I was sitting at home Sunday morning looking out into my backyard. Everything had a layer of ice on it from the rain we had the night before. Looked gorgeous with the sun glistening off everything. Almost blinding.

This is about the time of year I start feeling a bit of cabin fever so when Casey called to see if I was up for a drive to Shediac Bay to check out his ice fishing hut. I got pretty excited as I would likely have sat around watching TV and playing my guitar all day.

A Shot From Where We Parked The Vehicle.

Casey said he’d be at my house in less than an hour and all I needed to bring was some food and something to drink. As I was leaving the house my son Steve asked me if I wanted to take his flask with some Scotch to share with Casey. What a great son I have.

It’s had been at least 30 yeas since I last did any ice fishing. That was when I was still living in Ontario, near Lake Simcoe. We would take our snowmobiles and head out about 2-5 miles to a huge ice fishing village.

As we were getting close I was thinking we would be going out on the ice with our vehicle which kind of concerned me, but I trust Casey to keep me safe so I didn’t say anything at the time.

As you can see from the image above the fish huts weren’t far from shore at all. We just parked and walked out to the hut. That was easy.

Casey lives about 40 minutes from Moncton at Hopewell Cape, such a beautiful spot with a great view from his backyard.

Jenny and I love driving this section and visiting all the scenic spots. Check out the day trip we took along this section of New Brunswick and where you’ll find the Rocks on the Fundy Bay.

Casey and a friend hauled his fish hut out onto Shediac Bay, in about 6 sections, and assembled it right on the spot. It seems pretty efficient with four side panels that bolt to the floor and to two roof panels. Plenty of elbow room inside as well.

The floor boards opened opposite the door and there was a big hole to fish through. I looked into the hole expecting to see bottom but instead I saw tow huge chunks of ice at the bottom. Turns out they were huge homemade pillow cases filled with chains.

Sheets Sown Together With Chains

They are used to make the bottom a lighter colour so that it is easier to see any activity. Pretty cool idea.  I told him I was telling his wife he was stealing bed sheet. Then he told me she was the one who sowed it all together. What a great wife.

Getting There From Here

Once Casey picked me up we headed out of Moncton towards Dieppe and took the old highway 15 which is now Veterans Highway to Shediac.

Once at Shediac took highway 133 until we reached the Queens Warf turn off where the fishing hut is located. We may have taken highway 11 to get to highway 133, not sure as I was busy taking pictures of the scenery.

Queens Warf road was a short drive to the water, err I mean ice. As you can see from the picture at the top the huts weren’t far off shore.

Casey and I checked the structure and tightened a few bolts and then chopped the ice that had formed in the hole since he was last there.

The tide was heading out when we arrived and we didn’t see any fish but it was still a lot of fun and I can’t wait to get back out there again.

I have ice fished, more than 30 years ago but Casey has a couple of spears which I have never tried as the water we fished in Lake Simcoe Ontario was about 40 feet deep. So I’ll be getting some video the next time we’re out there.

We had a clear, relatively calm and sunny day plus the temperature wasn’t bad at all, however that’s not always the case so it’s best to know how to dress for ice fishing on days that aren’t so pleasant.

Related articles

• Chill out at the Northwest Ice Fishing Festival near Oroville on Feb. 18 (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Ohio Outdoors-Ice Fishing Panfish-Fishing and Fun With JFick (datingrulez.com)
• Anyone up for a spot of ice fishing?? (rothieblog.net)
• Dressing Tips For Real Winter Fishing (thejoyofflyfishing.com)

Thanks to Casey I was not only able to fish a number of new waters here in New Brunswick Canada in 2011 but I also got to fish later than I have ever fished here, in more than 30 years.

A Clear Bright But Chilly Morning on the Oromocto River New Brunswick

We saw a lot of fog on the water we passed on the way to Oromocto from Moncton and Hopewell Cape. The Saint John river was mostly hidden by the fog but the Oromocto didn’t have any fog, just a little mist about an inch or two above the water.

Blessed With A Great Day Weather Wise

We were fortunate to have a really nice day. It was a little nippy when we launched at 7am. I believe it was just 4 degrees but no wind, well until Casey opened up the motor and headed up river.

Sure glad I packed gloves, a toque and several layers of clothing with me so I was comfortable all day long. I was also glad I was sitting with my back to the bow of the boat when he took off as the breeze created was just a tad chilly on the face.

I think when Jamie and I were fish the Oromocto river on October 22 we took 3 roundabouts to get to the launch. Not sure how Casey got us to the same launch point with just one roundabout.

Okay Jamie what’s with the making us go around in circles so much.

The water was down even more than when Jamie and I were there last. and a few of the spots we were catching bass we actually dried up.

I Managed To Catch The First Pickerel

I have to say that I love it when I catch the first fish although it would be a nice gesture to let someone else get the first fish considering they had the boat and did all the driving. Thanks Casey.

I decided to start the day with a Red Devil as it had done me well on my last trip out. The last day out they were swallowing that thing, not just smacking at it.

Early on I turned a couple of what I thought were smallmouth bass but I’m never really sure until I see more of there body. They didn’t take, only looking I guess. Maybe I should have been retrieving a bit slower as the water temp was only 38C.

After a bit I caught the first pickerel of the day. This year the fishing was so hot and it was always a good feeling to get that first one so as not to be skunked, which we narrowly avoided with just 2 fish each for the entire day.

My first pickerel was about 20 inches but when Casey asked if I wanted a pictures I said no and released it, thinking we were going to get a whole lot more of them.

Casey wasn’t far behind. Soon after he landed his first pickerel of the day which was just a bit smaller than mine. How generous of him.

We didn’t have any further luck in the Oromocto but when we reached French lake we stopped in hooked our two biggest fish of the day. Mine was a 23 inch monster while Casey’s was just 22 inches, one inch shy of a monster.

All too soon it was time to go home so we headed back towards Oromocto and another year of fishing for myself has ended. I have lots of great memories and pictures to last the next six months while I get ready for next year. Thanks to both Casey and Jamie for getting me there.

Related articles

• Fished The Oromocto River Again October 22nd (thejoyofflyfishing.com)
• First Time Fishing Oromocto, New Brunswick (thejoyofflyfishing.com)
• Fishing Oromocto, New Brunswick For The First Time (flyfishinginnewbrunswick.com)
• Casey Had Better Luck Fishing The Oromocto River (thejoyofflyfishing.com)

Well another fun day of fishing with Casey and Jamie on French Lake has come to an end. The only thing that stopped us was the fact the big light in the sky ran out of energy for the day so we decided to go home.

Even though the wind was fairly strong and of course always blowing in the wrong direction we still had a blast. There was enough cloud cover so we weren’t frying all day and plenty of wind so that the bugs had to hang on to trees so they didn’t bother us.

Who could ask for more, eh?

The ride up in Casey’s truck was full of joking around and teasing each other but of course once we arrived at French lake things got serious. NOT. That would just be strange see three guys in a fishing boat being serious.

Casey hooked and caught the first fish of the day. For a perch it put up quite a fight but Casey still managed to land it, even without the use of his rubber net. Sadly that had to hold him for a while as Jamie decided to take over.

Casey lands the first fish, a feisty little perch with an attitude.

Now Jamie’s first fish could have eaten Casey’s perch but even so Casey had the bragging rights for catching the first fish.

The score was now one fat perch for Casey and one long skinny 22.000017 inch pickerel for Jamie. I was still in practice mode, I guess.

Jamie’s pickerel trying to flip out of his hand

Then for a while the two of them were going crazy with strikes, although they weren’t landing any. Casey is in the back of the boat, Jamie in the front with me in the middle and I can’t get a strike at all. It was time to change baits.

Jamie landed a second pickerel, a little smaller than his first and Casey was trying to figure out why the pickerel were not getting the point he was presenting. They just wouldn’t stay on his hook.

Casey was trying a new lure he had just bought the day before but the pickerel just seemed to smack it with getting the hook. After a bit he gave up and tried another bait and landed himself a nice pickerel.

Eventually I had practiced enough and got my first strike and first pickerel.

It always amazes me how three people can be in a boat, fishing the same water, structure and weeds with two people getting attention while the third is completely ignored by the fish.

Sometimes we go fishing and one person royally kicks butt and yet we’re only a few feet apart.

We had a lot of action as well as fun of course.

My biggest catch for most of the day was 19 inches. The majority of catches seemed to be right around 19 and 20 inches but my last catch of the day was my best at 22 inches.

Smiling Jimmy with his biggest fish of the day.

At this point is was dark, very dark. Sure glad Casey knew where the heck he was going because I would have had to stay out there all night waiting for daylight to find my way back.

At the end of the day the final score was Casey with 8 Chain pickerel plus 1 fat perch, Jamie with 10 Chain pickerel and myself with 15 Chain pickerel. I may have started off slow but gain ground over the rest of the day.

Another great day. We got home just about midnight and I’ll tell you it didn’t take me long to pass out once I got home.

Related articles

• Pickerel Fishing Salmon River From Grand Lake To Past Chipman (flyfishinginnewbrunswick.com)
• Cassidy Lake Pickere Fishing 2011 Part Two (flyfishinginnewbrunswick.com)
• Cassidy Lake Pickerel 2011 (flyfishinginnewbrunswick.com)

I was so itching to get out fishing after the long white winter we had. So when Casey emailed me earlier in the week to see if I was up for a little fishing trip for Friday the first thing I said was DUH!! .

Casey was heading to Cassidy Lake, which is the first place I ever fished for pickerel. I have some great memories of fishing there with my fishing buddy Roland.

I don’t think I have been to Cassidy Lake for about 20 years or more.

I didn’t get a lot of sleep Thursday night and was up at about 4am checking to make sure I had everything ready including lots of water and munchies.

Memories of Cassidy Lake

The first time I took Roland there, about 20 or more years ago, we were fishing from my canoe. The action was hard and fast all day long.

My best for the day and my personal best for until just last year, was a 24″ pickerel, however Roland’s vert first pickerel, ever, was 26″ long. I am still working to beat his record.

Even though he hooked the record he was about to touch it, not with all those teeth. I teased the crap out of him the rest of the day of course, but he still had the record.

Last year, 2010, on a trip Casey took Jamie and I to French Lake, New Brunswick I did catch a 25″ pickerel beating my own personal best but I’m still working on beating Roland’s personal best.

Maybe in 2011.

Heading To Cassidy Lake, Friday 13th, 2011

We have had a lot of rain but the weather girl said we might see some sun on Friday so it seemed the best choice of the week.

Casey picked me up and we headed out. The sky was still dark with a thick layer of clouds and as soon as we were out of Moncton we had to turn on the wipers.

When we got to Cassidy Lake it was still as dark and heavy looking as when we left.

Gloomy Day on Cassidy Lake New Brunswick

We came down the big hill toward Cassidy Lake, the image below, and the rain stopped. Just like that. The sky even seemed a little brighter as soon as we pulled into the boat launch.

Maybe it was just our enthusiasm.

I stepped out of Casey’s truck and immediately put my winter coat on. Then I took it off and put on my neoprene waders and put my coat and toque back on. The wind coming off the lake was cold.

Casey did all the safety checks and we launched the boat. Our first day of fishing for 2011 had begun.

Note: I didn’t catch a single fish using my favourite red worm I write so much about.

Pickerel Fishing Cassidy Lake New Brunswick Part Two

Related articles

• A Chain Pickerel By Any Other Name (thejoyofflyfishing.com)
• Tying A Few Flies For New Brunswick Chain Pickerel Action On The Fly (thejoyofflyfishing.com)
• The Spring Fishing in New Brunswick Itch (thejoyofflyfishing.com)
• Can’t Hardly Wait For Fishing Season To Open (stepbysteptips.com)

Our son Steve and his buddy Robin both bought their fishing license this year. They’ve even been out fishing twice already. Even with the water as high as it has been.

They asked me were they could go close to Moncton and I told them of a great spot Kerry and I had fished where we had the best trout fishing day of the year.

This is actually the only spot in New Brunswick I have ever caught brown trout. They are fun to catch and fight and jump better than the brookies, very acrobatic fish and beautifully coloured as well.

I was sure how high the water would be there but it was not far away so they took their back roads map book and head there.

When Kerry and I had gone we took main roads to get there but I had shown Robin a shorter road, not realizing one of the roads was a dirt road and some of it was washed out.

They spent a little over an hour getting out of a big ole mud hole and then turned around and took the same route Kerry and I had taken.

This little spot can take you all day to fish so it’s good to hide a big to get back to the vehicle or taking two vehicles would work well as well.

I can thank my fishing buddy Roland for this great fishing spot.

I’m looking forward to taking Jamie to this spot where we can take both our spinning rods and our fly rods as there is a lot of this brook that’s open enough for the fly rods.

Anyways back to Steve and Robin’s day.

Robin Trout Fishing

I can see from the pictures Steve took that the river is up a little and the water’s running a bit faster but quite fish-able.

It was raining and heavy clouds so the lighting was the greatest for taking pictures so they may seem a little dark.

Robin Caught A Huge Flounder, Well Maybe Not Huge

By the time they were ready to come back home they kind lost track of where they were. Do we go left back to the road or was it right, hmmm.

Hey look there’s a guy that knows how to get to the highway.

So they managed to find their way to the truck, thanks to Porky.

The boys were using worms on a few Mepps and Red Devils.

Related articles

• What To Look For Fly Fishing Trout Streams (thejoyofflyfishing.com)
• Secrets of Fishing For Brook Trout (thejoyofflyfishing.com)

Image via Wikipedia

I try to get out for a little fishing on opening day when it doesn’t mess with our anniversary which falls on April 17. Not sure why I agreed on that date but there are a lot of things I wonder about in marriage.

I learned that it’s better to NOT mention opening day of fishing season on the years our anniversary falls on a weekend.I learn, just slowly.

I was invited on a fishing trip open day, about 20 years ago. Asked Jenny if it would be alright. She even said yes, I just hadn’t learned that sometimes yes means no.

Most of you know I still haven’t been forgiven for making a stupid choice like that.

Anniversary Dinner

We have a favourite little restaurant we like to go to on special occasions. It’s just off Mountain Road, in Moncton, New Brunswick, at Killiam Drive. It’s an east Indian restaurant and the food reminds me so much of the cooking I used to get when I lived in Ontario.

This little restaurant is just a 10 minute walk from our house so it’s just enough to get our appetites active and to help digestion started on the walk home. The weather even cooperated.

Can I Get My Fishing License Too?

I am a little gun shy about talking fishing on our anniversary but I usually get my fishing license at Chubbies, which is just a 5 minute walk past the restaurant. So I asked if we could go there and get my license. I had to sign a document with my blood, stating I would not go fishing that weekend. Then Jenny even paid for my license.

So now we have been married 29 years. How time flies when you’re having fun, eh?

Off On Our Honeymoon

We had a great day for an April wedding. No rain, no snow, warm temps and even some sun when it was picture taking time.

So all the wedding stuff done, we were off to Fredericton New Brunswick for our wedding night and then off to Ontario, Niagara Falls and then to visit relatives that live in Ontario.

That year the water was so high they were talking about shutting down the highway that follows the Saint John River to Fredericton.

There were moose and deer all along that section of the highway along with police and rangers who were trying to get people to leave the moose along as they were plenty stressed already.

Well we made it through that section and I then tried to speed up to make up some time and as always when I try to speed I get stopped. This time instead of a ticket I was given a warning and he then wished us a happy safe wedding and we were on our way again, at the speed limit.

In Conlusion

Next year, 2012 is our 30th anniversary so I was thinking that maybe we could take a fishing trip somewhere nice. I haven’t got up the nerve to mention that one yet.

Related articles

• The Spring Fishing in New Brunswick Itch (thejoyofflyfishing.com)

It’s been many years since we’ve had a real snow filled winter here in Moncton, New Brunswick, a winter we can call actually call winter. So far there has been enough fresh snow to keep the old dirty snow covered up so it looks like a real picture postcard winter.

Picture PostCard Moncton Winter

Usually by this time of year I am wishing winter was gone but this year I don’t feel that way, well not yet anyways. Kinda reminds of when I was a kid growing up on the farm and gives me that nostalgic feeling. I never get tired of winter, just the shovelling, although I am really missing fly fishing days on the water, warm water.

I looked out the front window this morning and noticed Geoff, our neighbour, was already gone but when I went out to the street to take the picture above I noticed his car was there I just couldn’t see it from the window. All I could see from the window was a piece of his front porch, but no car.

Geoff’s car is buried behind my lilac trees.

The snow in our lilacs has piled so high it hid Geoff’s car from view. He’ll be so happy to see even more snow and I’ll be hearing his snowblower soon.

Time For Our Own Snowblower

I never really minded shovelling and could burn through it pretty fast. Today, not so much as the ole ticker doesn’t work like it used to back then and my heart doctor says no more snow shovelling if I want to see another winter.

I don’t like seeing my wife have to shovel while I stay indoors so I think it’s time for a snowblower. I am sure I can handle a little snowblower.

This is the first year that we have had to dig a trench so Honey, our pitbull, can get out to do her business in the yard.

She really doesn’t like it when she can’t see over the snow, it tends to make her bark when she can hear what’s going on but can’t see it.

She’s a rather spoiled pitbull and can’t understand why we would make her do her business in deep snow.

We have our own snowbirds living in our backyard, but I have the feeling they either headed south for warmer climates, or perhaps they are hybernating but they certainly aren’t shovelling.

I have been watching as the snow has built up on the bird house and can’t believe it could get this deep without being blown off.

I love the fact that I work from home and done have to go out into nasty weather if I choose not to. I can just sit in my office and watch the snow get deeper and deeper, dreaming of next fishing season.

Related articles

• Snow storms strain Moncton’s budget (cbc.ca)
• Moncton streets dangerous following snowstorm (cbc.ca)
• New Brunswick hit by fourth storm in 4 weeks (cbc.ca)