I have been fly fishing in New Brunswick for more than 30 years now and have never seen anything so strange as a Lama.

We weren’t fly fishing on Saturday, instead we were on the Saint John river trying to catch us some smallmouth bass or chain pickerel using a variety of baits. It’s not always easy to fly fish in the wind so we were using some spinner baits.

One time Jamie and I were heading to Chipman for a day of fishing and saw a bunch of wild turkeys which I had never seen before, other than on TV. They look pretty impressive up close.

Anyways once I was back home Saturday night I wanted to tell my wife and son but thought it would be fun to see if they could guess what I saw. I told them it was an animal that wasn’t from around here.

Of course Steve didn’t even take time to think and started listing off things like cows, deer, more and then he asked if it was an alligator. I’m so glad it wasn’t an alligator.

Jenny let Steve continue and then out of no-where Jenny says she knows what it is. Of course I didn’t think she would even come close but she says. “Was it a lama?”

She is so smart so I’m guessing she had one major brain fart when she said she would marry me. But other than than she’s pretty bright.

It took me a few minutes to get a clear enough view of the Lama to be sure it was one because it kept moving it’s head out of our view but was watching us closely.

Jamie used the paddle to bring us in closer. We took about 5 to 10 minutes to get close enough to actually see that it was a Lama. And another few minutes to get a pictures as it kept moving being a downed tree.

We watched it for a few more minutes trying to figure out what it was doing. We noticed it was digging the ground up. I thought it was going after a root of some kind and then it disappeared in the tall grass.

A second later we saw it’s feet up in the air. It was rolling around in the hole it dug. Likely in an attempt at cooling off as it was a hot day.

That was the strangest thing I’ve seen in the bush here in New Brunswick.

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Saturday was another fine day for fishing with Casey. We headed back to the Saint John River at Jemseg but instead of heading down river like the last time we headed up river for a day of bass fishing.

As we were on our way from Moncton it looked like it might be a cloudy day but they were almost gone by the time we arrived at the launch site.

First Catch of the Day: Casey was backing his boat to the water and I was walking along side holding the rope so it wouldn’t head down river without us. I looked down to step over a water hole and to my surprise I found a $10 bill stuck in the mud. I’ll have to buy another Rapala Countdown Perch as mine other one kinda got stuck in Jamies fishing vest on the way home last time we were out and it’s at his place.

One more check around the boat and van to be certain we had everything we needed for the day and we launched and were headed across the river and up towards Swan Creek.

Our last trip to the Saint John river was in the opposite direction, and Harts Lake.

Other than the boat traffic picking up at about 11am and the wakes the water remained pretty calm all day. It looked like the picture above most of the day. I love fishing the weeds on days like this.

Casey Politely Kicks My Behind

It didn’t take much for Casey to win the day as I couldn’t seem to get much attention from the bass, although I was getting a variety of weeds.

I did get to take a lot of pictures and saw a lot of new water I had never fished, all while Casey was catching bass and perch.

The final tally at the end of the day was Casey with 5 bass, 8 perch and 1 chain pickerel

Thanks to Casey asking if I wanted to stay an extra half hour I was able to end the day with 5 bass and 5 perch.

Oh yeah, he also gave me a new lure to try and in that last half hour I went 4 fish for the day all the way up to 10 so I was quite pleased.

You can see the lure Casey loaned me on the right. What a difference that one lure made for me.

Well even though I didn’t get a lot action for the day I did manage to catch the biggest bass of the day and that’s gotta be worth something, eh.

This little smallmouth really had me believing it was much bigger.

Chain Pickerel On Strike

I am not sure if perhaps the pickerel were on strike or maybe vacation but one thing I do know is that they didn’t want to strike at anything. Casey caught one little pickerel but that was the only one we saw all day. Not even a single wake or follow.

No Trespassing On Swan Creek Lake

We fished our way to the Swan Creek entrance and tried to get a strike or two in the creek without any success. We even tried a huge cove/bay that looked like pickerel heaven, without a single follow or strike.

We saw a couple of no trespassing signs but thought that they were about not going ashore but soon found out it was a military base and those were Military No Trespassing Area signs.

We turned the boat around and headed out to the main river again and then back towards the Jemseg bridge again.

All too soon our day was done and we were back on the road to Moncton and Hopewell Cape.

Casey’s buddy ShiftChevy flew by us with his great looking fishing boat in tow and in about two minutes was out of site.

It was great to get home before my family was in bed as I always like to share my day with them. Okay, really it’s because Jenny snores so loud I can’t sleep if I don’t get to bed first.

I’ll be sleeping in the garage if she reads that last remark. Just kidding dear, you purr like a kitten.

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Image by heathzib via Flickr

We’ve had a beautiful white winter this year, haven’t seen one of those in a long time. Not always much fun shovelling as it gets higher and higher but sure looked like a wonderland looking out my office window into our backyard. Sadly the weight of all that snow on some of our shrubs and bushes was just too much after it started raining and broke the branches off of them.

That’s going to require a lot of extra work come spring, might even have to replace them all. I would much rather be spending that money on fly fishing gear, hope my wife didn’t hear me type that.

On a happier note fishing season’s not far off and that always lifts my spirits, so today I’m bringing my fly fishing gear up from the basement for another season.

Fly Fishing For Chain Pickerel And Smallmouth Bass

Fishing buddy Casey emailed me the other day asking if I had flies for pickerel and bass, which I thought was curious because he doesn’t fly fish, well not yet. As I read on he said he wants to give it a try this year and my excitement level went through the roof.

I told Casey I had some that have been torn up pretty good but would be tying some before fishing season starts. Now I will tie enough so that Jamie, Casey and myself will have enough to tie into some wacky and wild pickerel in our favourite spots. My first pickerel ever was on a fly rod and it’s a lot of fun, especially from my float tube.

I have been fly fishing for smallmouth bass as well and they are a blast on the fly rod. A great fish to watch jumping all over the place. So you can well imagine I am already dreaming of our days on the water in 2011.

White River Fly Shop Lost Lake Open Front Float Tube - Line/term/acc/boats Offer by: Bass Pro Shops Price: USD 109.99 Get more tube for your buck with the Lost Lake Open Front Float Tube from White River Fly Shop. The Lost Lake Open Front Float Tube is constructed from durable 420 denier nylon with rugged PVC bladders, and features tackle storage pouches with dual zippers, removable fly patch, comfortable quick-release seating, hi-vis back safety panel, mesh casting apron with ruler, hook 'n loop rod holder, carrying handles, multiple D-rings for tools and accessories, and a reliable and easy access Boston valve for quick inflation and deflation. Plus, all of the Lost Lake Tube's critical seams have been triple stitched, so you don't have to worry about anything except hooking your next fish! Imported. White River Fly Shop Replacement Open Front Float Tube Bladder sold separately. Get more tube for your buck with the Lost Lake Open Front Float Tube from White River Fly Shop. The Lost Lake Open Front Float Tube is constructed from durable 420 denier nylon with rugged PVC bladders, and features tackle storage pouches with dual z

Classic Accessories Turbo Thruster Float Tube Fins - Line/term/acc/boats Offer by: Bass Pro Shops Price: USD 49.99 Vented fin blades Wear with boot or stocking foot waders Stay snug and secure during use These high-quality Turbo Thruster Float Tube Fins features vented fin blades which provide maximum propulsion to every kick. Designed to be worn with either boot or stocking foot waders, these fins offer a quick, heel strap fit, and release with one click Stay snug and secure during use. Once size fits all. Color: Black/Gray. Vented fin blades Wear with boot or stocking foot waders Stay snug and secure during use These high-quality Turbo Thruster Float Tube Fins features vented fin blades which provide maximum propulsion to every kick. Designed to be worn with either boo

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I fished poppers using my spinning gear for years but I had been fly fishing for many years before ever trying to fish for smallmouth bass and when I first used a popper it was a brand new game. So much fun and the results blew me away. I didn’t think I would be able to fly fish with a popper without popping myself in the head all the time but it wasn’t heavy at all. It just looked that way.

Once I learned how to get it to pop correctly and how to get the wake just right bass were fighting for it. So here is a video that shows how to pop a popper on the fly.

Now if you want to know how to tie a bass popper just head over to my fly tying section here for some instructional video: Fly Tying Bass Poppers

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When I’m fishing for smallmouth bass or chain pickerel in open water and along weed beds that drop off into deeper water I like to use crankbaits. I especially love to toss my crainbait into opening in the weeds as I am usually rewarded with a huge explosive strike in those hot spots.

I will cast to the shallows close to weeds and bring it back to the deeper water. And if the water drops off quickly I will pull it right along the edge of the weeds for really explosive strikes.

It wasn’t until I moved to New Brunswick that I experienced smallmouth bass fishing and later chain pickerel fishing. Before that it was strickly trout and salmon.

That’s when I started buying a few crankbaits, spinnerbaits and plastic worms.

Fishing Crankbaits

My fishing buddy Roland and I were in my boat on Lake George just past Fredericton, it was really windy, so the top water baits weren’t doing much so I switched to one of my brand new crankbait.

Fishing A Brown Shrimp Crankbait

I remember it was brown with some darker brown stripes going down the sides. It cast a country mile and would float until I started cranking on it. Then it would dive anywhere from 3-7 feet depending on how hard I cranked it.

On my first cast the crankbait was smacked hard and then again on my second and then it seemed like I couldn’t use it without getting strikes.

Guess how many of those I purchased?? Just one because I bought a variety of lures that day and just one of each. Roland didn’t buy one of this particular crankbait and I didn’t have one to loan him.

I kicked his bass fishing butt royally that day.

The crankbait quckly became one of my confidence baits and still is today. I went and bought another two, one for the tackle box and one I just incase Roland didn’t get a chance to buy one.

I used that crankbait until all the finish was worn off, leaving it a matte silver colour and it was still caught bass, which I found strange because I had a silver one that didn’t catch anything much at all.

Then one day I made a very long cast, probably the longest cast I ever made. It went straight across the water and into the trees on the bank somewhere. Never did find it. Guess I didn’t tie that knot as well as I thought.

That crankbait had hooked hundreds and hundreds of bass and pickerel and lasted for a few years before I lost it.

The second crankbait lasted for many years as well until one day Casey and I were bass fishing Lake Petit and on the very last cast of the day I lost it, the same way I lost the first one. The line snapped and it went so far I couldn’t find it. Bummer

A couple of years after I started bass fishing we gave chain pickerel a go and I used the same crankbait in open water along weed banks and found that they love that crankbait as much as the smallies do.

Check out the Rapala Crankbaits on FishUSA.com

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I love to get out fishing from my float tube. It’s so relaxing and at the same time exciting. Back when I had a canoe and a boat I had a nice little Humminbird portable fishfinder but found it too big for my float tube so I sold it with my boat.

I have looked for a nice portable fish-finder since but never saw anything that I really liked, until this morning.

It’s getting close to Christmas so I was looking through Amazon to see what was there and found this cool little wrist mounted fish finder, perfect for float tube fishing adventures.

Humminbird Smartcast Wrist Mount

I remember fishing Lake George New Brunswick, along with a few other larger lakes in the area, from both my canoe and boat. It was nice to have a fishfinder so we could located active spots we could come back to. We must have fished Lake George a hundred times and always seemed to hook into a lot of smallmouth bass.

I’d say it was mostly because of the Humminbird fish finder keeping us on the right locations.

I remember so many times I wished I had a fishfinder for my float tube so I could find those great spots again.

Here are a few specs for the Humminbird Smartcast RF 35 fishfinder.

First, Humminbird is using wireless technologies to the Smartcaster rf35 so you don’t require a wire going to the sensor. Just attach a length of fishing line and give it a toss out on the water and you’re ready to go fish finding.

The Remote Sonar Sensor has a separate, lithium battery that is non-replaceable , that has a lifespan of three years and will work for somewhere around five-hundred hours in the water.

Note: It’s always good advice to clean your equipment after a day on the water and it goes the same for your remote sensor. Keep it cleaned and it will keep going on keeping on.

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I love catching big fish, but then again don’t we all. But, using a light action rod and reel setup and I don’t mind catching smaller fish. Heck I fish brook trout about 8 to 13 inches long using my light action fly rod or spinning rod.

Smallmouth bass are no different. I love catching the big ones explode on my baits but the little guys of about 16 inches, are great fun on light action gear as well. It’s so cool to be able to watch them dart around your float tube or canoe so fast it’s unbelievable.

My son Steve caught the little guy in the picture below with just a little yellow head jig and a plastic grub. He was catching them all day long and never changed his bait, other than to replace the grub once it was munched up too much to stay on the jig.

Steve With His First Bass From His Float Tube

Keep Your Secret Spots Secret

The little spot I took my son is full of smallmouth up to about 15 or 16 inches. I like going here when fishing conditions elsewhere suck. I can usually fish and catch and release dozens of these little smallies all day long.

I have friends that never release fish and friends who practice catch and release like I do and for this spot I only ever take my catch and release friends. I certainly wouldn’t give up this location to any of my catch em and eat friends, I have lots of other places to take them.

Tricked And Treated To A Happy Surprise

The first time at this place was when a friend I worked with took me. He really didn’t tell me anything about it as we were fishing somewhere else and it just got too windy for our float tubes.

It was funny because he only showed me one small pond first and trust me I wasn’t overly impressed as it was so small I could almost cast to any point without moving my feet.

I did see a beaver and her hut and hooked into a little bass about 8 inches long. After fishing for a few minutes I noticed my friend was not to be seen. I figured he was taking a leak behind a tree but after a few minutes I called his name and then followed his voice.

As I came up over the ridge behind the little pond I was fishing he was snickering away with a 15 inch bass dangling from his fishing rod. He was standing on the edge of a pond that was, at first glance, about 3 or 4 times as large as the first pond. What a funny guy, eh?

We fished there for a long time and cast after cast after cast we were getting strikes, almost every cast was a bass on.

Then he started walking and in just a few minutes came to a channel that led to yet another section of water and then another. We fished all day and I still didn’t get to see all the water there. It wasn’t until the next time we came that I got to see the entire body of water.

By this time I was impressed.

So, the second time we brought our float tubes and that’s when I got to see all the water that was seldom seen by anyone on foot.

Being Prepared With Little Tackle

I can easily carry all the tackle I use for these ponds in just one little tackle box, small enough to fit in my fly fishing vest. Just a few small baits, crankbaits, tubes, top water, jigs and grubs.

For fly fishing for these bass I use all small top water dry flies and my favourite are brown, anything brown.

When I am not fly fishing for these little guys I like to use a small jig and a pumpkin coloured grub. It has been the setup that has landed me the most fish here, other than the fly rod of course.

Fishing Solitude

These ponds are not far off the beaten path and one can even drive their vehicle right down to the water. Yet, after fishing here for the past 10 or 15 years I can say that most times I never see anyone else or even hear a voice all day long.

In all those years I can count, on one hand, the number of people I have seen in there. Very quite and peaceful.

When I am not fly fishing for these little smallmouth’s I prefer to use a small jigg and a pumpkin coloured grub like the BearPaw Fat Bear Grub. It has been the setup that has landed me the most fish here, other than the fly rod of course.

BearPaws Fat Bear Grub $ 3.69
The Grub (12 per bag) is a very powerful bait in the world of bass fishing, or any type of fishing for that matter. The grubs outstanding natural action makes it one of the best baits in the water. Fish are attracted to grubs under all fishing conditions making it a sure bait throughout all seasons. The 3″ Bear Claw Grub is exceptional within it’s own right. This grub has a soft texture for a lifelike feel and action along with a special blend of seasonings and scents, just like all our other Bearpaws baits.

All Terrain Tackle Jim Moynagh Rock Jig – Undressed $ 2.49
We build the Rock Jig on a heavy, black-nickel, Mustad UltraPoint hook.

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Some of my fishing chums and I love angling for smallmouth bass at any time of year, although fall is without a doubt my favourite time since smallmouth bass begin a final eating frenzy to fatten up for the lean days of winter. You now are aware of precisely why autumn smallie fishing happens to be my personal favourite time of year to fish for bass in my humble opinion but springtime is in a really close second. The reason, it is largely due to the fact I have experienced enough winter by that time.

As summer shifts to fall the lake temperature will start dropping and then the weeds begin to die and that slows the quantity of oxygen within the water. The shortage of oxygen tends to localize the bass in places having more oxygen making it a lot easier to catch increased numbers of bass.

At this time of year Smallmouth bass seem to be less discriminating than they may be at other times of the year because winter is fast approaching and time is running out to fatten up for the winter. Smallies tend chase practically any lures at this time of the year. I have seen Smallmouth bass come a long ways to smack a lure in the Fall months.

I definitely enjoy working the weed beds for Smallmouth bass anytime but specifically in the Fall when weed patches that are generating oxygen begin to die off. In the fall I really watch the healthier weeds still producing oxygen.

Smallmouth’s are cold-blooded which means as the temperature of the lake water falls the Smallmouth’s usually slow therefore it’s crucial to slow down your baits also. You will find that you hook up with a lot more Smallmouth bass.

Look at Jamie’s face in the image on the left. Doesn’t he look a bit shocked to you? You will see the reason in the picture below.

I have been fishing pickerel here in New Brunswick for about 30 years now and yeah my arms are sore. Seriously though, my first experience pickerel fishing was in Cassidy Lake near Norton with my fishing buddy Roland.

His first day out and he caught a record 26″ pickerel and kicked my 24 incher out of the lead. That’s another story about an unexpected catch.

Jamie found me through my web site back in the spring 2008. He asked if I would give up any good bass fishing locations he could take his kids to. That started a relationship that has been growing ever since.

Catch of The Year 2009

It was dark when we left home and it was foggy. A very thick fog, the kind of fog that makes things look mystical. I was looking forward to stopping at the Cannan river to snap a couple of pictures. However, when we got as far as the river the fog had lifted and was completely clear.

Chipman was like a ghost town, nothing was stirring at all. We passed through Chipman and headed to our first fishing spot for the day.

We launched Jamie’s canoe from Redbank as it gave us a great starting point for hitting the coves along the Salmon river. Sure helps having a trolling motor, especially on those windy days.

We usually catch plenty of pickerel and even some perch at this spot, however on this day we paddle over to the culverts as there is usually at least one fat pickerel lying in wait.

Jamie made the first cast, only because my back was to the spot, lucky for him. The pink plastic worm Jamie had on hadn’t even hit the water when it disappeared in an explosion of water.

Jamie had hooked into a huge smallmouth bass, in a spot I have only ever caught pickerel. We were both shocked, surprised and laughing like fools. He fought it for a little bit and then landed it. He had a new record. Show off.

The first cast of the day and Jamie kicked my butt.

Jamie is so excited he wants to scream, I know it.

I’m still jealous and probably will be until I manage to catch a big bass for myself in this spot.

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Smallmouth bass fishing here in New Brunswick is great fun but I am sure I would be having fun fishing smallies just about anywhere.

Bass fishing is always fun with my spinning gear but what I really enjoy is fly fishing for smallmouth bass. They are almost as much fun as Atlantic salmon but a whole lot easier to get the strike.

To make bass fishing even more exciting you have to try it from a float tube. My first fly fishing for bass trip was to Lake George New Brunswick on the hottest day of the year.

It was so hot the fish seemed to shut right down so we had to hunt for locations where the water temperature was cooler so I suggested we make the mile long trip to the other end of the lake.

My fishing buddy wanted no part of it, it was just too hot. Then I suggested we use the car to take our float tubes to the other end of the lake. He was down with that.

The other end of the lake has so much more rock, weeds and lily pads for the bass to get out of the direct sunlight.

My fishing buddy for the day was kinda dragging his butt. I admit it was hot and I wanted to find some shade for myself but I was more interested in seeing if I could get a smallmouth to strike.

I was a good 10 minutes away from Kerry. He was still puttering around the shoreline as if he was ready to go home. Then a huge bass hit my top water Deer Hair Mouse – Size 1/0 and I yelled FISH ON. That got my buddies attention and he immediately perked up and headed my way.

From that point on we had bass hitting all day long, none stop. I had found the perfect spot.

These smallmouth bass were not really monsters by any stretch of the imagination but they were big enough to spin us around in our float tubes.

I have to get Jamie to Lake George next year. We wanted to go this year but the pickerel here in New Brunswick kind of kept us busy all summer long.

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