First, my first boat was a double hulled fiberglass boat and it was extremely heavy. I don’t remember exactly what I paid for this luxury liner but it was less than $400 and it came with a trailer to haul it. The thing about the trailer was that the rollers were totally seized up so they would roll the boat on or off the trailer. Instead the boat had to be float because if you had to push that sucker off that trailer you were in for a fight. It seemed lke the trailer glued it’s self to the bottom of the boat and wouldn’t let go unless you floated the boat, like I said. The few places we launched that wouldn’t go deep enoug into the water sure gave us a workout getting that boat wet. Our very first trip two things happened. First we blew a tire on the trailer about half way to where we were going to fish which put us about an hour behind schedule. Secondly. We finally arrived Saturday morning and launched for our first day on the water. It was so exciting and then the boat started to sink, bummer. That’s what happens when you don’t put a boat on a trailer correctly and the bottom of the trailer goes through the boat’s outer hull. So here is it is, early Saturday morning, nothing was open yet and we were getting ready to go back home when I looked over at the road and saw a man and a kid pull into a car repair shop. I pretty much ran from the boat to the car and asked the guy if he worked there. Long story short, for $60 he fixed my boat and we were on the water in just two hours. When I caught that first smallmouth bass both Roland and I did our happy dance. This day started getting kind of windy which is normal here but I had spent my alloted budget on that boat and couldn’t afford a motor for it. I did however had a trolling motor which got us from point A to point B until the wind over powered our little motor. We ended up on the rocks beside the railway line and had to get out of the boat and walk it around the point so we could get it back out into the water. We decided to take a break for lunch and headed to the local grocery store to buy a few supplies. It was very hot that day so we took a drive around the lake while we were eating. That’s when I saw it… There it was just lying there on the grass chained to a tree. A 9 horse Evenrude (I could be wrong on the size but it was small) outboard motor. The owner was home so I asked how it worked. He unchained it and hooked it up to his little aluminum boat and it started first pull. It also pushed that little boat quite fast, I was totally impress. Now this is something you don’t see or hear about any more but that guy gave me the motor and gave me his address so I could send him the money. He had never met or heard of me so he had no idea how honest I am but he just trusted. Well that little Evenrude wouldn’t go any faster than 5 miles an hours once it was on my boat but that was a lot faster than my trolling motor was taking us. That was just about the perfect speed for trolling though and we had a blast for about 5 or 6 years before I sold it. I still miss that old boat even though something went wrong every single time we went fishing in it.
This was a few years back now but my first boat was a headache as well as some of the greatest fishing time I have had. My buddy Roland was with all the way through the good times and a few bad times.
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.
My wife Jenny and I got out for a one day fishing trip on Sunday, after 5 of the longest years of my life.
Image via WikipediaOur new home is taking up a lot of our time this year. I haven’t even been fishing yet and it’s May 15th already. Yesterday as Spring cleanup day and we managed to get almost everything done we wanted to get rid of and just in time. They arrived for pickup about 12 hours early but we were ready.
Unfortunately most people in our city were not ready and are in for a cruel surprise when they get up this morning to see all their junk still sitting at the curb.
In the next couple of days I have to get all my fishing gear in order. I still haven’t picked up my New Brunswick fishing lisence yet. Not having a car since my heart attack really does suck at times.
I am sure one of my fishing buddies will take me Lyon’s store tonight so we are ready and can leave as early as we want.
I don’t think we will be taking the float tubes yet as the water will still feel like ice water and sitting in it too long at this time of year can be painful.
I would like to go to the little pond/lake where I found a second beaver pond in behind.
I always take my Fly rod with me even if I don’t get to use it. I like to see how early in the season we can attract trout on a dry fly. I have caught my limit with the Fly rod in years past but those years are few and far between.
The last time I fished this little spot in the spring it was snowing and raining. The wind was blowing so hard it ripped our panchos right off but the fishing was so hot that we couldn’t just go home.
We froze that day but it was worth every shiver.
My best fly fishing buddy Roland and I headed out for a day of brook trout fishing in a few beaver ponds just outside the north end of Fundy National Park. There are 5 or 6 ponds that I know of but I am sure there are more. We try not to point out their location as they are small and can get fished out pretty easy. We used to take my canoe back in and that was always a job that had me exhausted by the time we fought our way through the thick brush. Then came the float tubes and that part of the trip got a whole lot easier. What used to take us at least a half hour to get in there was now cut down to about 10 minutes or so and I would arrive in a better mood and not so wiped. I actually dragged my canoe in there by myself a few times and was so angry and beat that I had to sit down and wait until I was more relaxed before heading out on the water. Always better to fish with friends anyways. We have had a few nice feeds of brookies from these ponds. This one year, about 10 or more years ago now, where the water was much higher than we had ever seen it. This particular place I am talking about has two beaver ponds with a water way between them just big enough to take the canoe through and deep enough so that it doesn’t freeze to the bottom in the winter so the beavers can still get around. So, like I said the water was high and it was early spring so we didn’t have the canoe this time. If we had I would not be telling you this story. We walked into the first pond and started walking around it amazed at how high the water was. It was like a totally different place. More like a lake now instead of a pond. Okay maybe not that much bigger. We wanted to get to the other side where we could get a better position to fish for a while. With the water so high it was going to take us another half hour or so to walk around it but we were eager and decided to cross at the little water way between the ponds. It was normally about 3 feet deep at the most. I tried to step in slowly but couldn’t quite reach the bottom but I was sure I was only inches away but didn’t want to take that first step of faith so we had this ‘you go first’ thing going for about 10 mintues before Roland decided to be the brave one and stepped in. Quickly the water was right to the top of his waders but he made it to the other side with only the top inch of his getting wet. I laughed and thought to myself how happy I was that I was a bit taller than him. Well I wasn’t standing two feet from his left arm when he crossed and thought I would be fine. Well I wasn’t fine and that water was freezing cold. I made that first step, right where I thought Roland did and instantly I was right up to my neck. Even though Roland was right their and grabbed me I was very wet and his laughing didn’t help. I had to strip off and get the water out of my everywhere but fortunately the day was wasted because the air temperature was a whole lot warmer than that water and after a few minutes of grumblin’ and complaining I stopped shaking so much and got dressed again. A couple of minutes back in my waders and the temperature all evened out and I was fine.
The take off was really cool and for me it was the final step to this well planned fly-in fishing trip. We were in the air and barring anything catastrophic there was no turning back. We were on our way to, for all of us, our first fly-in fishing trip. It was only as we flew over the lake we would be fishing in that I realized just how huge this lake was. It even had rather large islands in the lake. One island had a cottage that was bigger than my house. They would have had to fly everything in to build it. Amazing. As we landed on the water and headed toward the camp we could see that previous fishermen waiting on the dock. Their time was up and we were taking over. Forgive the bad photography but I have always shook so bad I could never take pictures without a tripod and the plan vibs didn’t make my task any easier. Fortunately for me the fish don’t seem to mind all my shaking as I caught the most fish. Ha Ha guys. BTW: I have purchased a digital camera since this trip that cancels out my shakey hands. I am looking forward to using it for my fishing, gardening and travels. It didn’t take long unloading the planes as we needed two because we had so much gear and beer. Kerry and I were the first two into the boats after we had taken all our gear and supplies to the cabin. We had our polarized sunglasses on, our life jackets and rods in hand. We were officially fishing first. The sun was up and the glare was on the water but there was no wind and we could see deep into the water with ease. The lake water was a clear as drinking water.
The excitement was growing by the second. We were flying over scenery that I had never seen from above and so low to the ground. If our trip had of stopped right there I would have has some awesome memories.
While I and my buddies were in northern Quebec on our fly-in fishing trip there were Lake trout in the shallow bays but my buddies, well except Kerry, were blind to their presence. The proper sunglasses was made the difference. Kerry and I could look out over the water and see the Lake trout swimming around, just below the surface. I was out on my own using my Hummingbird fish finder to finds some big Lake trout when I thought I saw a splash in a little bay. Thinking it was a brook trout I headed in to make a few casts with my flyrod. BAM!! The first cast. It wasn’t a brook trout at all, as it turned out it was a Lake trout at about 6 or 8 pounds. As I was fighting this little surprise I was looking around and saw that he wasn’t alone, there were dozens of them in this little bay. I had to make a decision, keep fishing and tell my buddies later or stop fishing and take the 20 minute boat ride back to the camp to tell them. Well I love fishing with friends so I stopped, after two more fish, and headed back. Would have been a great time to have a two-way radio. When we returned I was the only one with a flyrod but both Kerry and I had on polarized sunglasses. Unfortunately the other 3 guys didn’t. But like I said I like to fish with friends and I like us all to be catching fish. I told Kerry it was time for him to migrate to one of the other boats and we would fish three to a boat for a while. That way I could direct those casting from my boat and Kerry could do the same in his boat. I little trick we both tried was to switch glasses with a buddy that didn’t have a fish on. That way they could see where they were while we were fighting our fish. It is so important to have the right gear when you go out on the water.
Fishing can be an exciting yet relaxing way to spend your weekends. It has been proven that fishing is one of the all-time treasured experiences of thousands of American families. However, any sport has its dangerous side and fishing is no exemption. Majority of fishing equipment have sharp tools such as metal hooks which may lead to accidents when the fishing environment unexpectedly changes for the worse. Storms, hurricanes, wild currents, and other mishaps, could spoil your fishing trip. If you are planning to go on a fishing expedition with family or friends, here is a list of urgent situations and what preparations you need to face each scenario. 1) Weather – Before packing up your bags and traveling to you fishing spot, consult or be aware of the weather conditions for the day and the following days. Whether you are fishing on shores or in a boat, you should be cautious of the conditions such as flash floods, storm movements and darkening of the skies. When signals such as extreme lightning strikes, you should head to dry land immediately. Having a sun-drenched day is not really an “appropriate fishing day.” You should be aware that spending many hours with exposure to the sun could damage your skin. Be prepared by bringing sun block to avoid sunburns. You should be aware of heat sickness symptoms such as nausea, breathing difficulty, lightheadedness, and unable to concentrate on tasks. Prepare a supply of water or liquid beverages to keep hydrated. 2) Sharp fishing equipments – Since fishing includes many sharp tools, you should always be prepared to treat injuries by packing disinfectants such as medicated lotion or spray and hydrogen peroxide. If an incident leads the skin to bleed, you would need bandages, cotton or paper towel. Bring your own first aid kit. 3) Tangles – One of the most common fishing hindrances is wherein your line is caught in anything surrounding your fishing spot such as trees, logs, etc. Try to get your line or fishing rod out of the tangle immediately to avoid the problem that could lead into a major accident. You could either snap off the branches of the tree or carefully and slowly remove your line away from where it is tangled. 4) Bait – When you run out of bait, it could spoil your while fishing trip. Avoid this by splitting up the rest of the bait into halves, quarters or thirds. The worm, even if divided, could still move, so the divided worms could still lure your target fish. Be prepared to face any scenario to keep your fishing adventure as relaxed as possible. With all these in mind, you could enjoy your fishing trip safely and successfully.
