Jamie and I left a little early this morning so we could arrive at French Lake right about day break so we could have a nice long day on the water for our first time on French Lake.

It was a gorgeous morning with lots of mist on the water.

The first thing we did when we arrived was to just stand there and admire the awesome view we had. The water was calm, like a mirror, with whisps of mist here and there. A memory I won’t soon forget.

The moon was still high in the sky as the sun came up. A little too high to get in the picture I took but it just made the moment even more precious.

We took the canoe off the roof of the car and piled all our gear into to.

Jamie even brought his trolling motor as this lake is huge compared to the waters we usually fish. It would be too much paddling and not enough fishing otherwise.

Jamie had been here a few weeks ago with his brother in law and had a pretty good day, so we headed to the same spot to see how it was.

Well the fishing was a little tougher than we expected. I was getting a few follows, a couple of strikes but none of these pickerel were coming back for a second try.

I have never seen pickerel act like this before. They usually keep coming back until they are either caught or they get a good poke with the hook and retreat into the safety of the weeds. Very strange day of fishing.

Why Were The Pickerel So Strange This Day?

A lot of reasons for how the pickerel were acting came to mind but really I was confused as to why they were acting so different this day.

I was thinking it was because we were on French Lake where they get a fair bit of pressure plus it was a long weekend, it’s also back to school and the end of summer for a lot of people so the pressure could have been more than usual.

The water temperature had dropped to below 60 degrees, that may have been part of it as well.

The wind picked up shortly after sunrise and before we knew it the waves had picked up enough that they were slapping the canoe. It was quickly becoming dangerous and even though we both swim and were wearing our lifejackets we didn’t want to have to swim.

So we headed to back to the launch site and moved to Chipman to try a few spots there that get more protection from the wind.

It was now much later and warmer by the time we were on the water at Chipman. The water temperature had risen but the pickerel didn’t change, they still only gave us one opportunity to catch them and then they were gone.

We had a hard time finding water in the weeds that wasn’t effected by the strong winds and kept moving all day, trying to keep in coves and inlets that were protected but the wind seemed to be coming from all directions.

We had a few follow to the boat but once they got a look or a little taste of the bait they gave up and turned away.

I managed to catch a couple of pickerel but they were pretty small.

They were still better than what we had been catching to this point which was just air.

Maybe they would have made a good sandwich but still fun.

A little later I hooed into one that was much bigger than the others. I even got it into the canoe so we could take a picture.This one was a bit more respectable.

You can see behind me that the water looks calm. It was rare but the wind would stop every once in a while, just long enough for the water to get calm enough for us to move away from the shore but they were few and far between.

After a day in the strong wind and weeds where the paddling becomes work it didn’t take long to wear me out so when I got home, a little after 8pm, I was ready for bed. I didn’t even bother to have anything to eat.

I was telling Jamie about a kid’s movie I had watched the day before. It was called ‘The Good Witch’. There was a little girl having bad dreams of monsters that asked her how to get rid of them.

The good witch told her to make sure she didn’t dream about fuzzy bunnies that night and told her to keep saying it. I will not dream about fuzzy bunnies, over and over.

The little girl woke up the next day and had only dreamed of fuzzy bunnies, and no monsters.

Well I was blessed and dream of monsters all night. Some were scary monsters but I managed to get them all in the boat and released safely.

I woke up happy, excited and ready to go again.

Testimonials are great to have and word of mouth can be like gold if the experience is good. I could tell the fella who introduced us to Chipman Waterfront Campground was certainly happy with his experience.

I have been fishing the Chipman area for pickerel for more than 10 years and love it. The only thing is that we always end up driving back home at the end of the day.

Now that I know there is a campground and a well kept campground I might add we will be able to stay over night and get two days fishing in before heading back to Moncton.

As the guy was telling us about camping over night he told us about the fishing and how the campground owner, Bruce, had some canoes, lifejackets and even a couple of paddle boats.

He was saying how they had gone out from the camp site and had a lot of fun catching pickerel right there.

Well he immediately had my attention. I asked him for directions and found that I have driven past this place many times in the past 3 years and never saw it.

When I get fishing on the brain I don`t see anything else.

It was a very windy day and we had been working hard to keep fishing the weeds but we needed a break, well our arms and back needed a break.

So we headed back to Chipman from Redbank and turned right at the train tressel. Coming from highway 2 we would have made a left just before going under the train tressel.

We drove across the bridge, up to the school which is less than a minute and took a left. I think it was about 2 minutes from there. Easy to find and it has a nice big Canada Flag to get your attention.

Looking in from the road you can only see the lane in and not the campground which makes it more private. I didn`t hear any car or truck noises while we were in there either.

As we drove in and turned a little corner there it was and the first thing I saw of course was the water and the weed beds across the river. I wanted to jump right out and start casting.

The owner Bruce came out, with a big smile, to greet us.

We talked for about 15 minutes and he told us about his campground. You can tell it is something he has a passion for, just like me and fishing.

I was impressed and instantly liked Bruce. I think the fact that everything was so well kept and clean helped with that first impression and I feel strongly about those first impressions.

I was a little distracted by the river and the weed beds I could see. I hope Bruce didn`t think I was ignoring him or being rude.

I could tell you what I saw there but because Bruce has a web site about his campground I would like to let him tell you about it. So take a minute or two and check it out. Chipman Waterfront Campground.

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• Fly Fishing Pickerel In The Weeds (thejoyofflyfishing.com)

Fishing season here in New Brunswick was quickly drawing to a close, a time of year that always brings a tear to my eye. As dedicated fishers Jamie and I weren’t willing to let the season end without getting out just one more time.I am semi-retired, our son is in his 20s and lives on his own, I work from home and my wife has always been the best when it comes to me going fishing so I can pretty much go fishing at the drop of a hat. Most of the time my clients give me plenty of notice when they want me to do something for them and time isn’t usually an issue at all so I am always ready to go fishing, especially for Chain Pickerel.

Now Jamie on the other hand is a husband, father of twin girls, a school teacher and a hockey coach so he is more than just a busy guy which can make it rather tough to find an entire day to dedicate to fishing.

The last day we were fishing we planned one more day out but it hindged on whether Jamie could fit it into his schedule. It would be tough as the Thanksgiving weekend seemed to be the only slot available before the season closed.

I hadn’t heard from Jamie and time was running out. I knew he was busy and didn’t want to bother him especially if he wasn’t going to be able to go, why torment him, right. I even put all my fishing gear away for the year and tried not to think about it.

On the Thursday the 9th I got an email from Jamie asking if I was still interested in going fishing. I laughed out loud when I read that as I am always interested in going fishing. He either thought that was funny or he just hasn’t known  me long enough to know just how fanatical I am about fishing.

Fishing In The Wind

Over the years fishing pickerel here in New Brunswick I have found that when fishing the weeds for pickerel the slightest breeze can put them off and make an otherwise beautiful day non-productive. It also makes it a lot tougher to fish from a canoe and maintain your position out from the weeds.

Most days here start out very calm and as the day progresses the wind tends to pick up and then just before dark it usually calms again.

I was sure hoping Saturday wasn’t going to be like Friday as Friday started windy and just got more and more windy as the day progressed.

Well I woke up Saturday at 5am and immediately looked out the window to see if it was calm but it wasn’t. I could already see the branches moving when they are usually dead still at that time of the morning.

It was a bit depressing but our backup plan was to fish for smallmouth bass if it was too windy for the pickerel.

Jamie picked me up and we headed to Chipman. I spent the entire time watching the tree tops to see how the wind was doing, hoping the closer we got the less wind. We arrived and saw that there was a little ripple on the water.

I know we could fish the open water all day and catch pickerel but we both love the action in the weeds. When you cast to the weeds and the water explodes or you see a huge wake coming at your bait, well there is something about that that makes pickerel fishing in the weeds so darn exciting.

Over the years I have noticed that the slightest breeze can bring the action in the weeds to halt, immediately. Even though the water in the weeds can remain calm, if the breeze isn’t too strong, it still move the weeds enough to turn them off. As soon as the breeze stops the action starts again.

The wind also plays havoc with the canoe and even using an anchor you can’t keep the canoe facing the way you want. Well I can’t seem to get it to any ways, so I like those really calm days for ease of canoe control and plenty of top water action.

The wind picked up and died down over and over but every once in a while it would get windy enough to make it really tough fishing the weeds and maintain control of the canoe, even with an anchor. A number of times I suggested we leave and head to our bass fishing spot, but then the wind would die down and the pickerel would go nuts again.

Eventually the wind stopped and the water became like glass. Perfect for fishing the weeds and the pickerel didn’t disappoint us, the action was none stop all the way to dark.

We spent 10 hours in Jamie’s canoe and a great day. It did take me about 10 minutes to stand up straight after getting out of the canoe.

I am already looking forward to and planning for next year’s fishing season.

I think Jamie and his twin girls had a great day of fishing Smallmouth bass. Here is another little post from Jamie.

After talking to James and sharing the day I had with my girls I asked him if he would like to go fishing for the day. I know it is hard to believe but he said yes.

I strapped my canoe on my car and picked James up early in the morning and we were off to try to catch some pickerel and bass. I went to Cassidy Lake earlier this summer and caught a few small pickerel so I was excited to go to some water that had pickerel that would be more plentiful and larger in size.

We arrived at the location and of course we were both excited to get fishing that we fished off shore for a few minutes. James had one follow his lure after just a few casts which got my heart pumping. We put the canoe in the water and made our way to where James said he normally fishes.

I had an excellent time trying to catch these fish. It was great fun watching them chase after the lures in the water. I quickly realized that they are quite a predator. We caught a few, but that did not matter, as I told James it was just as much fun watching them chase and hit the baits. If not by the end of this fishing season, I am truly hoping that James and I will be back to try for some more pickerel very soon.

The day was actually very winding and it came to a point where we decided to leave and try for some bass. We loaded up our gear and the canoe and in a short time we were fishing bass. This was non-stop action for about three hours, I would say we caught and released about sixty bass. They were not monsters but that made no difference to me at all as I am someone who just has a great time catching fish no matter the size.

James was a great help teaching me how to fish in the weeds for pickerel. I am hoping to practice lots more very soon. I am very thankful that an evening surfing the internet led me to James’ fishing site. It led to a great day with my girls and also to another great day fishing for pickerel and bass with a new fishing buddy!

Image from WikipediaI love living and fishing in New Brunswick, Canada. I doesn’t get much better than being able to be fishing for brook trout and bass within 10 minutes of our house.

Twenty years ago I literally lived a stones through from this fishing spot. It was right in our backyard, our property went 32 feet right out into the lake.

Other than on a fishing trip in northern Quebec I haven’t fished for northern pike for more than 30 years now. I really only miss fishing in Ontario when I think of the great pike and muskie.

We don’t have the pike here but we do have the chain pickerel. They may not grow to the 48 inch toothy monsters that we grew in Ontario but I still find a 26 inch pickerel quite the experience.

My favorite fishing buddy Roland still has the record for the largest pickerel we have caught, at 26 inches. 24 inches is my record but he is going down this year. He just doesn’t know it yet.

Our first pickerel spots are about an hour’s drive giving us time to recall the great experiences we have had fishing pickerel but as we draw ever closer there is always a silence. I know that I am planning how I will kick my buddies butt and I am sure they are thinking the same thing.

Fishing in New Brunswick is awesome and the pickerel is just one of the species we fish from the float tube.