Article By: Joe Seaborne 2020-05-07
Twin Valley Reservoir is a medium-sized body of water located just south-east of Nanton between Parkland and Champion and listed under PP1, Prairie Parkland 1 in th ALberta Fishing Regulations. Twin Valley Reservoir can be characterized by its long and winding shape, hidden islands, and steep drop-offs, making Twin Valley Reservoir an interesting, yet somewhat challenging place to go fishing.
The main entrance is located south-east of Nanton between Parkland and Champion. Just take the the 529 to Range Road 254A and turn west. Follow the dirt road to eaither the campground or boat launch.
There is also a second entrance located on the west side of the reservoir on Township Road 152. This entrance is less popular and does not have a boat launch, but it's convenient if you are coming from Nanton.
After you enter through the main entrance and travel past the campground, you will come to a recreation area that has an outhouse, parking lot, and boat launch. The boat launch also has a dock, which makes things easier. The launch ramp is not very steep and has good traction, so most vehicles should have no problem loading and unloading. Washrooms are on the southside of the parking lot, and garbage containers are next to the boat launch.
Twin Valley Reservoir has a small campground located to the south of the dam and is visible from the main highway. Campground amenities are limited to male and female bathrooms, and there is no running water or RV hook-ups.
Northern pike is pretty much the only species found in this reservoir. I am sure you can find the odd burbot or whitefish hiding somewhere out there, but for the most part, you will be catching Pike.
Twin Valley has a lot of underwater structures, including hidden islands around the middle, deep channels, steep drops, and a few shallow areas. Most of the time, you can expect a depth of around 15-25 feet while trolling close to shore and a maximum depth of 60 feet in certain areas.
Fish are plentiful throughout the whole reservoir and can be found just about everywhere. For the purposes of this article, I will be focusing on the best locations I have discovered for landing big fish and what lures work best.
The dam is located on the south end of the reservoir and is visible from the boat launch. I usually start my day off by heading over to the dam since it is close to the boat launch. It is usually a great area to get a few bites in to start the day off right.
map source: Google maps
West of the dam is a long and deep weed patch that is an optimal location for big fish. The weeds in this area get thick, making trolling impossible. I recommend jigging between weed patches and casting into the narrow channels.
map source: Google maps
The point is a steep 60-foot drop that begins approximately 10 feet from shore and goes out towards the middle of the lake. If I am fishing on a hot day, I like to troll various depths throughout the point in search of big fish cooling off.
map source: Google maps
Trolling the south-west side of the island is an optimal location for finding big pike. Between the island and shore are 2 hidden islands that provide an optimum spot for big fish to prey. The West of the island is also a mouth, which is typically a target location for finding big fish.
map source: Google maps
The inlet is a winding, narrowing portion of the reservoir that’s located on the north end. The inlet is usually a fishing hotspot because it carries food and debris downstream into the main water body.
I have had good luck drifting down the inlet channel while jigging off the bottom with a 4” crawfish tube jig.
map source: Google maps
I have had the best of luck ice fishing the deep weed patch and the point. One of my favourite ice fishing techniques is keeping track of GPS coordinates of summer hotspots and going back to them during the ice fishing season.
My favourite ice fishing lures are five of diamonds, crawfish tube jigs, frozen smelt, and buzz bombs. Although not specifically for ice fishing, these are the lures that I have had good luck with.