February 2019 – Western Canadian Fishing

Dickson Trout Pond Central Alberta Rainbows Dickson trout pond is approximately 45 minutes Southwest of Red, Deer Alberta. Located just off of the Red Deer River slightly Upstream from Gleniffer reservoir. It is stocked a few times a year by fish and wildlife with rainbow trout. It is also on occasion flooded with water from the Red Deer River so you never know what you'll find in there. One of the most common fish besides rainbow trout to be caught out of the pond is northern pike. While this pond is stocked regularly with farm-raised rainbow trout, it is susceptible to summer and winter kill due to low oxygen levels. That being said there are people on the various fishing forums that have said they have caught larger rainbows out of here. As this venue is open year-round you can go ice fishing on Dickson trout pond or during the open water season. All of your standard baits for rainbow trout will work here powerbait, worms, or my personal favorite Velveeta cheese! As I mentioned above you will be able to catch pike out of here due to them being deposited over the years from flooding. There are also suckers present in the pond. If you want more information I have an article on ice fishing stocked rainbow trout. 2018 Rainbow Trout Stocking Report In 2018 the pond was stocked both in May and September the numbers are as follows in May 11,000 21 CM rainbows. In September 4,000 21 cm rainbows and 5,000 at 9 cm. 2019 Rainbow Trout Stocking Report 2019 saw continued stocking of trout at Dickson pond. With 8000 22 cm rainbows added in may, 2019. 10,000 more 5.3 cm trout were added September 3rd. Obviously the September batch wont be a decent size till open water season. Provincial Campsite at Dickson Point There are 18 campsites at Dickson point directly adjacent to the trout pond. Please note that amenities in the campsites are very limited. These are unserviced sites with no potable water. There is also no store there to buy firewood and, other camping staples. This Is a provincial campsite so the rates are very reasonable. Boat Access and Use You can have boats on Dickson trout pond but, you are limited to electric motors only. Of course inflatable paddle boats, canoes, kayaks, etcetera are acceptable. There is a boat launch on the north end of Dickson trout pond. Also in the same spot there is a launch heading out onto the Red Deer River and then downstream towards Gleniffer reservoir. Winter Kill can be an Issue Spring of 2018 saw a winter kill on this Lake due to low oxygen Levels. And there's also a killed during the late summer due to a large algae bloom. you can find more information on winter and summer kills here. https://mywildalberta.ca/fishing/summer-winter-kill/default.aspx Fishing Regulations Dickson trout pond is located in fish management zone ES2 Zone 1 Eastern slopes Dickson trout pond follows standard stocked pond regulations as per page 22 of the Alberta fishing regulations. The pike retention limit default is 3 northern pike with no size restriction for ES2 Lakes not specifically listed. You can keep up to 5 rainbow trout. Bait is allowed here.