General Information
 Travers Reservoir is located approximately 16
kilometres (10 miles) east of Highway 23 on Secondary Highway 529. Travers Reservoir is an
on stream storage reservoir on the Little Bow River, which flows into this reservoir at
the west end. There is a rip rap dam at the East end of Travers where the Little Bow River
exits as well as an outlet canal that flows down to Little Bow Reservoir. Water from
McGregor lake also enters Travers Reservoir from a canal on the South dam of McGregor,
this flow enters Travers Reservoir in its North arm (see map) which is about half way down
the reservoir. Travers is one of southern Alberta's larger reservoirs being almost 21
kilometres (13 miles) long with a maximum width of 6 kilometres (4 miles). Located in the
Little Bow River valley with its vertical coulees and hills gives this water body some
unique and interesting scenery that can only be seen from a boat. With a maximum depth of
well over 30 metres (100 feet) and many kilometres of shoreline with all kinds of fish
holding features this reservoir can overwhelm anglers on how much fishable structure it
truly has. Travers reservoir is operated by Alberta Environment and is the major water
storage reservoir for the Bow River Irrigation District.
Little Bow Provincial Park is located
at the west end of this water body with excellent camping facilities a concrete boat
launch and a large boat trailer parking area.There is also a concrete boat launch and a
camping area at the east dam, but it is a little more rustic than at the provincial
park.
Fishing
Walleye up to 10 pounds have been
caught as well as large Northern Pike. The spillway where the water comes in from McGregor
is a popular fishing spot, but Travers reservoir has many other prime locations as well.
Jigs, Crankbaits and Spinners all work well on this water body. Travers is very large so
the fish can be in one spot today and miles away tomorrow.The Walleye fishery on Travers
is in the "Vulnerable" category. Anglers are not allowed to keep fish under 50
cm and are limited to 3 fish/day over 50 cm.
Walleye Stocking History
1958 - 1,120,000 Fertilized
Walleye eggs
1991 - 104,740 Walleye fry
Reservoir History and Data
Along the north shore of Travers there
is the remnants of an old canal that follows the coulee contour all the way to where the
east dam is today. Over fifty years ago the water flowing out of McGregor Lake use run in
this canal prior to Travers reservoir being built. In the early 1950's Travers dam was
complete and the water from McGregor helped fill Travers as well as the inflow of the
Little Bow River. The canal along the North shore was then abandoned as it was no longer
needed.
Contours
and Reservoir Map (Old)
Contours
and Reservoir Map (New PDF 808 KB)
Surface area:
2,331 hectares - 5,700 acres - 23.3 square kilometres - 9 square miles.
Shoreline Length:
62.0 kilometres - 38.5 miles
Reservoir Length and Width:
Length: 20.5 kilometres - 12.7 miles
Width Max: 6.3 kilometres - 3.9 miles
Mean Width: 1.1 kilometres - 0.7 miles
Maximum Depth:
39.3 metres - 130 feet
Elevation:
856 metres - 2,810 feet
Date of Impoundment: 1951
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