About a week ago I read a comment on my blog from Tim, on the left, who was eager to meet up with other like minded fishers addicted to the sport.

I emailed Tim right away and left my phone number as I am always up for making new friends, especially fishing friends. Just aske Jamie and Casey.

Tim and his wife returned to New Brunswick after living and teaching in Quebec for a few years. Glad he came back.

After talking with Tim for a bit I started thinking how much he reminds me of me about 25 or so years ago. I would hit every spot that could hold a trout and spent days finding new spots to fish.

My health has been improving and I feel better than I have felt in the last five years but I was still a bit hesitant to go on a day trip walking and fishing for trout so I suggested we take a trip to the Caines for an evening of fly fishing Atlantic salmon instead.

I am here today to tell you I survived the evening and had a great time as well. I figured I would stiff this morning but surprisingly I am not. I am having a hard time staying awake but feel great.

Our little trip yesterday was Tim’s first Atlantic salmon fishing so it was a new experience that I will let Tim share with you in the next day or two.

My fishing buddy Casey gave me a call yesterday to see if I was up for a day on Lake Petit again. Ha, that’s funny as I live to fish.

The last couple of times we were out on Lake Petit it was windy and the water was like chocolate milk, well yesterday wasn’t any different.

I looked out one of my office windows into my backyard and could see the tree tops swaying. It was another windy day but that wasn’t going to stop me from hitting the water.

Our first two trips out on Lake Petit we were skunked and as I was getting into Casey’s truck I laughed and said ‘Three strikes and I’m outta here.’

The waves were bigger than the first couple of times we were out so we decided we would head up Turtle Creek and see how it was in there.

It was much less windy in there but you could see the effect the wind had had on the water already. The creek, normally pretty clear water and stoney bottom was chruned up and dark but the wind was much less in there.

There was a covered bridge up the river a bit that I didn’t even know existed. It was here that Casey could see that the water was up a two feet higher than normal.

We have had a lot of rain this summer so it didn’t surprise me. Jamie and I have been out a few times to places that would normally be almost dried up at this time of year and the water is still there.

We headed up the creek and I caught the first bass, but it was too big to fit in a picture so you will just have to imagine it.

Okay it was all of 8 inches long. I laughed and asked him to go get his mother and gently dropped him back into the water.

A little further up Casey had a strike and jumped up saying it was a great hit.

Just as he said that I saw it jump and to me it looked about the same size as the one I had. I said ‘No, I don’t think so, he just thinks he is big.” and then I laughed.

When Casey brought it to the boat it was considerably bigger than I had thought. I guess I need new prescripton sunglasses.

We fished way up Turtle Creek, way further than Casey had gone before as the water was pretty high.

We pulled up beside another fisher who had just released a 19″ smallie, which lifted our hopes. He said he was fishing a plastic worm and that the fish were right on the bottom.

We saw him again later but he hadn’t caught anything else.

Shortly after that I caught another huge smallmouth bass. Well it was bigger than my first bass. I am sure it went all the way to 11 inches.

The places we fished had a gravel bottom. I think it would be a great place to catch pre-spawning bass. We will have to give that a go next year.

It was still a whole lot better than sitting in my office typing all day.

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Fly fishing is one of the most recognized and distinct methods of catching fish or angling. There is nothing quite like casting your fly out on the water and have it explode immediately.

This method has been popularly used to catch trout and salmon but I also fly fish for smallmouth bass and chain pickerel. What a blast.

There is no limit to the species of fish you can catch fly fishing.

There is different equipment used to make the process a success. One of the most important are the artificial flies you use while fly fishing.

The fly rod and fly reel you use isn’t all that important as I have used inexpensive rods and reels for years but I do buy good fly line and leader. It really sucks to lose a good fish, even if you practice catch and release.

An Overview On Fly Fishing Flies

Artificial fly fishing flies are commonly used. There are many companies that make them. This is to say that they are widely available in the market all over the world.  The following is just an overview of what goes into making these fishing flies. They come in great varieties with respect to size, shape and even colour. Fur, feathers, hairs and other materials are used in the making of fly fishing flies. These materials can either be natural or synthetic. A fly fishing lesson will reveal some of these aspects of flies. The flies are created by tying the materials onto a thread and hook.

Fly fishing flies are made with the aquatic appearance of local fish and insects in mind. This is because there must be a match that will be attractive and similar for success in angling to be achieved. They are also customized with regard to colour, and patterns to create fly fishing flies that are suitable. Creating the fly flies is an art and in different places in the world, experts who are gifted and skilled are employed to create flies that suit different specifications. It is a pleasurable and exciting art that continues to prevail. Synthetic materials are more popular when it comes to creating flies.

For many, fly fishing is a sport that employs the use of different varieties of fly fishing flies. To produce the variety, many companies have emerged to create or make fishing flies. These are a few most popular kinds of fly fishing flies. There are dry flies, wet, trout, nymph and UK trout flies. These are some of the most recognized. However, different cultures or communities will have their very own flies which have been in their society for a long time. This is the case for many angling communities.

It so happens today that when asking a large number of men about their hobby they would answer with fishing. While initially a primary human occupation, in time, fishing has evolved to the standard of leisure activity bringing a lot of comfort and relaxation to those who love it. Whether salty or fresh, any larger water can satisfy a fisherman’s whim. In case you are going to fish in freshwater, then what you need to do is find out what kind of fish live in that type of water and what freshwater fishing lures and accessories work out for that area.

There are many shops that can offer various types of freshwater fishing lures and most of them boast with high quality products meant to improve your fishing experience during the holiday. It is important though that when going to such a tackle shop you have the opportunity to meet someone there who has quite a bit of knowledge on fishing and fish species. If you lack the knowledge and the experience, you can easily come up with the wrong freshwater fishing lures. Nowadays, most shops have hired people with a bit of experience in fishing and fish life and would make the best recommendations according to what they have in stock.

In terms of manufacturers, they have also tried their best to come up with various types of freshwater fishing lures to match the demand on the market. Good freshwater fishing lures should prevent line twisting, and should allow you to cast the line as far as you like. Depending on the type of water to fish in, the lure may be used close within range or cast farther away. In addition, you may need it to float or rather go towards the bottom of the water. And, it may have to move pretty steadily or to turn chaotically, all having to do with the fish you want to catch.

When you want to renew your fishing equipment and you need to change the saltwater and freshwater fishing lures, check for promotions instead of paying large sums of money. These can either offer packs with various types of equipment and accessories that may cost a lot more if bought separately, or you could benefit from some very new products that have just been released on the market. Such promotions make the best of deals especially if the quality of products is high.

For all the Latest Free information on Fishing Lures be sure to visit Fishing Lures For Sale.

I have some great memories of being a kid, most of the time it was great.

Today I was sitting here in my office looking out into my backyard and just letting my mind wander when an old memory popped into my head. It was about the first pike I ever caught without a fishing rod of some sort.

I came home from school one day hauling a pike that was all of 3 feet long. Mom’s first question was where the heck did you find that. Thinking I had picked it up off the road.

My dad knew exactly where it came from and it was one of the few times I remember doing something that made him laugh instead of angry.

My walk home from school was just over a mile and a half and we had to walk it rain or shine but that’s the way it was in the country so we didn’t know any different. It wasn’t up hill both ways like my dad’s walk was.

The walk home did have two big hills, one close to the school and the other about a mile from the first hill. It was great when we had our bikes as we could build up so much speed going down one hill we could almost make it up the other hill just by coasting.

When it was spring we would take our time and play in the water that ran deep in the ditches. The ditches were about 3 feet deep to help channel all the water from the brook the ran under the road during the spring.

It was pretty cool. In the summer the ditches were completely dried and the brook was just a little mud hole with lots of frogs. The spring was another story.

It was a dangerous time in the early spring when the snow and ice were still around. I remember rescuing my little brother one year when he stepped on the ice and went right up to his waist in ice cold water. We got an ass kicking for that one even though I saved him.

Once the ice and snow was gone it was just deep clear water.

There were only a few of us that walked home. Other kids would have their parents drive them home but our parents would not allow us to take rides.

So the few of us that had to walk would have fun making boats to float in the ditches. We would have little races with our poorly designed boats but we were kids and it was fun.

Pleasantly Plucking Pike

One year I was walking home with Joyce, who lived on the farm just up the road from us. We usally walked with my little brother but this day he wasn’t there. Johnny was sick a lot so he was probably home sick, again.

Not sure how old  I was but Joyce, who lived about a quarter mile closer to the school that I did, and I were kicking stones to see how far we could kick them before they hit the water. Oh yeah, all the roads were gravel back then, except the road that ran through our little town.

I always won, but was never sure if she just let me win, if you know what I mean.

One fine sunny day Joyce and I were walking past the bridge when I spotted two pike in the ditch. One was about 2 feet long and skinny but the other was well over 3 feet long and looked huge.

Being a boy I had to try and catch one of them.

I remembered seeing my older foster brother Chuck use a shotgun to impact the water. The pike would float to the suface and he would just grab them with his hands. They never even had any holes in them from the shotgun.

I decided to try something similar but of course didn’t have a gun. After all I was on my way home from school.

I went to the other side of the road so as not to spook the pike and found the biggest rock I could find. Well the biggest one I could lift over my head.

I came back to the side where the pike were but now could only see the big pike. Joyce, being a girl was telling me I shouldn’t do it but I didn’t listen and slammed the rock as hard as I could on to the water. I almost went right in with it.

The splash was huge and we got soaked but the pike came to the surface just like when Chuck used his shotgun and I had myself a pike to take home. Proud as ever I walked the rest of the way home glowing I am sure.

I remember changing grips and going from one hand to the other all the way home. It was a bit to long so I had to hold my arms up all the way home so I wouldn’t get gravel and dirt all over it.

Dad took the fish and showed me how to clean it and scale it.

That pike became part of my supper that night and I am sure I smiled through the entire meal.

While fly fishing is conceived to be one of the most restful hobbies you'll ever engage in, there is still a certain amount of skill requirement in order to be successful. You might have heard so much about the cast and about tying your own flies and may wonder how to really improve your fly fishing techniques in order to improve your catch broad. There are just a few simple things you can remember in order to affect your time on the water a more enjoyable experience and to just plain old catch more fish; let’s review these few simple things to remember about your fly fishing techniques.

Being gentle with your cast is important and probably the most important of all fly fishing techniques. Many anglers make the error of trying to force their cast the direction you do with typical fishing. Remember that you're not attempting to achieve too far leading of you and surely don't want to sink your bait the way you do with regular fishing. Your destination is to just skim or flit your fly over the upper of the water. You also want to remember that with fly fishing, the fly is virtually weightless and the line is heavy, so the line pulls the fly and not the different way around. If you give your line just the slightest bit of direction you'll see how it pulls the fly behind it and how the fly then skims the water. Practice your cast as part of your fly fishing techniques as much as you can. You can stand in the yard and just use a line without a fly. Aim for about ten or fifteen feet in front of you and keep practicing until you can gain it perfectly.

Other ways to improve your fly fishing techniques is to get sufficient with working the line. With typical fishing you commonly have no slack in your line but with fly fishing, that slack is necessary for when you pull the line up for another cast. Beginning used to how it looks to watch the slack with your secondary hand may take some exercise. As you practice your cast, exercise covering that slack so that it doesn't have involved up in the line and so that you have enough slack overall. Both hands are going to be important when it comes to your fly fishing techniques so get used to how the line feels to you and what it takes to control it.

While you’re exercising your fly fishing techniques, remember not to get too taken up in instructions and the “proper” way to cast. If you do, you might find that you’re lost on the enjoyment of fly fishing overall. Anglers have been successful with fly fishing for hundreds of years without fancy schools or teachings, so you don't need to worry too much about these matters. Do the best you can with your own fly fishing techniques and remember to enjoy

Its a little known fact that women have been participating in fly fishing for many years, but in recent times its become a very popular recreation activity for women. There are more women participating in the sport of fly fishing each day, as more women discover the tranquillity of fishing outdoors close to mother nature, as well as the relaxation of fly fishing.

There are many clubs and organizations around now that deal specifically with woman’s fly fishing. One such organization is International Women Fly Fishers, an international non-profit organization which brings women interested in fly fishing together from all over the world, and also have a directory of women’s fly fishing in the United States and from around the world.

Fly Fishing Gear for Women

Men and women are not created equal in body shape. Women would have had to purchase fly fishing gear tailor-made for men in the past, but this is no longer the case today. Recently the variety of fly fishing gear available for women to buy has improved considerably. As women are becoming an increasingly larger chunk of the fly fishing market, fly fishing manufacturers have started making women’s fly fishing gear, tailor-made for women anglers. Whether a woman is looking to buy freshwater fly fishing gear, or saltwater fly fishing gear, there is now equipment specifically available.

Gear made specifically for women include fly fishing rods which are designed to be lighter, and have smaller grips to suit the smaller hands of women. Waders designed to fit the shape of a woman’s body are also now available, as well as women’s wading boots. Fly fishing manufacturers now make fly fishing chest packs and vests tailor-made for women anglers.

Sage, makers of some of the finest fly rods in the fly fishing industry (such as the Sage Smallmouth Fly Fishing Rod), now make a fly fishing rod tailor made for women, the Sage Z-Axis Small Grip Fly Rod. Winston also make the Winston Joan Wulff Fly Rod, which is another high quality rod. These rods designed with smaller grips, and are lighter in weight to better suit women anglers.

Simms have now launched waders that are specifically shaped to fit women, the Simms Women’s Headwater Waders. These top quality waders are made from a 3-layer Gore-Tex material, and are stockingfoot waders. Simms also make wading boots specifically designed for women, the Simms Women’s Headwaters Boot, which are narrower than equivalent men’s wading boot, are lightweight, and are ideally suited for women.