Now there's a goal. Grab your fly rod, a couple of flies boxes and jump on your surfboard. Be sure you're on time because the tide waits for no man or woman.

The guy in the front looks like it's a walk in the park so I'm sure he would give it a try. I want to be there with my video camera.

Landing a salmon on your surfboard and keeping your balance might be a bit challenging.

Ten or twelve Canada geese were running along the bank on the other side of the river. They were pretty much running in single file like they didn't want to miss anything.

A couple of local surfers got in the water just down river from where I was standing and then paddled down river to meet the other two or three surfers as they were coming around the bend by the big red hotel.

I am really glad I decided to go and see what it was all about. I think there were two surfers from California, the two local guys and then I'm not sure but I think I saw at least five surfers.

There were two seadoos going back and forth helping anyone who lost the wave back to the front again so they could keep going. Near the end of it there was one surfer way back from the other. I think he lost his paddle and couldn't keep up.

I had my video camera setup in the direction they were coming and I just waited until the crowd got louder. Then I knew someone saw them coming towards the bend. There were a lot of people closer than I was so I could hear them a minute or two before I could see the surfers. Lots of time to turn on the video camera.

I don't do many videos so it's choppy and the wind is making a lot of noise.

Great fishing with Jamie again. The last time we fished together was near the end of June last year. The water levels were quite a bit lower then so we didn't have much action at all.

Yesterday was hot, very hot, day but the perfect day to go fishing and always beats a day sitting at home or out working in the yard, as much as I enjoy that.

Have to say it was more exercise than I've had in an entire year. By the time I got home, at 5:00 I was ready for bed. Woke up ready for another day of it but it's raining cats and dogs. My two rain collecting containers were emptied from the last few days of watering but filled up in less than a half hour this morning. I need more and bigger containers to last between rains.

Beat Last Year's Catch

Casey and I were out fishing a week ago and the water levels were still up a few feet. Yesterday the water was still up a foot or two on Canaan river so unlike our last visit there we actually caught a fish or two. Well actually it was more like 16 fish. Very enjoyable day of wading.

Jamie waded one side of the river and I the other. It was kind of strange as there seemed to be mostly bass on his half of the river where I had bass, pickerel, perch and chub on my half.

There seemed to be a lot of fish on both sides of the river that needed glasses. I'm sure we had as many fish completely miss the bait as we caught.

Love My New Canon PowerShot SX500 Camera

Got a new Canon Ppowershot SX500 IS for my 60th birthday so 2013 making this year a really fun year for taking pictures. Lots and lots of pictures.

I wasn't able to take pictures until just a few short years ago. So happy to have image stabilization technology as now I can take all I want.

Even when I get excited and start shaking I can still take pictures, even use the zoom, although when I shake I can't take macro images.

Now Back To My Fun Day Of Fishing

Once we walked to the river from where we parked and made it through the thick trees that line the river bank Jamie headed to the opposite side and we started down river.

We arrived at the river right at 8:00 and by 8:04 Jamie had his first bass. Both of us got very excited because both of us half expected the same results as last year at this time which was just about zip.

The excitement wore off a bit as the next hour passed without as much as peak at a fish. Was it just a single fish that hung around? Then Jamie hooked into his second bass and the excitement level went through the roof again.

I zoomed in and started snapping pictures trying to get one that caught his fish airborne but all I could get was this splash as it went back in the water.

He landed the smallie which was smaller than his first but still a bass. I on the other hand was catching a lot pictures but hadn't seen any fishing yet.

Just after that I caught a huge chub which was a start. Then a few minutes later Jamie hooked into another smallmouth bass. Well if I couldn't catch any bass I'd still rather be wading a stream or river taking pictures than staying home wishing I was fishing.

This first image looks like Mother Nature poured a few buckets of nature's colours into the river making for a great picture or two.

Wild roses were everywhere along the river banks and even the road we parked on. I think the other flowers are daylilies. I noticed this morning at home that we have some opening just like these ones and bright yellow ones as well.

Jamie was still out fishing me on the other side of the river but he was able to stop long enough to wave at me before hooking into his next bass.

I was on his heels now. After that chub I started hooking some smallmouth bass and was catching up with Jamie. He knows I don't give up without a fight.

Next I hooked the biggest bass of the day but don't get to count it because he grabbed my bait and then jumped high in the air and spit it back at me.

It was a privilege just to have him on the line.

It's amazing how fast time flies when you're have a blast with a friend. Before we knew it it was time to call it a day and head back home. I was already to the point I could hardly drag my feet through the water.

Well it was time to go…

By the end of the day I had caught up with Jamie's number and then passed him. He even hooked into a big fat chub but by then he couldn't catch me.

No I didn't say I wanted to go home just to beat him. I'll save that little trick for another day.

At the end of our fishing day the score was 9 fish for Jimmy, that's me, and 7 for Jamie. Jamie's fish were all smallmouth bass except for that last one which was a chub. I caught 2 chub, two perch, two pickerel and three smallies. Variety is the spice of life, right?

The drive to Chipman seemed like it was going to be a foggy one but the fog was always just up the road ahead and by the time we reached the Canaan river the fog as gone. It was still cloudy though.

It was good to have the cloud cover as there was no wind at all. That only lasted a short while and then the sky was clear of clouds other than what you see when a plane flies overhead.

Once I saw the clouds disappearing it was time to pour on the sunscreen. I came home with only one tiny spot I missed that was burned. It's that little spot the gets burned when your shirt sleeves move up and down your arm.

Some Days The Wind Is A Welcome Friend

It was one of those days when the wind was truly a welcome friend, even though it has a tendency to turn off those top water fish which are my favourite kind of fish. It also pushes off the spots we want to fish so we either have to use the anchor or the trolling motor.

The trolling motor is fun but this day it seemed to NOT be getting any power even though the power was there. So I was anchor detail for the rest of the day. But that was good as it was Casey that seemed to be doing most of the catching.

I'm getting ahead of myself. First we stopped at a location we pass every time we go to Chipman. I have fished this area from my float tube so I've never gone very far from the bridge and never had any luck there.

We stopped and walked down to the launch which is normally blocked with downed trees and debris that gets blown onto the short. It's usually so bad that you would never be able to launch anything more than a canoe, kayak or float tube.

When I fished with the float tube there was usually about four of us but never saw any action and would quickly pack up and head elsewhere.

We were so impressed with just how clean this spot was that we had to at least give this spot a try so Casey backed the boat down and in a few minutes we were fishing for pickerel.

There weren't many weeds here yet but we figured there would be pickerel here and headed out to give it a go.

Who Ever Cleaned This Spot Up Needs A Thank You

I have never had a good feeling about this spot but was excitedly anticipating a day where the pickerel would be jumping over each other to get to our offerings.

Sadly that wasn't to be.

It was a couple of hours before anything at all and then it was Casey with a fat chub. We then fished for another hour and it was again Casey but this time he landed a nice fat 21" pickerel.

That was it… Nothing else even looked at our bait. 

I'm not sure what it is about that location. Maybe later in the season when it's really thick with weeds we'll have to give it another try. But now it was time to get out of there and head to Chipman.

Wouldn't Want My Hand Caught In There

The fog that was over head making it look cloudy soon burned off and the few clouds that remained didn't stick around for long. Once the fog burned off the wind picked up but I didn't get upset with the wind because it was getting hotter by the minute and the breeze made it easier to handle.

I'll admit I'm a top water guy and I'm always happier when I can fish top water baits and see the action. When it's as hot as it was I accept the wind and adjust.

This trip I was prepared with my new wide brimmed hat. It's not quite a sombrero but close and it kept the direct sun off my tender head.

The fishing was tough and the fish were acting very strange. Maybe the barometric pressure was squishing there head and messing with their vision because they sure were coming up short on the strikes. I think they needed glasses.

At the end of the day we both had 7 fish. The two biggest was Casey's 24" pickerel and my 23 1/2" pickerel.

I was so happy to take a day off from building our first hugelkultur bed to go fishing with Casey. He's so much more fun than that big hole I dug in our backyard.

I think I should have tried a bit harder to find a couple of strong guys to help me did that sucker as it's taken me weeks longer than I thought it would take.

Hoping to get it completely today or tomorrow and get some wild flowers planted on it.  It's outside my office window so I'm hoping to see lots of butterflies and hummingbirds enjoying my hard work.

Let's Start With New Horton Lake

I love New Horton lake as it's a beautiful spot but it can get quite choppy rather quickly so it's best to fish here in the morning and then move to a more protected area to do some fishing, like the river at Riverside Albert.

I really like the shoreline at the back end of the lake as it's really rocky and towers over the lake. The rock is split and shattered from thousands of years of freezing and thawing. It amazes me that trees can stay standing.

What!? Casey Gets The First Fish, Again

Casey's getting real good at getting the first fish of the day lately. This day he even caught the second fish, long before I saw my first fish of the day.

Years ago I fished the brook that leads into the New Horton lake and have had some good feeds of brook trout. One year I caught my limit of brookies on opening day and never had to move my feet. It was about the best day of trout fishing I've even had. All the brookies were 12" and 13" and tasted so good.

I've never caught a trout in the lake though, well not until after Casey caught his first two bass. I was casting right to the shoreline expecting a smallie so you can imagine how surprised I was when I landed my first every New Horton lake brook trout.

Sandy Shoreline Seemed To Be The Pattern

As we were coming up one side of the lake I saw a sandy beach the wind was blowing against. I made a cast in that direction, getting as close to the shoreline as I could. I was telling Casey that I had caught my biggest bass ever fishing a spot just like this while I was on Harvey lake. Just as I said it I had a bass smack my lure.

From that moment on I focused on any spot I saw that had a sandy section and managed to land about a dozen smallmouth bass, no more trout though.

By this time the water was getting a little choppy and it was time to see if we could get some trout in the river. Casey backed his trailer into the water and rather than get in the water to get the boat on the trailer he just got back in the boat and drove it on. Now that get's the job done faster.

The Boat Launch At Riverside Albert

We usually launch the boat at the launch under the bridge at Riverside Albert but there were a couple of vehicles there already so we went to the boat launch near the Riverside Albert School. I didn't even know there was a boat launch there.

We fished up and down the river for a few hours without any takers. We did see a couple of guys in a boat. I think they owned one of the vehicles at the bridge.

They had been there most of the day and only had one trout each but they were nice looking rainbows.

We headed to Oromocto the other day for a little bit of fishing and as you can see we weren't the only ones out. Even man's best fishing buddy was on the water.

Our day of fishing started on the Saint John river to see if I could get my first muskie. I waited quite a few years before I felt I was finally strong enough again that I could take on a muskie.

We fished a known muskie stretch up and down for a couple of hours but did get a muskie strike. Casey did get a small smallmouth bass.

After a while of trying for muskie we moved into the Oromocto river and fished our way up to French lake where we hooked into a few chain pickerel. We moved a lot of pickerel but they just weren't very active.

I hooked into a few but missed a whole lot of them. It's great catching but I still get a blast just casting and watching them. Not sure why they kept missing the baits though. So cool watching the wakes and swirls. Sometimes before the bait even hits the water. However I think it's a little more fun landing some.

I was in the front of the boat and had what looked like a big pickerel making a huge swirl when my bait hit the water but nothing on the next few casts. I pointed the spot out to Casey as he was now closer to that spot. He cast exactly where I pointed and that pickerel came flying out of the water and took the bottom half of Casey's Senko. He was a huge pickerel but that was the last we saw of him.

Before I knew it the day was almost done so we took the run back to the Saint John to give muskie another try before heading home again.

Casey Get's The Only Muskie of The Day

Well I didn't manage to get my first muskie but Casey landed a 31" muskie. When he hit it looked like Casey had snagged on bottom but only for a second and then the head shaking started.

It was fun watching but would have been great if it was me with the muskie. Maybe next time.

Taking The Time Taking Care

As soon as I realized Casey had hooked into a muskie I grabbed the big net from the front of the boat and had it ready.

I even managed to get the muskie in the net without any mishaps.

At that point we kept the muskie in the net and in the water so that it would remain calm while we got things ready for measuring and getting pictures.

The muskie wasn't out of the water for more than 15 or 20 seconds.

The muskie was really hooked and Casey felt it was better to cut the hooks than to try getting them out and maybe hurting the muskie. A minute later the muskie was free of the hooks and back in the net while I got the camera read.

He was calm, the muskie that is, but as soon as Casey tried taking him out of the net he went wild. Almost got away before he could be photographed and measured. Once Casey finally got a grip we measured his 31" muskie and I snapped a couple of pictures.

We did see a lot more bald headed eagles than usual. I wrote a short post about that and added some pictures and a video.

From the time I first bought a digital camera to take fishing I have been taking pictures, thousands of them. I still get lots of fishing in while we're out.

I take pictures of water, trees, clouds, sun, some fish and wildlife if I can get close enough for a picture. I often get images that are too far away and out of focus. I just never seem to be able to get a close up image of a bald eagle.

Lots of Eagles On The Oromocto River

On Tuesday May 21 Casey and I were fishing the Oromocto and saw bald eagles every where along the Oromocto river as well as all along the Saint John river at Oromocto.

I don't normally see pairs of eagles but this day we saw multiple pairs and even a few juvenile bald eagles who still had their mottled feathers.

Even though the eagles were still a bit shy and took off before we reached them they still allowed us closer than they normally do. Must have babies they gotta feed. I don't think I've ever seen so many eagles in a single day.

The picture on the left is the closest I got to getting a picture of a pair of eagles. Just as I got the camera up for the picture the first one dropped out of the tree and the second one had wings lifted ready to take off. Just a couple of seconds too slow.

Take a minute and learn more about Oromocto and about the bald eagle on Wikipedia.

Juvenile Bald Eagle

I wasn't sure if the juvenile bald eagles we saw were really bald eagles but I looked online to see if there were other eagles in New Brunswick but couldn't find any. So if this isn't a juvenile bald eagle left me know please.

It's not the best picture but it's the best of the ones I got. The others had branches between my camera and the eagle.