ATLANTIC SALMON, THE MOOSE HUNT AND MORE VINTAGE STUFF

    We are now into the middle of our short Maritime summer and the weather has finally started to warm up a bit. The Grand Lake area has received enough rain each week to keep all the brooks and streams filled up and that's good for fish stocks but not necessarily good for angling. One thing I do know for sure is the high water has brought in runs of Atlantic salmon since the first of June that haven't been as good in the last thirty years or longer. Although the water stayed on the high side,the upper Miramichi pools fished well as there were good numbers of fish entering the system each day. For those guides and sports dedicated enough to put the time in on their favorite stretch of water,they were well rewarded for their efforts. During the month of June and the early weeks of July,many sports limited out early and had some time to just relax and enjoy being out on one of the greatest salmon rivers in the world! What a treasure we have in our beloved Miramichi and Restigushe Rivers. We sometimes take these national treasures for granted and I hope all lodge owners,guides and sports will remain vigilant to any change that could harm these precious salmon rivers. One dark spot on New Brunswicks horizon is the large oil and gas companies that are test drilling for deposits over a large portion of our province.I don't know a lot about this process but many people in the know are very concerned about the prospect of what is known as fracking being used to extract the natural gas from the shale deposits. Whenever I hear of these new ventures,a red flag pops into my head and the first thing I ask myself is this. Is this good for the environment and is it good for the people of New Brunswick? On both counts in this instance I think the answer is no! Yes,big business benefits and yes,the government will get nice royalties from the companies mining the gas but what's in it for ordinary New Brunswickers? From what I can see,not a whole lot. I always think back to the days when the salmon farms were first put in the Bay of Fundy and what a devastating effect that had here at home on Salmon River. The effects were almost immediate and myself and other concerned sportsmen watched a whole ecosystem practically destroyed by big business and their bad decisions made hand in hand with both the provincial and federal governments blessings! All in the name of jobs and tax revenues. But at what cost? I often wonder if we would have let these fish farms in the Bay if we had known what a negative impact it would have on our wild salmon stocks. I know I would be against it because I watched first hand how our salmon stocks in Salmon River plummeted from annual runs as high as eight thousand fish to just a handful in a short time period. The Gaspereau River and some other small salmon streams in our area suffered a similar fate. What really galls me is the fact that the government allows these farms to continue to operate knowing what a negative effect this is having on our salmon rivers that are connected to the Bay of Fundy.I am glad to see a study is being conducted to put a dollar value on our wild salmon stocks because at the end of the day,it is money that gets everyones attention. That fact is probably the main reason that the Northumberland Straight was spared the same fate. Thank God for that! The following photo shows me with a nice grilse I tagged last week on the MSW Miramichi. I do tag a few fish every year but I would also support a reduction in tags to four if it was needed to save fish stocks. I also support the DFO in its decision to close most of the Northwest to hook and release to help shore up stocks in that system.

Nova Scotia is now in the process of licencing one of the large fish farmers to set up a farm near the St. Mary's River. This project is being appealed in the courts and we can only hope that common sense prevails but again,money speaks loudly in our poor Maritime provinces so don't be surprised if the NS government goes ahead with this environmental nightmare.Keep your fingers crossed!

    With the weather starting to warm up and the water finally getting down to a normal summer low,the pickerel bite has started to heat up here at home on Salmon River. I love fishing pickerel as much as any other species just because you are almost guaranteed to get some action when the conditions are right. Some sports think smallmouth bass are the cats meow in warm water habitat but I beg to differ. If I had to choose between the two species,I would take the pickerel every time. The pickerels savage strike,especially on top water lures,is hard to beat for a sheer adrenalin rush! August is normally the best month to fish pickerel but water conditions dictate when the bite really turns on. The water has to drop and squeeze the fish into a smaller area in order to provide the best possible angling opportunities for this species. We have some real hot spots close to home and two foot trophy fish are taken on many of our outings. The following video shows one of the lures we have good luck using when angling for pickerel on Salmon River.This set-up has worked well for us for many years now but when the fish are taking,you can catch them on just about any lure in your tackle box. I have taken as many as forty fish during a three hour session using this rig so I know it works well especially when the conditions are right. Just minutes after taping the short clip of the lure we use here on Salmon River,I took a cast into a likely looking spot and hooked a trophy sized pickerel. Here is a short clip of me landing that fish. As you can see,the fish was caught on the same lure I just talked about. Ken and I had no measuring tape that day but we later measured it at twenty-four in. on the mark I made on the boat seat.Pickerel of this size are caught on a regular basis in our area when the conditions are favorable but most fish will average at twenty inches. These fish provide lots of action on days when other species are in survival mode and are very hard to take. I guess that's why Ken and I like fishing them so much!

    There is great joy in the Hargrove camp the last week or so ever since the boys found out that ol' Wes,the family patriarch,was drawn for a moose tag this year. Now Wes is about eighty years young but he still tends his garden and puts up his wood so we're pretty sure he'll be up to the task of finding a moose this September. One thing I know for sure,he will have lots of help scouting because Ken, Dallas,Jamie and myself are just chomping at the bit to get out in the bush in zone eighteen to help him find a moose. One of the boys will have the second tag just in case but we all hope Wes gets this one by himself. Wes has taken his share of moose through the years and that includes a couple that would be considered trophies but he has already said he just wants a good piece of meat and the horns are secondary to him. I can understand Wesley's thinking because a tag is so hard to draw and the three day season doesn't give a hunter much time to be choosey. So many things can go wrong on such a short hunt that good moose hunters always have a plan 'B' just in case things get bugged up. By that I mean other hunters hunting the same area or woods workers moving into the area or any other such problems that might arise. We always have at least three different locations scouted out just in case we do run into problems. You can bet we will be hunting for a trophy but we will be taking the first moose we see because thats the way the boss,ol' Wes,wants it. Here is a photo of the clan on a previous moose hunt that ended successfully.

We will have two good callers on hand during this hunt as well as Dallas, who is an expert at handling these large animals.Anyone who has ever taken a moose knows that the work starts as soon as the moose hits the ground and many times the weather is warm so you have to know what you're doing and you have to get the hide off and the meat processed in a hurry so it won't spoil. I can hardly wait for this hunt and I know the rest of the boys feel the same way. I will be giving updates as the next couple of months unfold and hopefully we will find Wes a nice bull to pull the trigger on this September.

    I have been finding some nice vintage items in my travels and it never ceases to amaze me how much stuff there is kicking around when you have an eye open for this kind of thing. Flea markets are a good source to check out,as well as yard sales and auctions. I also have pickers who know what I'm looking for and they bring me stuff on a regular basis. I enjoy collecting outdoor related goods but I have a real hard time parting with things,even when offered good money for them. I guess that is my downfall,if you could call it that. I keep telling myself that this is a retirement project but if I can't bring myself to sell this stuff,my heirs are going to get a nice windfall of beautiful items when I pass on. I'm sure they will know what to do with it and if they don't,I have an auction house already named in my will that will sell the stuff off for a very nice sum of money. In the meantime I will continue to get pleasure in finding these collectibles such as the ones in the following photos. The first photo shows a very nicely carved eagle done on a slab of cedar. It is signed P. Polchies and I assume that this person is Native American because I recognize the name to be Native. I would age this item as being done in the Seventies or Eighties.

The next item in the following photo is a framed three D picture of an osprey swooping in on a chipmunk. Aside from the fact that this picture is done in 3D, It is an anomaly because an osprey is a fish eater and normally wouldn't bother with a squirrel or other land based prey. For some odd reason, I like this type of thing,even if most people think it's kind of cheesy. I would say this picture is from the Seventies.

And last but not least,I have included a photo of a very nice antler bottle opener that I picked up at the flea market in Shediac. This opener was made in England and features a nicely scrolled tang holding the antler handle. I would date this item to the Forties or Fifties.

    Ken and I will be travelling the Salmon River doing day trips that include fishing,swimming and watching for the many species of wildlife we have in our area, so if you want an affordable day on the water,just shoot me an e-mail and I'll make the arrangements for you to spend some time with us in Gods Country! This is Dale Bauer saying 'Happy Trails to You.....Until we meet again!

BIRD DOGS,THE BITE AND REAL VINTAGE STUFF

    The weather continues to play havoc with any planned excursions to the woods and waters here in the Grand Lake area. A day or two of sunshine and then it's back to the rain,at times a veritable downpour! That being said,there has been lots going on outdoors in our area,starting with Jamies purchase of a new English setter gun dog. Jamie has been bitten with the dog bug and he's got it bad. Along with the golden retrievers Ken and Jamie own to help on our duck hunts,Jamie decided he needed a woodcock and grouse dog.He asked me if I knew anyone who had good upland bird dogs and I told him Billy B. who guides some for the Ledges Inn had some good dogs and I knew he just had a litter of pups.Jamie wasn't long in getting hold of Billy and after seeing his dogs,Jamie purchased a nice male setter. I really like English setters because not only are they great gun dogs but they make a very nice house pet also. Jamies pup is very birdie and is off to a great start,pointing wing and feather and following commands as well as any pup could be expected at that age. This is a photo of Jamies new pup on point using a wing.

I can tell already that this pup is going to be real good on woodcock and with some experience,he will likely be able to handle the more skittish grouse. Grouse can sometimes be a problem for a young dog because of their tendency to run. Many times this will cause the pup to relocate the bird before the gunner arrives to give the OK and will inadvertently flush the bird while moving up on it. With experience and maturity,many good bird dogs will naturally figure out how to handle grouse and learn to stay further back on them to avoid a premature flush. This pup is ready to move on to live birds and Jamie is in the process of raising some quail and pheasant so the pup will have some birds to work on this summer. With any luck,Jamie should have a good working setter by the time fall arrives. Good luck with your pup, Jamie! I will be providing updates this summer on the pups progress and hopefully it will be all good news.

    As I said in my last post,it seems that the fishing is a week or so behind for the various species at home here on Salmon River. The annual shad tournament held on the upper Salmon River saw very few fish landed during the tourney. There were some fish there but the water temperature was quite low and the water was higher than normal. I guess this is what caused the low catch numbers because it certainly wasn't the calibre of fishermen who participated in the tournament. Some of the guys fishing would qualify as expert fishermen no matter what species they were fishing for on any given stretch of water! The white perch were also slow to arrive and were not taking well at all during the usual hot period around the first of June. I did manage to catch a few later on but not in the numbers we usually get them. This photo shows me catching one on my shore at home. Normally,we catch all we want right off of our shore when they are running good and the water is at a normal level.

The white perch bite will continue a bit later this year and I can see us still catching them well into July in the deeper holes. The second run of gaspereau are now flooding the shores of Salmon River and the pickerel bite will continue to be slow until the blue backs start backing out of the river. This is quite a sight to see,as tens of thousands of these smaller gaspereau slowly back down the river in huge schools during the first part of July.

The real big news this year is the very early run of salmon and grilse that are running up the MSW Miramichi and her tributaries. Many guides with  years of experience on the river say they have never seen so many fish running this early. According to some of the data coming in,there are some tremendous runs of fish entering the rivers this year and this will make for some fantastic fishing on the Miramichi River system this summer and fall.

The spring bear season is slowly winding down and this spring was a tough hunt,mainly because of the poor weather conditions. There were some very large bear taken in southern New Brunswick this spring,despite the tough hunting conditions. I know there were a couple of boars taken handy to home that were over four hundred lbs. That is a huge black bear by any standard. We had several nice bear at our baits again this year,including this one we caught on the trail cam.

Although we are just about done hunting for this year,Ken and I will continue to bait a couple of our sites just to keep them around. The bait that this bear was hitting also had a large bull moose in for a visit.This is the first time we have had a moose hit one of our baits and the only thing we can think of was he liked the smell of the molasses and came in to check it out. I want to mention a couple of other oddities I heard about lately. The first thing I heard about was a huge black Russian boar was found dead near Coal Creek. Last deer season I posted a picture of what I thought was a pig in one of my blogs.A local DNR officer said there was no way that was a pig in the photo.He said it must be a bear.Well,he was wrong! It was indeed a pig and a very large one at that! Nobody seems to know where this beast came from or what killed it but everyone hopes this is an isolated incident.We sure don't need any of these critters rooting around in our forests. Another report I just received was a sighting of a seal at Indian Point on the southern shores of Grand Lake. A local gent was out for a drive and spotted something laying on the beach and when he got out to take a look,it was a seal! Now this thing was a long way from salt water and I have never heard of one up this far. The only thing we can figure out is it must have followed the gaspereau up while feeding and got lost or got carried away while feeding. The guy that spotted the seal managed to get a photo but I haven't received it yet so I will post the photo in a future blog. Finally,I have a report by a local outdoorsman from Cumberland Bay who was travelling to work last Sunday and came upon an animal standing in the middle of the road. As he approached the animal,he thought it was a coyote at first but when he got closer he seen the long sweeping tail and the large eyes of what he says was a cougar. As he approached the animal standing in the middle of the road,it took a couple of bounds and was in the woods in a flash. Then,out of the corner of his eye,he spotted another smaller one come bounding out of the ditch and leaped across the road following the path of the other one. This was almost too much for the guy to bear but he swears he got a good look at both of these animals and they were definitely cougars! I usually take these reports with a grain of salt but I know this guy is an experienced outdoorsman and I don't think he would mistake these animals for something else.

If you look at this blogs title,you will see it says 'real vintage stuff' and by that I mean I want to share with you some information on one of the rarest gemstones in the world. This gem stone is called Ammolite and the reason it is REALLY vintage is that it is made from the shell of a nautilus that lived seventy million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. Now that's what I call vintage! A few years back,I dabbled in this stuff,along with some high grade fossils and in the process,learned a lot about the world of gems,stones and jewellery.Ammolite is derived from the shell of a sea creature,so it is classed in with pearls and amber,which also are derived from a source other than stone. Ammolite is only found in one place in the world and that is in the ancient Bear Paw Formation in southern Alberta. This was once an inland sea and the ammonite nautilus that lived there perished in the disaster that befell the earth at that time. After being buried,minerals reacted with the shell material and over time the shell changed into a beautiful gem material that is so highly prized today. Ammolite comes in three forms.They are naturals,doublets and triplets. I have experience with all three forms and I can tell you this gemstone is very difficult to work with. It's complexity won't allow me to go into detail on the making and grading of Ammolite but the finished product is stunning in it's beauty and compares to any of the finest gems on earth. I no longer deal in fossils or Ammolite since the Alberta government tightened up the regulations on this precious material but I still have some raw material that I can turn into gems someday. This is a photo of some beautiful Ammolite that I still have kicking around.

This type is called 'dragon skin ' because of the pressure lines in the raw Ammolite. The triange shaped piece has a couple of lines but it is close to being called a ' clear ' because it is nearly devoid of any lines.

Ken and I are starting to do day trips on Salmon River and hopefully we will get some good weather when the pickerel bite starts in earnest,so if you would like a day or week in the bush or on the water here in the beautiful Grand Lake area,just shoot me an e-mail and we will make all the arrangements. This is Dale Bauer saying Happy Trails to you....Until we meet again!

SPRING BEAR,THE BITE AND VINTAGE STUFF

    This spring has been one of the coldest and wettest in recent memory. We have had only a handful of sunny,warm and rain-free days in the last six weeks and then its been back to the cold and gloomy weather. The spring freshet here at home on Salmon River was seven to ten days late,peaking around the eighth of May this year instead of the normal time around the first of the month. All of this weather has thrown the scheduled arrival of the various runs of fish and the black bears off by a corresponding period of time.The gaspereau are running heavy in the river right now and that means the trout will be coming right behind them. One gent from the Miramich recently wrote that it was his understanding that the sea-trout followed the smelt in their run up the Miramichi each spring and that may well be true for that river but I had always been told by the old guys around here that our trout followed the gaspereau run and one year I found out just how true that old tale was. My brother and uncles fished the Newcastle Stream religiously every spring while trying to intercept the run of brookies coming up from Grand Lake. Many years we would follow the fish as they made their way up the stream starting very early in May fishing the deep, deadwater pools near the mouth and ending up in the headwaters near Clearwater Brook around the first week in June. One day in late May many years ago,my Uncle Gowie and I put my canoe in at the Park in Minto and planned to sail down to the stone bridge at Newcastle Bridge,hoping to intercept the run of trout that we thought would be starting to pass through the area. We fished along for a few hours with just a couple of bites,nothing of consequence.As we were nearing our take-out point,I dropped anchor and Gowie and I had a couple of beverages while we contemplated our lack of action and what had happened to the run of trout. As I was sitting there in the canoe,my line was dangling in the water,just hanging there. As we were talking,I thought I could feel something on my line. It wasn't really a bite that I felt,just a weight on the line that wasn't there previously. I lifted the rod tip and low and behold,there was a nice plump,silvery run brook trout. As I grabbed the trout to take it off the hook,I noticed a lot of fish eggs spilling out of the trouts mouth. Gowie and I looked at each other in amazement and immediately realized we had been fishing way to quickly for these trout that were stuffed to the gills with gaspereau eggs! We started fishing very slowly,not actually reeling,just letting the line and hook hang in the current.We then proceeded to catch trout after trout,quickly limiting out just minutes from our take-out spot. A lesson well learned on that day by a couple of fishermen who thought they had seen it all and had nothing new to learn.

    This is a short video clip of Ken and I fishing some deadwater on Pleasant Brook last year. Ken and I caught and released well over one hundred brookies that day. Nothing real big but it was non-stop action all day long and we had a ball!

After fishing the head of Pleasant Brook for half the day,we headed over to the Gaspereau River to finish the day off fishing some of the spring fed pools located in the upper reaches of the river. Again,we had non-stop action catching small brookies,nothing huge but in large enough numbers to keep us entertained for the afternoon. This is another short clip of me landing a trout on the Gaspereau that day.

The black bears in our area have been late leaving their dens this spring. I'm assuming it's because of the cold,wet spring we had this year but they have finally started hitting our baits on a regular basis. We have areas in our hunting territory that we watch closely early in the season when the bears are just leaving their dens and are foraging for greens to start their digestive systems working. This is a perfect time to take an early spring bear and Ken and the boys always keep a sharp eye out while running our baits for any bear that may be out wandering in the clover fields. Usually,every year one of us will take a nice bear over the fields and this year Jamie was once again able to seal the deal on a nice sow bear. Jamie watched this bear for about ten minutes before he took it to make sure there were no cubs around. This nice sow didn't have cubs for some reason,so she was fair game and Jamie made about a three hundred yard stalk on it. Good job,Jamie! Here is a photo of the bear Jamie took earlier this spring.As you can see,this was a good sized sow and the fur was in perfect shape. We have bear baits in several different areas so we don't overhunt any one spot.That said,we are always looking for big tracks and scat and listening for any sightings of large bears. We have found the home range of many large boars through the years just by paying attention to sightings made by walkers or bus drivers and sometimes the local truckers will tell us of seeing a big one while hauling wood to the sawmill. Of course,we can set up just about anywhere within thirty kilometers of home and have bears of some sort on most of our baits but it's nice to know there is a big boar in the area you are baiting.

    We are just starting to fish for spring run brookies and it's also the time to pick some fiddleheads to freeze or bottle for the coming winter. Fiddleheads and fish is a Maritime staple in many households,especially communities along any of the larger inland watersheds. They all hold copious amounts of these wonderful green ferns and one cottage industry that has sprung up is picking and selling these tasty delicacies to the local market and some of the larger packing plants. But it is not without it's perils.Just this spring two young men from the St.Mary's band on the north side of Fredericton drowned while out on the Saint John River picking on one of the islands. So if you decide to go,do your homework and err on the side of caution because Mother Nature isn't very forgiving.

    The white perch will be starting to show up ,usually by the first of June and this species of fish can provide a lot of action and some very tasty fillets for lunch. Ken and I and all the rest of the boys have a grand old time catching dozens of these great panfish. They are very easy to catch once you find a school of them. We just use a small spinner and a worm on a spinning or spin-cast outfit and cast and let it sink to the bottom and do a slow,stop and start retrieve back. They don't like to chase their food,they are kind of lazy in the way they feed. The key to taking these fish is a very slow retrieve or use bobbers set a foot off the bottom. Follow these tips and you can take a limit in a hurry if you hit the run right and fish the right spot. This is a photo of me and my grandson Tyler with a mess of white perch ready to be filleted out and deep-fried.

    The shad run is just getting started here on Salmon River and we usually get a good run of fish up the river most years. These fish are getting more popular with fishermen all the time.Fly fishermen like fishing them because they can use all their regular salmon gear,other than changing up the flies a bit.Best time to fish shad is in the evening,when they are most active. This is also true of the white perch and another shared trait is that you must fish shad slowly also. Try to let your fly or dart hang in the current where a school has gathered. A word of caution,hang on because a shad can strip a lot of line in a short time,so you will have to reel quickly to stay in touch with the fish after one of those reel-screaming runs. The seventh annual Monte Farrel shad derby is coming right up on June the fourth.Entry fee is $20, with 100% payout. Registration and breakfast is at the Queens County inn

I continue to pick up any nice or interesting items that I see for sale in my travels and it never ceases to amaze me  the amount of great stuff just kicking around until it finds its way to the open market.I've been collecting for a long time now and I don't see any signs of either my passion for finding stuff or the supply of  vintage items to be found slowing down any time soon.So I will continue to share some photos of vintage items as I find them,including this one of a print of hunters at a camp looking at the game off in the distance.

I would date this print to the 1930's,judging by the frame and the subject matter. I love these old hunting and fishing prints that depict some sort of action happening in the scene. I have literally dozens upon dozens of prints from the by gone hey days of the outdoor sporting world. This next item is a photo of an embossed print on copper plate of a great stag. Although this item is a little fresher,I would put it in the Sixties sometime,I really like the style in which this wall hanging has been done.

You don't find this style of work very often and I was really happy to add it to my collection. If any readers of this blog see something that they are interested in,please feel free to contact me via e-mail and we can discuss the item and see if we can come to terms.

The spring bear season is just getting started and we will be running day trips on the Salmon River soon,so give me a shout for a day out and about in the beautiful Grand Lake basin. Until next time,Happy trails to you,Until we meet again!