The Joy of Fly Fishing in New Brunswick

Image by Tim Somero via Flickr

Fly fishing for smallmouth bass from my float tube is always exciting, even on a bad day, if there is such a thing. I am really looking forward to my trip out. I just have to wait until all the yard work is done, the house is painted and a fence in built around our entire property.

Well okay, I made that last part up. I have been busy with planting this year and haven’t had much spare time but there is always time to go fly fishing, especially for smallies from a float tube. It’s just too much fun to pass up.

The reason I am writing this post is because an image popped into my head while I was watching a fishing show over lunch. I saw a good friend and I fly fishing in Lake George, New Brunswick and nothing was happening and my friend was getting a little discouraged, not too much, just a bit.

We were fishing close to shore and there was quite a bit of distance between boat docks and any kind of structure, so there was a lot of paddling without much action.

Until we rounded a small point, just big enough that we had not seen what was there. To us as we were at water level in our float tubes all we could see was open water but there was a small bay full of rocks, boulders, downed trees and lily pads.

We both thought we had drown out there and had gone to heaven.

Before we could even get to this new glorious spot the smallmouth’s started going wild and our day in smallmouth bass heaven had just begun.

I am the type of guy that just give up that easily and my friend was always willing to follow me because he knew I almost always caught fish and this day was no different.

Sport Fishing on the Fly is one of my favorite fly fishing show to watch. I enjoy sportfishing on the fly myself and get out on the water every chance I get.

I have been watching their TV show for some time and always learn something. I especially like the time spent at the fly tying bench. I get to see how to tie the flies that are new to me and then I get to try them here in New Brunswick.

I get a fair bit of fishing on TV but when I heard that Sport Fishing on the Fly had moved to WFN I contacted my satilite TV dealer and had them add WFN to my account. Now I can record more shows than ever. Thanks WFN and thanks Bell Express.

The SFOTF hosts, Don Freschi and Grant Fines do an awesome job. They know what they are doing and unlike so many other fishing shows they keep fairly sane during the taping which I appreciate.

I have a couple of float tubes and love taking friends fishing. It’s nice to get out fishing but I really do enjoy it so much more when the day on the water is shared. How much fun is it to yell fish on when you are all by your self?

It’s also nice to have a friend who can take good pictures. My hands shake too much, ever since I was a young boy, so I really suck at picture taking.

I bought a viedo camera this years and a tripod. I am hoping to finally be able to take great pictures and share them with my readers.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

One of my web design clients, Big Paw Outfitters owner Kevin Caissie dropped in yesterday and was telling me how the Atlantic salmon fishing was doing in the Main West Miramichi River. He and his clients have been having a blast.

That was awesome to hear but one thing that really caught my attention was the size of brook trout they caught. I know there are a lot of salmon and I enjoy fishing for them but my heart has to go to the brook trout. Their beauty just can’t be beat and they fight like there is no tomorrow.

So many people I talk to tend to think there are only small brook trout in the brooks, streams and rivers here in New Brunswick but they are dead wrong.

What it comes down to is the fact so many fish where every one else fishing and those spots tend to get over fished but if they would take their time and go to spots that are a little off the beaten track they would find a lot more and bigger brook trout.

An important key to catching brook trout in brooks and streams is stealth. If you can see the trout you can be sure they can see you, unless…

… you are really stealthy and keep low, don’t cast a shadow across the water and keep the noise, especially your feet, quiet otherwise you will alert that 4 pounder behind that downed tree.

Image via Wikipedia

It was early season for brook trout and the weather does change frequently here but we were still going, even if it was to snow. It wouldn’t be the first time we had to fish in a snow storm. It was later enough into spring that we really didn’t expect snow.
We could have gone brook fishing instead. I think that would have helped with fighting the wind as the trout brooks we fish are usually surrounded by trees, giving the trout some protection as well as the fishers, like me.

Kerry had come down from Fredericton the night before so we could get an early start Saturday morning. It looked like maybe the weather guy was wrong, again. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky as we leaving.

We had packed everything the night before, well everything except our rain gear. Not sure what happened there.

We were well on our way when the clouds started rolling in, dark heavy looking clouds and that’s when I remembered exactly where my rain gear was. We decided to wait at Sussex New Brunswick for a store to open so we could get a couple of panchos for the day.

To make a long story short we had a great day of fishing even though we only got a couple of hours in before it was so windy we couldn’t use our Fly rods and went back to the car to switch to spinning rods.

Normally on a day like this we would have gone home or sat in the vehicle hoping it would get better but this day the fish were biting on every cast. I am sure I could have cast into the bush and a brook trout would have found it.

The wind had torn my pancho, literally to ribbons, and eventually the wind ripped it right off and it was gone with the wind. I was soaked through and through and shivering like I was on a vibrator but I wasn’t about to quit fishing, not a chance.

Image via Wikipedia

Learn more about the Atlantic salmon from Wikipedia

The Altantic salmon are born in our rivers and streams where they start the life cycle that will bring them right back to the exact river that spawned them.

Man, in his never ending attempt to dominate the globe, has destroyed many river habitats so much so that the Atlantic salmon no longer returns to their homes leaving so many fly fishers and anglers crying as they have to drive by once productive waters.

Fortunately for the Atlantic salmon and of course the fly fishing enthusiasts all is not lost and with more awareness and many willing to make the necessary changes our salmon waters are improving and life is returning.

There are many factors that come into play which make Atlantic salmon fishing in New Brunswick such a sport. A huge factor is you and me. We can make a huge difference in our environment and that of the salmon by not polluting, leaving no garbage and cleaning up any that we see.

We call this our planet but in reality the planet is the future of our grand children. If we keep that in mind all the time we might just take better care of her.

Image via Wikipedia

When I first made Moncton New Brunswick my home I was only working part time and had plenty of time to find new places to fish.

I drove all the back roads and many times found myself rather turned around but I always found my way back home again. My little treks around our great province has led me to many beautiful locations in my search for more trout fishing hot spots.

One fine day I was cruising the back roads, less than an hour from home, and found this little brook that didn’t look much different that so many other brooks and streams I have fished. The biggest difference in this brook was the fact that it wasn’t choked with trees making it hard to fish.

This little brook was wide open and the trees were more mature and not as close the water. This was the kind of place I could bring my son, as he was still a little guy at this time, and a great place for a picnic. I love these spots as it makes for a great family day with a bit of fishing included.

I had such a great day at this spot that it took me longer to walk back to my car than it took me to drive back home to Moncton.

New Brunswick is so full of great brook trout streams you could fish you whole life and never fish the same spot.

This is one of my favorite spots to fly fish for Atlantic salmon and brook trout. To the right of the bridge a nice cool brook flows into the Marimichi River making for a great spot to catch the odd monster brook trout.

The last time I fished here they were just starting the new bridge and the old one vehicle steel bridge was still there. It was nice to use the new bridge without waiting for the on coming traffic, which could get pretty crowded at certain times of the year.

My wife and I stopped here on our day of fishing and I noticed that the big boulders that used to be along the river at this point, just off shore, have gone. This is going to definitely change this stretch of water.

We stayed there for a couple of hours and saw absolutely nothing moving. The water was still a little high here but in past years I have fished here this early and caught Atlantic salmon and trout.

I certainly hope this was just one of those days and that the fishing at this spot comes back. Maybe I will get back there this weekend to give it another go.

It just shows how man can mess things up when they are trying to make things better for us humans.