Fawcett Lake

The walleye were bitting

2011-06-14T22:19:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately they were all on the small size. The biggest one I caught was barely 14 inches. The neighbour managed a few in the 18 to 19 inch range earlier in the mornings. Sunday morning he did get one walleye large enough to keep and had it for lunch. Both of us were fishing along the south east shore just west of Broken Paddle Estates. 18 feet of water seemed to be the sweet spot.

And it is all gone

2011-05-13T19:12:00.000-06:00

The ice that is...

Time to get those docks, hoists and boats in the water for another year.

Fawcett Lake Slurpee

2011-05-09T23:15:00.000-06:00

The ice is pretty much done for. The lake looked like a giant slush on the weekend. Just might be able to get the boat in the water next weekend. Only 11 more days before the lake is open to fishing once again. Can't wait...

Ice out 2011

2011-05-06T21:04:00.000-06:00

Good news folks. The ice is on its way out. Open water can be seen from Fawcett Lake Resort to the Island. Won't be long before it is all gone.

Spring walleye tips

2011-04-10T12:21:00.000-06:00

Now that spring is in the air...

2011-04-10T11:25:00.000-06:00

It is time to get back to blogging about Fawcett Lake.

Sorry, but I am just not big on the whole ice fishing thing. As such I rarely head up to Fawcett Lake in the winter months. I am a bit out of the loop because of this so please bare with me for the next few weeks while I get caught up.

I have updated some of the links on the sidebars including the the new fishing regulations for 2011. Not much has changed but it never hurts to refresh ones memory. Take a peek. I have added a couple new links including the report a poacher link at the top left. Apparently poaching is becoming a bigger problem in Alberta than ever before. Do your part. Be vigilant and report anyone who abuses what nature has to offer us all.

Again, I thank everyone for taking the time to pop by this blog. I sincerely hope that more of you will add your comments to any or all of the posts that have or will show up here in the future.

Ice fish baby

2010-12-09T17:55:00.000-07:00

Anyone been out Ice fishing yet? Inquiring minds want to know... how thick is the ice at the moment? This will be the Fawcett Lake ice fishing open thread. Add all your comments below... Just click on the "Tall tales" and type away...

Been a while

2010-10-07T22:48:00.000-06:00

We have another lot for sale. This one has a cabin all ready to move into. They are asking $389,900.00. Brenda Ballard is doing a booming business up there as she has every listing it seems. For more details on this one... CLICK HERE More photo's HERE

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend.

Vacation time

2010-07-16T23:31:00.006-06:00

I am off for two weeks vacation. Blogging will be stagnant over this period. If you have to guess where I am then you really have not read this blog much.

We have another one

2010-07-11T20:24:00.003-06:00

"Break away from the rat race to northern Alberta's beautiful Fawcett lake."

Another lot has gone up for sale at Broken Paddle Estates.

#6 Broken Paddle Estates, Fawcett Lake, AB - $124,900.00

The never ending dock

2010-06-23T22:35:00.007-06:00

It just keeps growing and growing and growing...

A bit of a plug for Shoremaster. If you are looking for a dock that is lite, sturdy, easy to put in and take out, has many options and is easy to reconfigure or add on to, seriously check out Shoremaster. Available at Martin Motor Sports.

Shortly after I took these pictures, another boat hoist was placed beside the pontoon boat with the red covering. I'll try to get a night shot with the solar lights all a glow at some point over the summer.

Moose Portage

2010-06-14T21:51:00.009-06:00

If you are heading to the east end of Fawcett Lake and take what is known as the "low road", you will come across these two buildings in a hay field. They are the remains of the Moose Portage post office that was in operation from 1928 through to 1957.

Moose Portage is also a part of the Old
Peace River Trail (PDF document)

If you continue north to the T intersection and hang a left, on your right you will see the Moose Portage cemetery. More on that at a later date.

Gone Fishing

2010-06-11T15:38:00.002-06:00

Blogging will continue after this all too short of a fishing trip. Have a great weekend and take a kid fishing!

A true friend

2010-06-10T20:12:00.003-06:00

It was a nice day for a drive

2010-06-07T21:58:00.003-06:00

The sun broke through the clouds every now and then but the wind did not let up until late Saturday evening. Needless to say we did not get out to do the water sampling. Apparently churned up water does not make for good samples. We shall try again June 20th.

I did get out for a couple hours Saturday evening. Caught a few small walleye and northern's but nothing to write home about. It was just nice to get back out on the lake, relax, wet the line and enjoy life.

Gone Fishing (in the rain)

2010-06-04T17:00:00.001-06:00

Good luck out there where ever you may fish. If it happened to be at Fawcett Lake, let us know how it went. Simply click on the "Tall tales(your comments)" link of this post.

Your comments and or suggestions would be greatly appreciated on any of the posts here at the Fawcett Lake Blog.

Total desperation

2010-06-03T22:53:00.004-06:00

You know you need to get out of the city when...

Blue Skies

2010-06-01T21:11:00.003-06:00

For the moment.

Would be nice if stayed like this through the weekend. Sadly, that is just wishful thinking on my part.

May Long

2010-05-25T21:15:00.006-06:00

It was a cold rainy weekend. We managed to get our small community dock in the water along with a few of the boat hoists. Never did get out in the boat to do any fishing myself. Just too much work that needed to get done so that I may enjoy the rest of the all too short warm season in Alberta.

My Daughter (Yolanda) managed to catch quite a few Northerns and a few Walleye off the main dock at Broken Paddle.

My Daughter (Yolanda) taking my Grandson (Mike 20 months old) fishing for the very first time.

The view from up top of hill on Monday

Not a ripple to be seen. Of course the weather was nice on Monday. We had to pack up and head home. Never fails!

Lake watch

2010-05-18T18:19:00.005-06:00

I have volunteered to take part in the Lake watch Program which is a community water quality testing program offered to concerned Albertan's who are interested in collecting detailed information about their local lake or reservoir. I will be taking Bradley out on the lake several times between June and August to collect water samples. Once all the samples are gathered and Bradley and his colleagues do their thing, they will produce a report on Fawcett Lake that will look like one of these Lake reports that were done previously.

I look forward to seeing the results.

If I had a million dollars

2010-05-17T20:26:00.002-06:00

If I had a million dollars; if I had a million dollars
If I had a million dollars; if I had a million dollars
If I had a million dollars… I’d go fish!

End the Long-Gun Registry

2010-05-17T20:12:00.003-06:00

Canadian Taxpayers Federation:

The long-gun registry, touted in 1995 to cost $85 million to operate, is now up to an estimated $2 billion and counting. The registry was an ill-conceived crime-fighting measure that did little more than add paperwork and expenses for hunters, farmers and recreational gun users. For taxpayers, it added higher taxes! Fortunately, taxpayers have the best chance in almost 15 years to bring the wasteful long-gun registry to an end.

Read the rest HERE

Spring Bear Hunt

2010-05-13T21:20:00.002-06:00

I managed to bag the biggest bear of my life! He tried to disguise himself as another hunter by wearing orange but that did not fool me for a second...

Water Sampling Volunteers Needed

2010-05-08T12:51:00.004-06:00

The Alberta Lake Management Society (ALMS) will be doing water quality sampling on Fawcett Lake this June, July and August. The lesser Slave Watershed Council is looking for volunteers to help the ALMS technicians this summer:

Volunteers require:
- access to a motorized boat
- proper safety equipment including an anchor.
- an avid interest in water quality and keeping
our lakes healthy!

If you or anyone you know will be spending time at Fawcett
Lake this summer and would be interested in helping
out with this project please contact Meghan at the LSWC
office.

Meghan Payne
Phone: (780) 523-9800
Email: meghanpayne@lswc.ca

View the actual PDF file sent to us HERE

Everything you ever wanted to know

2010-05-06T22:07:00.004-06:00

about Fawcett lake and then some. All in a 119 page government report dating back to 1989 - 1990. Most of this PDF document is still relevant, even to this day. A worth while read, especially if you have a vested interest in Fawcett Lake.

communing with nature

2010-05-03T22:09:00.000-06:00

"For the true angler, fishing produces a deep,unspoken joy, born of longing for that which is quiet and peaceful, and fostered by an inbred love of communing with nature" Thadeus Norris

We have another dreamer

2010-05-01T15:46:00.004-06:00

"Rare find- Lake Front in Broken Paddle Estates at Beautiful Fawcett Lake."

"#12 Broken Paddle, Fawcett Lake - $237,500.00"

The current owner has done all the ground work to get you on your wayto building your dream cottage. Clearing of land, installation of power, sewer/2500 gal septic tank; 800 gal cistern; built a 24'x32' garage complete with a 4 piece bath; 10'x20' storage shed with power; a luxury outhouse - with power, space heater & a 300 gal septic tank. The property is set up with a 1996 31ft Emerald Triple E 5th Wheel with slide and a 10'x15' deck. Features include AC; built in vac; microwave; TV separate bedrooms with bath; sewer, water, power hookups, & a horseshoe pit. Reserve land in front of the property makes for a great view of the lake and play area for kids and pets.

Again I wish them luck in getting anything even close to their asking price.

Spare time.

2010-04-29T19:42:00.001-06:00

"Fishing is not a hobby. A hobby is something you do in your spare time!"

Avery Wiseman

Fishermans Best Friend

2010-04-28T18:15:00.003-06:00

PS
The ice is all gone!

and one more.... Just because I really like dogs and fishing!

There will be days

2010-04-18T09:42:00.000-06:00

There will be days when the fishing is better than one's most optimistic forecast, others when it is far worse. Either is a gain over just staying home. ~Roderick Haig-Brown, Fisherman's Spring, 1951

Good luck with that

2010-04-04T21:12:00.005-06:00

I know that property values have gone up all over Alberta in the past while, but lets get serious. $109,000.00 for an empty, partially cleared, .63 acre (.25 ha) lot. Some people have big dreams. I will dream along with them as if they can sell that lot for 109 grand, the folks place must be worth at least 500 grand considering it has a cabin, a two car garage, a large storage shed, is landscaped, has holding tanks for fresh water and sewer, and has a drilled well ta boot. Almost forgot about the outhouse! That has to add another grand to the value at least!

P.S.
Really nice map and photo in their add. Wonder where they got those?

Almost forgot

2010-03-27T13:28:00.002-06:00

Campers Village and Fishin' Hole: Outdoor Sale and Show
Mayfield Trade Center Thu, Mar 25, 2010 - Sun, Mar 28, 2010

It started on Thursday, and I had completely forgotten about this one. They usually have some pretty good deals there. And it is FREE!

2010 Alberta Fishing regulations for Fawcett lake

2010-03-27T11:27:00.003-06:00

Other than the date that the main portion of the lake opens up for fishing, nothing has really changed. The south west portion (the main portion)of the lake does not open for fishing until May 21st this year. Last year it was May 15th.

Fawcett Lake & tributaries – Walleye limit 3 over 50 cm; Pike limit 3 over 63 cm; Perch limit 15; Lake Whitefish limit 10; Burbot limit 10. the portion north and east of a line drawn from the MD boat launch in SE12-73-26-W4 to the point of land in SE11-73-26-W4 including the Mink River, Fawcett (Howard) River and the areas locally known as the narrows and east basin OPEN July 1 to Feb. 28 and CLOSED Mar. 1 to June 30. the remainder of the lake OPEN May 21 to Mar. 31 and CLOSED Apr. 1 to May 20. All tributaries and outlet CLOSED Nov. 1 to May 31 Complete regulations for the whole province can be found HERE. Full PDF document of 2010 Alberta Guide to Sport Fishing Regulations are HERE

A new season, a new look

2010-03-27T11:10:00.003-06:00

It is just about time to get back into "fishing" mode. As you may have noticed things went a bit silent around the blog over the winter. I am just not much of an ice fisherman. Hate the cold!

Anyways.... Blogger has a new feature so I thought I would try it out and have changed the look of the blog. Hope you like it.

I plan on doing more posts here in the very near future. Things for us at Fawcett Lake usually start around the May long weekend. That is generally when we get the dock back in the water along with the boats. Weather permitting of course.

Going to search out the new regulations as soon as I hit the publish button for this post. Expect another post very soon.

What a waste

2010-02-13T09:47:00.002-07:00

RCMP in Vancouver destroyed a perfectly good fishing rod! Confused it for an explosive device.

Family Day long weekend

2010-02-08T21:50:00.003-07:00

February 13-15, 2010 means free fishing weekend for Albertan's.

Can you think of a better way to spend family day together? Take a kid fishing! While you are at it, take the rest of your family too!

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T18:01:00.000-07:00

And this one is a little bit special as it will be the first blue moon on New Year’s Eve since 1990.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T18:18:00.000-07:00

Ice Fish Baby

2009-12-20T20:07:00.001-07:00

Broken Paddle Lots for sale

2009-12-16T20:07:00.005-07:00

FINALLY!

After jumping through hoop after bureaucratic hoop... (the developers, not me....lol)

I have been informed that the newest lots at Broken paddle are now available for purchase. A little birdie told me the asking price is $55,000.00 each. They are all a 1/2 acre in size and well back from the lake. As a matter of fact, unless I am mistaken, the lake cannot be seen at all from any of these lots. They had a waiting list of purchasers that they are now contacting to see who, after all these years (that would be several), are still interested in purchasing these lots. Those people, as I understand it, have first kick at the cat so to speak. Time will tell if any are still up for grabs.

I will post more info on this as I get the details.

I'm a fisherman

2009-11-30T23:25:00.000-07:00

I'm a fisherman and I'm OK
I sleep all night and I fish all day
(He's a fisherman and he's OK
He sleeps all night and he fishes all day)
I catch some fish, I eat my lunch
I go to the lavat'ry
On Wednesdays I go quadding
And have battered fish for tea
(He catches fish...)
(He's a fisherman...)
I catch some fish, I flip and bump
I love to cast my lures
I put on protective clothing
And hang around sand bars
(He catches fish...)
(He's a fisherman...)
I catch some fish, I love my reels
Tackle and my rods
I wish I'd been a newfie
When there was still lots of cod
(He catches fish...)
(He's a fisherman...)

My apologies to Monty Python

I hate this time of year. Can't get the boat in the lake and the ice is too thin for my liking.

Lake Lots

2009-10-18T22:06:00.005-06:00

UPDATE: 11/02/2009... Anyone?... Anyone at all? Come on off it. Someone out there has to know something... anything at all. Tid bit? Tim bit? Morsel? Crumb? Smidgen? Help us out here. And please, don't make me beg... oh wait....

I have received a couple emails of late asking me about the availability of lots at Fawcett Lake. Although it is my second home, I don't keep up with all the goings on or the politics. I know that there are lots at Broken Paddle that should be for sale but have been held up by the county for one reason after another. Anyone know what the latest is on this?

Anyone out here that can inform us as to what the status is at Fawcett Lake Resort and how their "renovation" is going and when they will be back up and running?

Are there any year round lots available for next spring at The Anchor Inn over at the west end of the lake?

Inquiring minds would like to know.

If you can answer these and many other questions regarding Fawcett Lake.... simply click on the "Tall tales (your comments)" and let us know. If that does not work for you, you can always email me at ... fawcettlake at gmail.com and I will post the information here in the near future.

Thanking you all for you help in advance

Tim

Snow Snow Snow

2009-10-11T18:34:00.002-06:00

The ground is white, the roads are icy in spots.

Oh and....

Happy Thanks Giving Day!

And the poll says...

2009-10-06T22:16:00.003-06:00

With only twenty votes recorded. Our little fishing poll revealed that most of you would rather keep smaller walleye than is currently required by law on Fawcett Lake. This tells me that the average reader here is smarter than the Alberta fish and wildlife biologists that make the laws. They are the silly folks who are forcing us that enjoy a meal of walleye every now and again to eat the breeders in the lake. This makes no sense whatsoever! Give yourselves a big pat on the back. Hopefully the law makers will give their heads a shake and make the right choice for next year and many more after that. Welcome to the 21st century Alberta fish and wildlife.

36 - 43 cm 8 (40%)
36 - 46 cm 6 (30%)
36 - 50 cm 5 (25%)
Catch and release only 0 (0%)
Keep things as they are 1 (5%)
Draws as on other Alberta lakes 0 (0%)

It's Friday, and you know what that means

2009-10-02T17:23:00.000-06:00

See you on the fish side. Oops did I say fish?... I meant Flip. Have a great weekend!

Sunset

2009-09-24T18:34:00.001-06:00

Why do I ever leave?

Oh yea.....

So I can pay the bills

Its that time again

2009-09-18T17:32:00.003-06:00

Wish me luck!

And best of luck to all those out there that are going fishing too!

Another youtube video

2009-09-15T22:53:00.003-06:00

We almost had a double header. Fortunately for you viewers, I was able to capture myself reeling in a walleye and then grab the camera to video Dave bringing in his just seconds later. Riveting video! OK, stop laughing now....

Definitely need a camera with sound. What Dave was looking at, and asking me about was what was on the walleye he caught. It had several baby leeches on it and a couple made their way to his hands. He had never seen this before and was kind of freaked out by it. WUS!

A fantastic weekend

2009-09-15T21:07:00.003-06:00

You could not possibly ask for better weather at this time of year. The walleye and perch were biting on a regular basis. Here is my bro Dave catching a couple walleye.

Be kind, it is my first youtube video. It was taken with only a small Olympus Camedia D-535 digital camera.

Hopefully with a bit more practice, I can manage to improve the quality and maybe even look at getting an actual HD video camera with sound and all that good stuff.

Gone Fishing Part ... never mind...

2009-09-11T17:20:00.004-06:00

It is Friday and that can mean only one thing.

Best of luck to all of you out on the water, no matter what lake you are fishing on.

Drive safe!

The fishing was great!

2009-09-08T22:56:00.004-06:00

Unfortunately, I was not there. A bug snuck up on me and put me out of action for the past five days.

My brother did manage to get up to Fawcett lake on Saturday and wasted no time in letting me know how great the fishing was all weekend. My nose is still sore from all that rubbing. Other than a couple nasty evening storms, the weather was good too. Damn bug had really really bad timing!

Here's hoping that the great fishing continues through the rest of the season.

Fishing Poll

2009-08-31T21:13:00.004-06:00

I have set up a small poll which can be seen on the top left of this blog. I have heard from some reliable sources that there will be a slot limit for walleye at Fawcett Lake next season. What I do not know is what the slot limit will be. If I was a betting man, which I most definitely am not, I would go with the 36 - 43 cm range. That would roughly translate to 14 1/4" - 17" for us old timers.

Please take a moment to chime in with your thoughts and vote too!

Thank you.

PS

The bridge is back in business.

Public Service Announcement

2009-08-23T19:48:00.003-06:00

The bridge crossing the Athabasca river north of the town of Smith on highway 2A will be closed from Tuesday, August 25th to Sunday, August 30th 2009 for repairs. To access Fawcett Lake you will have to take highway 2A from the Mitsue Industrial Park near the town of Slave lake. This will add an hour or more on to your travel time from Edmonton. Do not take the Smith turn off! Continue north on highway 2

Also please note that 2A is a gravel road.

Zoom in on MAP to see details.

Gone Fishing

2009-08-21T16:30:00.001-06:00

More to come after this short, way too short, trip to Fawcett lake.

Floating around Birch Island

2009-08-20T21:54:00.000-06:00

Is There Anybody Out There?

2009-08-20T20:25:00.000-06:00

I'm not asking, I'm just asking....

I want one!

2009-08-18T18:17:00.003-06:00

The owner of this pick-up truck is a taxidermist in the Calgary area with a great sense of humour! I wonder if he has a road runner mounted on the front of the truck?

We get email

2009-08-12T16:30:00.001-06:00

Well... one so far... LOL

Chris sent me an email with a couple of pictures of his first visit to Fawcett lake. I asked and received permission to post them here for everyone to enjoy.

The email

Tim

Here are a few shots we took of our first trip to Fawcett Lake and a little synopsis of the trip.

We had a flat on the tent trailer on the way up that weekend.Thankfully a good Samaritan helped us out. Turns out my tire iron from my car does not work on my trailer. Who Knew?

We got into the anchor inn resort to check in around 830. Very friendly folk up there. We stayed in camp spot #12 in the provincial campground and all i have to say is WOW!! Very secluded and the girlfriend loved the tall trees. Bring Bug Spray is all i can say.

We rented a boat for Saturday. What a beautiful day +25. I have a sportingly nice sunburn. Fishing was GREAT!! Caught a decent size pike the first 5 minutes out there and the fish were hitting all day. Only hit 2 walleyes all afternoon but I'm sure if we ventured out to different areas of the lake we would have had more luck. Just need more time. And renting a boat for more then 1 day might hurt the wallet a bit :(. I guess i should invest in my own.

Can't wait to go back. Anyways, just thought I'd send share a few pics and story.

The pics

My apologies

2009-08-11T21:46:00.002-06:00

Things have been a little crazy on this side of the planet. Hopefully things will be back to normal for a while.

My holidays were filled with above average temperatures pretty much every day. The down side was that the catching part of fishing went from great at the middle of July, to terrible by the end of the month. It is starting to pick up a little now but still not what I am used to at this time of year at Fawcett Lake.

I don't have many fishing pictures to show you but I did manage to get some decent photo's regardless. As per usual... clicking on the photos takes you to the full size photo's. Simply use your browsers "back" button to return to this blog.

John caught a 24 inch walleye

Buck one

Buck two

Bored fish hound

Another fire close by

Mooses visiting in the back yard

Bald eagle above the Mink river

Plenty of pelicans on the south east side of Thistle Island

Fawcett Lake Sunsets

And that my friends concludes today's episode...

Finally, Friday

2009-07-17T16:30:00.000-06:00

The Fawcett Lake Blog is on hiatus until August 4th, 2009, if not a day or two later.

I will be at Fawcett Lake for the next couple of weeks and have NO internet access up there. Besides, I plan on spending all my awake time on the water fishing!

As usual I will keep a bit of a daily diary and take plenty of photo's to post when I return.

See you on the flippin side...

Your comments are encouraged while I am gone... Please keep it clean.

I know I would

2009-07-16T22:15:00.000-06:00

And I will be.... soon

We know you are out there

2009-07-13T22:02:00.003-06:00

We have these big ol' eyes for a reason. They are better to see you with. On an average day, we get around twelve visits. Not bad for a new blog just starting out. Now if we could just get a few more of you visitors to click on and share your "tall tales" of fishing at Fawcett Lake, we would all be very, very, happy.
Don't be shy. Tell us your fish tales. click on the "Tall tales (your comments)" link and say hello at the least.

If you wish to share photo's and or have your own article appear on this blog, you can send them to:

fawcettlake at gmail.com

We would be more than happy to post that picture of the big walleye you caught or to have you as a guest blogger.

With all of your help and participation, we can make this little blog be the best place for everything "Fawcett Lake". And no, I do not make a penny off of this site nor do I ever want to. I am doing this purely for the enjoyment of sharing my passion with everyone out there.

National Fishing Week

2009-07-09T21:14:00.003-06:00

July 4th to July 12th is National Fishing Week

Don't forget that on Saturday July 11th and Sunday July 12th you can fish in Alberta without the usual licensing requirements. LICENCE-FREE DAYS

Deer or Goat?

2009-07-08T18:56:00.000-06:00

Back in the real world

2009-07-07T23:13:00.000-06:00

Saturday 6/27/09

I fished twin peaks for most of the day. This area is usually a good spot for perch and therefore attracts walleye and pike alike. It is located between “Big Point” and “Birch Island” and covers a large area of water. It is easy to locate with a depth finder as the depth climbs quite sharply from 30 odd feet to less than nine feet. It then drops to 20 odd feet and then climbs back up to 9 feet. Finally it drops back to the depths of the lake. The water temp was pretty steady at 61.7 F. Air temp peaked at around 20 C. It was cloudy with sunny breaks with a wind coming out of the west, causing whitecaps off and on throughout the day. I caught numerous walleye and pike but no perch were found as I slowly maneuvered all over both peaks with my electric motor. The largest walleye was 48cm. Good thing I did not plan on having fish for dinner. I was using a 1/4 oz or 1/8 oz jig head depending on the depth I was fishing. I tipped the jigs with either; frozen minnows, live leeches, Berkley Gulp 4” minnows as well as the Gulp 3” crazy legs grubs. I have been using Gulp leeches since the fishing season opened and they have been working well, so I figured I would give these other Gulp products a shot.

The bulk of the walleye were caught at a depth of 16 to 21 feet of water, bouncing the jig off the bottom about 6 inches or so. The pike were all caught in shallower water closer to the peaks or as the jig was dropping down in deeper water at about 11 feet from the surface.

Sunday 6/28/09

Morning showers turned into a brief thunderstorm and then to a light steady sprinkle. When the sun finally came out, the wind began to increase in intensity out of the west creating huge whitecaps making it impossible for most to safely get out on the lake. Being at the east end of the lake has its downside!

Finally at about 10 PM, the wind died down. With any luck it will stay reasonably calm for the next few days.

Monday 6/29/09

The lake had a small chop when I looked out at 7 AM. YES! Fishing I will go. Had a quick shower, made some breakfast, ate, and guess what. Poof! The wind god hates me. The lake now has two foot whitecaps and it is getting worse.

Finally around 5 PM, the wind has subsided. I’m gone fishin’. Did not go far from home as I can see a storm brewing out west. Cruised into the bay just west of “Tim’s point”. Worked the western part of the bay just before “Big Point”. I found walleye in the 20 foot depth range. They ranged from 43 cm to a 55cm. Only caught 3 pike, which were all in the 60 cm range. At 7 PM I headed in to shore as the storm I saw brewing earlier was now getting too close for my comfort. Not to mention Roxy the fishing hound hates the rain and gets very agitated. I know it sounds strange. A lab that loves the water and will retrieve for as long as you can keep tossing her H2O ring into the water is bothered by rain falling on her. But it is true. I can’t figure it out myself.

Tuesday 6/30/09

Woke up to a calm lake. This time however it managed to stay calm while I showered and had breakfast. Gone Fishing!

9:30 – 4:30: Fished from Tim’s Point west around Big Point and over to Nick’s Nook. Manage to boat 44 walleye and 10 pike. 5 of the walleye were over 50 cm. The biggest one being 53 cm. Most of the walleye were caught on a jig tipped with a leech but a jig and minnow worked well too after I ran out of leeches. No worries, another ¼ pound tub is sitting in the bait fridge.

4:30 – 6:30: Supper and dishes… Gone Fishing! Did I mention I am a Fishaholic?

6:30 – 7:30: Well that didn’t last long. Barely made it out to Big Point and the wind started up. Within minutes it went from relative calm to two foot rolling swells, which are no big deal so I continued fishing. Caught two more small walleye and another pike. Then the nice rollers turned into 3 foot whitecaps and things started to get a bit hairy. Keep in mind I am in a 12 foot, narrow and shallow aluminum boat, a little 9.9 evirude for power. I also have a dog that is starting to freak out and wants to sit beside me even though there is no room for her. Not fun!

Today’s total : 46 walleye and 11 pike.

Wednesday 7/1/09

The entire lake is now open to fishing… and the weather sucks… again… wind, rain, basically a work around the cabin day. I hate it when that happens.

Thursday 7/2/09

Woke up and holy crap! Lake is calm, no rain. Sneak out to the boat wearing a Groucho Marks disguise. It worked. Gone fishing!

Fishing was slow. The ones that were biting were all on the small size. The largest I caught was 48 cm. I talked to a few other people out on the lake and most were experiencing the same.

Around 2:45PM we had a bit of excitement as the water bombers (Canadair CL-215) came in to the lake for the next hour. They appeared to be pounding a fire on the south side of the lake down at the west end not far from Anchor Inn Resort from what I could tell from way down at the east end of the lake. I know it was not far off as the bombers were making round trips every 6 minutes or so. I could see the sun reflecting off of the Cessna Caravan (C208B) “bird dog” circling and marking the spot for the “Ducks” ever so slightly.

http://www.srd.gov.ab.ca/wildfires/fighting/airtankerstats.aspx

These are the planes you don't want to see anywhere near your favorite place.

During all the excitement, the wind picked up and the fishing got worse, if that was at all possible. But stubborn as I am I stayed out for a little longer hoping to start catching instead of just fishing. Managed to catch a few more but again nothing to write home about. Headed in for supper at 5:30 and was back on the lake at 6:30. Managed to bag a few more medium sized walleyes before the storm rolled in from the west forcing me off the lake at about 8:30. It did not last long and I probably could have gone back out around 9:00, but, I’ll give the fish a break, this one time.

Friday 7/03/09

Spent most of the morning and afternoon working on and around the cabin. Bro and his Girl friend showed up at 2:30 PM. I helped them get settled in and then had a bite to eat. Got out on the lake around 6:00 PM, stayed out until just about 10:00 PM. Fishing was not all that great to be honest. A guy from work joined us just as we got back in. He had never fished for fish with teeth before. Silly easterner.

Saturday 7/04/09

Fished the morning away. We moved all about trying all the usual fishing holes. Fishing was slow. We did catch a few walleye and even fewer pike. My bro managed to catch a large sucker and a nice perch as well.

Went back out after supper and again it was slow going. I could not figure out a pattern to catch decent walleye. Like all good fisher people, I blame the ever changing barometer the past few days for my lack of success.

Sunday 7/05/09

Last day. Damn that went by way too fast.

The four of us headed back out for one last kick at the fish. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Again fishing was slow. Finally, late in the morning we found walleye biting in 16 feet of water on the south west corner of Birch Island. We managed to boat a few the largest one going to the rookie. It was easily over the 50 cm range but as usual, we let it go to be caught another day. Early afternoon brought things to much slower pace. A snails pace to be honest. Moved again further east to no avail.

We finally packed it in just before 3:00. It was time to pack things up and head back to working and paying bills.

Two weeks from now I get to start all over again. But next time it will be 15 days of fishing instead of 9. With any luck, the weather will be here and the fishing will be fantastic.

One can only hope…

Nine days of fishin'

2009-06-26T17:58:00.003-06:00

I am headed up to Fawcett Lake for nine glorious days of fishing and no work. There will be no new posts to this site until my return on July 6th or 7th. So far I have managed to fight the urge to get internet access up there. Hopefully when I do return, I will have a few tall tales to tell and a mess of pictures to post.

In the mean time. Play safe. Play fare. Enjoy your weekend and don't forget to take a kid fishing. Your comments are always welcome and encouraged. Please keep it clean...

Sittin' instead of Fishin'

2009-06-22T21:39:00.000-06:00

I did not manage to get up to the lake to do some fishing over the past weekend. I sure hope that everyone caught a few for me.

Instead I was looking after my grandson who is all of 9 months old. I have already bought him two fishing rods and reels! None of those cheap "Spiderman" , "Scooby Doo", "Donald Duck" or any of that type of rods will ever be seen in my grandson's hand. Not if I have anything to do with it anyways.

I gave it a lot of thought and decided that the best rod and reel to start him off with would be a small "ice fishing" rod and reel. I picked up a "Rhino" combo unit for one main reason. They are virtually unbreakable! Perfect for a little fisherman who is just starting out. It will still give him a good feel for the fish biting and will handle even a large fish without the worry of it breaking. As a side bonus, he will have a good little ice fishing rod when he is a bit older and graduates to the Shimano 5 foot graphite rod and reel combo that was my second choice for him. It has a light - medium action and is combined with a Sahara SH1000FD reel. I will spool it up with 6 pound test "Berkley Trilene Fluorocarbon" line. Again, as he gets older, this will be an excellent ultralight rod and reel for him to have for perch, smaller trouts, grayling etc.

The other little one I am currently sitting is a 2 year old Yorkshire terrier that goes by the name of Muffin. She is more of a handful than my grandson is by far. Although my own Lab cross Roxy puts up with her, Roxy "the fishin hound" does not really like Muffin. Not one bit. Can you say jealous, nose is out of joint, no need to go any further here... Muffin belongs to my parents, and I am looking after her while my stepfather (Bert - AKA "The Mayor of Fawcett Lake") recovers a bit from having major surgery a couple weeks ago. For those of you who know Bert, he is doing quite well and recovering much faster than his surgeon/Doctor had expected. He is out of the hospital and back at home.

Happy Fathers Day

2009-06-21T11:41:00.001-06:00

Who's who?

2009-06-16T22:07:00.009-06:00

Just some random pictures of people fishing on Fawcett Lake, Alberta, on Saturday, June 12, 2009. Could it be you? If you care to view the full size image, simply right click on any of the pictures. Warning! They are quite large files.

Yes there is a boat there, way off in the distance.

My Brother with a very respectable walleye. It is still out there for someone else to catch again.

Birch Island and Mother nature provide the perfect frame. Is that a Northern Pike jumping behind the boat?

And a sunset...

Where there is smoke

2009-06-16T21:59:00.003-06:00

There is fire...

And on Saturday and Sunday it was very obvious there was a large forest fire raging over towards Calling Lake. This is what we could see on Sunday looking out from our front porch at Broken Paddle Estates at Fawcett Lake.

Unfortunately for some strange reason, the pictures I had taken on Saturday while out on the lake did not turn out.

Go fish

2009-06-12T16:30:00.001-06:00

Good girl!

A Fawcett Lake history lesson.

2009-06-09T18:00:00.001-06:00

Before Fawcett Lake was named after Sidney Dawson Fawcett, a Dominion Land Surveyor, it was known to the locals as Moose Lake. To this day it is a very popular area for moose hunters. Back then the west end of the lake was an area used by trappers and hunters alike. In time, that area would find a whole new purpose, with a somewhat unexpected twist...

From the Atlantic Ocean to Fawcett Lake.

That is quite the trip for a submariner. But that is exactly what happened to some 50 odd German submariners who were lucky enough to be taken as prisoners of war. The alternative would have been the fate that most German submariners faced. A cold grave at the bottom of the Atlantic.

But why would they end up on Fawcett Lake of all places? The answer is quite simple. Cheap labour. Cheap meaning free. There was a sawmill at the west end of the lake operated by Swanson Lumber. They had a floating work camp out on the lake and used the POW's as laburers for the sawmill. The sawmill operated for several years and is the reason to this very day, when the wind gets wild, which is quite often, it will pull sawdust up from the bottom of the lake and toss it onto the shores.

The old cabin at the west end of the lake is the most notable remainder of the sawmill. If you look close, you can find other articles like large steel loops and chains that were used to secure the POW'S barges to the shoreline. Most items have been buried over time but a sharp eye can still find a few tidbits of history.

For more details, check out the following:

When the Germans came to Fawcett Lake

North to Slave Lake

Lost count

2009-06-08T20:24:00.003-06:00

Unfortunately I did not manage to get up to the lake in time to do any fishing on Friday.

Saturday I traveled the lake from the docks in front of Broken Paddle to the deep whole west of Six mile point. The weather was cool. Water temp hovered right around the 54F mark most of the day. Still pretty dang cold for this time of year if you ask me. Small pike were abundant almost everywhere. The only place that I managed to catch a few walleye of any size was on the southern rocky point of Birch Island. 18 feet of water seemed to be the sweet spot. I did catch a few in shallower, but the fish definitely got smaller as the water got shallower. Still not a one over the elusive 50cm mark.

Sunday I stayed around the east end of the lake, working the point by the "orange" boundary marker for the first hour or so. Managed to land a few 17 inchers and many smaller walleye. Small pike again were abundant as well. Managed to survive the mini storm that rolled past dumping down some rain and hail for about 10 seconds. After that the wind changed directions. Then changed again and then one more time just for the heck of it. At one point the wind was blowing both from the south and from the west at the same time. In between all the wind changes I decided to head over to "blank" (no name that I know of) point. Basically the large point on the south shore where the lake widens out as you head west from Broken Paddle/FLR. Anywho... A fishaholics dream come true! As I was not really looking to keep any to eat, I had a great time here. As fast as I could drop another jig and minnow down to 18 feet I had another fish. Most times it would be a walleye and once in a while a pike would strike. I honestly can't tell you how many fish I caught. It was simply non stop. I went through two tubs of minnows and then tossed out a jig with a 3 inch "Gulp Alive" leech and they kept hitting that till it was shredded. It was a hoot! Would have been a great day to have a few younger kids with me. Definitely would have had them hooked on fishing forever.

Tell us your tales from the weekend...

2009-06-05T18:52:00.001-06:00

The sign on the wall says it all. See you out on the water. Back Monday, unfortunately.

DAFS

2009-06-04T22:40:00.000-06:00

Mom loved to fish. She could out fish the rest of the family most days. She had a nack that none of us could ever duplicate. That was before the stroke which left her left side paralyzed. For the first year we sat around trying to come up with a way to get her into one of the boats and out on the lake. We came up with several ideas but none were very practical. Then one day it dawned on us. Pontoon boats were just starting to become more popular on the lakes of Alberta. We looked around a bit and found an 18 foot Sweetwater that had a very open design that would not inhibit movement of a wheelchair around its deck. We removed one of the forward fishing seats which is now the designated disabled parking spot. By chance, the dock we have is very close to being level to the deck of the boat. A simple piece of 3/4 inch plywood is all that is needed to bridge between the dock and the deck of the boat.

The next issue was getting mom from the cabin to the dock. The road and pathway are both good ol' Alberta gravel. Not a very wheelchair friendly surface. We tried a couple different powered wheel chairs but they were slow and would constantly get hung up in the ruts and on large rocks along the way. There had to be a better way. I did a bunch of measuring and searching and finally found the almost perfect solution. A john Deer Gator™ CX Utility Vehicle from their compact series. The only modification we made was to the passenger seat. We removed the factory seat base and replaced it with a memory swivel that is used on seating in fast food joints. Added a locking pin to secure the seat while the vehicle is moving. We also added a arm rest that swivels up and out of the way on the right side of the seat. This we borrow from moms powered wheelchair as needed. We also added a seat belt for obvious safety reasons. The dump box on the back of the Gator holds all of their fishing gear, a cooler, and the non powered wheelchair in the folded position, which is easy to lift in and out of the box.

And there you have it. The best disabled adult fishing system out there. You can bet your bottom dollar it was worth the time, effort and every penny just to see the smile on moms face her first time out. That would be the same smile she still has each time she gets out on the water to catch a few walleye.

The Gator

The boat

The happy fisherwoman

The name game.

2009-06-02T23:32:00.005-06:00

I have been heading up to Fawcett Lake for roughly 35 years. I rarely fish any other Lake. For the first couple of years my parents rented a cabin at Fawcett lake resort. Then they bought a small trailer and became "annuals" as they are known. Every few years they would trade in the trailer for a little bigger one. The last trailer they had there was a 35 foot park model with a single pull out. It was one of the first models to have that feature. Back then, when they said "pull" out, they meant it. No fancy motorized mechanisms. That trailer still sits on top of the hill at the resort. Sixteen years ago my parents bought a lot at Broken Paddle. The family would head up on weekends and work on clearing the lot, bucking up all the aspen and stacking it all around the property like a wall around a castle. My daughter cut her teeth on a 125 Susuki quad at the age of five. She would drive around in circles towing a set of harrows behind her. Eventually all her hard work made it possible for us to get out of all the mud and finally have grass. After clearing the lot, my brothers and I, with a little help from friends and other relatives, built a small cabin for the folks to enjoy in their retirement.

Now that you have a little bit of back ground, you are probably scratching your head wondering what this all has to do with "the name game". Over the years I have come to know some of the spots around the lake by names that the "old timers" referred to them as. Some of the names are not all that old or well known for that matter. I humbly point you to a small point on the western side of Broken Paddle that some refer to as "Tim's point" as I can be found fishing there more times than not. It is also where I caught the largest walleye of my life, a 28.5 incher. It is on the cabin wall if you don't believe me....LOL. Another example would be a spot that I refer to as "Nicks nook". Any guess as to why? If you said that Nick fishes that spot a lot then you would be correct!

So now you have an idea where this is going. I have made up a jpeg image of the lake with all of the names that I know of around the lake. What I am looking for is more names that people use to refer to specific places on and around Fawcett lake. I will update the image with the names as they come in to the ~~comments~~ Tall Tales (The scuttlebutt) section of this post. Anything to back up why a particular spot was given the name would be helpful. I'm going to refer to this as the "Fawcett lake project".

Let the fun and the arguing begin!

The Fawcett Lake Project

Click on the pic for the big picture

Last Updated: 6/05/2009

Windy Weekend

2009-06-01T21:22:00.001-06:00

Managed to get out on the water at about 5 pm on Friday. Fished for about 4 hours. Managed to bring in 6 small pike, one baby walleye, and two over 17 inches but not big enough to keep. Water temp varied from about 55F when I first hit the water and slowly dropped to 49F by the time I packed it in.

The rest of the weekend was a write off due to the wind. Being at the east end of the lake can be a detriment when the wind gets going. Saturday the waves were close to four feet at their worst. Sunday was a little better but the wind was still howling making it unsafe for my little 12 foot aluminum. Then there was the rain, and the hail. All in all not a particularly nice or productive weekend.

Anyone out there have better luck than I did? How was it over at the west end? Don't be shy...

Gone Fishin'

2009-05-29T07:01:00.000-06:00

Blogging will resume Monday. See you out on the water...

Got it covered

2009-05-27T19:36:00.000-06:00

Fawcett Lake sunset

Bobber rig, Lindy rig, crank bait, 1/4 oz jig and 1/8 oz jig. A rod for every occasion. Now where are those walleyes...

Five fishin poles

He's a pro

2009-05-22T17:00:00.000-06:00

Some of Bill Dance's not so great moments.

Makes my own bloopers seem very very mild...

Can't catch a fish

2009-05-22T13:00:00.000-06:00

Reminiscing

2009-05-21T23:48:00.000-06:00

simpler times...

I can see Andy and Opie walking down the road carrying their poles, heading on down to the fishin' hole...

Fish Peeve

2009-05-21T18:10:00.000-06:00

I am a Walleye. More scientifically, sander vitreus vitreus, formerly Stizostedion vitreum vitreum. I am in the perch family, Percidae. I look like this...

I am NOT a pickerel! I do not belong to the family Esocidae. I am not related to the northern pike (Esox lucius)

or the Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy).

I do not look even remotely like the chain pickerel (Esox niger),

grass pickerel (Esox americanus vermiculatus),

or redfin pickerel (Esox americanus americanus).

Walleye are not pickerel. They are totally different fish.

I feel so much better now. End rant...

A little snow

2009-05-19T19:40:00.000-06:00

and a lot of cold...

That would describe the May long weekend up at Fawcett Lake this year.

On Saturday the water temperature was sitting around 50 degrees Fahrenheit or about 10 degrees Celsius. With seven able bodies, we managed to put two docks into the water along with 7 boat hoists in about 5 hours. Even in our chest waders the cold of the water could be felt. It was very unpleasant when on occasion the water would find its way over the top of the waders. @#$%$@#!!!!!!!!!

Things went down hill after Saturday. It snowed a bit on Sunday, although it did not stick around at all. When it was not snowing it was raining and windy. My brother Dave and myself did finally manage to get out to do some fishing on Monday. The water temperature had dropped to 43 degrees Fahrenheit, 6 degrees celsius. There was hardly a cloud in the sky and the wind had died down completely from Sunday. Dave caught zero fishies... I managed five northern's of no real size and one walleye about 17 inches, 43 cm. It was nice to get out in the boat to do some fishing regardless.

Click on the pic for the big picture.

Those white blobs... no those are not rocks... it is still some leftover snow on the west side of Birch Island.

I have been informed that they have received about 6 inches of snow today and it has stuck around. They are expecting more snow overnight. Gotta love it... ***sigh***

May Long 2009

2009-05-15T00:33:00.000-06:00

Will post all the details of how the weekend went upon my return ... sometime Tuesday perhaps.

The Walleye song

2009-05-09T09:45:00.000-06:00

Just for fun...

Audio

(Lyrics by Richard A Lewis & Larry Hayes; Tune "Rawhide" by Dmitri Tiompkin)

Trollin', trollin' trollin'
Trollin', trollin' trollin'
Trollin', trollin' trollin'
Trollin', trollin' trollin', Walleye

Trollin', trollin' trollin'
Lakes and streams are swollen
Fingers nearly frozen, Walleye

Through wind and rainy weather
We're in this boat together
Six packs, lures and leeches by our side

I've been drowning shiners
Searching with depth finders
Tryin' to get a big one on the line

CHORUS:
Bait 'em up, cast 'em out
Cast 'em out, bait 'em up
Bait 'em up, cast 'em out, Walleye
Gut 'em out, fry 'em up
Fry 'em up, gut 'em out
Gut 'em out, fry 'em up, Walleye

Keep movin', movin', movin'
Though they're disapprovin'
We'll find out where they're schoolin', Walleye

My heart is contemplatin'
A big fish that's a-waitin'
Waitin' at the end of my line

Don't try to understand 'em
Just set the hook and land 'em
Soon we'll be listenin' to 'em fry

Bait 'em up, cast 'em out
Cast 'em out, bait 'em up
Bait 'em up, cast 'em out, Walleye
Gut 'em out, fry 'em up
Fry 'em up, gut 'em out
Gut 'em out, fry 'em up, Walleye
(lead guitar solo)
Bait 'em up, cast 'em out
Cast 'em out, bait 'em up
Bait 'em up, cast 'em out, Walleye
Gut 'em out, fry 'em up
Fry 'em up, gut 'em out
Gut 'em out, fry 'em up, Walleye

Trollin', trollin' trollin'
Trollin', trollin' trollin'
Trollin', trollin' trollin'
Trollin', trollin' trollin', Walleye

Recorded by the Hula Poppers (1986, Shadow Records 3355).

Gone

2009-05-06T18:10:00.000-06:00

What a difference a couple days make. Fawcett Lake is now ice free. There is a bit of it left on the shores from the wind last night but the lake itself is ready for your boats, hoists, docks... Let the work begin.

Only 9 days until fishing season opens on Fawcett Lake...

Going, going

2009-05-03T19:34:00.000-06:00

Not quite gone. I am happy to report that the ice has started to disappear. There was actually a boat on the water on the north side of the island in front of the resort today. It looks like it is breaking up further to the west as well, out by Six mile point. With any luck we will get a bit of rain and some wind and the ice will be gone in no time.

Waiting

2009-05-02T16:42:00.000-06:00

The ice on Fawcett Lake is still not showing any signs of leaving us as of yet...

Stay tuned...

Ice out

2009-04-27T20:54:00.000-06:00

Waiting patiently...

Still there...

I think it is mocking Al Gore...

Not even melting around the shoreline as of yet...

Oh wait... what is that by the boat launch at Broken Paddle... there is water!...

Damn, It is just the spring water flowing down the hill...

Stay tuned...

Boneless Northern Pike Fillets

2009-04-23T21:26:00.000-06:00

This has to be the best video I have come across explaining how to clean a Northern Pike "boneless".

Enjoy those tasty fillets...

2009 Fawcett Lake regulations summary

2009-04-17T09:23:00.000-06:00

No changes for this year from last year...

Fawcett Lake & tributaries – Walleye limit 3 over 50 cm; Pike limit 3 over 63 cm; Perch limit 15; Lake Whitefish limit 10; Burbot limit 10.
the portion north and east of a line drawn from the MD boat launch in SE12-73-26-W4 to the point of land in SE11-73-26-W4 including the Mink River, Fawcett (Howard) River and the areas locally known as the narrows and east basin
OPEN July 1 to Feb. 28 and CLOSED Mar. 1 to June 30.
the remainder of the lake
OPEN May 15 to Mar. 31 and CLOSED Apr. 1 to May 14.
All tributaries and outlet
CLOSED Nov. 1 to May 31

North East Bay

2008-05-22T23:21:00.002-06:00

If you know Fawcett Lake at all, you will know where this picture was taken, simply by the leaning tree's.

May Long 2008

2008-05-22T20:38:00.003-06:00

The ice is all gone but the water temp is below normal for this time of year. It was not a pleasant experience wading out, putting in the boat hoists and docks, even wearing chest waders.

I did manage to get in a bit of fishing after the work was all done. I covered a lot of territory from the east end by Fawcette lake resort, I tried all along the north shore west past Birch Island where I then crossed over to the south shore. I then fished my way back east. I trolled a bit with Wally divers. Stopping at some of the better points and tried a jig and minnow/leech at times. The minnows out did the leeches by far. The action was sparse to say the least. Two small Walleyes around 14 inches, and several small Northerns, most under 24 inches.

There was no shortage of debris floating all over the lake after the nasty winds on Sunday, but that is not far from the norm at Fawcett Lake.

I do have a bit of a beef with some ice fisher person. I lied, it is a huge beef. As I pulled up to one of my favorite spots on the lake, I found a broken lawn chair, a destroyed pop up ice fishing tent, what was left of a cooler and numerous beverage containers. All apparently left behind by some out doors "enthusiast" who could not be bothered to remove their own garbage from the lake area. Who ever you are, you will be happy to know that I loaded it all into my boat and took it all to the Smith dump where it belongs. I'll be keeping the couple of dollars I get for the cans and bottles for my efforts. May you never catch another fish in your lifetime!

On that same note... The loggers have been busy clear cutting all along the Paul Lake/Old Dump roads. Some "nice people" have decided that this area now makes a great dump. Give your heads a shake people. Quit being so flipping lazy and take your garbage to a proper dump. It is only 17 miles down the road after all. I am getting tired of cleaning up after your lazy asses. Unlike some people, I want this area to remain the wonderful natural area that is is supposed to be. An area I can go out to and enjoy seeing wild life and beautiful scenery. Again people, give your heads a shake and hope that I never see you doing this, as I will report you without hesitation. It is disgusting what you are doing to such a wonderful place.

Changing the topic... It appears that Fawcett Lake Resort is closed. I have yet to find out for how long. Rumor has it, it will be for a year or two while they revamp all the lots which will then be sold in what might be described as a "condo" based idea. You will "own" the lot but will still pay a fee for upkeep of the common area's. Or at least that is how I understand it. I will try to find out more for a future post on this topic.

AlbertaRELM

2008-05-12T21:56:00.002-06:00

Something new from the people at Alberta Fish and Wildlife.

Alberta's automated Recreational Licensing Management (RELM) program. Licences can be purchased 365 days a year on a 24 hour basis.

Online Licensing Now Available

On this secure website, you can apply for a WIN, renew your WIN, replace your WIN card and buy an Alberta Sportfishing licence online.

Hunting Draw applications can be made online from June 3 to 26, 2008.

Also, you can visit this website to:

* view your draw applications, draw results, draw priorities and licences for the current and last five seasons.
* get your test results for your head submissions for Chronic Wasting Disease.
* reprint your licences.

Simply register by supplying your WIN #, drivers licence #, select a password and enter your email address. It is that easy. Once you have done that, you can then purchase your new sport fishing licence and or renew your WIN card if needed.

You can even reprint lost or worn out licences!

You can also update your personal info such as address and phone number if they have changed. I can see this being a very useful tool for every hunter/fisher person in Alberta as it progresses along its way.

Withdrawl season

2008-04-02T00:00:00.003-06:00

Yesterday marked the closing of the fishing season here at Fawcett Lake. It reopens for a portion of the lake on May 16, just in time for the long weekend. By then, with any luck, the ice should be pretty much long gone. Time to put the docks, boat hoists and boats back in the water for the all too short open water season.

In case some of you did not notice the changes made in the regulations for 2008, I shall repeat them again here. The only major change is that you are now allowed to keep three Walleye instead of two. The downside of this, if you want to call it that, is that they have increased the minimum size limit from 43cm (approx. 17") to 50cm (approx. 19 3/4").

If last years average catch was any indication, I don't think that this will effect the number of feeds I will have on these tasty morsels. I was having no trouble catching Walleye in the 20 to 24 inch range all through the summer of 2007.

Time to go and re-spool all the reals. Make sure that the tackle box is well stocked with my favorite jigs, crank baits and Lindy rigs.

Something tells me that the next month and a half is going to go by very slowly!

Welcome to the unofficial Fawcett Lake Blog

2008-04-01T23:45:00.003-06:00

Thank you for stopping by. I have started this blog to share my experiences at my second home, Fawcett lake. I hope that other people will stop by and share their experiences as well in the comments. Although I will personally concentrate more on the fishing aspect here, I will also try to provide other information from around the lake and the community. As time permits I will add links to other sites that specifically deal with Fawcett Lake and area.

There is some development issues going on that I just may tackle here as well.

Stay tunned...