BROOK TROUT,THE BITE AND VINTAGE OUTDOOR STUFF

    This month has been a great one to be outdoors here at home on Salmon River and the mighty Miramichi River. Both of these rivers are starting to heat up with new runs of fish of various species arriving daily. There are runs of gaspereau that have been going for weeks now in Salmon River and the Shad have started, as well as the white perch The trout have started to run in both rivers and that is what a lot of fishermen have been waiting for,myself included. I usually like to float a stretch of river and try to intercept the run. If your timing is right,you might get some fiddleheads to go along with your trout. Speaking of timing,if you're real lucky, you may even intercept some Rockey Brook salmon running up late in May with the sea trout in the Miramichi River. As of late, fishermen in the lower stretch of the Miramichi have been catching a lot of striped bass while fishing for trout.
    My good friend, Allen Davidson and I, floated the Miramichi River on Saturday,May 26 from Carroll's Crossing to Doaktown looking for some fiddleheads and sea trout and we were not disappointed. It was a beautiful day to be on the water and Allen was into the fiddleheads before we could cast a line! The following photo shows Allen filling his hat getting ready to take a load back to the boat.

 Although the big sea trout in the three to five lb. range get all the attention in the Miramichi and its tributaries,there are runs of smaller trout in the ten to twelve in. range that are plentiful and feisty and eager to take a fly. This is the size trout Allen and I caught on our trip down the river. It took us a while to figure out where the trout were and what they were taking but after we figured that out,we got into a lot of trout in the 10-12 inch range. The trout seemed to be taking in the rapids rather than the pools and after trying a variety of streamer patterns,we got them to take a small white elk hair caddis. We were getting hits on nearly every cast after we figured out what was going on. These trout had a nice silver sheen on them and their flesh was a nice orange color from the good grub they were feeding on in the estuary. Talk about a tasty snack! The next photo shows me with a nice little trout at one of our stops. We released most of the fish we caught but we did keep enough for a feed to go with the fiddleheads we picked on our float trip. The fiddleheads were just about done,with just a few stragglers hiding in the grass but if you looked closely,they were there for the taking. Allen and I looked for signs of salmon but we didn't see any on our trip down river. There could have been some around but we didn't see anything show. There have been reports of salmon in the system but they are few and far between at this point. That could change with a little raise of water and with rain in the forecast we will be keeping our eye balls peeled for the first good runs.

    The bite in Salmon River is starting to turn on and we have been casting small spinners and worms looking for the first white perch to arrive.The white perch usually show up around the first of June but on a good year they will show up a little earlier. I caught a small one last week but there were no numbers of them. Jamies girlfriend,Brooke M.,was fishing off of my shore and caught the first good sized white perch this year. She caught several yellow perch and then something a little bigger took and she landed a white perch that was big enough to get a couple of fillets off of. Usually a group of us will hit them hard when they are running good and we have a session filleting a bunch for the freezer. After we are done filleting,we have a few beverages and a big fish fry. If you have never tried white perch fillets,you don't know what you are missing! The next photo shows Brooke with the perch she landed.

 Brooke had a great time landing white and yellow perch that evening but she really got a thrill when a trophy sized pickerel followed her small spinner bait to the shore and smashed it within feet of where Brooke was fishing. It took off,peeling line as it went,leaving Brooke cranking hard on the reel trying to get some line back. After a bit,she finally drug it up on the shore and she had her first big pickerel. The next photo shows Brooke with her big fish. We usually release all the pickerel we catch but Brooke wanted to keep this one for ol' Wes. Wes likes a feed of pickerel as long as its caught while the water is still cold. After the water warms up,their flesh gets a little soft and they aren't nearly as good. This fish measured twenty-five inches on the tape and that is a very good fish for this area. Actually,this is a good fish in any pickerel habitat. They don't get much bigger than this anywhere,regardless of what other fishermen say, because we all know fishermen are notorious liars!

    The shad are starting to run in Salmon River and I've been getting reports from Sammy D. and Ralph Goodwin that they are starting to catch some up river. Ralph is better known as a salmon fisherman and fly tyer but when the shad are running,Ralph is one of the first guys out there and he usually has good success when pursuing these silver rockets.Click on goodfly.ca to visit Ralphs web site which showcases the nice flies he ties. Ralph and Sam are also heavily involved in the Annual Monte Farrell Shad Tournament. This derby is coming right up on June 9th and is limited to the first fifty participants. I think the entry fee is twenty dollars and that also gets you breakfast at the Queens County Inn. There should be lots of shad up river at the time of the tournament and rumor has it there is a large run of shad this year. The Chipman Fish and Game Association also hosts a derby at the Chipman Waterfront Campground and this event is always a lot of fun,especially for the kids. I believe J.D. Irving donates the bulk of the prizes and usually has some helpers on hand weighing fish and such. There are good prizes for the winners and all the kids who participate get a prize or two. Volunteers also put on a good lunch after everyone works up an appetite while fishing. Even though this is a 'for fun' derby,it does get quite competitive and there are usually a lot of fish caught of several different species. The tournament date is June 16th with registration time being 9:am.

    Ken and I have been seeing a lot of game this spring as we travel the woods tending bear baits and fishing brookies. There is no shortage of moose in our area,that's for sure! We see moose nearly everytime we go out. They look a little shaggy right now, as they are shedding their winter coat. Ken and I had to chase a yearling off of the highway so it wouldn't get hit by a vehicle. I snapped the next photo while it was standing there looking at us.

 As we continued to make our rounds,we had just come to the covered bridge on the Gaspereau River when Kenny spotted a cow moose out on the flat. She was just standing there,staring off into space. Ken thought she looked quite heavy in the belly and he thought she might calve right there in the meadow. The next photo shows the old cow moose. 

    Ken and I have been seeing a LOT of bears at our baits. We have as many as eight different bears coming to one site and they are all different sizes and sex. The real good news is there are big boars among the bears hitting our baits and I will have a more detailed report next month. We're having a ball just watching them and seeing how they act when we bring the baits in.Many times they are right there waiting for dinner to arrive.

    Ken and I will be doing day trips on Salmon River starting on the first of June. This is a great day out on the water and a very good way to introduce a child or a member of the fairer sex to some great fishing. You will be fishing from one of our river boats and we provide all the gear and provide a good lunch for two. We charge $220 for a full day or $130 for a half day. Ken and I fully expect all of our guests to catch fish. It's as close to a sure thing as you can get.

    I continue to find interesting outdoor items in my travels and the next photo shows a cardboard advertising sign put out by sportsman's cigarettes. This sign features a collection of wet trout flies and a few classic salmon flies that were popular at the time of publication. This item hasn't been restored yet so it looks a little rough but after I clean it up and do a couple of repairs it should display quite nicely. I would date this item to the late Forties or early Fifties.

 The next item is a nice ceramic plate depicting a classic Currier&Ives duck hunting scene. This plate has a heavy gold decorated rim that gives it a rich look. I would date this item to the Sixties.        Finally,I acquired an interesting little still bank that was made in Montreal. This bank is made of glass in the shape of an owl and held Bambino olives. An interesting aspect of this little item is that it was produced by one of Canadas leading Mafia families. The embossed script on the bottom front of the bank says'Be wise buy Gatusso'. The cover depicts a little girl sucking her thumb. I date this item to the late Fifties or early Sixties.

    I hope you enjoyed my latest bit of blog and I like getting feedback so don't hesitate to contact me.Until next time,this is Dale Bauer saying 'Happy Trails to You....Until we Meet Again!'

SPRING SALMON,SPRING BEAR AND MORE VINTAGE STUFF

    The 2012 fishing season opened on April 15th and if you were fishing black salmon on the MSW Miramichi,it was likely a very memorable one! The season opened on a Sunday and there were a lot of salmon fishermen out on the water all up and down the Miramichi. Some were fishing from shore,while others were fishing from a variety of boats but the common denominator was the fact that everyone was catching fish. What a fantastic fishery we have in the mighty Miramichi and her tributaries! I just can't
 say enough about how lucky we are to have such great fishing in these rivers. I have been fishing the Miramichi River for over forty years and I have to say that was the best opener I have ever had in all my years of fishing spring salmon. I was anticipating that the opener would yield some great fishing if the weather held but it turned out that the fishing was much better than I thought it would be. Even though fishermen were out in droves,everyone was hooking fish and most serious fishermen had no problem limiting out on the first day. Day two was mostly a repeat of the opening day with many fish caught and a good number of sports limiting out. It started to slow down a bit after the first couple of days because the water raised a bit and got a bit dirty but the fish were still taking if you had the right flies and the right technique.
    I limited out by 8:30 AM and my lady fishing partner limited out by 10:30 on the first morning. I was fishing again this year with Donna A. and she did very well the first day and it turns out she is also a very good net person. I told her uncle Allen,who is a good fisherman and guide himself,that she handled a net as good as him or better! He took it all in stride and said he taught her everything she knows! The following photo shows Donna with one of the first fish she caught on opening day.

 The fish were coming fast and furious that morning and the next photo shows Donna going ass-over-kettle while I was trying to take a photo.

 At times it was hard to keep things straight because we had five doubles the first morning. The next photo shows me with a nice salmon taken on the first day. I wasn't the only one hooking big salmon in my boat. The next photo shows Donna with a nice salmon she took on a number six Grey Ghost. I caught three salmon on the first day that looked as if they were clones. All three fish measured in at thirty one and a half inches and had great color and stamina. The following video clip shows me landing a grilse early on opening morning.

    The second day was pretty much a repeat for me in terms of fish landed. I limited out by lunch time and my fishing partner,Donna,landed four. By Tuesday,the third day of the season,the water was starting to rise and it got a bit dirty but the fish were still taking. I caught fish every day the first week and ended up landing forty- three fish in five half days of fishing! That was a personal best for me and I doubt I'll ever top those numbers but you never know. I do know one thing for sure,I have never seen as many fish on opening day and that speaks volumes to the health of this fishery.

    I only fished two flies during that week. The first was a rabbit strip fly that a large salmon took after after I landed fifteen fish on it. The second fly was a yellow and green Maribou with some blue crystal flash. I am a huge fan of these two types of flies,especially the Maribous. The last few years I have been using them almost exclusively during the spring season. I think the fluttering action of these flies will many times entice a fish to strike, especially when the fly is fished deep and swings right by the fishes nose. The next video clip was taken in Doaktown after we finished fishing on the first morning.As you can see in this short clip,there was no shortage of sports on the water. One thing I noticed this year was the number of lady fishers on the water. I think this is great for the sport and I hope their numbers continue to grow. This is a photo of one of the maribou patterns we used the first week of the season.

    We are getting a real downpour as I write this bit of blog and I am guessing the big raise of water that will come is going to flush a lot of the fish down river. There will still be a few fish around above Doaktown but if I was serious about catching some fish after this big rain,I would be fishing in the Blackville area. The fish will slow down and hang around for a bit in the deeper water down river.

    I would expect to see some sea-run trout early in May this year and we will be watching the Cains and the MSW Marimichi for signs that the run has started. I received an interesting report from a fisherman in the Minto area who said that one sport fishing the Newcastle Stream for trout hooked several grilse in the pools behind the old DNR building. I assume these fish are some of the landlocks that were stocked in Grand Lake the past few years and local fly tier and fly fisherman extraordinaire,Ralph Goodwin, says these landlocks will spawn and I guess that's a good thing because most tributaries of the Saint John River have had their sea-run Atlantic salmon numbers decimated by the aquaculture going on off shore in the Bay of Fundy.

    Ken and I will be putting the fishing on the back burner for a while as we prepare our bear baits and scout our spot and stock area. We have some very nice bear in our area and any sport should have no trouble taking a bear such as the following one that Ken took early in the season a few years ago.

 This bear would be considered an average bear for New Brunswick but we have much larger bears roaming the areas we guide in. Most times,these big trophy bears are much harder to take but Ken and I have a couple of tricks up our sleeves that help to bring those big boys in during shooting light. I will post some trail cam pictures in my next blog of some of the bears hitting our baits.

    Our spot and stock area holds a large number of bears and young Jamie is a great guide on this type of hunt. Jamie has seen as many as fifteen bears while scouting this area out and some of those bears were trophy size. But again,these big bears don't stand around dumb and wait for you to shoot them. You have to be vigilant and watching sharp so you can spot them before they spot you or they are gone instantly. Having the wind in your favor is a must when doing a spot and stalk hunt because these big boars won't hang around if they get a whiff of human scent. Our deer population may be down the last few years but,if anything,our bear population has grown during the same time frame so don't hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an e-mail if you are interested in one of these bear hunts.

    Last week I was in Moncton for a visit and I stayed at the Best Western which is a stones throw from Crystal Palace in downtown Moncton. As I was leaving I noticed movement in the vegetation beside the parking lot and there was a pair of pheasant foraging about completely unconcerned. I was quite surprised to see these birds especially in the heart of Moncton but apparently they are a common site in that area. These birds had a good winter last year and I suppose it helped many birds survive the rigors of our Maritime winters. Ken was out for a drive around the Harley Road and spotted a nice male pheasant beside the road and got a photo of it. The males have beautiful plumage and the following photo shows the striking colors that these beautiful birds display.

 I had the opportunity to pick up some nice vintage items with an outdoor theme this past month and I will start off with a nice childs piggy bank that displays different birds on each side. There is no manufacturers mark and I'm not certain of the age of this item but it displays quite nicely. Just click on the photo to enlarge it for a better view. The next photo shows a carved fish done by an artist from Quebec. I picked this item up at a flea market in Moncton and got it at a very reasonable price. I would say this piece was done in the Sixties. Finally,the next photo is one of a great print I picked up at an antique show last week. This print depicts a retriever nearly catching a mallard duck but only ends up with a few feathers. This print was published by Hallen&Weiner of New York and is circa 1900. Although this print has slight water stain at the top,it doesn't detract from the print as it tends to blend in with the clouds. It also features a very nice oak frame. 

    I would encourage any sports looking for a day in the bush or out on the water to give me a call or shoot me an e-mail to arrange an excursion for any of our native species. Our guides have extensive experience pursuing all species of game and fish in our area.

    Until next time,this is Dale Bauer saying 'Happy Trails to You.....Until we meet Again!'

SIGNS OF SPRING, THE BITE AND VINTAGE OUTDOOR STUFF

    Last week, winter beat a hasty retreat here at home in the Grand Lake area. Record temperatures for a few days caused the ice to run in Salmon River starting on the 19th of March and that is quite early for this part of the province. The Saint John and Miramichi Rivers also seen the ice break up early in their respective waters. Those warm temperatures also brought some migrating birds back early and the deer are out in the fields grazing very early this year. The following photo shows the Miramichi River from the Priceville foot bridge.Note the large amount of thick ice cakes along the shore and on the flats. As I was making my rounds in the area,I noticed that all the intervales from Priceville to Doaktown were completely covered with ice. 

 This will help keep the water temperatures cool,if the river doesn't flood and wash it all out. The water looked very good and I thought to myself the fishing would be good,if the season was only open. I find these early ice-outs nerve racking,especially an early run such as we had this year. The waiting and anticipation are almost too much to bear!

    The conditions to the south are similar in the streams and rivers but the lakes and ponds are still iced in except for the edges and in the thoroughfares,where there is a current. The following photo shows the thoroughfare between Indian Lake and French Lake,looking towards French Lake.

 Although the lakes and big ponds are still iced in,the flooded puddles in the fields along the Saint John River are open and have been attracting a lot of ducks looking for feeding and resting areas. the next photo is one of a large flock of ducks lifting off of a flooded pond along the SJR.

 Along with all the ducks we are seeing,we are encouraged by the numbers of deer that are coming out to the fields in some of the better areas. The deer were blessed with an easy winter and an early spring so hunters can expect to see more yearlings and,if you are lucky,maybe one of those old brutes that survived for another year.I saw some fields with forty or so deer in them and others with varying amounts,again,depending on the location. The next photo shows a deer Ken snapped while out for a tour of Cox's Point which is close to Pioneer Lodge. He counted thirty-four deer while on his drive around the loop. So as you can see,there is no shortage of wildlife responding to the beautiful weather we experienced last week. Although we had record breaking temperatures last week,this week things are back to normal values for this time of the year. The following is a short video clip of Salmon River I took during the break-up last week when we had the warm weather.

    The spring salmon fishery is just weeks away and I am hopeful the fishing will be good. There was a tremendous run of fish last year in the Miramichi and her tributaries so there should be lots of fish around for anglers who look forward to the opener on April 15. Because of the early ice-out and low snow pack, anglers should look for low water conditions,running free of debris and relatively clear. This is all hinging on the amount of rainfall we receive leading up to the opener and a large rainfall could blow the whole river out. I know I'll be keeping my fingers crossed! Anglers should remember to downsize their hook size if we do get low,clear water conditions. The last few years I have been using Marabou flies with great success during this type of conditions. I also like the black ghost at times such as these. The following photo shows some of the popular marabou patterns.

 If you are thinking of fishing the Doaktown or Boistown areas, you would do well to time your trip for the first week of the season because if things hold true to form,the fishing will likely start to drop off after the second week. Fishermen should also look for the runs of sea -trout earlier this year,from the 1st of May on,especially in the lower river. Last year there were some very large sea trout taken. Dusty B. of Doaktown landed a beautiful brookie of seven pounds and some other fishermen were hooking four and five pounders around the same time. 

    Looking forward, the run of white perch which normally passes up through Chipman around the first of June,will like probably be starting a little early. This is a great fishery that provides lots of action along with some great tasting fillets for the pan. We will be looking for these fish along about the third week in May. These fish run in large schools and they will hold up in the deep holes and any place where a brook runs into the river. If you catch one,hang onto your hat because there are usually a lot of others travelling along with the school and when the bite is on it is quite easy to limit out on these delicious members of the perch family. This photo shows me and my grand-son with a bucket of white perch we caught a few years back.The kids just love fishing for this species because there is usually lots of catching with very little effort on the part of the angler.

Before I end this bit of blog in my usual fashion,I would like to point out to my readers an incident which took place recently on the upper Cains River. Kieth Wilson,a salmon outfitter who operates out of MacNamee on the Miramichi and has a camp at Wildcat Brook on the Cains,is outraged by a recent cut in the crown reserve area of the Cains River. Now before I go any further,let me say that Keith is not a fanatical tree hugger who screams bloody blue murder every time a tree gets cut. Like most other New Brunswickers,he would like to see some balance restored to the way Big Business operates in our forests. We New Brunswickers are well past the stage where it's all take and no give when it comes to our forests and it's time for the government and Big Business to wake up and smell the roses. People are no longer content to sit back and watch our environment be destroyed by greed. There is no more hiding in the shadows because there are too many cameras and cell phones connected to the Internet that will get a message out there to the world,whether that message is a good news story or,as in Kieth's case, a story of a cut that never should have happened anywhere,let alone on the banks of a world class blue ribbon stream like the Cains. Please follow this link http://www.wilsonscamps.nb.ca/ and scroll down to the video clips Kieth has put on his web site. If you don't like what you see in these clips,get vocal and pass this link on to other concerned citizens and organizations. Good job Kieth! I would like to point out that Kieth is between a rock and a hard place but he had the guts to follow his convictions on this issue and is to be commended for sticking his neck out in the name of conservation.

    With the better weather now upon us,it is a good time to be on the look-out for some nice vintage outdoor stuff that shows up at yard sales and auctions around the province. I usually manage to find something in my travels and I have pickers looking for items I might be interested so I am constantly adding to my growing collection of outdoor related stuff. The next photo shows another black panther ornament I recently acquired. These ornaments come in all sizes and this one happens to be a larger one,being around twelve inches long.

 As you can see,the paint is very good and there is very little loss due to cleaning and handling. This item was manufactured in Japan during the late Fifties and early Sixties.

    The next item shown is a small jar I picked up in an unlikely place and this little gem proves to me that you don't know where you are going to find a small treasure such as this. The next photo shows a small covered jar that I purchased at Value Village in Fredericton. This jar is quite small and features foraging Pine Siskins as decorations. This jar caught my attention because these little birds are a common visitor to the large pine trees I have in my yard and I enjoy watching them. This jar was made at one of the premier potteries in England called Royal Worcester and was probably produced during the Sixties.

 I would encourage any readers who are contemplating a trip to the Grand Lake area and would like to spend some time outdoors to give me a call because we have some of the best guides in the area on our team. We guide for all native species of game fish and animals as well as other wildlife that inhabit the woods and waters of the Grand Lake area. The Pioneer Lodge provides some great accommodations and meals near Grand Lake for visiting guests or you can camp at our campground or stay at the local motel here in town if you prefer to be closer to civilization. 

    In closing, this is Dale Bauer saying 'Happy Trails to You......Until we Meet Again!