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.

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.

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.

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.

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 :(

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.

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!!