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. :)