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!!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.