sport recreation

The Joy of Fly Fishing in New Brunswick

My First Day of Pickerel Fishing 2012

Posted: 04 May 2012 05:35 AM PDT

The original plan was to go fishing on Tuesday but the weather forecast said Thursday would be a better day. I was able to get a bit more yard work done.

Didn't sleep much Wednesday night and was up at about 4am. I get like then when I know I'm going fishing, just like a 60 year old kid.

Casey was a few minutes early picking me up, which I love as I'm always eager to get going.

Even though the forecast was for a great day we still came prepared for any kind of weather, not that we don't trust those weather people, but…

Leaving Moncton the sky was cloudy but the closer we got to our destination the fewer clouds we saw. By the time we reached the boat launch at Chipman the sky was clear of any clouds. And, to make it an even better day there was no wind to speak of.

Chipman Boat Launch

We launched at Chipman as they have a nice little boat launch which makes it quick and easy getting a boat in the water.

I could see it getting a little congested later in the season but this day there were no other boats launching and after a little walk around Casey's boat, to be sure everything was as it should be we launched and headed up river.

I was thinking the water would be a little higher than it was. And the water wasn't churned up any more than usually. The water in the Salmon river is always dark so that's not a new thing. My expectations of a great day were getting higher every minute.

On our way up river Redbank came into view. The first thought that came to my mind was that nice smallmouth bass Jamie caught at the culverts. It would be a great way to start the day, wouldn't it. Guess it wasn't meant to be as we didn't get a single strike.

Fish On: Jimmy Lands The First Pickerel

I won't mention the location but it wasn't long before I had the first pickerel of the day. Man it feels good getting that first fish of the year.

Casey didn't waste any time getting the next pickerel and tied things up. Then Casey lands a second and has the lead.

Next Casey caught a third pickerel and this one was 22" long. What a show off.

Now Casey had the most fish and the biggest. Time to bring out the confidence bait.

I had to work hard but I caught up to Casey's 4 fish and moved a head. From the point on I kept the upper hand, just enough so I wouldn't have to walk home, again.

We had a great day out for our first day out and we couldn't have asked for a better day. Just look at what the sky and water looked like at the end of the day.