Caught And Released My First Muskie At 61

September 19, 2013 is one of those days I will smile about every time I remember it and yeah I will probably tell total strangers on the street about it. Why, because it's only once you catch that first muskie and I was lucky enough to catch a 31 inch muskie and not a 24 inch one. So it became my first muskie and my biggest fish ever, in more than 50 years of fishing.

Casey invited me along for a day of muskie fishing on the Saint John river at Oromocto New Brunswick. We have fished here together before and I have fished with Jamie here. The  Oromocto area is such a pretty spot, especially once Autumn has arrived on the scene.

This day most of the trees were still full of green leaves so the ones that were starting to change really stood out.

Like this tree I saw when we were getting ready to launch the boat. One red tree in a sea of green leaves.

One tree out of dozens has made the change to Autumn colours.

Eagle Eyes Staring Back At Me

We had a fantastic day with calm water and not a cloud in the sky other than a few wispy ones that gave no shade at all.

I put my sun hat on to keep too much sun from frying my brain, again. My new hat also helps keep the sun out of my eyes better than my ball cap does.

There were a few bald eagles around but they usually take off before I'm in position to get a good shot however today we were able to get a bit close.

There were two of them on this limb but one took off before I was able to get a picture of them both. All I got of that first eagle was a shot of his tail feathers as he flew up river to another tree.

Casey slowed the boat right down as we approached and went right under it. So glad the water was calm so we weren't bobbing around at all. I took a lot of pictures as we approach and went under the eagle but it never moved.

Each time I take a picture the view screen goes blank so for just a second each time I thought the eagle was going to dive out of the tree and knock me over backwards.

Oh, Did I Tell You I Caught My First Muskie?

When my friend Roland would be fishing he would use sentences that started with 'Did I Ever Tell You…" or "Have I Told You Today…" Well I was saying that to Casey for the rest of the day. Glad the didn't duct tape my trap shut or tell me to take a bus home.

I moved to New Brunswick from Ontario 30 some years ago but never learned that we have muskies living and breeding in New Brunswick waters. Since I learned that fact I have wanted to catch a muskie so it's been on my wish list.

I have now checked that item off my list and now I will focus on catching more and maybe some that are bigger than my first.

Here are some pictures from our day on the Saint John river.

I must have taken 30 pictures of this bridge over the course of the day. It just looks great from so many angles and the reflections in the water always look cool.

I love going fishing during the work week as there is usually less boat traffic on the river. This day was perfect with hardly any traffic. We did see a few other fishermen on the water, like this guy who looked like he was in the tropics. He must be out a lot and needs to protect his healthy skin.

They were on the other side of the river so I zoomed in on them. We didn't talk so I have no idea if they were catching anything or not or even what they were fishing for. When he was casting it looked like he had smaller lures so I'm guessing he was fishing for chunky smallies.

We saw this plane circle and prepare to land on the water. I took a couple of pictures and then clicked record. I had the perfect angle for to watch him come in and land.

Again the water was calm so there was no bouncing around.

Just as he was about to hit the water he disappeared behind some trees. Oh man what a drag we weren't on the main river at this moment and I didn't realize it. So it kind of looks like he just crashed in the trees.

We didn't catch a lot of fish, just a fat little smallmouth bass and of course my first ever muskie at 31 inches. Did I mention that before? Ha Ha

All too soon it was the end of our day and time to pack up.

I thought I would end with another tree that has changed colour before all its neighbours.

Friday was my first day striper fishing and I was so excited to be going I didn't get much sleep. I slept fine until about 2am and then it was mostly awake so finally I just got up at 4am. Not unusual when I go fishing.

I have wanted to fish for striped bass for more than 10 years and had an opportunity to go to Rexton with Casey for a day.

I was thinking this was my first time fishing at Rexton until we got there and I recognized a church and an old ship skeleton. Then I remembered we came here ice fishing for smelts. That was my first time catching smelt as well.

About 15 minutes from the launch Casey hooked his first striper and it looked like it was going to be an exciting day. It was 14 inches and smacked the bait like it was 20 inches.

The next striper was about an hour later and that was Casey as well with a 17 inch striper. Love Casey's new rubber net so easy on the fish as well as easy getting the hooks out of the net.

I had my camera at the ready so we could quickly snap a picture and then get him back in the water as it was catch and release only.

Just a couple of seconds on the measuring board and right back into the drink.

It was an hour and three quarters later when I caught my first striper, ever. I love how hard they strike for their size.

There was no hesitation when he smacked my plastic Storm bait, he nearly swallowed the entire bait. The fact we were fishing barbless made it easy to remove the hook and release it. He was 14 inches and a scrapper. A nice experience.

My second striped bass was bigger than my first but not as big as Casey's second striper so I just let him go without taking another picture. Our day was rather slow but we did both get two striped bass and enjoyed the beautiful day we had.

I didn't think about my garden all day.

We didn't see many clouds all day. Very clear skies except for this shot of a bridge with a huge fog bank behind it.