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Resources
Everything you need to know about:
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Fish Management Zones
Familiarize yourself with Alberta's fish management zones before you go fishing.
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Alberta's Game Fish
Learn more about the species of fish that Alberta anglers seek to catch.
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What You Need To Know About Fishing In Alberta
- No matter where you’re fishing in Alberta you ALWAYS need a license (even on private land). There are two types of licences in Alberta, a provincial license and a National Parks license. National Park licenses are required in Banff, Jasper, Waterton and Woodbuffalo. Your provincial license is not valid in National Parks, and your National Parks license is not valid outside of the National Parks.
- Every body of water (lake, pond, river, creek, puddle) in Alberta has specific rules beyond the general fishing guidelines. Location rules include, when you’re allowed to fish, what you’re allowed to fish with (bait, hook size, etc), how many fish you’re allowed to keep and size restrictions, what type of watercrafts are allowed in the water and more. If you can’t find rules about a specific location refer to the rules of the fishing zone that the body of water is in. If you're confused call your local fish & wildlife office and ask.
- Sturgeon, Bull Trout & Arctic Grayling are catch and release ONLY for the entire province, no exceptions. You should be able to identify these fish confidently and be aware of when you’re fishing waters that contain these fish.
What You Should Know About Fishing In Alberta
- Not every fish you catch is a Rainbow Trout! You should be able to positively identify the fish you are catching. If you don’t know what you have caught when you pull it out of the water, it should be released right away.
- Poaching fish or accidentally keeping the wrong fish, can result in serious penalties. Fines up to $1,000 per fish have been issued, loss of fishing gear, boat, vehicle that towed the boat, a life time ban of fishing and possibly jail time. Buying fish at the market is cheaper then dealing with any penalty.
AlbertaFishingGuide.com doesn't make or enforce any of these rules, we just aim to keep anglers informed about fishing in Alberta.
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