I have never ice fished before and do keep busy with reffing hockey so doing this kind of fishing to pass some of the winter away has never happened.

I do have plans to do some black salmon fishing again this spring.  Glenn and Chris took me for the first time last spring and I had a fantastic time.  I am looking forward to the fun again this spring.  After that, it is usually awhile before I get into the bass and pickerel fishing as the conditions are not the greatest in the early spring.  I should try to do some trout fishing this year early on.

I have rambled on long enough.  I hope you are all getting excited for the beginning of the fishing season.  Also hope that everyone that comes here to read is doing well.

I hope you all have a Happy New Year.

I am interested to hear if any of you have put in any requests to Santa for any fishing equipment or supplies.  Leave a reply and let me know.  I will also be interested to hear after the big day if you actually received what you are hoping to get.

The water was like this all day.

James and I decided to go fishing on Saturday at the Oromocto River.  It is connected to the Saint John River and therefore is considered to be tidal water so it stays open longer into the season.  I picked James up at 5:30 and we were off.  A quick stop at the Tim’s in Salisbury for a breakfast sandwich and we were on the highway to Oromocto.  We arrived right around 7am.  There were already a couple of trucks there and another person putting their boat in while we were there.  The marina was all apart and up by the ball field.  We were just using my canoe with the trolling motor so we were hoping we would not run into many other boats on the water.

We got everything ready and put in.  We went directly to the left and starting fishing our way up the river.    I started using a fire tiger coloured diving bait that I had luck with two weeks earlier when I was fishing with Glenn.  I used this bait for awhile but did not have any luck.  I then set up a senko and rigged it wacky style.  I started casting the senko by structure on top of the water.  All the structure on the river system were trees hanging over the edge or actually lying in the water.  After a handful of cast a bass hit the senko.  It felt like a nice bass and it jumped out of the water a few times.  It is always nice to have the bass jump out of the water.  We took a quick picture and put it back in the water.  We continued our way up the river without a lot of success.

My fisrst bass of the day.

We continued to try some different baits and did some trolling and also continued to cast by the structure.  James caught the next bass and then got on quite a chain pickerel roll.  The two times I have been there with Glenn we only caught one pickerel right in the river.  Today was quite different.  There seemed to be quite a few pickerel in the river on this day.  James must have caught 4 or 5 pickerel in a short period of time.  He was having good luck on a mepps.  He was even nice enough to let me use one.  We were both using a silver one.  We each caught a few more pickerel using these and then James decided to put on a Red Devil.  He was using this by a little inlet on the river and had a very nice hit.  The fish gave a very nice tug and then came to the service.  We could tell right away that it was a very nice bass.  Once we got it into the canoe were measured it.  It was 18 inches long.  It was also very thick.  It was the best catch of the day.  I continued to use the silver bait and I got a nice hit.  It was also a nice bass.  It jumped out of the water.  It was probably a little bit bigger than the fish bass I caught earlier in the morning.

James with the best catch of the day.

We continued up the river and caught a few more pickerel and smaller bass.  It was getting to be later in the afternoon and we decided we better turn around so we would not be on the water after dark.  We did make it to French Lake, which is good as we were just using the trolling motor.  We did some speed fishing on the way back without any success, but our focus was on getting back.  We made it to the launch at 7pm, just as it was pretty well dark and the marine battery was pretty well out of power.  It was almost perfect timing.

Another nice one.

We could not have asked for a better day on the water.  We caught some pickerel and bass, it was quite warm, and there was virtually no wind.  It was probably the only day we could say that all fishing season.  The water was like glass all day.  We also only had to deal with two boats all day.  When they went by we just faced the canoe towards them so we would not have any problems with the waves.  This did work but I must say I was frustrated that neither boat slowed down when they went by us.  I can not understand way a bigger boat would not slow down when they see a canoe in the water.

If this was my last day of fishing, it was a good one.  We had a great day together catching some fish and having some laughs, which is what it is all about!

Nice fall scenery.

James and I decided to go pickerel fishing on Saturday, in what could sadly be my last day of fishing for this season.  I picked James up at around 5am, which turned out to be a little too early as when we arrived in Chipman it was still dark   I guess it is better to be too early then too ;ate when it comes to fishing.  We unloaded the canoe and decided to fish from shore for 10 minutes.  When it became a little lighter out we decided to get the canoe loaded up and hit the water.  With the water being so high everywhere this year I did not really know what to expect during our day of fishing; I was certainly hoping for a good day.

When we put the canoe in we fished right around the culverts like we normally do.  We did not have any hits so we went across the cove to the bank in the middle.  We started making our way up the bank and we started to get a few strikes.  James landed the first few pickerel.  I think he landed three and then I landed my first pickerel of the day.  We started using the red senkos as they are the biggest producers when it comes to pickerel fishing.  We made our way around the cove and then decided to go through the culverts and try fishing on the other side for awhile.  We probably landed a few pickerel and then decided to go back through the culverts to where we started.  As we were fishing both of us tried a few different lures and colored senkos.  James used a different shade of red.  It was a darker colour and he had good luck using that for a part of the day.

We made one more loop around the cove and then decided to put the trolling motor on the canoe and go across the river to where we had good luck trolling back and forth a long a point a few years ago.  As we were going there we fished along the bank on the other side of the river.  We had good luck along this stretch as well.  We had many hits and landed a few more pickerel.  We then decided to do some trolling along the point. James put on a sinking hard bait and he had good luck using it.  He caught two perch and two or three pickerel.  I put on a sinking rubber minnow and caught a nice pickerel.  I then decided to put on a Blue Fox with a white skirt.  I caught a decent sized perch with the bait.

James and his best catch of the day.

James’ best catch of the day was a round 24 1/2 inches.  I also caught a good sized pickerel.  James netted it for me.  As we put the net in the canoe the lure fell out.  As I went to grab the fish for a picture it flipped, bounced off a paddle and fell back into the water.  Honestly, that really did happen   The one I caught trolling was nice and we were able to get a picture   As we were trolling it started to rain hard.  We continued to fish for about an hour and then decided that since we had a good day that it was not worth sitting in the rain for another 2 hours.  We packed up and headed home around 4:30pm.

My best "photographed" pickerel of the day.

I would say James landed close to 20 fish for the day and I landed 10.  With the way the conditions have been all season, we were very pleased with the day we had.  If this was my last day of fishing, I was glad it was an enjoyable one.

James also wrote a post about the day on his site.

The Oromocto River

Glenn and I decided to go fishing last Saturday and we decided to give the Oromocto River a try.  Neither one of us has fished it before and we heard it was a nice spot to try for bass and pickerel.  Glenn picked me up at 5am and we were off to Oromocto.  We arrived around 7am and had the boat in and ready by 7:20.  We fished right around the marina for a little while without much action.  There were lots of weeds in one area so we thought we might see some pickerel at least.  We did notice that the water seemed high.  We made our way up a channel right in front of the channel and Glenn had the first strike.  We did not see the fish but we thought it was a bass.  We continued fishing around the area and I finally caught a smaller sized bass.  It was nice to feel a tug and have a fish on the other end.  It jumped out of the water twice before getting it into the boat.  I caught the bass on a green senko rigger wacky style.  Earlier in the summer I fished with two friends and they showed me how to fish with the senkos rigged wacky style.  They showed me how to use rubber rings and the worm so when the bass hit the worm the ring and the worm shoot up the line and therefore saving your worm from getting wrecked each time you get a strike. (Picture to follow)

Bass #1

We continued to slowly make our way up the river.  We fished slowly because there were many great places to try.  There were over hanging trees and trees lying in the water that are fantastic places for bass to hang out.  I was able to catch two more bass by 10:30.  One was a nice sized bass with some good weight to it.  Again, both these bass were caught on a green senko rigged wacky style.

My Best of the Day.

As we continued to fish we tried many different top water baits and also different sinking baits.  We had some strikes but no more hook ups.  Around noon we noticed that the water turned quite muddy and also noticed the water raised almost a foot.  We thought perhaps the dam was opened earlier in the morning.  We decided to fish out in the Saint John River for half an hour but it was very windy.  We decided to go way up the Oromocto River as someone said the water cleared up a ways up.  We had a few more strikes but no luck.  We decided to go into a little cove and Glenn finally caught a pickerel.  I was glad he got something into the boat.  He caught it on a green top water frog.  We were amazed with how high the water was.  It was over the banks of the river and ran a ways back.  Again, we feel this had an affect on our luck for the day.

Wacky Style

We had a great day trying a new spot but were certainly hoping for a better result than 3 bass and one pickerel.  We did both say we would certainly try it again.  My friend Casey said he was there a little while ago and had much better luck than we did.  Perhaps he will have to show us exactly where to go and what to use.

Glenn ans his pickerel

Here is hoping I get out at least one more time before the season ends.

I hear people are having trouble posting comments.  Please try on this post.  Hopefully I can figure out what the problem is.

Buzz'n Frog Crank Bait Green

When I am fishing for chain pickerel and bass I love to top water fish.  I love seeing the action on top of the water.  That is also why when I fly fish I love using dry flies.  I am always looking for new baits to get and try.  One place I am always checking out online is Ebay.  Many of the lures and different baits I have in my tackle box are from sellers on Ebay.  I can usually find many different types of baits at very good prices.  Many of the items also come with free shipping.  At the end of July I was searching on Ebay for top water frogs and came along the Buzz’n Frog Crank bait and thought I would give it a try.  It is a hard bait that is divided in two with the back part of the body that spins in the water as you reel it in.  It makes a good commotion on the water.  I used the bait on the Saint. John River and had some bass chase it and also had a huge pickerel smash it in Chipman.  The bad news for me is I did not have the drag set right on my bait caster and the line broke and there went my new lure that I really likes.  It was my fault and it is part of fishing.

All Three of the Frogs

When I got home I ordered three more of the frogs from the same seller.  Each one is a different color.  The frogs have a two-pronged hook instead of a regular tremble hook.  You can certainly cast it right into the lily pads.  Sometimes it gets weeds on it and you can work it in those areas.  The season is wrapping up in a bit but I certainly hope to give them a try by going after some pickerel before the end of the season on October 15th.  If you are interested in the baits, here is the link to the seller on Ebay for the Buzz’n Frog Crank Bait.

My best pickerel of the Day.

James and I decided to go fishing on Saturday.  We decided to try trolling for bass along the St.John River in the morning and then go to Chipman in the afternoon.  These plans would work if it was not windy in the morning.  I picked James up at 5:45 in the morning and we were off.  It was not very windy so we went to the St. John River.  We drove to the bridge that takes you to Oromocto.  We put the canoe in under the bridge.  We started to troll down the left hand side of the river and then decided to cross over to the right and fish the bank by the large island in the middle.  We continued to make our way down without any luck.  We were trying different baits that would dive as we trolled.  After a bit I changed and put on a spoon that is fire tiger in color.  On another rod I was using a top water frog that the back part spins as you reel it in.  I made a few casts with the frog and then had a hit.  We were not sure what it was as it missed.  The spoon on the other rod was sitting on top of the water and a nice sized bass jumped right out of the water at it but missed as well.  We were happy just to start to see some fish.

We made our way down to the end of the island and decided to cross again.  As we began to cross, James had a strike so I stopped the trolling motor.  It was a small bass but again, we were happy to finally have a fish in the canoe.  We crossed over again and thought we as far over as we could go.  We started discussing the fact that we must have been close to Hart’s Lake.  We first thought it might be to the left but decided to continue going up the river.  As we continued going up the river we realized we could cross one more time and we saw the entrance to Hart’s Lake.  We decided to go in and try for some pickerel.  We made our way around the edge of the lake and James caught a few small pickerel.  As we continued fishing we saw something in the woods.  We thought it was another cow as there are cows on one of the islands back on the river.  As we got closer we realized it was a lama.  Yes, a lama!  If you told me I would go fishing and see a lama in the woods I would never have believed you

24 1/4 inch pickerel.

As we were leaving the lake we (finally me) had some more strikes along a weed bed in the middle of the lake.  We were both using red sekos for the pickerel.  As we made our way back across the river there started being a lot of larger boats on the water.  I always get nervous in the canoe as I do not like the waves the bigger boats make.  We got to the tip of the last island and I got a strike on the fire tiger spoon.  It was not a real big bass but I was very pleased to have landed a fish.  We took a picture and put it back.  I casted out the spoon and caught another bass right away.  James also had a strike in the same area and it ended up being a good-sized chub.

St.John River bass.

We made it back to the car without any other strikes.  It was a calm morning with very little wind.  I never thought we could cross all the way over in my 13 foot canoe but we did and had a good time.

We loaded up the canoe and made our way to Chipman.  We arrived there a little after three and it was still nice and calm.  We put the canoe in and started fishing in the cove where we always do.  I had a strike right away but it missed the senko.  We then went by the colverts and we both had some strikes, again, with no luck.  We crossed over and started fishing along the edge of the bank in the middle of the cove.  As we did, another boat came into the cove.  Now, do not get me wrong, by no means do I think that the cove belongs to me but these guys go around us in their 16 foot boat and move in right beside us and start fishing.  I mean no more that 15 feet away from us.  I could not believe it.  We are in a little canoe and they decide to start fishing right beside us.  I felt this was very rude.  We went by them and I had a very big pickerel strike the frog I mentioned earlier.  It jumped out of the water and I saw him.  It was one of the biggest pickerel I have seen in that cove.  I caught it using my bait cast reel.  I did not have the drag set properly and my line snapped.  I was upset for two reasons: I lost a huge pickerel and I lost the frog I just bought

Yes, it is a lama!

The fishing was very slow as we made our way around the cove.  We decided to go through the colverts.  The water is still high enough that we could paddle through.  As we got through I made a cast to the left after James did.  I got a strike (the pickerel liked my red senko better than James’ I guess) and I finally landed my first pickerel of the day.  We went along the edge of the bank for awhile with a few strikes and then decided to go back through the colverts and fish for a few minutes and then go home.  As we got back to where we put the canoe in James amde a cast and got s huge strike.  It also jumped out of the water and we both saw that it was a very nice sized pickerel.  We got it in the net after I missed a few times (not on purpose).  It measured in at 24 1/4 inches.  By far our best of the day.

Overall, it was a slow day fishing but it was also a good day on the water.  James and I had some good laughs,  caught some fish, and saw a lama!!

My best pickerel of the day.

James, Casey, and I went to French Lake on Friday afternoon to do some pickerel fishing.  We arrived around 2 pm and fished until dark.  As soon as we put the boat in the water the wind was blowing very hard.  We knew this was going to affect the fishing but there was nothing we could do about it.  We just tried to find areas that were protected from the wind as much as possible.

We made our way up the main channel and found some weeds and lily pads.  We fished this area for a bit with no luck.  It was hard to fish because it was so windy.  We decided to go up farther and over to the left as it looked protected from the wind.  There were lots of weeds so we started fishing.  I caught the first pickerel of the day.  It was just small but it was a start.  Casey keeps track of our catches during the day for the fun of it.  At least I could say I was on the board.

We continued to make our way around the lake and tried different protected areas.  We each used different baits but all three of us used the red senko the most as it, once again, proved to be the most successful throughout the day.  James and I had a close race throughout the day with him keeping at least a couple of fish in front of me.  Casey caught a good sized perch fairly early but was having trouble hooking into a pickerel.

We were able to find a handful of little inlets off the main channel that were fairly well protected from the wind.  This is where we had the most luck.  As it started getting a little later in the day we started hooking into some bigger fish.  I caught my biggest pickerel on a red senko around this time.  It was also around this time that Casey was using the red senko again and he started hooking into some pickerel.  The first two he caught were also the two biggest fish of the day so far.  We were hoping as it got past 7pm that the wind would die down as it usually does as the sun gets lower in the sky but this did not happen.  It stayed windy right until we got off the water.

Casey's best of the day.

As it started to get close to dark James caught his best fish of the day.  Casey and James each caught a pickerel that measured right around, if not, a little longer than 22 inches.  My best was around 20 inches.

James' best of the day.

Our tally for the end of the day was James: 15 pickerel, me: 10 pickerel, and Casey 8 pickerel and 1 perch.  It was the first day of the season that all three of us got out fishing together.  We had a great day on the water.

For those of you wondering, the water level is still at least 2 feet higher than normal but the lake is certainly fishable.  If you are interested in trying some pickerel fishing, get yourself some red senkos and give French Lake a try.

My first grilse of the season.

In my previous post the other day I stated Glenn and I spent a couple of days fishing in the Cains River with little luck. Glenn called me yesterday morning and said he was taking someone through his work for an evening fish and asked if I wanted to go. I was given permission and we were off and arrived at the river around 6pm. We decided to fish the Cains River again but we went to a different stretch.

When we got to the water there was one person who arrived just before us. The three of us got ready and each started our way down the river. As I was making my way down the river I saw a fish jump farther down the river and a few up above where Glenn was started to move around. I continued down the river with no luck. I used my Carter Bug, White-Tailed Green Machine, and a handful of other flies. Once I got to the end of the run I hung out there and talked to Glenn as he fished the bottom part. There were a few fish moving but not taking. I then decided to go back to the top of the run and start over. I used some streamers to see if they would work but they did not. By this time Glenn also came back to the top and started fishing behind me. It was starting to get dark so I decided to put on my Carter Bug again and stay at the top part and fish there as there were fish moving.

As Glenn and I were fishing and talking, a trout jumped just a couple of feet to my left so I thought to myself I might as well try to catch a trout and threw my fly at the same spot. As soon as the fly hit the water, what I thought was a trout hit the fly. I gave a tug and very quickly realized it was not a trout. The grilse jumped two or three times and then the battle was on I fought the grilse for a handful of minutes and finally landed it. It measured at 23 inches and was nice and thick. It was very exciting to see that line go tight and feel a very good fish on the other end of the line.
As we were finishing up fishing the person that came with Glenn, Mike, had a very nice salmon hit his fly. It jumped high in the water and threw the hook.

Well, it turned out I made a very good decision in going last night. Here is hoping for the same success the next time out.