Fishing the Windy City........Not Chicago

I gave James a call Saturday to see if he wanted to go fishing on Sunday. Of course he wanted to go so we decided to go to Chipman to give a shot at the pickerel as we knew the water was at a good level and that the weeds were starting to grow. We were not sure if it was going to rain but we prepared for it. My bigger concern was if it was going to be windy because the previous week was quite windy every day.
When we arrived at our regular spot we got the canoe and fishing stuff ready. As we started fishing the wind picked up. We continued to fish but tried a few spots that were out of the wind a bit. The wind continued to blow quite strongly so we decided to try the other side of the road. This proved to be better as we were able to get out of the wind in a couple of spots and as we predicted we got into some fish. I landed my only two of the day in this spot. James had better luck than me throughout the day and he got a handful at this spot as well.

We actually left to go home around 5:30 because of the wind. Hopefully the next time we go it will not be as windy.

Fishing New Brunswick: First Eel River Lake

I was lucky enough to be asked to go away fishing last weekend to First Eel River Lake, which is near Woodstock. We left at 5 am Saturday morning and we arrived around 9ish as we met the 3 other guys at the Big Stop at Salisbury. I have never been to this lake but Matt had been there plenty of times and said the bass and pickerel fishing was very good so I was excited to get on the water. Matt said he usually fishes the lake a little later so he was not sure how the fish would be.

Matt and I fished in his 12 foot aluminum and the other three guys fished in a 16 foot aluminum which was set up very nicely. I am use to my canoe so being in a boat that was wider was very nice. We were able to take turns standing up to fish, which is great because it gives you a chance to stretch.

Saturday morning was a little chilly and it rained off and on for the first few hours but then the rain stopped. We went to a certain part of the lake that the guys knew produced fish and it was not long before the guys started catching bass. We also saw a few pickerel chase the baits. As we moved down the banks we got to one spot that I had a few big pickerel hit my baits but I did not land any. It actually took me a few hours to land anything. I used some of the new baits I bought just for the trip. I used a jointed hard bait and also a skitter pop. This bait worked very well for everyone. I put on a rubber frog and Matt said I must be going after the pickerel. I told him I was just going to give it a try. To his surprise I caught 4 or 5 bass with the frog and also had a few pickerel chase the bait.

As we made our way down the wind picked up some and we decided to go back to the lodge for supper around 6pm. I was hoping we may fish around the lodge after we ate but it got very windy and actually quite cold.

We sat around and watched TV and I think were all asleep by 10pm( We are getting older :) )

We woke up around 6:30 Sunday morning and I was very happy to see the water very calm. We ate and organized our things but as soon as we set out on the water the wind picked up and did not let up. We went to the same spot hoping the trees would block some of the wind but the direction it was blowing, the land did not help. We fished for a few hours. Matt caught 3 or 4 bass and I caught one pickerel but the conditions were not very good at all. We decided to go back to the lodge and pack up to leave.

I had and excellent couple of days on a new body of water and having the chance to meet some new friends. I certainly hope Matt will have room for me again next year and hopefully the wind will cooperate.

Fishing New Brunswick: Afternoon in Chipman

James and I decided to go fishing on Saturday. James came over to my house and helped me put the canoe on my new car as I wanted someone there to help me as I just got the car two weeks ago. The canoe went on and is more secure than on the Saturn.




When we got to Chipman we went to our regular spot to take a look. We figured the water would still be fairly high and we were right. We decided to go to another spot as we thought the water would be a little lower. We also wore our waiters which turned out good as we were able to get out a few times and fish from the sore to give us a stretch.




Throughout the day I had had a few pickerel chase my baits and I did not land any fish. As for James, I am not sure what he was doing all winter but it worked. He landed 6 or 7 pickerel and was was a very nice size. (See pic). If I was getting skunked I was at least glad someone was catching fish.....not really :) We used many different colored 6 inch worms and we used a little weight as the weeds have not grown much so we thought we would keep the baits a little below water level. James had most of his luck using the color red this day.

I am sure the water will continue to drop and our regular spot will look more to normal within a few weeks. I look forward to trying it again and hopefully this time James can take a few pictures of me catching some fish :)

First Time Out = No Luck

Well I decided to take a drive to Little River tonight as I figured I waited long enough to get out fishing for the first time this season. I arrived around 6:30 pm and just stayed on the banks as the water was high and running hard. II stayed by the bridge and casted a bunch of times to the right in the calm water without any luck. I was using a 4 inch gren tube.

I then decided to walk up the path and try farther up the river on a couple other calm spots. I again had no luck so I decided to call it a night around 7:10 pm. It was certainly nice to get out and make a few casts. I am not even sure if there will be any bass in Little River this year as they have opened the gates and salt water (and raw sewage) are now in the system.

I am not sure how long to wait to give Chipman a try for our fun pickerel. Perhaps a few weeks to let the weeds to start to grow and the water to drop.

If you have already been out fishing I hope you have had some luck.

Just a Few Days Away Now

I am not sure about you but with fishing season just a few days away I am getting very excited. I am not sure how soon I will get out but hopefully it will be fairly early as we have had a nice few weeks and pretty well all the snow is gone.

Again this year, I hope to keep this site updated every time I go fishing. I know it does not generate a lot of traffic but I have received some positive feedback which makes it worthwhile.

Less Than Two Months to Go!!!

I know it is still quite a ways away but I start to get excited once we get under two months. It has been close to four months since I have fished so I am getting quite excited to hit the water again.
Around here I find the fishing does not really pick up until May but with the winter we are having perhaps things will be a bit earlier this year.
I am looking forward to getting out in the canoe with James and doing our favorite pickerel fishing. We also discussed at the end of last season that we are going to try to do more bass fishing as well.
I hope the rest of you are getting as excited as I am for the beginning of fishing season. As the season gets closer I hope to start adding more to my blog.

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.