The five of us were beside ourselves with excitement. None of us had been on a real fishing trip let alone a fly-in fishing trip to northern Quebec. Heck only two of us were experience fishers while the other three we kind of behind the house stream fishermen and maybe a little Mackerel fishing.

We had about 4 months to prepare which probably cost me hundreds more than was necessary but it was a once in a lifetime trip so it was going to be worth it. I wanted all new fishing equipment and so did my buddy Kerry.

My job didn’t give me spending money after all the bills were paid so I had to come up with something else that would help me buy new fishing equipment. But what could I do, I was far too busy at the one job I had to think about a second job, even if it were only temporary. Then it came to me…

I was spending about $10.00 a day on unnecessary things like coffee, muffins and pop. I decided I would give up those things until after our fishing trip. Kerry worked with me and was in the same boat so he decided he would give up the coffee, muffins and pop as well.

Our three other partners in this fishing trip didn’t need the extra money as they didn’t care what they took with them as long as it was beer. I think we had more weight in beer than all our other gear.

Note: I don’t drink and fish and I don’t let any one else either so even though we had a ton of beer it was for after a long hard day of fishing.

I was really blown away by how much I had been spending on food at work when I could have been bringing from home as part of our grocery bill. Live and learn and save.

$10.00 a day, five days a week equals $50.00, man what a waste. It didn’t take very long to start buying new fishing gear. Both Kerry and I bought exactly the same things.

New fishing vests, boots, waders, rods, reels, lures and flies… We looked like twins, well I was about 60 pounds over weight and Kerry wasn’t but other than that we looked a lot a like all decked out in our new gear. The only thing I bought that Kerry didn’t was a fish finder which came in handy for those huge Lake Trout.

The place we were flying out of gave us a pretty detailed list of what we should take. After all we were going into a place so far north it took a couple of hours to fly there so any problems would result in a two hour flight both ways. We didn’t want to spoil our trip so we followed the list as close as we could.

More about our fly in fishing trip in another post.

To maintain the delicate flavor of a newly caught freshwater or saltwater fish, this must be handled properly to avoid spoilage. Not to mention preserving the fish with pleasing odor. There are ways to properly prepare and maintain the quality just after the catch of the fish into a sumptuous fishmeal. Check out the tips below:

1) As soon as the fish lands avoid any contact with hard surfaces to prevent bruising. It should be washed immediately by hosing or bucket rinsing in order to remove the slime and possible bacteria that cause spoilage. Never use water from close proximity marinas, municipal or industrial discharges. To make sure, always use potable water instead.

2) Simply chill the fish to prevent deterioration in less than an hour. With a little advance planning, proper icing can be accomplished with the use of some relatively cheap equipment. Fish should be stored in coolers and should be well chilled. It should be 3″ deep, thus, covering a pound of fish with pound of ice. Use chlorinated water per quart of water for the final rinsing.

3) Clean the fish as soon as possible. Their tissues are sterile but not their scales, which contains many types of bacteria. When cleaning fish, avoid rough treatment because wounds in the flesh can allow the spread of bacteria. Gutting the fish does not have to be necessarily long. It is wise to cut the belly, as it leaves no blood or viscera in the body. Make sure not to soak cleaned fish fillets in a prolonged freshwater as this could reduce the meat texture and flavor.

4) The eating quality and nutritional value of fish can be maintained up to 5 days if properly cleaned. Washing of the hands before touching the fish is also important. No matter what fish and the cooking technique used, one golden rule is to be followed always. Whether it is whole or not, cook exactly 10 minutes for every inch measured. 15 minutes should be allotted to fish enclosed in foil or sauce baked. Double the time for frozen fish.

Allow extra time if fish will be baked while packed in an aluminum foil and allow extra time for the penetration of the heat. That should be an additional 5 minutes for fresh fish and 10 for frozen. In thawing frozen fish, slowly thaw in the fridge for 24 hours or let the wrapped fish be run under cold water not at room temperature. Do not thaw a fish that’s frozen before cooking as it may make it mushy and dry.

Oh man, 89 days left until I can go fishing again.

I woke up this morning, after a night of dreaming about fly fishing with friends, only to see another foot of the white stuff. Who the heck is ordering this stuff?

Don’t get me wrong, I love snow and it doesn’t look beautiful when it’s still white, but I’m going nuts here.

One way I pass the time is tying my own artificial flies for trout, salmon, bass and pickerel. The only thing is…

… I want to be casting with these flies, not sticking them in Styrofoam blocks until spring.

I think that perhaps a fishing trip to some place warm and sunny, like Florida, would be nice and would help to ease the tension building in my fly casting arm. If I were to do that without taking my wife, even though she doesn’t fish, I would most likely have to stay. I won’t say anything smart about staying.

I will be so happy once my wife retires and we can begin our life of adventure travel which will of course include plenty of fly fishing.

I haven’t been around the world fly fishing, yet, but mostly because I have experienced so much enjoyment fly fishing in Canada because we have so many rivers, ponds, freshwater lakes, saltwater and streams. There is a never ending supply of great places to fly fish. When I am done that I will move on to the rest of the world.

Freshwater and saltwater fishing are the favorite pastimes of Canadians and many tourists but the real excitement comes when you take up flyfishing in Canada. Canada offers a lot of first-class fishing trips that are well worth your time and money. The memories last a life time and the desire to return is always in the back of my mind.

Canada has the ideal water where a variety of fish species are abundant and can be enticed by a fly and good presentation. Some of my favorite fish to fly fish for are trout, salmon, bass and even pike, pickerel and musky.

There are also plenty of shops and establishments that sell fishing gear and supplies. Fly fishing in Canada is divided in two groups, the fresh water fishing and salt water fishing.

The most famous fishing in Canada is the Salmon Fishing, which is both enjoyable and rewarding. Our Salmon varieties in Canada are the Coho, Sockeye Salmon, Chinook and the chum and of course my favorite, because I live on the east coast of Canada is the Atlantic Salmon.

Salmon are known for their size and beauty and awesome fighting power. Many fishing guides in Canada specialize in the adventure of Salmon Fishing, especially fly fishing.

Canada is also known for fly fishing. Fly fishing, which is an older type of sport fishing, is about catching a fish using an artificial lure called a “fly.” Many resorts and establishments in Canada offer great packages on fly fishing trips.

When I started fly fishing I began fishing trout in small streams. Nothing like a good feed of brook trout while the water is still really cold. Later in the season as the water temperature rises I tend to strictly catch and release as I find they are a bit wormy by then.

After I had practised fly fishing for a while I moved up to fly fishing for salmon. That is an experience you can share but it is always best experienced to really understand why it’s so addictive.

Fly fishing for salmon and trout is great but one day I decided to fly fish for bass. I found this to be a great way to get some one hooked on fly fishing. The main reason is that you can fly fishing for trout and salmon but a lot of care needs to be taken to keep out of the trees but not so with the places we fish for bass.

I purchased two float tubes so that I could reach areas that are out of reach of other boats and even canoes, plus I was equipped to take friends fishing.

Over the years I have found a ton of places bass live. Out of those many great fishing spots I have a few places that are just made for fly fishing newbies. They can learn fly fishing basics, catch fish with dealing with the wind or getting hooked on everything around them.

As they grow in experience I introduce them to some of my other fishing spots that take a bit more learnin’ and practice.

My favorite spot to take fly fishing newbies is a flooded strip-mine that has been stocked with smallmouth bass. This is such a great spot because it has little to zero wind, a lot of hiding places for bass to ambush their dinner and you can fish this area with or without a boat or float tube.

The area is surrounded by high hills created by all the mining which keeps the wind down. Plus over the years trees have taken root and now there is even better cover for the bass and more trees block more of the wind on those windy days.

Fly fishing is my favourite method of fishing these days and has been for about 30 years now. The only reason it was before that was because I didn’t even know it existed.

Fly fishing can be a fun and most relaxing, yet exciting, sport, allowing one to spend quiet time with your friends, family and YES even with Mother Nature.

As a fresh water fly fishing addict I fish mostly rivers here in New Brunswick but you can also find and catch a variety of fish species willing to take a fly in just about any ponds, lakes, rivers and streams. I was just telling a fishing buddy about a beaver pond that had some great brook trout and how we used to fly fish for them in amongst the trees and how challenging it was but also how rewarding the experience was.

Even though learning to fly fish only takes a few minutes it never gets old and you can spend your entire life learning new ways to fly fish. Fly fishing is such a great way to fish that I think everyone that fishes should give it a try.

Have fun and maybe I will see you on the water.

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I have to say that I really feel blessed living in Atlantic Canada. It gives me a great opportunity of fly fishing for Atlantic Salmon. I have been hooked on fly fishing for our beautiful and powerful Atlantic salmon for about 30 years.

Originally from central Ontario I had never seen let alone hook an Atlantic Salmon or any other salmon for that matter. I had fished for pike, catfish, bass along with a few other species but nothing came close not even the largest bass or pike, to the experience I had with my first Atlantic salmon. The salmon wasn’t even a big salmon and it still blew all the other fish I had caught right out of the water.

I still remember my first fly fishing for Atlantic salmon adventures a love to share them with others. When people see how excited I can get they tend to want to give it a try and that always makes me happy.

I even keep two of everything so I can take a friend fishing, that’s how much I love sharing the experience.

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