SPRING IS HERE,THE BITE AND VINTAGE STUFF

    Spring has finally arrived in our part of the country and most folks around here are very happy to see the snow pack starting to melt. We had quite a bit of snow this year around Chipman and to the north and east of our location but other areas to the south and west had a very good winter,with less than normal snowfall. I took a drive to the southern end of Grand Lake this past week-end and I was surprised at how much less snow fell in that short distance from Chipman to Scotchtown. The fields are pretty much bare and the white-tails are taking full advantage of the new shoots that are popping out already. I counted roughly two hundred deer in the fields between Douglas Harbour and Indian Point. It was a pretty impressive site and it gave me a "feel good" moment to see that many deer that survived another New Brunswick winter. It never ceases to amaze me how much of a difference exists between our Crown lands and the areas of private ground. The southern end of Grand Lake is for the most part private ground consisting of large farms and woodlots and the hunting pressure is kept to a minimum.That,coupled with good forest management,seems to be the key to allowing the deer herd to prosper in that area.I know they have their fair share of coy-wolves in that area so that can't be the factor that tips the scale in favor of the deer.If our government and the boys from the DNR would pick up the gauntlet and run with it,we could see an increase in our deer numbers on crown land also. The latest word from the government is that the large corporate woods operators will be given a cut of 53% of the existing DWA's and protected areas in 2012. This has outraged sportsmen and conservationists alike and has resulted in a huge backlash and letter writing frenzy in an effort to stymie this crass piece of work. The biggest problem I have with this proposed cut is the fact that it is slated to occur for the simple reason that government has allowed the big corporations to over cut for the last thirty years.This should never have been allowed and it was only pure greed that allowed this to happen. OUR crown lands were to be managed to allow for a sustainable cut in perpetuity.The government and big business has failed in that mandate and the deer as well as woods workers AND private woodlot owners are suffering as a result.It will be very interesting to see how this plays out in the near future.

    The ice fishing season has come to a close and most locals finished off the season by attending the Paul Gallant Memorial Pickerel Tournament. The tourney was a great success with over one hundred participants fishing French Lake and Indian Lake. Maquapit Lake resident Ralph Atyeo was the overall winner with his two fish as well as winning the lunker prize with a fish measuring twenty-four and five-eighths inches. The second and third place winners were tied at forty-seven inches for their two fish and Bailey Dorion won the toss for second place.Raymond Thibodou won third place by default. A great time was had by all with many prizes and trophy's being provided by the many sponsors of this yearly event.
    The smaller streams and rivers are slowly starting to open up and we are looking forward to the April 15th opener of the regular fishing season. As usual,we will be fishing for black salmon on the main Southwest Miramichi on the opener,if the ice has run out by then. Here at home on Salmon River the ice has started to move above Gaspereau Forks but is still holding solid below this point. The following photo shows a spot below McLeod's Pond just starting to open up.

We are expecting to have more water this year than we had last year for the opener because of the heavier snow pack but you never know what Mother Nature will throw at you. Many sports and guides like to see lots of water for spring salmon fishing but I am one who rather likes low water conditions, like we had last year. It makes it harder to navigate the river but the fish are concentrated in the deeper holes and it makes it a little easier to find fish in this type of water.I love being on the Miramichi at this time of the year because it's usually a time to get together with family and friends and get the season off to a good start. I will be fishing with Donna Aguillon again this year and if we even do half as good as we did last year,it will be great fishing! Good friend and fellow guide Allen Davidson will also be fishing with us,as well as several of our friends and guides from the Chipman and Doaktown areas. Last year Donna hooked a huge salmon,the largest I have ever seen and after playing it for about forty-five minutes or so,the hook fell out of its mouth.I estimated that fish to be five feet long and forty lbs.last year and in retrospect,I have to say that I stand by that estimate. The funny thing about that fish was we had been fishing the run for a while without any hits and Donna said she wanted to change flies.I told her to go ahead and pick one out so she tied on a marabou pattern and she didn't make two casts when she hooked that monster! I have become a real fan of the marabou patterns the last couple of years,having caught good numbers of salmon during the spring and fall seasons. They are especially deadly on large salmon.I am not the only one who has taken a shine to these great flies.Derek Munn,head guide for the Ledges Inn,seems to like them too according to the posts he made in his blog last year.The photo below shows a few Marabou patterns commonly used on the Miramichi.

They say size DOES matter and after last spring I firmly believe that the size of your fly must match the height and clarity of the water conditions if a fisherman is to have any success fishing for Atlantic salmon.With the low water conditions and clear water we had last spring,fishing the smaller marabou patterns was the key to a successful day on the water.A good guide will recognize what the water conditions are like and this will govern his choice of flies. Another pattern that is earning a following is the tandem rabbit strip flies.I haven't used any of these flies yet but I will definitely be trying some this spring and fall.The photo below shows a couple of this relatively new pattern and just the look of them spells fish.

I expect that both the marabou and rabbit strip patterns will do well on the sea-trout on the Miramich and the Cains River so be sure to include a few of these flies in your arsenal when you hit the water this year.

    I have been picking up some very nice art work this winter during my travels and the following photo shows a painting done on a slab of wood.This has been a popular way to produce art work for many years and this one is twenty years old and looks as if it may have come from out west because of the subject matter.It is signed and dated Angie "91".                                                                                                                  

The next painting shown is done in a similar fashion but this one dates back to the late fifties or the early sixties.This is just my estimation because it isn't dated but it is signed by the artist. I really like this painting of a fawn deer and the artist did a great job in portraying how fragile looking the small deer is.

The last item shown this month is yet another lamp.This one is modelled after a nice white-tail buck and is similar to another one I have except this one is more of an end table lamp because of the design,having a rather large shade.

I hope the readers of my blog enjoy seeing these vintage items as much as I enjoy finding them,so don't be afraid to leave a comment if the mood strikes you.Be sure to check out next months blog as I will be updating the spring salmon fishing and preparing for the spring bear season,which is just around the corner.We had some huge bruins on our baits last year and we got some of them on the trail cams,so be sure to drop in again. If any sports would like a day on the water or a week in the bush here in the beautiful Grand Lake area,just give me a shout and Ken and I will fix you right up. This is Dale Bauer signing off for now and wishing you Happy Trails-Until we meet again!

KILLING TIME,THE BITE AND VINTAGE STUFF

  With February being a short month,most sportsmen are looking forward to the first signs of spring. In our part of the world,we usually see a change in the weather around the middle of March when longer days and temperatures above freezing starts to melt the snow pack and the ice along the rivers and streams. Although we are still about three weeks away from that time frame,we have already had a few days of spring like weather heralding better weather to come. But there is a down side to this warmer weather because although it may be melting in the daylight hours,at night the temperature usually drops below freezing and this causes a crust to form when we have a year such as this year with a lot of snow. This is the time when our deer herd suffers the worst,floundering through deep snow and tearing themselves up on the crust. At the same time,Mr.coyote, who had been having the same difficulty in getting around while foraging for food,is now able to travel freely on the crust at the same time as our poor deer are breaking through. This is the killing time for our coy-wolves. The deer are at their mercy and they will pursue them and kill them in their yards or wherever they can catch them. This year will be especially hard on the deer because of the deep snow and lack of cover on our crown lands. The deer are already in a weakened state and it doesn't take long for a pack of coyotes to wear them down and literally eat them alive.I was hoping the price of fur would be good this year because the only way to exercise any kind of control over these killers is by trapping,more specifically snaring. A snare works 24/7 and that's what it takes to reduce their numbers to a tolerable level. Coyotes are just too wily to effectively reduce their numbers by hunting. Our terrain is too thick to be conducive to calling and they like to come to a bait at night when it isn't legal to hunt them. I have to give credit to the game managers in Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan for imposing a bounty on coyotes this year. With the price of their pelts being so low,at least the bounty will provide a bit of monetary incentive to hunters and trappers to target this destructive species. What really upsets me is when the DNR spokespeople say that we can't eliminate coyotes by using a bounty.Who says we want to eliminate them? We all know that isn't possible and that's not what most sportsmen would want anyway. The goal should be to reduce their numbers so they don't have such an impact on our deer herd by their predation. This should be what our game managers are striving for instead of giving the public a smoke and mirrors type answer to a very serious problem.

   Ken and Dallas have been out fishing the hard water on Grand Lake in several locations with varying degrees of success. The boys have their ice huts set up at Cox's Point and at Bartons Wharf and have been catching some very nice burbot and pickerel using cut bait and live minnows. Although live minnows are a great bait for either of these species,Ken says the pickerel are giving them some grief by stealing the bait. This can be quite frustrating because it's hard to get minnows this time of the year and even harder to keep them alive and active. To combat this situation,Ken and Dal have switched over to using mainly cut bait because both of these species will readily take this type of bait without the hassle of constantly re-baiting. A good size burbot on Grand Lake will run between twenty- four and thirty inches and weigh in between four and six lbs. A trophy sized burbot will run up to ten or twelve lbs. and there are enough of them around to keep things interesting. The average size of the pickerel we catch is between eighteen and twenty inches,with the occasional twenty-four incher hooked. The following photo shows a few nice burbot up to thirty inches and an average sized pickerel that Ken and Dallas caught last week off of Cox's Point while fishing from one of their shacks.

On February 12 the village of Minto held their annual seniors and childrens ice fishing day at the Keyhole on Grand Lake. This event is always well attended and this year was no exception with about one hundred people participating including sixty-two  children registered. The Hargrove clan was well represented,with three generations in attendance! Although the Hargroves weren't in the winners circle,they managed to land a few pickerel around eighteen inches. Ol' Wes received a plaque for the oldest fisherman in attendance and I must congratulate all the hardy participants who braved some brutally cold weather for the three hour tournament. I know that both young and old alike enjoyed the hot-dogs and hot chocolate that was served up by the organizers. Young Kayla Hunter was the big winner with a twenty-two inch pickerel. Another large pickerel tournament was held this past week-end at French Lake and Indian Lake which are part of the Grand Lake system. This tournament is always well attended with sports coming from all points of the province to try and catch some of the large pickerel that inhabit these lakes. The winner is determined by adding the length of your two largest pickerel,which can be upgraded throughout the day but all registered fish must be returned live to the water.This is a good idea because it encourages live release of these great sport fish. I don't have any details on the tourney winners but I will try to include some information in next months blog post. Budweiser beer is one of the large sponsors of this tournament and they have some very good prizes for the lucky winners.

   I continue to pick up some nice vintage items in my travels and one of the things I found recently was a nice carving from the Chatam area on the Miramichi River. At first I thought this carving was a beaver but upon closer inspection I came to the conclusion it was an otter. Regardless,I think it is a very nice piece of folk art and was happy to find it and add it to my large collection of vintage items. The following photos show the otter and the artist information on the bottom of the piece.

  The following photo shows a decorative tile depicting a pair of red-breasted mergansers taken from a John James Audubon print. Although this tile was made in England,it has a stamp saying it was decorated in Canada.

The next photo is of a couple of souvenir ashtrays that I picked up at a local flea market.They seem to be made from a copper alloy and depict a large stag and the New Brunswick coat of arms done in epoxy.

I would date all of the items I have include in this post as being from the Fifties or Sixties but since they are not dated I may be wrong. If any of my readers can provide more information regarding their date of manufacture,please feel free to forward any information to the e-mail for my web site.

   Ken and I provide trips by the day or week in our area for whatever species are in season,so don't hesitate to call or e-mail me if you are interested in an adventure in the beautiful Grand Lake area.So until next time,Happy Trails to you.....Until we meet again!

                                                                                                           

MID-WINTER BLUES AND VINTAGE STUFF

The winter of 2011 started off pretty good,as far as New Brunswick winters go,but the last few days have jolted us back to reality. Snow and freezing rain and more snow and cold weather to come later in the week will challenge even the hardiest of outdoorsmen. Normally,we have enough ice to try fishing some of the back guts and ponds on the lower Salmon River but this winter has been so mild up to this point,we just don't dare to chance it. That will all change after the cold snap that's forecast for next week and hopefully we can get out and set some lines to break up the boredom that usually sets in at this time of the year with the conditions we currently have.

     Most sportsmen here in New Brunswick have been keeping their fingers crossed in hopes of a decent winter so our deer herd won't get hit too hard. Our deer kill has been down significantly the last few years because of the harsh winters we have been burdened with and despite having a very good winter last year,the nay sayers are forecasting doom and gloom already for next season. I will reserve judgement until a lat

er date because I usually try to stay optimistic unless it's just too obvious to ignore.
     There has been a lot of talk lately on New Brunswicks premier hunting forum,nbhunting.com,about how our crown lands are being managed.Many hunters are now starting to realize just how poor a job the big forestry companies are doing managing OUR forests.The big problem is the forestry companies are managing for wood fibre and practically ignoring the needs of game animals. As of late,this isn't setting too well with the hunters and fishermen in this province and the big forestry companies and the government of the day had better revise their game plan because the cat is out of the bag and the general population will no longer stand for this type of short sighted management philosophy. With QDMA getting organized in the province,I look forward to this grass roots group of land owners putting pressure on the powers that be to move forward and come up with a plan that includes something for the game animals as well as strictly fibre enhancement.Things are so bad right now that in my view,we can only move forward towards better management policies because there is nowhere to go but up and the status quo is certainly not acceptable to outdoorsmen as well as the general public.
     The one thing sportsmen can do to help the deer herd out is to target the coyotes during the off season.It's too bad the fur market is so depressed because our trappers here in New Brunswick would put a hurt on these deer killers in a hurry if the money was there to make it economically feasible to pursue them. Nova Scotia has a modest bounty on them and from what I hear,many trappers and hunters are really going after coyotes hard this year. The DNR in New Brunswick would do well to borrow a page from NS DNR's management policies regarding coyotes and implement some kind of bounty on these dirty buggers. Even contests for numbers and size of coyotes can make a difference and I see that this year there are different contests being sponsored in various areas of the province. This will help to keep the numbers down and at least prevent some deer from being taken down by our coyote/wolf packs.

     As I am sitting here at my computer writing this months blog,I glanced out the window after some movement caught my eye and there was a nice pilated woodpecker hammering on one of the large trees in my front yard. I've always admired these large colorful birds with their jungle like call but they haven't always been as plentiful as they are right now. The spraying of DDT back in the 50's and 60's nearly wiped them out.How rare were these birds back then? Well,I had experienced woodsmen tell me they didn't exist and that I was seeing things! That's how rare these birds once were. Since those days,these beautiful birds have increased their numbers to the point where they are regularly seen in any old growth forests left,where they forage for insects.Here are a couple of photos I snapped while my visitor posed for me.

This month I have include a couple of souvenir items from my collection of vintage stuff I have collected over the years as well as another TV or stand lamp.This lamp was probably made during the "sixties" in a crafts class or by some industrious person who made crafts such as this in their spare time. This lamp was made as a fireplace with actual stones used in the construction,as well as a hand crafted shade made from pieces of wood lathe.

The next photo shows two souvenir items I picked up recently.Although they were considered as tacky items in their day,nowadays people collect this kind of thing just because it is kind of tacky!Go figure.Regardless of motivation,there is a growing segment of the population that likes collecting this stuff.

I will end this months blog with a reminder to outdoor folks interested in a day or week in beautiful New Brunswick to give me a call or drop me an e-mail and Ken and I will arrange an adventure to our part of the province on Grand Lake that you won't soon forget! Until next time,Happy Trails to you,Until we meet again!