The Joy of Fishing in New Brunswick

I was so happy to take a day off from building our first hugelkultur bed to go fishing with Casey. He’s so much more fun than that big hole I dug in our backyard.

I think I should have tried a bit harder to find a couple of strong guys to help me did that sucker as it’s taken me weeks longer than I thought it would take.

Hoping to get it completely today or tomorrow and get some wild flowers planted on it.  It’s outside my office window so I’m hoping to see lots of butterflies and hummingbirds enjoying my hard work.

Let’s Start With New Horton Lake

I love New Horton lake as it’s a beautiful spot but it can get quite choppy rather quickly so it’s best to fish here in the morning and then move to a more protected area to do some fishing, like the river at Riverside Albert.

I really like the shoreline at the back end of the lake as it’s really rocky and towers over the lake. The rock is split and shattered from thousands of years of freezing and thawing. It amazes me that trees can stay standing.

What!? Casey Gets The First Fish, Again

Casey’s getting real good at getting the first fish of the day lately. This day he even caught the second fish, long before I saw my first fish of the day.

Years ago I fished the brook that leads into the New Horton lake and have had some good feeds of brook trout. One year I caught my limit of brookies on opening day and never had to move my feet. It was about the best day of trout fishing I’ve even had. All the brookies were 12” and 13” and tasted so good.

I’ve never caught a trout in the lake though, well not until after Casey caught his first two bass. I was casting right to the shoreline expecting a smallie so you can imagine how surprised I was when I landed my first every New Horton lake brook trout.

Sandy Shoreline Seemed To Be The Pattern

As we were coming up one side of the lake I saw a sandy beach the wind was blowing against. I made a cast in that direction, getting as close to the shoreline as I could. I was telling Casey that I had caught my biggest bass ever fishing a spot just like this while I was on Harvey lake. Just as I said it I had a bass smack my lure.

From that moment on I focused on any spot I saw that had a sandy section and managed to land about a dozen smallmouth bass, no more trout though.

By this time the water was getting a little choppy and it was time to see if we could get some trout in the river. Casey backed his trailer into the water and rather than get in the water to get the boat on the trailer he just got back in the boat and drove it on. Now that get’s the job done faster.

The Boat Launch At Riverside Albert

We usually launch the boat at the launch under the bridge at Riverside Albert but there were a couple of vehicles there already so we went to the boat launch near the Riverside Albert School. I didn’t even know there was a boat launch there.

We fished up and down the river for a few hours without any takers. We did see a couple of guys in a boat. I think they owned one of the vehicles at the bridge.

They had been there most of the day and only had one trout each but they were nice looking rainbows.

We headed to Oromocto the other day for a little bit of fishing and as you can see we weren’t the only ones out. Even man’s best fishing buddy was on the water.

Our day of fishing started on the Saint John river to see if I could get my first muskie. I waited quite a few years before I felt I was finally strong enough again that I could take on a muskie.

We fished a known muskie stretch up and down for a couple of hours but did get a muskie strike. Casey did get a small smallmouth bass.

After a while of trying for muskie we moved into the Oromocto river and fished our way up to French lake where we hooked into a few chain pickerel. We moved a lot of pickerel but they just weren’t very active.

I hooked into a few but missed a whole lot of them. It’s great catching but I still get a blast just casting and watching them. Not sure why they kept missing the baits though. So cool watching the wakes and swirls. Sometimes before the bait even hits the water. However I think it’s a little more fun landing some.

I was in the front of the boat and had what looked like a big pickerel making a huge swirl when my bait hit the water but nothing on the next few casts. I pointed the spot out to Casey as he was now closer to that spot. He cast exactly where I pointed and that pickerel came flying out of the water and took the bottom half of Casey’s Senko. He was a huge pickerel but that was the last we saw of him.

Before I knew it the day was almost done so we took the run back to the Saint John to give muskie another try before heading home again.

Casey Get’s The Only Muskie of The Day

Well I didn’t manage to get my first muskie but Casey landed a 31” muskie. When he hit it looked like Casey had snagged on bottom but only for a second and then the head shaking started.

It was fun watching but would have been great if it was me with the muskie. Maybe next time.

Taking The Time Taking Care

As soon as I realized Casey had hooked into a muskie I grabbed the big net from the front of the boat and had it ready.

I even managed to get the muskie in the net without any mishaps.

At that point we kept the muskie in the net and in the water so that it would remain calm while we got things ready for measuring and getting pictures.

The muskie wasn’t out of the water for more than 15 or 20 seconds.

The muskie was really hooked and Casey felt it was better to cut the hooks than to try getting them out and maybe hurting the muskie. A minute later the muskie was free of the hooks and back in the net while I got the camera read.

He was calm, the muskie that is, but as soon as Casey tried taking him out of the net he went wild. Almost got away before he could be photographed and measured. Once Casey finally got a grip we measured his 31” muskie and I snapped a couple of pictures.

We did see a lot more bald headed eagles than usual. I wrote a short post about that and added some pictures and a video.

From the time I first bought a digital camera to take fishing I have been taking pictures, thousands of them. I still get lots of fishing in while we’re out.

I take pictures of water, trees, clouds, sun, some fish and wildlife if I can get close enough for a picture. I often get images that are too far away and out of focus. I just never seem to be able to get a close up image of a bald eagle.

Lots of Eagles On The Oromocto River

On Tuesday May 21 Casey and I were fishing the Oromocto and saw bald eagles every where along the Oromocto river as well as all along the Saint John river at Oromocto.

I don’t normally see pairs of eagles but this day we saw multiple pairs and even a few juvenile bald eagles who still had their mottled feathers.

Even though the eagles were still a bit shy and took off before we reached them they still allowed us closer than they normally do. Must have babies they gotta feed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many eagles in a single day.

The picture on the left is the closest I got to getting a picture of a pair of eagles. Just as I got the camera up for the picture the first one dropped out of the tree and the second one had wings lifted ready to take off. Just a couple of seconds too slow.

Take a minute and learn more about Oromocto and about the bald eagle on Wikipedia.

Juvenile Bald Eagle

I wasn’t sure if the juvenile bald eagles we saw were really bald eagles but I looked online to see if there were other eagles in New Brunswick but couldn’t find any. So if this isn’t a juvenile bald eagle left me know please.

It’s not the best picture but it’s the best of the ones I got. The others had branches between my camera and the eagle.

We were heading for a day of fishing at Harts lake and looking at every brook, stream and river along the way to see if the water had come down any since our first day out fishing at the end of April.

At first glance the water did appear to be down some but a close look and it really wasn’t down much at all.

Plus when we got close to Jemseg we could see that the fields were still flooded and that there was a lot of water around.

We couldn’t even use the launch at our usually spot as it had so much water that it was impossible to even get close to the river to launch. So we moved up the road and tried the old ferry point where the road when straight into the river. A few minutes later and we were fishing again.

My Back Pain Disappeared

When I woke up Tuesday morning I didn’t jump out of bed like I normally do when I know I’m going fishing. After a weekend and Monday doing backyard clean up work my back was kind of tender so I crawled out of bed.

Funny how getting out on the water makes a lot of that pain go away and after the first fish of the day it was completely out of my mind.

Nearly Record High Temperatures

I don’t think it was a record hot day but I am sure it was within a degree or two because it was hot. I plastered sunscreen on all visible areas, except one earlobe, for some reason, and it’s really itchy today.

Even though I like calm days for fishing I will admit I was a bit happy it was windy as it would have seemed even hotter than it was.

We were able to find lots of spots that were protected from the most of the wind and few that we really calm so we didn’t’ stay in the wind all day and I got to have some fun top water action.

Whaaat!!? Casey Lands The First Fish, Again?

Hey the last time we were out Casey caught the first fish of the day. I thought it was his job to drive and mine to catch the first fish. Guess I got mixed up on that one.

His first catch of the day was our only bass for the day and was 14”. Unfortunately Casey let it go without a pictures. So did he really catch that first fish or not. Hmmm??

It’s Okay to Catch A Fish Now Jim

Once Casey had the first fish of the day he gave me the okay to start fishing.

I wasn’t long waiting. We had moved into an area protected from the wind and I was standing on the deck in the front of the boat.

The water was very clear for being so flooded and I could see down about 3 feet and a couple of feet out about 15 feet from the boat.

Just enough that I was able to see this huge mouth come out of the depths and nail my bait. As soon as I saw it I told Casey it might be a 25” pickerel. I was close as it measured in at 24”. It also gave me the best fight I’ve had this year.

This guy didn’t want to be caught and put up a great fight. He went under the boat pulling drag and then nothing but tension. I thought he had taken me into the prop and hooked me up but a few seconds later he started moving again.

Casey did a great job netting him and one good flip from the pickerel and he was in the net and on the measuring board. I guess I will take biggest fish over first fish of the day but it would be cool to have been both. Ha Ha

At the end of the day Casey had first fish and the most fish with 7 fish. Four were pickerel, two were perch and of course that first smallmouth bass. I had 6 fish for the day and the biggest fish of the day with five pickerel and one fat perch.

As we were heading back to our launch point Casey pointed to a tree of in the distance. It was either an eagle or osprey was perched on an old dead tree.

It was quite choppy so Casey stopped to give me a minute to get him in focus and zoom in enough to see which it was.

As you can see it’s an osprey.

I found a few osprey images to add to my Pinterest account and will hopefully add more of my own in the near future.

A Red Herring

While we were fishing a small bay and getting some action from picky pickerel who wouldn’t commit to a strike and perch that couldn’t get the bait in their mouth I was watching a herring at the back of the bay but it was too far to get a picture.

We fished closer to the back of the bay and I noticed the herring was still there so I grabbed my camera, zoomed in and snapped a picture. He never moved.

Well as you can see from my picture it wasn’t exactly a herring was it? By the way the following day was my eye appointment to get my eyes checked and new glasses. Maybe I’ll also stop hooking up in trees like I did on our last day. Getting polarized clip-ons with them as well.

Currently I have one spinner bait but I’m now planning on getting a few more spinner baits and give them a try this year. We were talking with a couple of guys who almost always use them and not much else. I have my eye on the terminator spinnerbait.

I used them in the past to catch loads of smallmouth bass back when I was fishing with Roland. But never tried them fishing pickerel.

It’s always exciting to get out fishing for the first time each year here in New Brunswick. Yesterday was my first day of fishing for 2013 and sure beats sitting in the office typing.

Last year our first day was a really cold day so we came prepared for just about any weather. I had my entire wardrobe and Casey brought a snow suit, just to be sure we were prepared.

Turns out it was calm, sunny and warm all day long. I don’t think I saw a cloud all day. I just kept peeling off layers of clothing.

Salmon River Water Level Up 6 Feet

The Chipman boat launch was sure different that I remember it last year. I think there was about half of it still under water. Last year we could go down and and make a loop to come back up to back your boat down. This year it’s just two lanes going straight into the river. So I would say there is about 20 or 30 feet missing at the moment.

A second walk around the boat and in the truck to be sure we weren’t going to have to come back in because we forgot something and we were heading up river.

Casey Lands The First Fish of 2013

It’s always nice when I get the first fish of the day and especially of the season. I was focused and tried so hard. I was thinking positive, holding my tongue just the right way and even used my fish whistle and yet Casey still hooked that first fish.

My last resort was to smack it with the net, as usual, but that didn’t even work. So congrats on getting the first fish, a respectable 19” chain pickerel.

A Couple of Hours Later I Get Onboard

Eventually I hooked into my first fish of the day. I could see that it wasn’t quite as big as Casey’s pickerel. Didn’t even bother to measure him or get a picture.

I was happy to have my first but I was looking for one that was 19.5” in length.

We went a long time before the next fish which choose my lure over Casey’s and it was 21” putting me in the bigger fish category.

Casey played with a couple of fish but they just wouldn’t commit. They would chase the bait right to the boat and give up. Wimpy fish.

Later I caught another pickerel making it three for the day. Casey’s response was: “It sure beats splitting wood.” I so agree.

I Need To Practice My Aim

When I wrote that title I immediately remembered the needlepoint picture my Aunt Hazel had over the toilet. It said:

“We Aim To Please, Would You Aim Too Please”

But I’m not talking about using the bathroom. No I’m talking about getting my lure hooked up in the trees.

It was so calm and clear yesterday that the reflections were playing tricks on my eyes. I found it very hard to judge the distance so I ended up launching into the trees. However, on a positive note it did allow Casey to practice his boat handling skills.

Fortunately I only lost one all day and it wasn’t to the trees. I hooked bottom and no matter what we did I couldn’t get loose and eventually just pulled on the line until it snapped.

The lure I lost has been in my tackle box for many years and had never actually caught a single fish but I always gave it a try. Now I will focus on using baits and lures I do catch fish using.

Cajun Casey Hunting Gators

A couple of times during the day we travelled through the trees to get from point A to point B without making the long trek out of the cove we were in and back to the river. Didn’t see any gators in there though.

The spot we were just leaving is a great honey hole for pickerel once the grass and weeds start growing. I wanted to try this spot for a long time and one year I paddled my float tube across the Salmon river and climbed the bank, about 8 feet high and then walked a little ways to the cove.

The water over this area, I walked through, was 6 feet deep. That’s a lot of water and it’s no wonder the train trestle looked so low to the water.

I missed two good opportunities for some great video as we saw a Canada goose flying right next to Casey as he was driving. It was almost within arms reach and the same level as the truck. It was landing at just the right moment but it all happened so fast I didn’t have time to get a video.

Later I was taking a picture to my right when Casey saw two Canada geese landing right beside us. Again it was all over before I got the camera on them.

I did get a picture immediately after they landed but a video would have been great.

For most of our time on the water there wasn’t a breeze at all. At one point, maybe for five minutes, the wind picked up and showed us how chilly it would have been if it was a windy day.

This Is About As Rough As It Got

But for 99.9 percent of our day it was calm and the water was like a mirror. Just like the image below. I took a couple of pictures of just the reflection on the water and it just looked like I turned the picture upside down it was so calm.

Health problems make it so that I get extremely beat the following day but today I was very surprised when I woke up without a bad headache and tired like I haven’t slept for day. I did wake up with a sore back, shoulders, arms and legs but not so much that I couldn’t have gone fishing today. That’s a first since 2004. Every year it’s getting better and better.

We past the Redbank culverts on our way up river so we had to get close enough to see how high the water was. I am 5’ 9” and can stand up in the culverts with room to spare. This image shows the water was about two thirds the way up the culverts.

Later in the season Casey has no problem driving his boat through the culverts. We would have had to have a sub to get through yesterday.

Winter seemed extra long again this year but Spring is finally here and there’s just one more day until New Brunswick fishing season opens once again.

We’re still getting snow but that sun is getting more and more intense so it doesn’t stick around for long before it melts away.

Ron was telling Casey that as he passed on of our favourite pickerel fishing spots near Chipman and said it was still full of ice. Haven’t seen that for more than a decade but it’s not uncommon. It would be cool to catch spawning chain pickerel and we practice catch and release so they would be released right where they were spawning. Don’t think I’ve ever caught pickerel while they were spawning.

Look Out Muskie I’m Hunting For You

Got me some muskie gear this past winter, thanks to a couple of fishing friends, Casey and Ron. Ron sold them to me and Casey picked them up at the muskie club meeting a few weeks ago. Now all I have to do is catch me that first one.

I was hooked on chain pickerel on the fly after catching my very first pickerel, which was all of 6 or 7 inches. I was fly fishing brook trout in a section of bush that was flooded. As I pulled the fly from the water a tiny pickerel flew out of the water and nailed it mid-air. How aggressive.

Since that time I have caught hundreds of chain pickerel some even bigger than my first one and mostly from my trusty float tube which is so much fun.

I do have a few baits that are my favourite for chain pickerel but in all my years of fishing I have to say the pickerel is the most opportunistic and will attack most anything you throw at them. Today I’d like to share a few flies that I like above all other flies.

The thing is all the flies I like the most seem to work great for trout, Atlantic salmon, smallmouth bass and chain pickerel.

For Spring I Always Have A Mickey Finn Fly

The Mickey Finn fly is easy and quick to tie and works in a variety of sizes. This fly is great for any of the species I fish and I’m hoping to get a few rainbows and brown trout this year using a Mickey Finn.

Even though it can be tied in any size I tend to keep them between size 8 and 12. If I were fishing bigger fish, like stripers or muskie I would maybe go a size bigger.

You can’t see the body of the fly in the image above but I have silver tinsel covering the hook to reflect some light. I also use yellow and red deer tail, dyed of course as we only have white tail here.

Joe Cermele has a cool video where he not only ties a nice minnow style fly but he takes it out and catches some chain pickerel using it. This is a fly I’d like to tie and give a try this spring for some hungry pickerel.

I like the idea of using a stinger or trailer hook in the spring when there’s less weeds to deal with. For later I would use ones without the trailer hook plus I would add a weed guard to it so the I can fish longer without cleaning it off.

The Every So Humble Black or Brown Leech

About 30 years ago I tried black woolly bugger with a red butt. It easy to tie and only took a couple of minutes. I fish it with a leech in mind so I try to make it pulse through the water with short retrieves to bring the fly up in the water and then gently let it drop again.

It took me a few minutes to get the retrieve the way I wanted it and they started smacking it hard.

I tried to find the same fly on Youtube but couldn’t find the exact one as I was looking for a black or brown leech with a red butt. However I found lots of leeches with marabou tails. I haven’t tried fish one of those so I would just follow the plan but instead of a marabou tail I would replace it with red yarn as a butt section and not as a tail.

I may just tie a few woolly buggers with the marabou tail and see how they do for me.

Note: If you use wire to give some weight to your flies be sure to use lead free wire.

I think I might tie a few woolly buggers with red marabou feathers as a tail section and see if that’s more attracting to fish than just the red yard butt. Might take a little less action on the fly and catch more finicky fish.

Poppers Can Drive Fish Mad

I’ve never tied a popper myself but have used a few from others and I have just as much fun with a popper fly as I do with the varieties of poppers I use with my spinning gear. The key is to just be patient allowing the popper to sit until the ripples disappear before twitching or popping it again.