The Joy of Fly Fishing in New Brunswick

Heading Out For A Day of Fly Fishing in New Brunswick

My wife Jenny and I headed out early Sunday morning for my first day of fly fishing in 5 years. There is no way she was going to let me head off into God knows where alone after taking so long to get my health back.

My goal for the day was to fish my butt off and her’s was to make sure I came home alive. Both our goals were met and mine were exceeded making me a very happy fly fisher.

First Some Pickerel And Bass

The first part of the day was spent fishing chain pickerel and bass but half way through the afternoon I started itching to fish for Atlantic salmon.

Half way through the day I was already bored with fishing for pickerel and bass although it was a blast and my arms and back were feeling the burn. I wanted to move on and maybe give Atlantic Salmon a try before heading home.

I also thought an hours drive would give my arm and back muscles a bit of a break as I haven’t worked this hard since my heart attack.

The Caines River

I suggested we take a few back roads and in less than an hour we could be at the Caines river fly fishing for Atlantic salmon.

Jenny smiled a weary smile, as she was pretty exhausted just following me around and agreed. We got out my map book and started planning the route we would take to get us there.

First we made a couple of peanut butter and jam sandwiches to fill our bellies while we were driving. I love peanut butter and jam, Mmmmm

We have had a lot of rain over the past two months with lots of flooding but I didn’t realize just how high the water was until I got right to the river.

Normally I can walk across the river but this day I had to look twice to be sure I was even at the right spot.

I was actually fishing for Atlantic Salmon but as they don’t eat once they hit the rivers to spawn in New Brunswick the brook trout don’t mind jumping in and taking the flies.

So, even though I didn’t catch or even see an Atlantic salmon I had a great time catching brook trout and they make such a good meal, almost better than peanut butter and jam.

All in all my first day out fly fishing in New Brunswick after 5 long years stuck at home was the best and I have to thank my wife Jenny for all her support.

My wife Jenny and I got out for a one day fishing trip on Sunday, after 5 of the longest years of my life.

I am sure I was the happiest guy on the planet on Sunday.

It was a full day to say the least and I am sure it will take a few days to work out all those aches and pains but it was all worth it.

I have been out walking for the last 4 years trying to make my heart strong enough to go fishing again and it paid off. I was much more prepared than Jenny was.

Going Rain or Shine

The weather guy was calling for rain off and on all day which was a bit of a bummer. I don’t mind fishing in the rain but I really didn’t want to put Jenny through that as she was just along to make sure I was ok but she doesn’t fish. That would make for a really long day for her.

We fished all day and didn’t see a drop of rain. I was never so glad that the weather people mess it up regularly here.

The Long Short Drive

We headed out at about 7am after a good breakfast. Even though it was only an hours drive to Chipman from our house it seemed like it took all day. Just too eager I guess.

Jenny was kept interested during the drive by watching the wildlife along the way. We have plenty of deer and moose here and they like to get out of the bush and eat the fresh leaves and grass.

Fishing Destination #1

I have been going to Chipman New Brunswick for Bass and Chain Pickerel. These two spots are only 15 minutes apart making it a great place to go.

Today our first fishing destination was Red Bank, just outside Chipman New Brunswick.

I usually bring my float tube to this spot but this day we were on foot. My wife felt it would be safer if I stayed on dry land, at least for the first fishing trips.

Fish Where The Fish Are

Let me start by saying that when I am fishing alone or with my fishing buddies we never really catch anything much here. Well not from the shore.

At this time of year the Chain Pickerel are finishing put their spawn ritual which is carried out further back in the marsh area where you just can’t walk without going to your knees in mud on each step. And if you stand still you will be right up to your butt in minutes.

I brought my medium action spinning rod with me because if you do get a nice pickerel you need some backbone in your rod to get them out of the structure.

The Catch of the Day

My first cast let me know how deep the water was because all I came up with was weeds. It’s always good to know how deep the water is.

My second cast I kept just above the weeds and BAM my first strike.

My first Pickerel jumped out of the water, spit the lure back at me and disappeared. I was so happy because I wasn’t really sure I would get anything fishing from the shore, so my hopes here began to soar.

He was only about 16 inches but even at that size and the right rod you can have fun all day long.

I have been fly fishing this area of New Brunswick for 25-30 years and the largest Chain Pickerel I have seen was 26 inches long. I didn’t catch that one though, it was my fishing buddy Roland that hooked that one.

I wasn’t using my Fly rod here on this day because there was just no way to get a cast out as the banks are all pretty steep and everything grabs your fly. When we have our float tubes we love to use the fly rods.

I think I love Pickerel fishing because it’s so much like Pike fishing. They seem to follow your fly or lure right to the point where you want to take it out of the water and then they smash it with all they’ve got.

When you are fishing from a float tube that means they soak you and usually they scare the crap out of me for a second, but it’s so much fun.

This is also the spot where the trucker stopped to ask me if I needed help with my boat. I was actually in my float tube and he thought my boat had sank.

Ooops, I got sidetracked, again…

Well back to fishing. Once I figured out the depth I changed lures to one that looked more like a Perch. It was a little heavier than that last lure and would allow me to get further from shore and it worked…

My first cast attracted a 24 inch Pickerel which of course waited unitl it was almost on the bank before exploding on my little perch and then the fight was on.

My first fight since my heart attack and I was feeling like a million bucks. If I had to go home right then I would have been a happy camper, but the day was only just beginning of course.

I fished there for a while and then crossed the road to the other side where we walked the bank and fished for another hour or so.

To my surprise I caught another two 24 inch Pickerel and a few smaller ones. I was kinda blown away that I could catch them from shore here. We have fished this area time and again from our float tubes and never caught anything at these spots.

I would say someone was looking down on use on Sunday and put those fish there just for me.

Well that’s was the first few hours of our day but that’s all for today. I will add a few more posts through the week sharing more of our great day fishing in New Brunswick.