Yellow perch
Good
The ice season where the ice is safe: small spoons and tungsten jigs tipped with minnow heads, moving hole to hole to find the school.
Tie on: Jigging spoon through the ice · Dead-stick minnow · Tip-up with dead bait · Tungsten jig and wax worm. Prime windows: 12:23 AM-2:23 AM, 12:41 PM-2:41 PM, 9:29 AM-10:29 AM. Similar at 8 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Alberta requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from C$30.00. Alberta fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing walleye (pickerel) here? Check the size and bag limits with Alberta before you keep anything; the Walleye (pickerel) page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Pigeon Lake today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (08:49), sunset (17:50), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 12:23 AM-2:23 AM and 12:41 PM-2:41 PM; minor 9:29 AM-10:29 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Water Survey of Canada station 05FA013 (PIGEON LAKE AT PIGEON LAKE PROVINCIAL PARK).
Lake level, last 30 days
Water Survey of Canada real-time hydrometric data, station 05FA013. Latest reading 2026-10-28 08:30.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp5 °C
High / Low8 °C / 1 °C
WindW 20 km/h, gusts 40 km/h
Pressure101.39 kPa, rising
Sky / Rain6% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset08:49 / 17:50
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~4 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Pigeon Lake
The best day on Pigeon Lake this week looks like Saturday Nov 14, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.
Best day this week: Saturday, Nov 14 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, Nov 9 — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 12:23 AM-2:23 AM and 12:41 PM-2:41 PM
- Minor period
- 9:29 AM-10:29 AM
- Sun
- 08:49 to 17:50
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 23 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Pigeon Lake: seasons written for the Canadian year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Walleye (pickerel)
Spring opener to fall, and the ice
Release only Catch and release only until Apr 1, 2027. Open 15 May to 31 March. The pike limit is 0, and walleye may be kept only on a Special Harvest Licence tag (Alberta residents). Rule as read from Government of Alberta on 2026-09-27.
Called pickerel in much of Ontario and Manitoba. The fish of Lake of the Woods, Lake Winnipeg and the Red River, Lake Diefenbaker, Tobin Lake, Lake Erie and the Bay of Quinte. Most zones close in spring for the spawn. Through the ice where it is safe: jigging spoons and a dead-stick minnow near the bottom at first and last light. Open rivers: slow jigs in the deep holes.
Northern pike (jackfish)
Spring, fall and the ice
Release only Catch and release only until Apr 1, 2027. Open 15 May to 31 March. The pike limit is 0, and walleye may be kept only on a Special Harvest Licence tag (Alberta residents). Rule as read from Government of Alberta on 2026-09-27.
Called jackfish on the prairies. Found in almost every lake and slow river from Ontario to Alberta; big fish in the cold, deep lakes. Under the ice where it is safe: tip-ups with dead bait in the shallow bays.
Yellow perch
Year-round; the ice season at Lake Simcoe and Long Point
Open now Closes Apr 1, 2027. Pigeon Lake, its tributaries and outlet are open 15 May to 31 March. Rule as read from Government of Alberta on 2026-09-27.
The ice-fishing fish of Lake Simcoe, Long Point Bay and Lake St. Clair, and a summer staple on every Great Lakes shore. Schools move constantly. The ice season where the ice is safe: small spoons and tungsten jigs tipped with minnow heads, moving hole to hole to find the school.
When to come: the Pigeon Lake calendar
Activity by species and month for the Canadian year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
Species activity by month
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Walleye (pickerel)
Northern pike (jackfish)
Yellow perch
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 4 °C (estimated, not a reading).
Angler reports
Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. Nothing here is copied from a shop or a charter. The water log below tracks each day automatically.
No angler reports yetBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Pigeon Lake today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye (pickerel) led the card at good. High of 13 °C, wind to 29 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye (pickerel) led the card at good. High of 9 °C, wind to 31 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Walleye (pickerel) led the card at excellent. High of 11 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Alberta sportfishing licence, from C$30.00 for a resident adult, with higher prices for other Canadians and visitors. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and protected areas are set by Alberta and, in salt water and for salmon, by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Alberta licence page before you keep anything. The zone-by-zone seasons and limits are on Alberta fishing seasons.
Access
An Alberta sportfishing licence is needed by residents aged 16 to 64 and by non-residents 16 and over.
About this water
Pigeon Lake is a lake in Alberta, Canada, covered from the Alberta reports and listed in all Canada waters.
Fishing Pigeon Lake: the full guide
Pigeon Lake
Pigeon Lake lies southwest of Edmonton, with Pigeon Lake Provincial Park on its west end; Alberta Parks puts the park 105 km from Edmonton, reached 45 km west of Wetaskiwin on Highway 13 and 10 km north on Highway 771. The park lists fishing and ice fishing among its activities and has a boat launch. The Water Survey of Canada gauge in the provincial park, station 05FA013, supplies the lake level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
The 2026 Alberta guide opens Pigeon Lake, with its tributaries and outlet, from 15 May to 31 March, with bait allowed. Walleye may be kept only with Special Harvest Licence tags; northern pike must all be released; up to five yellow perch over 25 cm and ten lake whitefish may be kept; and the single burbot allowed drops to none from 1 February to 31 March. Because most walleye and every pike go back, bring pliers and a landing net that is gentle on fish.
Where to fish it
The launch in the provincial park is the way onto the west end described on this page, and in winter anglers fish through the ice off the park and along the shore. Snowmobiles bound for the lake may be unloaded only in the park’s boat launch parking lot. Pike and perch hold along the weed beds, while walleye roam the weed edges and flats, often best at dawn and dusk.
Planning a visit
When this page was checked, Alberta Parks had two advisories in force for the park: blue-green algae in the lake, in effect until further notice because wind moves blooms from place to place, and low water, with a call for caution at the boat launch. Read the Alberta Health Services advisory for its advice on swimming and on eating fish from the lake before you go.
Ice and seasons
The season runs to 31 March, so ice fishing fills the winter from freeze-up; the lake then closes on 1 April and reopens on 15 May. No agency certifies the ice, and pressure ridges form on large lakes. Late in the season, ice near shore goes soft and grey first, and shore cracks can widen quickly in a thaw.
Reading this report here
The gauge shows the lake level, which is worth watching in a low-water year when the launch is shallow; the chart covers a month of readings. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, follows a typical prairie lake, and the score weighs pressure and sky over the park.
Licence, access and rules
An Alberta sportfishing licence is needed by residents aged 16 to 64 and by non-residents 16 and over. Walleye Special Harvest Licences are sold only to Alberta residents, first come, first served through AlbertaRELM until the lake’s quota runs out, and the tags must be attached as soon as a walleye is kept. The guide is linked below, and our Alberta licence page has the fees.
Common questions
What can I catch in Pigeon Lake?
Walleye, northern pike, yellow perch and lake whitefish; pike must be released.
Can I keep walleye from Pigeon Lake?
Only with Special Harvest Licence tags, sold to Alberta residents; without them the walleye limit is zero.
When is Pigeon Lake open to fishing?
From 15 May to 31 March under the 2026 guide; it is closed from 1 April to 14 May.
Is fishing good at Pigeon Lake right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Water level and flow readings
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Water Survey of Canada real-time hydrometric data, station 05FA013 — PIGEON LAKE AT PIGEON LAKE PROVINCIAL PARK
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- Pages checked
- The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on How our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.