MENTORS AND GUIDES,THE BITE AND VINTAGE STUFF

    Summer is slowly winding down here at home on Salmon River and what a summer it has been! Aside from a two week hot spell in July,the weather was very nice,with lots of sunshine and seasonable temperatures. Many people liked those scorching temperatures we had last month,but if you were a fisherman rather than a beach-bum,it really wasn't much fun for either the fishermen or the fish.
     We had a great run of salmon this year and it's probably a good thing since many fish died during the hot spell in July. Anyone guiding salmon fishermen right now has his hands full as the fish are stacking up anywhere they can find some water and they aren't being very co-operative in taking the fly
.    On the subject of guides,I was thinking about how much things have changed over the years when it comes to guiding. There was a day when a guide was a "woodsman" and by that I mean a guide literally spent most of his time in the woods. Most of the old time guides I knew of were almost universally trappers who worked a bit in the woods and guided during the seasons.These old timers knew the woods and rivers like the back of their hands because of the sheer amount of time they spent on their trap lines and felling timber and yarding it out to the brows to be sent downstream to the mills.These old guides would start out guiding fishermen during the spring and summer and then would switch over to moose and deer in the fall and wouldn't miss a beat.Today, most guides seem to specialize in one area such as guiding for salmon or maybe guiding grouse and woodcock hunters. I know many guides today who are good salmon guides but couldn't find a deer to save their soul.Or they may be great dog men and do well chasing birds around the coverts that course along New Brunswick's many brooks and streams,but couldn't call a moose in on a bet. This new breed of guide knows his game,whatever it may be,but can't really be called good "woodsmen" because they are specialists and haven't got the experience in other areas of outdoor pursuits.
     I feel very privileged to have been mentored by some real "woodsmen" when I was growing up and starting to tramp the woods and waters here in southern New Brunswick.Now that I'm at an age where I look back as much as I look ahead, I find myself wishing I would have taken photos and tried to document the countless trips made with these great guides and mentors of my youth.I will never forget my first trip to the Big Woods with my Uncle Rowan when I was about twelve years old. Uncle Rowan and a couple of his war buddies had a log cabin on the headwaters of Newcastle Stream near Clearwater Brook and they spent a lot of time at the camp fishing trout and hunting.I think there was a fair amount of drinking went on during their forays into the bush because there were several pit stops along the trail where I recall seeing many empties and small piles of tins.This was long before the days of concern for the environment and very little garbage was hauled back out of the bush. The hike into my uncles camp was five miles in along the old portage and I recall the very real sense of adventure I felt when hiking along with Uncle Rowan and my cousin that fall day. I recall seeing many moose tracks along the portage and I felt we would see one around every bend in the trail. In truth,we really were in good moose country,but my uncle was looking for deer that fall day,not moose. As we neared the top of the ridge that led down to the camp beside the stream,my uncle paused to have a nip of some sort of spirits and announced to my cousin and I that our trek was nearly over and the camp was just down the ridge a step. As we stood there for a moment,I seen a flash of brown half way down the hill and at the same time my uncle was trying to shoulder his rifle while getting himself untangled from his gear. It was a large ten point buck streaking from his bed and heading for cover and my uncle just couldn't get a bead on him as he took large leaps away  while looking back at us over his shoulder.My Uncle Rowan had let his guard down just briefly because we were so close to the camp and it cost him a nice buck.He took it all in stride,but I never forgot that lesson I learned that day.
     My uncle loved to fish brook trout and each year he would make a trip into the "V" on the Gaspereau River with a couple of buddies.This was a ten mile hike in and they would spend one or two nights and then hike back out.I still recall Uncle Rowan landing home,sometimes a little tipsy but always with a large mess of trout. Nothing huge,just nice pan trout of ten or twelve inches and lots of them. I only made that trip once and I recall I never thought I would make it across Dorsey Bog to get to the "V" and all that good fishing.I did make it and the fishing was fantastic but my young legs ached for a week after!I made many such trips as I was growing up,sometimes with older mentors and sometimes with like-minded young friends,but I will never forget those first trips with my Uncle Rowan Bauer into the camp at Clearwater Brook.
    Another great friend and mentor during this time was Norm Hiltz .Norm was a good friend of my Uncle Hartley Boyd and it was through him that I became acquainted with Norm.He loved the woods and waters here in the Grand Lake area and spent as much time as he could fishing and hunting during those seasons and trapping foxes and cats during the late fall and winter. Norm was a very charismatic character and all who met him were enthralled with his tales of past adventures and I was no exception.Being a youngster,I couldn't help but look up to him and he was the type of man who didn't just" talk the talk",but he "walked the walk" and you just knew he was the real deal. What impressed me most about Norm now that I look back was the fact he wanted to include me in the trips to the bush he and my Uncle Hartley made on a regular basis. Remember now,I was just a kid of fourteen or so,but I think old Norm recognized in me a love of the outdoors and he did everything he could to encourage me to pursue the sporting life.We went on many hunting and fishing trips and it was Norm who taught me how to hunt deer.Now Norm was a great trout fisherman,trapper and moose hunter but what he was really good at and loved the most was hunting big white-tails. When I say big white-tails,I mean BIG bucks and he certainly had the racks to prove he was very good at outsmarting those sneaky old grey- faced bucks.How good was he at taking big bucks? Well,the Red Fisher show held a big buck contest for a few years and if I recall correctly old Norm won that contest twice and placed a third time.This was no small feat,as the contest covered both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and there were many entries. Norm had a bad heart and I remember him still going out to the bush even after the doctor told him to take it easy.That's how much he loved to hunt deer. Another time I recall was when he got his moose licence and headed to the Cains River country to hunt.Norm really liked this area because he regularly fished the Sabbies River and he knew it was good moose country,so it was only natural he would head up that way. When my uncle and I went to visit him at his camp,to our surprise,he was camped on the side of the126 highway, just on the other side of the Cains River. After greeting us,my uncle Hartley asked him why he was parked on the road instead of going off into the bush to look for his moose.Norms reply was that he could call his moose out to the road and there was no need to chase around the woods looking for a bull. My uncle and I exchanged inquisitive glances as Norm picked up his horn and told us to be quiet and listen for an answer as he called. Old Norm could really talk moose talk and I couldn't believe it when he got an answer immediately.We could hear that bull coming like a freight train through the woods and when he finally stepped out onto the side of the road,Norm was waiting for him with his gun at the ready. He dropped that moose right there and it was the largest moose taken in the area that year. If I remember right,it had twenty-eight points and had very large boards and weighed over one thousand pounds. What a great experience for a young lad just starting out. Norm died relatively young. I believe he was in his late fifties and I recall thinking it just wasn't fair for such a great woodsman to be taken so young.These are just a couple of the men who mentored me when I was a young lad and I will talk about some others in future posts.

This photo is of the Trestle Pool on the Newcastle Stream.This was my favorite pool as a youngster and I caught many nice brook trout here as I was learning to fly fish. We're now into the time of year when the trout and salmon are holing up in cold water brooks and springs trying to stay comfortable until a raise in the water. the trout fishing can actually be pretty good,IF you can find them.Salmon,on the other hand, really have a hard time in hot weather and they become very hard to hook. Since the water is low and warm,we usually switch over to fishing pickerel and perch,with the odd trip for stripers.

     Right now,with the conditions being as they are,the pickerel bite is smoking hot! Ken and I were out last week-end for a few hours and hooked dozens of nice pickerel up to twenty-four inches long. I lost two that I thought were larger than the two footer I landed. What I love about fishing pickerel is the lightning fast strike.It almost startles you because you aren't prepared for the viciousness of the attack they make on your lure. Many times,the fish will miss the lure,just because of how wildly he goes after it. Many times even if the fish misses the lure,if you throw it right back at him,he will attack it again and you will eventually hook up. Pickerel are also notorious for throwing or spitting the lure back at you. This is why I fish the lure that I have put together most of the time because I get good hook-ups and less thrown lures. When I do occasionally use a top water lure,its a top-prop,for sure.I make sure to rig it the same way as my Hildebrand's and I get good results with this lure in the evening when the water is still.This photo shows two lures rigged the way I like them.I fish these lures almost exclusively and have been doing so for about ten years now.I remember my Uncle Hartley making his own pickerel lures by tying a gob of red feathers onto a red beaded,double bladed spinner with a treble hook.Many times he would add another set of treble hooks to this rig if he thought he needed more hooking power.This photo shows Kenny with a nice pickerel he got trolling in deep water while we were on our way to the weed beds.Pickerel are like any other fish in that they like structure and cover and Ken caught this one that was laying beside a stone abutment with some weeds.Ken was using a small bronze Mepps and he caught a lot of fish on it.When the conditions are like they are right now,you can throw just about anything at them and they will smash it with abandon.This photo shows me getting ready to land a nice pickerel. You can see the orange double-tailed leech hanging from his mouth. Ken and I always practice hook and release when fishing for pickerel in the late summer because if the fish is handled gently,he will take again the next day and the fun just goes on and on.Pickerel have very nice white meat and we will occasionally take one for old Wes,Kens dad, in the winter or early spring when their flesh is still nice and firm. The only down side to eating pickerel is they have Y bones,so there is a little tedious work taking the meat off of the bones.Here is  another photo of Kenny with an average sized pickerel taken from our area of Salmon River. I don't know how many fish we caught but it was a lot. That seems to happen to Ken and I quite often, for some reason! Another reason I like fishing for pickerel is the fact they are very co-operative in striking a well presented bait or lure and a successful outing is almost assured,under most conditions. This is a photo of a young family fishing a cold water pool on the Cains River.As I said earlier in this post,the conditions are less than ideal for fishing salmon right now but there are fish to be had,with the right flies and a generous dose of patience. With the conditions being like they are,salmon fishermen would be well advised to be using long leaders and small black flies,size eight and ten and bombers with white tails. The young lady in the pink vest managed to land a nice grilse,but that was the only fish taken that evening.There were fish rolling and jumping in the pool but very few takers.The salmon fishing needs a nice raise of water to get the fish moving and bring in some new fish to the pools.When they get in their comfort zone,they will start taking again.

This is a photo of a crib board made from a deer antler.I just love this kind of vintage stuff and I have been collecting it over the years. All the camps we used to go to back in the day  had a crib board and a deck of cards.Many evenings were spent over these crib boards with a few drinks and lots of laughs and memories of camp life with good friends and family. Kenny is very good at making folk art type things and I always try to encourage him to make more of it whenever he gets the chance. This type of thing is getting harder and harder to find every year,so if you get the chance to get something like this,you should grab it.This next photo shows a nice white-tail deer T.V. lamp or table lamp. This item is circa late 50's-early 60's and is made of plaster of paris and is quite heavy. The light is behind the deer and back-lights the area where it is placed.A word of caution to my readers about older electrical items.Many times the wiring can become brittle and connections can get corroded,so make sure you do a thorough inspection of the electrical components of any older device before you use it.If you have any doubts at all,just replace the components. I will continue to show photos of vintage outdoor goods in future posts to my blog,so be sure to keep an eye out for some great old items from the sporting past.Ken and I would also like to  invite you to contact us anytime to arrange a trip to the Big Woods of central New Brunswick. Happy Trails to You!......Until we meet again!

GRAND LAKE, THE BITE AND VINTAGE STUFF

This month has been a beautiful one here at home on Salmon River and in the Grand Lake area.There has been lots of sun and the temperatures have been soaring for most of the month.This makes for some great days at the beach,but it has really taken its toll on the trout and especially the salmon.Atlantic salmon just can't take high water temperatures and they will seek out cold water refuges at the mouth of brooks and any cold water springs.The Salmon River has been holding at a good level and we haven't hit our normal summer low yet.Usually,in a normal year,when the salmon fishing starts to slow down because of low water and high water temperatures,Salmon River and Grand Lake and its network of lakes and channels is just starting to produce some good days for large pickerel and perch. Grand Lake is a very underutilized fishery with great potential for producing trophy fish of several different species. Along with the many different species,there are three that have both landlocked and sea-run varieties.They are salmon,gaspereau and rainbow smelt.Grand Lake has been the scene of lots of ice fishing action for many years now,with the annual ice fishing tournament helping to stimulate the ongoing interest in this popular winter pass-time. During the summer months,most of the fishing activity takes place on Grand Lakes satellite lakes,which include Macquapit,Indian and French Lakes,with French Lake being the most popular with fishermen who target pickerel and sometimes perch.As a youngster,we would sneak into the power plant at Newcastle Center and fish the hot water discharge where it flowed into Grand Lake and we had great success catching schoolie stripers and a variety of other species. We would fish them with a salmon rod and use spring flies by letting line out in the current and wait for the bite,which wouldn't be long coming.The security at the plant soon had enough of this unwanted intrusion and before long nobody was allowed to be anywhere near the facility and this fishery just faded away into obscurity.The plant is now decommissioned and the hot water tunnel is shut down,but the stripers are still in the lake somewhere. I think the main reason nobody fishes Grand Lake in the summer much is because of its size. It is twenty miles long and seven miles wide,making it the largest freshwater lake in eastern Canada.For this reason,many fishermen are intimidated by the sheer size of this body of water and without the proper gear ,most fishermen don't have much success on Grand Lake. The approach Ken and I use is to fish the same areas we have luck at in the winter and many times we find fish in these same areas.Aside from the fishing,there are still some very good beaches for swimming,especially on the west side of Grand Lake.One good spot is near Princess Park at what is called the Keyhole.There is a very good open beach at this spot and good fishing can be had on the lake side and also in the body of water called the Keyhole just across the road.The water from the Keyhole flows through a tunnel into the main lake and many different species of fish hang around this area.On the eastern shore of Grand Lake,your best bet to find a decent beach and some fishing is to go to Lakeside Park. This was a provincial facility but it was turned over to the private sector some years ago.The rates charged at Lakeside are in line with most other campgrounds in New Brunswick and there is not much open beach for swimming,so visitors will most likely have to patronize the local establishments to find a spot open to swimming.If you would like to do some fishing and don't have a boat,your best bet is to fish off one of several wharves in the area.The DNR uses these wharves when doing their stocking and many times good fishing can be had right in these areas.The recent stocking of landlocked salmon comes to mind and Ken and I seen lots of fish at several wharves on the lake.If you are a history buff,then Grand Lake has lots of different spots to explore while you are in the area.It would certainly help to have a knowledgeable guide to show you around the area and provide some background and interpretation of the local history.Grand Lake Meadows has been a point of interest on Grand Lake for thousands of years,first by the native Americans and later by the French,Dutch and English.The meadows were so rich in flora and fauna that the natives made annual pilgrimages during the summer months to take advantage of the bounty the Meadows provided.Indian Point,on the extreme southern end of Grand lake,was used to access the large marshes in the area and historians consider this spot to be the site of one of the largest native gatherings in the Maritimes.For many years,one local family gathered many priceless artifacts from the area before it became a designated historical site and some  excavation work was done until native burial grounds were discovered and all activity ceased.This area provided such a bounty to people that the first Europeans built a fort in the Jemseg area,close to the Meadows.The area was actually the site of many battles between the various nationalities trying to gain control because of the bounty held in the Grand Lake Meadows.One can only imagine the fish and wildlife that existed at this time in this location.Even today,this area is prized by duck hunters and fishermen.My most harrowing outdoor experience occurred off of Indian Point while duck hunting in the meadows as a young man.I was hunting with a good friend out of a fourteen foot canoe and on our return trip from the meadows to Indian Point ,the wind came up and since we were loaded down with our hunting gear,we didn't have much freeboard showing. We had to travel with the waves and landed far down the shore, but at least we made it.I can honestly say that was the most dangerous situation I have ever been in while in the outdoors and I'm sure my old friend Ron Gallagher would second that.Another historical point of interest near Indian Point is the grave site of Benjamin Franklin Tibbits,inventor of the compound steam engine.Ben Tibbits was a mechanical genius who was born near Grand Lake and as a young man he built his engine and it was installed in the steamer"Reindeer",which was launched in Fredericton in 1842.This engine was so sturdily built,it lasted for fifty years before being scrapped at a foundry. Ben Tibbits invention was a full three years ahead of any design coming out of Europe and the government awarded Ben the sum of one hundred pounds in recognition of his great work.These are just two examples of the rich history of Grand Lake and its adjoining waterways.I could tell many more tales about this wonderful area but I want to leave some things untold so I will have something interesting to tell any visitors who may come to the area and wants a guided tour.

This is a photo of me with one of the nice pan-sized brook trout that Kenny and I got earlier in the month.We fished two different spots and caught well over one hundred of these beautiful little trout. We were sure to pinch down our barbs so we wouldn't kill any unintentionally. Ken and I both agreed that a day of trout fishing like we had was as much fun as any fishing we have had,including salmon fishing trips. The places we fish receive very light fishing pressure,many times only from us,so there are lots of trout in these remote streams and beaver ponds to be caught and what these little guys lack in size,they more than make up for it by their sheer numbers and the non-stop action they provide! Here is another photo of Kenny with one of the brookies we got while on our trip earlier in the month.As I mentioned earlier in this post,the Atlantic salmon have been suffering greatly for the past couple of weeks and are only now showing signs of relief. The moderating temperatures and recent rainfall has been a godsend for both the salmon and the outfitters over on the Miramichi. I really feel sorry for those guys over there because for many of them,salmon fishing is the only game they play. That means if they can't fish because of the harsh conditions,they don't eat! On the other hand,they have paying customers waiting to fish the salmon that they must protect, so these outfitters must walk a very fine line. Most opt to limit fishing to the early hours of the morning,while the guides make sure if someone hooks a fish, they don't play it too long. Salmon anglers are, by nature,a serious lot and they understand just how fragile the salmon are when they are holding in warm water,so they are usually satisfied to get in a little fishing and just enjoy the fact they are on one of the most beautiful salmon rivers in the world! The big pickerel bite is just getting nicely started here at home on Salmon River. All the gaspereau are finally out of the river,so those big boys will start to cruise around looking for an easy meal. Kenny and I have come up with some lures and techniques over the years that ensures that we are into some fish most of the time. We always practice hook and release on these large pickerel because it takes a while to grow them to trophy size and we want to catch them as many times as possible.A good -sized pickerel in our area would be two feet in overall length and at least three and a half pounds.This is a photo of my son Curtis with a nice pickerel he got last year. We usually get some in this range every time we go out,when the conditions are right. I really like fishing pickerel and I can honestly say I don't prefer salmon or trout over the lowly pickerel just for the simple reason he can usually be coaxed into striking and there are lots of them in our area,so that means lots of hook-ups. After all,isn't that what greenhorns and pros' alike are hoping for? I know I can speak for all of us  here at home on Salmon River when I tell you we have a ball fishing for pickerel and if anyone is looking for a great day of fishing,just give me a call! The Striper bite has started early this year,as has been the case with most species this year.We got reports of large stripers entering the St John River system from the middle of June and later on. When you have seasoned striper fishermen breaking off fish while using fifty lb. braided line,you know darned well there are some huge fish being hooked.The striper fishery in the St.John river had been a well kept secret until the last couple of years.Before that there were just a few hard-core striper guys down around Reversing Falls in Saint.John. That all changed when the Fishin' Canada show filmed two episodes on the lower Saint John River and showed folks the nice stripers that could be caught in their back yards.The fishing forums also helped to spread the good news.Soon there was a whole new wave of eager striper fishermen and they started catching some nice fish, too! Two of these guys new to the striper game are Eddy Speakman and Corey Shirley,both of Chipman. They are old pals both nearing retirement and decided to take up fishing stripers last fall. They managed to get a couple of ten pounders and a nice one of twelve pounds. Now both of these gents are past presidents of the Chipman Fish and Game Association and Corey is also past president of the New Brunswick Fish and Wildlife Association. So its safe to say they are experienced fishermen,but I don't think either of them was expecting any big surprises when they decided to try the bridge at Jemseg to see if any of the big stripers that had passed through the falls two weeks earlier had made it up that far.From what I've been told,they didn't have to wait very long until Eddy got a heavy bite and was hooked up to a large striper.At one point the fish was actually towing the boat around! Eddy finally got it boated with some of Coreys help and when they got it on the scales, it topped out at thirty-eight lbs.! Not too shabby for the start of their second season! There have been stories like theirs up and down the river the last couple of years.Sometimes it's stripers and sometimes it's the muskie bite everyone is talking about. Both are smoking hot new fisheries here in New Brunswick and trophy fish can be caught in the middle of the city in downtown Fredericton.So expect to here lots more in the future about the striper and muskie fisheries. I have been collecting vintage outdoor memorabilia for many years now and I thought some of the readers of this blog might be interested in seeing some photos of the really cool stuff I have picked up through the years.I started collecting this stuff because I liked it but it soon got out of hand and I've been packing a lot of it away to sell when I retire.At least that's the plan.I know there are some things I will never be able to part with and the paddle Kenny made for me is one thing that will stay with me and be passed on to my son. Here are a couple of photos of the paddle he made for me a couple of years ago.

Ken has been working with wood since he was a youngster. His Dad,Wesley,was well known for the axe handles he used to make and I guess Ken just picked up on some of the stuff old Wes was doing.I mention to ken one day that i had to buy a paddle and I was discussing the merits of buying a cheap one verses spending some money on an expensive one.After much discussion, Ken finally proclaimed that he could make a paddle that was better than any I could find on the market.Now that's quite a statement to make,so I said you go right to 'er and I'll be the judge when you finish it. Ken invited me along to get his materials which he picked up at a cabinet shop in Minto.All he got was some strips of hardwood left over from the saws that was being discarded. He took the strips of oak,maple and birch home to his wood shop and carefully glued and clamped them together until he had a sturdy hardwood board that he sawed and worked until he had the shape of the paddle.That's when the serious work began as he carefully shaped that paddle until he had it where he wanted it.To finish it off,he burned scenes on both sides and burned my name in the handle.When this was done,he carefully applied six clear coats of lacquer over the whole paddle. The finished product was a thing of beauty,but I told Kenny I would never be able to judge how sturdy it was because it would never see water to take a stroke. Today,it occupies a prominent spot on my wall and stands as a testament to Kennys skill as a worker of wood. The other object in the photo with the paddle is a slab of burl with flame all through it. This will be the top for a beautiful table in the near future.I will be showing more photos in future posts of some of the other interesting objects I have collected and will have for sale in the near future.Although I don't plan on retiring for at least a couple of years yet,if anyone sees something they like,don't be afraid to contact me if you want to discuss buying anything you see here. Ken and I and the rest of the guides that work with us encourage you to send me an e-mail or give me a call to arrange to spend some time in the Big Woods of beautiful New Brunswick. It's all there for the asking! Happy Trails to you......Until we meet again!

PARADISE LOST?....THE BITE AND OUTDOOR FOLKS

We finally got some much needed rain this month and it has put the Salmon River here at home in very nice shape. It was starting to get  dry and a lot of people were starting to get a little nervous. It's always nice to have lots of water when the fish are running because nowadays they need all the help they can get.Dark clouds are gathering over the salmon fishery on the Northwest Miramichi and a couple of its tributaries and we sportsmen can expect some rule changes in the very near future. This is a very sensitive and controversial situation that we as New Brunswickers face on the Northwest, as salmon numbers have dropped to the point where the fish are not meeting their spawning potential by even 50%! The problems clearly have to be addressed and you can be sure of one thing,it will be the sportsmen who will be biting the bullet first and hardest. Its always that way anytime a crisis arises in the outdoor world.And maybe it should be that way.After all,sportsmen and women are out there because they LOVE the fish and wildlife that they pursue and since they are deriving so much pleasure from their activities,its only fitting that they should take the lead and make the necessary sacrifices to ensure the perpetuation of the species. The other user group on the Northwest,the natives,will also have to make some sacrifices of their own. Surely,they would not like to lose such a key part of their heritage just to score some political points or to make a few bucks out the back-door.No,if the band leaders and the band members themselves have any sense at all,they will rise above the money and the political bull and do their part to ensure that the runs are perpetuated and grown to a point where the river is once again reaching its potential in terms of returning salmon. Lets all keep our fingers crossed that common sense will prevail.On a lighter note,the new Nova Scotia Government,the NDP,have come out with a press release that said that the rules for harvesting and managing woodlands in that province must be re-vamped. More specifically,the size and frequency of clear-cuts must be reduced in Nova Scotia and that's a good news story in my books.Its a great place to start and I would definitely add a couple of other changes that should be made that would help the wildlife in both Nova Scotia and at home here in New Brunswick.Here in New Brunswick,we have been managing our forests more for wood fibre and less for the well-being of our wildlife.This is evident in the low numbers of our deer on the crown land and the low numbers of song birds.Large clear cuts and spraying defoliant have contributed to these low numbers in a significant manner and should be looked at very closely by the managers,whoever they may be. Big business runs the show here in New Brunswick and we are all painfully aware of the priority of big business-profit,before all else.Just look at the Gulf coast in the US if you want to see what greed will do to our natural world. Hopefully the powers that be here in New Brunswick will wake up and make the changes that HAVE to be made in our forests to ensure that ALL user groups are accommodated.

Bear season is winding down and most of the hunters I talked to were seeing a lot of bears this year.That's good news for any visiting sports hoping to bag a big New Brunswick boar.The trail cam photo above is one of a nice boar that we caught visiting an old dump site in the mine cuts that some people were using.The amount of sign at this spot was crazy,so Ken and I set the camera up to try and get a photo of the nice one we knew was visiting there.We were quite surprised at the number of large boars we had at our sites this year.I guess it pays to do your home-work when selecting bait sites. As of late,bears haven't received much hunting pressure here in this province since most New Brunswickers would much rather hunt their beloved white-tails than bears any day.But with our deer numbers being down the last few years,many native sons have started pursuing this great game animal. I know Ken and I met up with a few new, younger hunters who were just getting started into the sport. It can be a pretty easy,relaxing hunt if your willing to put some miles on and do your homework.Ken and Jamie both took nice average-sized bears just buy driving around scouting and glassing the clear-cuts and fields. Ken was holding out but when he remembered that the bear biologist was coming to speak the next morning,he thought he would take a young bear that was feeding on a winter-killed moose and take it to the seminar so the speaker would have a specimen right there to talk about and examine.Things worked out great and the bear biologist had some good information to pass on to all the attending sportsmen.One fact that surprised both Ken and I was the distance a big boar will wander during the rut and sometimes when targeting  certain food sources. According to the biologist,a big boar will sometimes go as far as eighty kilometers! That's quite a little jaunt!This photo shows me with a white perch taken one evening while fishing with Ken and my good friend,Stephen Doherty and his lovely daughter,Chelsie.Every spring around the first of June,friends and family gather for our annual Perch Party.When the white perch are running strong and the first big spawners come up from the lake,we all get together and catch a bunch of perch and fillet them all out and have a big feed and a little party.It's great fun and the food is always good!This photo shows Ken with a bucket of perch and a pile of fillets he just did up before we headed back home for the party. We like to do the fish up right out on the water,if we can. It's much cleaner and the mess either goes over the side of the boat for chum or in the bait bucket to be used for bear bait. The big news on Grand Lake this year is the landlocked salmon jumping all over the place! We haven't tried fishing them yet,but a couple of buddies have been catching them on small spoons and small black flies,either casting or trolling.From the reports I've been getting,these fish are averaging 20 in. and are making a lot of leaps that are clearing the water by 3-4 ft. This is a real good-news story. Our salmon stocks in Salmon River and its tributaries have been decimated by the fish farms in the Bay of Fundy and this stocking of 6500 fish is going to create some good fishing opportunities that have been lost over the last several years.I just hope that we can get a re-stocking program going for the Salmon River sometime in the near future because we have lost a great fishery since the creation of the salmon farms in the Bay. There was a tremendous run of gaspereau  in Grand Lake this year and the Salmon River was literally choked with tens of thousands of these sea run fish.We have found over the years that the big pickerel bite will slow down at this time because there is just too much food around for those big guys to feed on. The river is just starting to clear out,with huge schools of fish slowly dropping back down the river to the lake on their way back to the ocean. Those big picks. will soon be on the prowl looking for an easy meal and Ken and I will be waiting for them! The word from the commercial fishermen was that the run this year was the biggest in many years,with some saying it was the largest they have ever seen! Its nice to see any species thriving  and our brook trout seem to be doing very well,with many reports of trophy sized sea-run fish in the 6-8 lb. range. I know our local brooks and streams have been producing well the last couple of years and I hope this trend continues in the future.

The Chipman Fish and Game Club held its annual fishing derby last week-end and there was a good turnout of fishermen,both young and old and a good time was had by all. This photo shows Ken and my grand-son,Tyler,weighing in some of his fish.Ken was helping out by weighing the fish as they came in and although Ty didn't win the big prize this year,he did pick up a new life jacket for entering the most species,so he was pretty happy about that. The derby was held at Bruce McLeans Campground on Salmon River this year and everyone got to see a  black bear that the DNR had captured in a live trap.For many,it was their first look at a wild bear and there were some kids with big eyes and open mouths who were amazed to see a black bear up close and personal. Bruce has a nice facility and I would encourage anyone who is looking for a nice campground to stay at to check it out.I know one thing,the fishing is very good right off the shore at the campground,There were tons of fish caught and a wide variety of species were taken during the derby.I mentioned earlier in this post that I was out fishing with Stephen Doherty and his daughter Chelsie and this photo shows Chelsie holding a small shark while on a trip to the Caribbean to study sharks as part of her biology course at university.Chelsie is one of those young girls that any parent would be very proud of and I know that Stephen and Wanda realize what a good student and citizen they have raised in Chelsie.She is not only a good student,but she works two jobs and gives freely of her time volunteering for various organizations.I've known Chels since she was a baby and I can tell you right now you won't find a nicer young lady anywhere.Did I mention that she is also the reigning Miss Petite New Brunswick and will soon be competing in Ottawa for the Miss Petite Canada crown? So Chelsie not only has the smarts but ,as you can tell from the photos,she has the good looks to go with those smarts.Chelsie currently works for the DNR out of Fredericton and whatever her career choices are in the future,you can be sure she will do well in whatever field she chooses.This photo shows Chelsie swimming with a huge shark while on her trip south and I'm here to tell you,that girl has a lot of spunk too!Good luck in the future Chelsie! The Salmon River is in great shape for boating and fishing and Ken and I will be doing full and half day trips this summer that are very affordable for anyone who wants a nice day on the water.We provide a nice shore lunch on these outings and the fishing is fantastic,as well as the scenery.So give me a call or send me an e-mail and we will arrange to get out there on the water here on the beautiful Salmon River. So long for now and Happy Trails to you.......until we meet again!