SPRING SALMON,BLACK BEAR AND VINTAGE STUFF

    The April 15th fishing opener produced some good fishing for some and some cold and stiff fingers for others.As usual,I was on the MSW Miramichi with friends and family fishing from Doaktown to Carrolls Crossing and nearly everyone who could stand the brutal weather conditions caught fish. I will be the first to admit that I am a fair weather fisherman and I just don't enjoy fishing in the kind of weather we had the first few days of the season. On the other hand,wild horses couldn't keep me from the river on the first day of the season! The first morning started off a little slow but by the afternoon the water had dropped a bit and it seemed to put the salmon in the mood to take. I only fished for about two hours in the afternoon of the first day but I did hook a fish on the very first cast of the season. What a way to start things off! I didn't land that fish and I never landed the next two fish I hooked but some of my friends from Storytown and Chipman did manage to land a few while fishing at Big Hole Brook. I fished the opposite shore and watched the Beeks and their crowd catch several fish both from boats and from the shore. These boys always have a good crowd on hand and their howls and whooping whenever someone hooked one or lost one could be heard echoing up and down the river. As I said,I only fished for a short time and had to continue my journey upriver to Carrolls to meet some more fishermen who were arriving. I pulled the boat into the bogan just as one of the local guides was pulling in with his grandson and when I asked him how the fishing was he replied it was the first opener in memory that he didn't hook a fish! Now, I know this guy quite well and I know he is a good fisherman but  neither he or his grandson could get a strike that morning. I will say in his defence that they were calling it a day just as the bite was starting to turn on but it just proves that angling for atlantic salmon is not a slam dunk at any time,under any conditions. I spent the night in Carrolls Crossing and was up the next morning looking at the thermometer and I said to my fishing partner for the day that we should go to Tim Hortons and get a bite before we ventured out in that brutal cold. Usually,the day warms up towards lunch time and you don't get the guides freezing up as bad but not on this day! We hit the water about ten o'clock and we fished until about four with limited success. I managed to boat two grilse in the back channel at Sutter Pond but I really had to work for them. The fish were there and they were taking if you could keep your fly clean of debris and get it down deep to where they were holding. One sport caught about four or five while fishing in front of us farther down the run and I notice he was getting caught on bottom occasionally and I mentioned to my fishing partner that he was getting down to the zone and that was contributing to his success. His guide also had him well positioned and that was also helping with his success. This is a short clip of me landing a grilse on the second day.

I usually don't keep a spring salmon unless old Wes wants one or Donna A. wants to make fish cakes, so the grilse I caught on the second day all went back in the river. In days gone by,we would always keep a fish or two for a shore lunch or supper on the first day but nowadays keeping a grilse is frowned upon and many elitists will shoot you a look of disdain if they see you carrying a tagged fish. Although I am conservation minded,I don't find anything wrong with keeping a fish once in a while as long as it's a legally tagged fish, especially if it happens to be a persons first salmon.

    I would like to comment on some of the antics I see every year on the river with regards to boating ethics. It seems that more and more boaters are being very inconsiderate when operating their crafts in the area where sports are fishing. If you want to troll,head down river where there is more room and this method of fishing is  more accepted. Up river,there just isn't the room and it usually raises the hackles on both sports and guides who are fishing in the traditional manner for that area and I can't say I blame them. Crowding and boats flying by fishermen without slowing down was also quite evident on the first few days of the season. Nobody,sports and guides both, likes this kind of behavior and people have to start using common sense and some courtesy before it gets out of hand. Here is another short clip of me playing a grilse on the second day of the season.As you can tell by this video,it was a cool day to be on the water and you really must be dressed for the conditions if you want to enjoy your outing.After all,even the best

fishermen have gaps in the action and that's when the cold will start to settle in your bones! 

    With bear season just around the corner,Ken and the boys have been out scouting already with hopes of finding some good bear sign.Last year at this time we had grass sprouting and bears starting to roam around grazing on grasses and weeds while getting their digestive tracts active again. During this stage,black bears don't respond to a bait because their guts just can't handle solid food that soon after emerging from their dens. A couple of years ago,Ken took a beautiful bear very early in May and it was one of the nicest bears I have ever seen taken. We had an early spring that year and the bears were active very early in the season. Ken spotted the track of this bear while out scouting and because of the location,he decided to try and take this bear so he could concentrate on getting the rest of the baits out. He killed this bear on the first evening in his stand and he was a little surprised at how quickly it came in. The fur on this bear was absolutely flawless,full and plush,like an expensive carpet. Again,Ken was able to take this bear so early because we had an early spring and he did his homework and found a bear that was ready to start feeding a little. Here is a photo of that bear.Ken and the boys always try to take a bear early so they can concentrate on the baits we put out for any sports who may want to hunt with us and they are definitely meat hunters and they don,t wait it out for a trophy sized bear. These guys were raised as meat hunters and they would much rather have a nice piece of meat than a big old black bear with meat tougher than boot leather! This works well for us because that leaves the larger bears for our sports to hunt. We had some really nice bears on our baits last year that we got on the trail cams that weren't taken and we are anticipating we will have some of these same bears showing up again this year. This is a photo of just one of the nice bears we had hitting our baits last year.

Our hunting territory has some very large bears roaming around and for those hunters looking for a real trophy,if you have the patience,you stand a very good chance of bagging one of these large bruins. Here is another photo of a nice bear on one of our baits.

As you can tell by these trail cam photos,we have some very nice bears hitting our baits and these are the calibre of animals we are setting up for.

    I have been busy searching for vintage items related to hunting and fishing and I have been finding some very nice pieces while travelling around southern New Brunswick. One of the things I recently acquired is a magnificent painting of two herd bull elk locked in mortal combat that was done by the late Moses Weaver. I have spoken of Mosey in past blogs and I was stunned when a picker I know visited my home with one of his paintings that he wanted to sell me. To say I jumped at this chance would be an understatement. This painting hung for a couple of decades in a smoking home and I am in the process of having it cleaned and when I get it done I will post a photo of it in a future blog, so be sure to watch for it. In the meantime,I will show my readers some photos of some other nice items I have picked up. This photo is one of a milk picture made in the style of Royal Bayreuth with a transfer decorated body of a stag in various poses. This item dates to the early nineteen hundreds.

The next photo shows a framed print depicting deer grazing on the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi River.This item dates from the Fifties.

And last but not least,a photo of a very fine piece of chalkware modelling the bust of a doe and fawn. I'm not sure of the year this item was made because  the very good condition of this item makes gauging its age difficult. I have seen another one in a collection but it was nowhere near the condition of this one but if I had to make a guess,I would say this item was produced in the late Forties or early Fifties.

    I hope my readers of this blog enjoy seeing these items and I will continue to show photos of my finds as I acquire them and at some point in the future I will be displaying most of these items in a separate area on our web site to make them available for purchase. In the meantime,if anyone is interested in any of the items you see depicted in my blog,feel free to contact me through my e-mail address and we will see if we can come to terms. For now,this is Dale Bauer bidding you adieu and wishing you Happy Trails.....until we meet again!

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!