FortWhyte Alive is a great place to learn to fish ethically and sustainably. Visitors can enjoy catch-and-release fishing on our small, accessible lakes. Our public programs offer fishing courses to help those new to fishing get started. We have rentals available – learn more about programs and rentals.

 

FortWhyte Fishing History

Our lakes were created when Canada Cement dug pits into the land to extract clay for cement making. The company started operations in 1912 and the work ended in the early 1980s. Over time, overland flooding filled the pits with water, and one by one, lakes were created. Fast forward to today, FortWhyte Alive has five small lakes with resident fish populations.

Initially, FortWhyte Alive lakes were stocked with native fish species, including northern pike and walleye (pickerel). Other species of fish entered the lakes through migration during flooding events.

Unfortunately, an invasive, non-native species of fish entered the lakes in this way, and FortWhyte lakes are now home to a large and growing population of common carp.

The Common Carp

Common carp are native to Asia and were released into North America for food and ornamental purposes in the late 1800s. They made their way into Manitoba via the Red River from the United States. These fish can grow to over 20 kg in weight and over 100 cm in length.

Carp are omnivores, meaning they can eat aquatic plants, plant tubers, and seeds, as well as animal foods. They use their snouts to dig in the bottom, looking for insects, crustaceans, molluscs, worms, fish eggs, and fish remains. They spawn during May and early June in vegetated shoreline or marshes. Large females may produce over 1 million eggs.

The feeding and spawning activity of carp uproots aquatic plants, which provide essential spawning and feeding habitat for native fish, as well as invertebrates and waterfowl. 

Efforts to remove or exclude common carp from wetlands in North America are widespread – with the most well known work in recent years being done at Delta Marsh on Lake Manitoba. Researchers there created barriers to keep carp out of the wetlands. This resulted in a fast recovery of aquatic plants and water clarity after only a few years. Read more from Ducks Unlimited

Carp Strategy at FortWhyte Alive

Carp are found in the three lakes along the western edge of FortWhyte Alive’s property – in Lake 2, Elliott Lake and Devonian Lake, as well as the Richardson Marsh. FortWhyte Alive has put together a working group of staff and volunteers. Over the coming years, we will reduce carp populations to support healthier habitats for our native fish populations. We are grateful to have the advisory capacity of expert volunteers with careers in fisheries management and wetland biology.

FortWhyte will improve the habitat for native species through:

• Preventing carp from entering the Richardson Marsh with physical barriers, followed by monitoring wetland habitat recovery.
• Gill-netting carp in the lakes during spring and fall to remove fish. Gill-netting activities are done by trained staff and volunteers only, with appropriate Manitoba Provincial Permits under the Fisheries Act. Recreational anglers must still catch and release all species of fish, including carp.
• All removed carp will be composted on-site at FortWhyte Farms, increasing nutrient value in our soils.
• We will continue to monitor native fish populations and recovery over time.

For questions about this program, please contact Ian Barnett, Vice President.