Sunday, November 8, 2009

Fishing Done For Another Season


Once school started a few months ago life got very busy. This is why I have not updated my blog. I do have to make time as I enjoy telling about the fishing trips I take. Since my last update I did go to Chipman a few times to fish pickerel. I also went to french Lake to try it as well. The day James and I went to French Lake we had some success but then the wind picked up so we decided to go to Chipman. The last time James and I went to Chipman it was close to the October 15th fishing cutoff date. It was a wet day but we both had rain suits so we did not mind. The water was up a good three feet because of all the rain we had. I had a few fish hit my baits but did not get a fish to the boat all day. James caught 4 or 5 throughout the day. We were certainly hoping for more but that is fishing.

I am looking forward to next season already and will use the "off season" to restock some baits. I recently went on Mister Twister's website and ordered some top props as a friend said they work very well so I am excited to give them a try next season. I will also have to take the exam to get my boater's licence so I will be able to use my trolling motor. Yes, I need it to use my trolling motor on my 13 foot canoe. Silly, yes. Money grab by the government, yes. But that can be another blog!! :)

One of the highlights was when I took my daughter Amy to Chipman to try for some bass and pickerel. We first went to the pond where we had great luck from shore catching bass last year. I am not sure what happened there but I tried there 4 times this year and did not catch a fish. We left there and I asked her if she wanted to try for some pickerel and she said yes. We again just fished from shore. She did a good job casting and soon had a few hits and was having fun. We went to the other side of the road and worked our way along the edge of the water. We had some big strikes and she enjoyed that. She then made a cast and had a fish on! She was able to reel it in by herself and ended up catching her first pickerel all by herself. She was impressed with how it fought and how heavy it was.


James and I are also going to make an effort to try some more bass fishing next season as well. We would talk about it but we usually ended back at Chipman because we have so much fun there.
I hope everyone has a great winter and I hope everyone will be as excited for April 15th as I will be.


Thursday, August 13, 2009

Four More Rainbows


Dave and I went back to Crooked Creek this afternoon and we each ended up catching two rainbow trout. All four fish were caught on Royal Coachmans.

We did not get at the brook until 3pm as we each had things we had to get done. We were able to get quite a ways up the river as we fished the pools and then walked the woods a lot. The last pool we got to was the spot that I caught the rainbow that is in the picture. It came up a few times at my fly and at Dave's and then it finally took mine.



We had a great afternoon hiking and fishing in this beautiful area. We are hoping to get there one more time before Dave has to go home.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Fishing at Crooked Creek

My brother-in-law Dave is home from Calgary. I always enjoy this time because he is an avid fisherman like me. Before he moved out West we would spend many days fishing at Crooked creek. On his return trips home we always make sure to take a few days and return to fish at this beautiful spot.
On last Sunday we decided to go. We arrived at Crooked Creek at around noon for an afternoon of fishing. This was the first time I have been at Crooked creek all summer. We figured the water would be running high and hard because of all the rain we have received all summer. We were correct in this assumption as the water was very high and running very hard for this time of year. We decided to give it a try since we were there. We said we would go a ways up the water and if we did not get any action at all we would leave and try the Kennebecasis.

We tried the first few pools with no action at all. We were using different dry flies. My favorite one to use there is my home-made Royal Coachman. I have had excellent luck at Crooked Creek using this fly.
We knew there were a couple of other pools just a little further up the system so we kept going. At the next pool I caught a little brook trout at the head of the heavy water in front of the pool. We said at least we saw a fish and Dave went to the next spot just above this one. In a few minutes he called my name as he had a nice rainbow trout come after his fly. He said he did get the fish close to shore but did not set the fly properly and the fish got off. This was enough for us to continue fishing. The next pool is a very deep spot that we have had good luck at over the years. Dave fished the pool for a few minutes and then I tried my Royal Coachman a few times. On one cast I thought I saw a rainbow swirl a little to the left of the fly so I casted again in the same area and the fish hit the fly right away. I got the fish in and we were excited to at least catch one fish in these water conditions. We fished here a few more minutes and I had one more small rainbow come up but it did not take the fly. Around the corner was another favorite spot of ours so we ventured to it.


Dave, who now had a Royal Coachman on tired this spot with no luck. I moved to the back of the pool and casted my Royal Coachman in a few times and again I thought I saw a swirl. I threw the fly in again and a very nice-sized rainbow jumped completely out of the water at the fly but missed. At this time I yelled at Dave to let him know what I just saw but because of the heavy water running into this spot he did not hear me. I casted again and the fish hit right away. I gave Dave another yell and told him I had a nice one on. Again because of this action we decided to go a little further up the system.


We could a few small brook trout but decided to turn back after a few more spots. We said we would hopefully be back in a week or so to go further hoping the water would be down some.
On the way back to the car we fished the same spot again. On a spot that we have not had much success in recent years Dave caught a nice rainbow.



I was pleased just to get out fishing with Dave at Crooked Creek but also pleased that we both caught some fish. Hopefully the water will drop some so the next time we go the conditions will be a little easier to fish.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Tried the Kennebecasis

I took my fly rod out for the first time this year and headed to the Kennebecasis for a little evening fishing. When I got there, my thoughts were realized as the water was quite high and running quite hard. I figured I was there so I might as well give it a try.

Throughout my time fishing I tried different flies. I used the Adams, the Mosquito, Royal Coachman, and some other flies that I tied that had green in them. I did get some trout to rise at the flies but only managed to catch one small one. I think if, and that is a big if, the rain stays away for a handful of days that the water will drop pretty quickly.

On the way back home I stopped by the Scott road and fly fished the Petitcodiac for a couple of minutes using a Wolley Bugger and I did manage to catch one small bass. They are always great fun to catch on the fly.

I hope everyone is having fun fishing and having good luck. Until next time, tight lines.

Monday, July 20, 2009

What a Bass!

James and I decided to go fishing yesterday to our favorite pickerel place. When we got into the canoe we did a loop by the culverts under the road. On the way there we made a few casts with no action. The last time we were there we had a few pickerel that were hitting just in front of the culverts in the running water so I decided to throw my line in that spot. As soon as the 6 inch pink worm hit the water there was an enormous splash on top of the water. I was very excited as I thought I was about to catch a huge pickerel. Well, the way the fish was acting James and I quickly said that it was not a pickerel. James was the first to say that it was a bass. About a month and a bit ago we saw 2 people with some small bass they said they caught there. This was the first that we heard bass being in this water so I was not terribly surprised that it could be a bass. What was very cool was the size of the bass. I have caught a few nice bass on Little River and another nice on on the Canaan River but this one is the biggest I have caught to date.

We did catch some pickerel and had others case like we normally do but the wind picked up and made fishing very difficult in the canoe. We went to another stretch of the river but it was still very windy so we decided to call it a day. Hopefully there will be another fishing day very soon.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Another Awesome Day Pickerel Fishing

I got permission from the boss (my wife) to go fishing on Tuesday so I gave James a call and we were off to our favorite pickerel fishing place. We decided to go early to get in as much fishing as we could. We left James' house at 6am and were fishing by about 7:45. We fished the same area we normally do and were getting some action but not quite as much as we normally get. We worked our way around the area and then decided to take the canoe to the other body of water across the street.


We worked our way around the edge of this water getting some pickerel to chase our lures. We were using different color worms, hooked weedless. The way to fish these is to cast out and beat the worm across the top of the weeds and water. This takes some practice but not too hard to get the hang of. It is very important to get the worm on the hook properly. I still had a bend in mine and I was getting caught up on the weeds a lot. James showed me how to fix that and the rest of the day I did not get caught up as much.

We kept going along this edge until we got quite a ways down. We decided to cut across the water to head back to the other side. When we got to the other side of the water we noticed a nice spot protected from the wind. The water was calm and there were weeds on top of the water. It looked like a perfect spot to catch some pickerel. Let me tell you, we were right about that! I would say for a good 2 hours we had pickerel chasing our lures on about every cast. We caught many of these pickerel. The were some very nice sized ones as well. Some were the biggest I have seen come out of this water.

Some of the pictures I have with this blog are from both sides. This time out we certainly had much better luck on the "new" side. In the pictures you will notice I am wearing a glove. Yes, it looks silly; yes, I know that; no, I do not care. :) I am new to pickerel fishing and after seeing James get his finger cut a few weeks ago I figured I better wear something that helps me get a good grip on the fish. The glove has rubber spots on it and it helps very well holding the fish.
Needless to say I am extremely excited to head back to go after more pickerel.

Friday, June 26, 2009

A Fun Day Fishing Pickerel


I took a fellow teacher buddy out fishing today. Guy and I have gone fishing a few times in the past. We have mainly gone for trout. I really wanted to take him to try for some pickerel and when I mentioned that to him he was all for it.
He picked me up at 7am and we were off. Today was the first time this year that I used the canoe. It was great to use it again but I am still all knotted up :) When we got there Guy said the first one who catches a fish does not have to pay for some treats on the way home. We got into the canoe and started fishing. Guy caught a nice pickerel about 5 minutes into fishing. I was pleased that he caught his first pickerel ever that I did not care if I had to buy the treats. Guy was quick to catch his second pickerel of the day.

We crossed the cove and started fishing up the side. Before I knew it I was down 5-0. guy reminded me it was 5-0 :) I did not mind as I was getting a few pickerel to case my bait. We were using different 6 inch rubber worms. Guy thought I was crazy when I showed him a certain color but it was the color that worked the best today. The color was pink.
We continued to make our way around the water. I finally caught two back to back pickerel and they were 2 very big pickerel. They were probably two of the biggest I have ever caught.
When we stopped fishing we probably landed around 15 pickerel and had many more chase our baits. Guy had a great time and is anxious to try it again. Of course I am always looking forward to going back to this spot to do more pickerel fishing.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Canaan River

I went fishing today for a few hours. I usually try to get out fishing on Father's Day as a bit of a celebration. I did not call anyone to go with me as the sky was very dark and thought I might get poured on. I went to Little River and caught one bass but did not get any other action. It was still early in the day so I thought I would go on the Cole's Island road and fish part of the Canaan River.

I drove a couple of minutes past the bridge at the turnoff for Havlock. I had my waiters so I decided to get in and walk the river. The water is dark so I walked carefully. On about my fifth cast I had a bass on. I was using a 4 inch tube. I started walking down the river and kept casting close to the edge of the river. About ten minutes later I had another hit and realized it was a good one. It danced out of the water a few times and I quickly realized it was the biggest bass I ever caught. It was at this point I was really upset I forgot the camera at home. I got the bass in and held it up and was very pleased with the catch.

I continued down the river and caught 3 more bass. They were all caught on the 4 inch tube. I did try some other baits. I had a bass got after a 6 inch green and blue worm.
The trip to the Canaan River only added about 20 minutes to my usual spot at Little River so perhaps I will go back there instead of Little River as I had good success there today. I will have to see if James would like to make the trip next time.

Sorry, no pics this time :(

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Finally Some Success Catching Bass

Last Sunday Night I snuck out for a couple of hours of fishing. It was a last minute decision to go so I made a quick trip to Little River to see if the bass were in the system yet. It was this time last year that I caught my first bass. The water was lower than the last time I was there and the water was not running as hard so my hopes were up that maybe I would have some success. I worked different parts of the river with no success. I tried some different baits. I tried some 4 inch tubes and tried some 6 inch worms. I figured since I was out and did not know when I would get out again that I would go try a couple of parts of the Petitcodiac River just past Salisbury.
There is this one corner that I had good luck at last year so I tried that spot first. I was using the 4 inch tube here. I did three or four casts with no luck and on my fifth cast I had that sensation I have been waiting all winter and spring for, the pull of a bass on the end of the line. It was nothing big but I was excited just to have a fish on. I played it for a minute and then released it. I did not have anymore luck there so I went up the road to try another spot I tried last year. It only took another couple of casts before I caught another bass. This is the one that is in the picture. Again, nothing big but fun just the same. I tired around this area for about another half an hour with no luck so I called it a night.
It was great to catch my first two bass of the season. I am taking a course for school and was there today and again tomorrow. If I am lucky I will sneak out when I get home from course for a couple of hours. If I make it out I will let you know how I make out. Tight lines.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

No Luck on the Petitcodiac but......

I went out on the Petitcodiac yesterday to try to catch some bass. As has been the case the early part of this season we did not have any luck at all. It certainly was not a waste of a few hours because I met a new fishing friend. His name is Casey and seems to love to fish as much as I do.
Casey was gracious enough to invite me out in his 16 foot boat. It makes my 13 foot canoe look like...well...a 13 foot canoe :) He has it set up very nice. He has two fish finders, 2 swivel seats, live well, radio, rod holders, and much more. What I really like is that we were able to stand up to fish. The boat is big enough that you feel safe when standing up. Something that we certainly can not do in my canoe. My time will come someday when I will get a good fishing boat for fishing bigger water.
Casey and I tried different baits while we fished. I tried some 4 inch tubes, some top water baits, and some 4 inch worms. The fish finder did pick up a few fish but it seemed like they were hanging out somewhere else.

As we finished up our day on the water we said that some day James and I will go out in the canoe and Casey and his fishing buddy will go out in his boat and we will have a friendly challenge to see who can catch the most chain pickerel.

Thanks again Casey for taking the time and showing me your boat and getting in some bass fishing. Until next time!!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

No Bass For Little River (Not Yet Anyway)

I went out to Little River on Saturday to try to catch some bass. It was my first time there this season so I was curious to see the water level and current. I was not overly surprised to seethe water quite high and the current was quite strong. I did decide to give it a try. I fished different parts of the river with no luck and no sign of any bass. As I was working my way up river I met another person who was fishing for trout. He was bait fishing with worms and to my surprise was catching some. I did not think there ere any trout in the system so I was pleased to hear he was catching some. I figure in a few more weeks the water will be more fishable.

I then went for a ride to give Smith's Creek a try. This is in behind Sussex. There is a certain spot that I try. I tried bait fishing. Again I did not have any luck at all. I got no bites. Again, the water was running quite hard and was cold. I left and decided to explore a little. A little ways down the road I spotted a small little brook and gave it a try. It is here where I caught my first three fish of the year. They were just small brook trout but it was nice to feel the tug on the line again.

I am not sure what the next few weeks will bring for fishing but I am hoping to get out soon again. Until then, tight lines.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

First Day Of Fishing......Finally



Well, it took me eleven days but I finally got out fishing last Sunday. Things came up and I could not get out until then. I called James and we were going to go to Smith's Creek to try some early season trout fishing. When I picked him up he asked if I wanted to go try for some chain pickerel and bass. Of course it took me all of 2 seconds to say yes.

So off we were to our pickerel spot. It took about an hour and twenty minutes to get there. We had a nice talk and the way there as we have not seen each other over the winter. As we turned the corner and saw the spot where we were going to fish we say that the water was extremely high. This did not stop as we put on our waiters and went fishing.

I am not sure if the water was still too cold, the water level, or if it was the wind but we did not have any luck catching any pickerel. We did not even see any movement on the water. We tried for about an hour and then decided to try the bass spot.
The water level was fine here as I do not think it changes much there, so I thought we were in for some fun bass fishing. Well, I was wrong. Again, perhaps the water temperature was still too cold. We did not have any luck at all. We tried for over and hour.

The weather was very nice, it was great to get out with James again, and I can finally say I have been fishing. Hopefully I will get out this weekend again.
Now that I have started fishing I will be keeping my blog up to date.
Happy fishing.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Fishing Spots in Turtle Creek


Sorry for not writing in awhile but I need fishing season to start to get some more material :) Speaking of......the count down has officially started!!!!! One month to go until fishing season opens here in New Brunswick.

Another place that I have fished at over the years I wanted to mention is Turtle Creek. There are many little brooks in this area that you can catch brook trout. First thing is you have to be careful you are not too close to the reservoir. This area is off limits by the city of Moncton. Once you turn off Coverdale road I drive about 20 minutes. There are three or four brooks that are pretty close to each other. Most of these spots are quite overgrown, which makes them almost impossible to fly fish. These brooks are best fished with worms and the spinning rod.


The first brook I get to is a brook that surprised me a few years ago. It is a brook that is quite shallow once you get into it and make your way down. It is very overgrown so it is good for the fish to hide. A few summers ago, on a few different occasions I pulled out some 12 inch brook trout. I have not fished this spot much the past few years. For some reason I have not had much action at all.

The other brooks I fish in Turtle Creek are basically the same, meaning they are quite shallow and overgrown. I usually try to fish these brooks in June. I have tried earlier in the season but never got a bite. The reason I fish these spots is because I can jump in the car and be at them in about 25 minutes. You will not catch any huge fish but once they are biting you will have some fun. Make sure you put on lots of bug spray as the black flies are usually very bad here.



Monday, February 16, 2009

Fly Fishing The Kennebecasis

One place that I love to go fishing is the Kennebecasis River. This is where I learned how to fly fish many years ago. There are many different spots along the river that I fish. The most common spots that I fish are by Lone Pine Campground. Sometimes I park right on the side of the highway at the bridge.(If you see a silver Saturn parked there, it is me) I fish down the river from here. It is a very nice stretch that winds and turns a lot. It has some nice deep pools that hold many trout. I also go on the old highway and park at the bridge behind the campground and fish to the campground. Again, this stretch has some nice spots to fish as well. Sometimes, I go up from the bridge and have good luck.

I have also fished by Portage Vale many times. I park by the "green barn" by an old corn field and fish down the system. This area is quite over grown and is hard to fly fish. I have also fished at the bridge at Penobsquis and make my way down the system to the railroad tracks. I have caught many trout along this system as well. I usually get out at the tracks as I have fished down from this area but have never had much luck. I know people have caught nice fish past this point but I have not.

I have never hit the sea run in all my years of fishing the Kennebecasis but still have great fun catching the brook trout on the fly. I usually catch trout in the range of six inches up to 12 inches each time I go. I usually wait until the end of June before I start hitting this area. Depending on the summer I usually have good luck into August. Again, it depends on how the weather is during the summer.

The flies I usually use on the Kennebecasis are the Adams, the Mosquito, and I find that anything that has a lot of green in it works very well. I have tied some flies with no set design but are all green and I have had great luck with them.
(Me catching a monster trout)
I do need to mention that all the stretches I fish on the Kennebecasis are catch and release. It has been this way for nearly 15 years. If I want to keep some trout I will try some different areas. These stretches are relatively easy to fly fish and as they are fairly open. There are parts you have to be careful.

If you are someone that is not too worried about always catching monster trout but instead are happy with a day of good action using your fly rod I would definitely recommend spending some time on the places I mentioned on the Kennebecasis.

Friday, February 6, 2009

A Great Day With My Girls



My girls are having their birthday this Monday so I thought I would put a post that I wrote about a day I spent fishing with them this past summer. I posted this on James' fishing site back in the summer but thought I would post it here as well. Due to James' generosity, I had a fantastic day of fishing with my girls that I will never forget.

As James has mentioned in an article he wrote on his ‘The Joy of Fly Fishing’ site, I had asked him about a spot that he has good luck catching bass and is easy for kids to fish. He was gracious enough to tell me the location so my twin daughters and I were off on what I was hoping would be a great day of bass fishing.

I have taken my girls trout fishing on a number of occasions but the trips never lasted very long as poor fishing and terrible bugs took the fun out of it for them in a hurry. They are now ten so I was hoping that they were getting to the age where they could handle their fishing rods better and not get frustrated as easily.

Once we arrived we got geared up and started our way around the water. It was not long before we started catching some bass. Many of the fish were jumping right out of the water after being hooked. The girls enjoyed this a great deal. They were also using very light tackle so even a small bass felt big to them.

We were having a great time catching fish and spending the day together that time melted away into late afternoon. On previous fishing outings I would be lucky to get an hour out of them. On this day we fished for over 4 hours. They improved their casting abilities and even got brave and touched the bass.
People have things happen to them with friends or family and they say it will be a day they will never forget. Well, thanks to James, this simple fishing trip turned into a day of fishing with my girls I will truly never forget.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

What a Discovery: Chain Pickerel

Like I mentioned in earlier posts, almost all of my years of fishing have been for trout in New Brunswick. This past summer I met someone through his blog. He wrote about fishing in New Brunswick. He wrote about fishing for bass and chain pickerel, along with other species. I got in touch with James and the rest his history. I made a great new friend and was introduced to fishing for chain pickerel.

When we go fishing for chain pickerel it is about an hour and a half from the Moncton area, which is not bad for a great day of fishing, which by the way, happened every time we went fishing in this area for chain pickerel. We always take my 13 foot canoe, which works great for fishing this small area. We use the anchor to hold us in different areas of the water, as there is a current that will move you away from where you want to stay. In the canoe we used our bait casting rods. We used different baits to try to catch the chain pickerel. We used some plastic top-water baits, which worked well out of the weeds, but we mainly used 4-inch plastic worms rigged weedless. I bought all my baits from this seller on Ebay. He has very good prices and is great to deal with. Click on the word Ebay in the previous line to visit his store.


(James with one of his nice catches)
Once we get the canoe settled in a certain area I would start casting in one direction and James would start casting in the other. The chain pickerel love to hide in the weeds so we cast into the weeds and reel in the plastic baits so they stay on top of the water. If there is a pickerel behind the bait they will start chasing the bait until it strikes. It is great fun watching the pickerel chase the bait. I found the great thing about chain pickerel is that if they miss the bait or the hook does not get set you can throw the bait right back in the same area and they will go after it again. If you miss on a trout you are normally out of luck. If the pickerel are beside the bait they will explode right out of the water at the bait. This is also great fun to watch, especially when it happens very close to the canoe.



On a few trips to this same spot we spent the entire day there. We would just keep making our way around the same small area. We would stay the entire day because the pickerel were always very active. We would always have better luck when the wind died down. When the wind picked up a bit and made ripples on the water the pickerel seemed less active. On most occasions, we would have countless chases and strikes by the chain pickerel and would land roughly between 15-20 fish.

When landing a chain pickerel it is best to grab it just below the back of it's head as their teeth are very sharp and can cause you some damage if you get your fingers in that area.



This summer we will continue to go chain pickerel fishing in the canoe with our plastic baits but we are also going to go fly fishing for them as well. James has two fishing tubes that we are going to use. I bought some flippers to use with them this winter. He says this is great fun so I am looking forward to this as well.
Being a trout fisherman I found fishing for chain pickerel to be extremely exciting because they are bigger and much more aggressive. I am looking forward to this spring to get out and try for some more chain pickerel. I am not sure how early in the spring they become active but as soon as James says the word, we will be there. I will certainly be posting about each trip we take to go pickerel fishing.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Using a Canoe to Access More Water


Over my many years of fishing I was limited to brook fishing with chest waders as I never own a boat for fishing. A couple of years ago my brother-in-law and I went half on buying a canoe that we could use when he comes home from Calgary. It is a very simple 13 foot long canoe but it has opened many new places for us to fish. It is a small canoe but can handle two people with no problems. It also fits on top of my Saturn without any problems so it is easy to transport. I just use the white foam pads and ratchet tie downs. Both were bought at Canadian Tire for a reasonable price.


The first place my brother-in-law and I went to try out the canoe was the Shepody River in Riverside Albert, NB. It is a narrow piece of water but gets very deep in many spots which makes it impossible to wade. Also, the terrain along the river is very difficult to walk and some of the area is a marsh. We put the canoe in at a covered bridge about 7km past past Rivervside Albert and started fishing down the river. We used the paddles to help direct as as the current took us down river. We also used an anchor to stop us when we wanted to fish in a certain area.


The weather was great and we took our time going down the river. We mainly bait fished as there were many trees and bushes hanging over the water. We did not have a lot of action but did catch some trout along the way. The action picked up as we came to an area that we could tell people could not get to by foot. I casted my line under a tree quite a ways away. I had what I thought was a very good bite. I reeled in with no luck. Dave told me to cast back to the same area and leave the bait there. After a few more tricky casts I caught a very nice sea trout(the one in the pic). I could quickly tell why people fish this system when the sea run is on. We caught a few more fish on the way down the system and did not get out until it was almost dark. We had a great day on our first voyage in our new(used) 13 foot canoe!


I keep the canoe at my house when Dave is back in Calgary so I try to use it as much as possible. I was surprised when my wife mentioned that she would like to go for a canoe ride sometime. As mentioned in my last post, we live very close to the Petitcodiac River and therefore do not have to drive far to get to water. We decided to go to the bridge just past the Turtle Creek road. It is a popular spot for people to boat. We put in and canoed up towards Turtle Creek(Yes, I brought my fishing rod). We had a great time canoeing this stretch of water. We saw some ducks on the water and also a bald eagle flying over head. I would recommend this place to anyone who would like to go for a canoe trip. The water is usually very calm. Do be careful of boaters in bigger motor boats. They will usually slow down to keep the water calm until they pass.


I also have started using the canoe to go fishing with a new fishing buddy I met last summer. We have used the canoe to go chain pickerel fishing, which I am very excited to write about very soon.
To anyone that is thinking about getting a canoe to add to their fishing experiences, I would strongly recommend it. You can buy new at many stores for a reasonable price and also look to buy used as we did. We found ours on Kijiji. It has already taken me to places I have never fished before and has allowed me to catch new species of fish that I am truly enjoying fishing. Less than three months before I can strap it back on top of the car. :)

Thursday, January 15, 2009

15 Minutes to Bass Fishing


Like I mentioned in my introduction, I mostly only ever fished for trout. I have had great years doing this and will discuss some of these experiences soon. I knew there were smallmouth bass in the Petitcodiac River so I thought I would give this species a try this past summer. Am I ever glad that I did! Like I said, I live in Riverview. I found a spot where the bass from the Petitcodiac spawn. This place, you guessed it, is only 15 minutes from my house.




There is a river that connects to the Petitcodiac and I was told that the bass will come up this system to spawn. This river is called Little River. Depending on where you get in, you can wear waders and walk the system. For those of you that will want to give this place a try I started fishing here the end of last May until the first week of July. After this first week of July, the bass were gone. They must have gone back into the Petitcodiac.

The very first time I went to Little River I got in at the bridge and fished down towards the main river. I used my fly rod and used some green wolley buggers. I did not have any luck on the first couple of bends in the river but then I came to a little pocket on the left side of the river. I threw the fly in and got a hit right away. Compared to the trout I catch on the fly rod this had a lot more weight to it. As I started to bring n the line, the bass jumped out of the water. Now, I am not saying this was a monster fish but having my first bass on and giving me a fun fight and jumping out of the water I was instantly hooked and knew I would be returning many times to try for more! After I released the fish I threw the fly back into the same area. Another hit right away. I threw the fly back in a third time and I had another bass on. What great fun, first of all catching three bass on my first time out but also catching them on the fly rod.

As I made my way back to the bridge I met a gentleman who was fishing. We had a great discussion. I told him I was brand new to fishing bass and he was nice enough to take the time and show me the baits he used to fish the area. He was also very nice and gave me some tubes and jigs to try. When I got home I did a quick search on Ebay for tubes and jigs. There were many sellers that were selling both. I am very pleased with the gentleman who I bought the tubes from, so much so that I have made multiple purchases from him.

Now stocked with a bunch of jigs and different color 4-inch tubes I gave Little River another go. I started at the bridge again and went down the same way. Being new to bass fishing I had no idea how the tubes were to be fished. With the jig, it beat along the bottom of the river popping up and down in an erratic motion. Early in the season this works well as there was no vegetation growing on the bottom yet. I did catch one bass on this trip and had a great time trying the tubes and gaining more confidence fishing for bass.

With only being 15 minutes from home I made many more trips back to Little River. My best night there was a night in early June. The bugs were terrible but that was alright :) This time I decided not to fish down below the bridge but instead I fished up the river. Right after the first bend I caught a good sized bass. Once it was released I continued up the river catching a few more bass. It was starting to get a little dark but I was having so much fun that I continued going up-river. I came to a deep pool and thought it would be a great spot to try. The bugs were eating me alive but it was worth it as I pulled 6 nice-sized bass out of this one spot!! These were all caught on 4 inch tubes. Now I must say that I made my way back to this one spot a handful more times not catching one bass in this pool, so either I hit it at the perfect time or I hit it right at the end of the time that they stayed in this spot. I will try there earlier this season to find out.

My trips to Little River between the end of May and the first week of July yielded me an average of three bass a trip. Being so close to home and a nice walk along the river I can handle those averages. I am very anxious to try the river earlier this year. I will report back when I catch my first bass there this year. Hopefully it will be before the end of May.












Introduction

Hello all,
My name is James Trenholm and I am going to give this blogging thing a go. I met a new friend this past summer and he blogs about his fishing experiences so I thought I would enjoy doing the same thing. Before I begin I thought I would do a quick introduction.

I am 38 years old. I am married with 10 year old twin girls. I live in Riverview, New Brunswick. I am a grade three teacher so I have the perfect job to be able to do my favorite hobby, FISHING! Speaking of, only three more months until the opening of the fishing season here in NB.

I have spent all my years fishing around this area mainly focusing on trout fishing. I normally bait fish early in the season and then fly fish for the remainder of the season. I will make post about these areas and experiences. This past summer I was introduced to bass and chain pickeral fishing and I am completely hooked!