Article By: Joe Seaborne 2020-10-14
Pine Coulee Reservoir is a long, narrow body of water located 10 minutes west of Stavely. It’s a popular place to go fishing because of it’s proximity to the highway, amenities and easy access.
Pine Coulee Park is about a 15min drive from Stavely. Take the 527 Westbound off Highway 2. Follow the 527 across the bridge, all the way down until you reach the 527 Southbound. Take a left-hand turn onto the 527 Southbound and get off on Township Road 140. Township Road 140 turns into Pine Coulee Park and will take you right down to the boat launch.
Pine Coulee is under ES1. Eastern Slopes 1 in the Alberta Fishing Regulations. Make sure to check the official Alberta Fishing Regulations for an updated version each year.
ES1 (link)
Access to the reservoir is easy. If you are fishing from shore and need foot-access, your options are Range Road 282a, Township Road 152, The 527, Pine coulee park, The South Park on Range Road 283 or anywhere along the dam on Range Road 282.
The boat launch is in Pine Coulee Park. Township Road 140 turns in to the main boat launch. The launch ramp is long and somewhat steep, making it a little bit difficult to use. I backed in once with an S-10 that had rear-wheel drive and had a bit of trouble with the tires spinning on loose gravel. I managed ok, but I would recommend using caution, especially if there is loose gravel.
Pine Coulee Park has good amenities. There are male and female washroom facilities, a hand-powered well, fire pits and a decent size parking lot.
The south park has a parking lot, washrooms and access to the dam. The reservoir also widens on the south-side, making for different fishing opportunities.
Generally, you can expect a trolling depth of 15-20 feet throughout most of the reservoir and a maximum depth of 30-35 feet in certain areas that I will be discussing later on.
Shore fishing is best on the South end of the reservoir along the dam. The dam is deep, and there are many different areas to fish from, making it a prime location for shore fishing.
Map source: Google Maps
This Northern Pike Swimbait always kills it at Pine Coulee and McGregor. I got mine at Cabela's, but I'll include a link incase you want to check it out.
Storm WildEye Live Pike Swimbait
The bridge creates a narrowing that causes flowing water to speed up and move food downstream. It’s also a structure that gives predatory fish a location to hide and prey.
I like to troll the mouth, middle and about 15 feet away from the bridge. I also have had success jigging underneath the bridge with a 4” tube jig.
Map source: Google Maps
East of the dam, you will find two hidden islands, which are a hotspot for walleye. Trolling past the west side of the islands with a deep diving Lure works best.
Map source: Google Maps
North of the islands is the deepest area I have found, with a reading of 32feet. Some days I’ve had luck fishing this area, and sometimes I get nothing. It’s a bit unpredictable but worth checking out.
I like to use deep diving lures while trolling and 4” tube jigs for reaching the bottom.
Map source: Google Maps
Located in the south of the reservoir, the inlet is another fishing hotspot. Restrictions prevent anglers from getting too close to the weir, so you will have to follow the regulations and maintain the proper distance from the inlet. The inlet has floating markers, letting boaters know how close they can get.
I have caught mostly rainbow trout close the to inlet, trolling with a 4” northern pike soft bait. Every Trout I’ve gotten by the inlet has been a big fat pig of a fish. I’m assuming rainbow trout are feeding off small Pike since a 4” Pike soft bait is so effective.
Map source: Google Maps
I like trolling Pine Coulee because it’s such a long and narrow body of water, and the littoral zone has a steep drop throughout most of the reservoir. Veggitation also doesn't get unbearably dense, making it possible to troll most of the shore-line.