I really don't do well in the cold anymore which may be partly to do with blood thinners or other meds I have to take but I try not to let that stop me from going fishing if the opportunity presents itself.

An example would be yesterday when Casey took me muskie fishing on the Saint John river at Oromocto. It was minus 2 but seemed a whole lot chillier when we were on the water with the wind blowing. But we knew it was going to be a chilly day.

Knowing that I wore lots of layers of clothing which started with two pair of socks, long johns, T-shirt, heavy shirt, sweater, winter coat, a thick scarf, my toque and a pair of gloves. I brought the rest of my wardrobe in a carry on bag just in case I needed to put on more layers of clothing.

My gloves didn't last long as I took one of to pull weeds off my lure and the wind flipped it right in the drink. We were trolling so we had to turn around and retrieve it. So glad Casey had an extra pair of gloves.

Every had one of those times when you know you're going down and there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop yourself? Me too and yesterday was one of those days.

Casey pulled his boat up to a spot that looked like a good place to take a leak but it was a bit deceptive and looked solid. However when I jumped off the front of the boat both feet sunk into the mud but the rest of me was still moving. I was going down and it wasn't likely to look pretty, pretty fun looking would be more like it.

Now if that had been Casey I would have gotten a picture of it even before I stopped laughing.

So glad I didn't hurt anything more than a tiny bit of pride. My winter coat was just long enough to save my butt from getting soaked. One bare hand sunk into the mud and it was freezing.

Let's Tally Up The Fish For The Day

We were trolling for muskie and never seen or felt one all day however it was a fun day and plenty of pictures of trees, clouds, water and planes were taken.

While we were trolling for muskies and got close enough to the shore that I could make a few cast I would and managed to catch two pickerel.

Jenny and I had our Thanksgiving dinner Sunday and so did Casey. So Monday Casey and I went pickerel fishing at French lake.

The temperature was moving between 3 Celsius and zero which presented us with a lot of fog on our drive.

The fog was heavy in places but most of the drive the fog wasn't an issue. We did drive through one section of road that was so fogged in I had to sit on the hood of the truck and cut our way through it.

When the sun came up we could see the fog light up with a yellow orange glow but couldn't see the sun.  At one point I could see the sun through the fog but had to try to turn enough to get a shot of it through the back driver's side window.

Foggy TransCanada New Brunswick Morning

French Lake In The Fog

There are trees along the side of the road leading to the boat launch and deer love munching on apples so we were looking for some whitetail deer. We were not disappointed as they were just crossing the road heading back into the bush again.

I got out of the truck so I could get a couple of pictures of Casey backing his boat 'Casey 10' to the water. It was definitely the strangest looking launch point I'd ever seen and looked more like Casey was going to drive off a cliff going backwards.

I couldn't see any lake or trees, just fog with that endless look to it.

I walked down to the water where I could only see a few yards from shore. out onto the lake was hard on the eyes as the fog was lit up by the sun and such a bright white. Couldn't see anything other than a 10 or 15 strip of water along the shore the rest was just fog.

When we arrived at French lake we couldn't even see the water for the fog. I walked to the edge of the water and could only see about 20 or 30 feet out into a white wall of fog.

The air was calm and kind of cold so I was glad I my winter clothes but it was always a different kind of beautiful. The sun was trying to break through the fog so it made for some great photos.

The huge fog bank sitting on top of us was great for photos but hard to see any distance around us so I'm glad there was little to no boat traffic.

Best Fishing Day of The Year

First I have to say this year was a pretty cool year of fishing for me as I caught my first striped bass and my first muskie. Now having said that I had the best day of fishing as far as numbers and size of pickerel.

As you can see by the blood on this pickerel they were most aggressive and made no hesitation in striking our baits.

I tried getting the bait out of this guys mouth but he wasn't about to give it up. From this guy on we worked as a team removing hooks so that pickerels wouldn't be harmed.

Just like in humans when there is water and blood there always looks like more blood than water.

I think it was less than 15 minutes and both Casey and I had our first fish in the boat. Casey got his fish first which is always the goal when we first start out for the day. Then it's a matter of numbers and size.

Casey caught the next pickerel which was bigger than the pickerel I had just landed so it was time to pack up and go home while Casey was in the lead with first fish, most fish and largest fish.

In no time he was up to 5 pickerel to my single pickerel. That's when he said he was going to kick my ass fishing. The challenge was on and I don't like to lose a challenge. From that point on my focus was on knocking his fish of the hook before it got in the boat.

My biggest pickerel of the day was less than an 1/8 of an inch off 25" but Casey caught one that was right on 25" and earned biggest fish of the day.

Casey's 25" Chain Pickerel

By the end of our day of fishing French lake Casey had landed and released 23 fish. I may not have measured up for the biggest fish of the day but I did manage to boat 35 including the biggest perch I have ever caught.

After a week of rain it was so nice to see and feel the sun again. I was also great to get out fishing with Casey. It's always a good day, even if the fishing is slow.

Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day, even a bit hot for the end of September but the skies were high and bright with zero clouds to block some of the sun. Made for a tough day of muskie fishing.

The little smallmouth bass in the top left images was the catch of the day. The only catch of the day actually and it was caught on the end of my rod so I got first fish of the day, biggest fish of the day as well as the most fish of the day.

We were trolling close enough to the shoreline that I was able to make some casts close to the bank and trees. I pulled a chain pickerel out of the weeds but then it stopped. All I got to see was his shape.

Casey had a nice fat smallmouth smack his bait and then jump out of the water. He hit the water and stayed on for about 4 seconds. It would have kicked my bass's ass.

So it wasn't much of a fish catching day but it sure was a purdy day.

Rivers of Fog

I don't care to drive through fog but I do love to see fog. Not sure why but I've liked it as long as I can remember.

Sunday was a foggy morning in the low lying areas but we didn't drive through any fog. The fog that was visible as we were driving was either off the road or above the road.

The fog in the image on the left was right across a bridge we drove under.

Below is a picture of the fog over the river as we drove past Oromocto. I never seem to get a shot up close of fog like this because we are usually included in the fog. Nice to see it over the river like that.

Fog on the River at Oromocto

Canada Geese Sounding Off In The Fog

I looked down over the dam as we drove over it and there was no fog but above where the launch point was it was so foggy you couldn't see the other side.

There was no fog onshore and so quiet I'm sure we would have heard a bird fart. The quiet is always something is special in a world made up of so many noises.

I was taking a few more pictures and enjoying the silence when it was broken by a loud HONK and then another and another. Next a Canada goose came out of the fog. Ten seconds later a second goose emerged from the fog then another and finally a forth Canada goose came out of the fog. They were all spaced about 6 or 8 feet a part in single file.

I guess the honking was so they wouldn't loose touch with each other.

It was only a few minutes and that towering cloud of fog just disappeared except for right along the shoreline where the tree were blocking the sun. Love casting into spots like this.

Saw a lot of scenery and a great day thanks to Casey and his trusty boat.