SALMON WARS,MOOSE HUNTING AND VINTAGE STUFF

A photo taken from the Priceville Bridge last fall.

    Summer is slowly winding down here at home on Salmon River and the large volume of water we have continues to play havoc with our outdoor excursions. I'm not going to complain about this situation because I would much rather see lots of water in our river systems than a drought. It has really helped the salmon and trout stocks but it has made it much harder to catch the warm water species such as pickerel. With the high water we have this summer,the top water lures have not been working as well and we have found that good sized spoons will work much better but you will have to try and cover  more water because the fish are spread out over a much wider area. Although the water conditions continue to be excellent for the salmon and their pursuers,the catching has dropped off this month because many of the fish have been in the system for a while and they tend to get a little fussy on the take.

This photo shows Donna A. of Carrolls Crossing fishing in Carrolls last fall.

    I got a very disturbing report this month from the Carrolls Crossing area above Doaktown.Now I frequent this area quite a bit during the spring and summer months and I know a lot of the locals that live in this area and they are all a pretty good bunch of lads up that way.As a matter of fact,a few can be said to be good Christian people who wouldn't dream of doing wrong or hurtful things. One of these gents, who shall remain anonymous,is a life long Christian who also happens to love fishing and has been fishing the open water in his area for well over thirty years.This gentleman and his son were out in their boat fishing a pool that is open to the public, just as they had done for years prior, when a couple of guides from a salmon club based in the area showed up. This club has been in the area for many years and they own some very good water in the area of the club,as well as good water in other spots along the MSW Miramichi. In years past,when the water conditions are such that the fish are moving a lot rather than holding,the members of this club would sometimes come to the open pools to fish rather than fishing their own private waters.Why they do this I can only speculate on,but I'm assuming they feel the fish are taking better in the open water rather than in their private water. Many of the locals feel this is unfair but most grit their teeth and try to be cordial to the guides and their sports.After all,it IS open water and that means it's open to ALL fishermen! These two brothers who guide for the club,one who is the head guide for the salmon club,was carring NO FISHING signs and proceeded to post this open water! When the local protested that he couldn't lawfully do that,the guide said they owned the adjacent land and they were posting the water to keep out the 'outsiders' but seeing that the local had fished there all his life and lived in the area,he would allow him to continue fishing.When the local protested that the water was open to all fishermen,the guide said OK,you aren't going to fish either! The local said ' You will have to call the police and physically drag me off of this water before I'll leave' and believe it or not,this guide did call the RCMP,who showed up a short time later. After hearing both sides of this story and calling the local DNR office,the RCMP said the local was indeed within his right to be fishing that pool and the signs were taken down. I know this local personally and I also know he is a mild mannered gent who lives a Christian life but I hear he was so mad he was about to burst a vessel. I have to admit that I too was absolutely outraged at the antics displayed by this supposedly professional guide who was in full knowledge of the actions he was taking.At this juncture,I can only say that I am very glad to have missed this little drama because I just don't have the stomach for it at this point in my life.Let me state right now that if I employed two guides who behaved in this fashion,they would be fired on the spot! They displayed bad manners,as well as being downright dirty! I'm getting angry just relating this story but I felt it should be told just to illustrate how easily things can turn ugly on the water. I want to also state that not all lodges in the area behave in this fashion.As a matter of fact,one outfitter in the Macnamee area goes out of his way to keep the peace with the locals and many times has offered up a days fishing on their private water to locals that have done him a good turn.And that's the way it should be! There is nothing worse than having a day on the water or in the bush spoiled by some oaf who doesn't have the good sense or manners to conduct himself like a gentleman while pursuing his outdoor sport. These kinds of antics aren't restricted to just the salmon waters.I recently read a bit of blog from a writer who was fishing pickerel near Chipman who had another party crowd him while fishing from his canoe.Why would you pull up within fifteen feet of another boat when there is,quite literally,acres of very fishable water around you? The simple answer is ignorance! There is often another human trait that comes into play while afield and that is GREED,the deadliest of all human sins. Many times greed leads to another undesireable human trait and that is bullying.Most of the open water has at least one guy that thinks he owns the pool and always throws his weight around,especially to any new comers.All this does is ruin someones day and sully the name of good sports who are just trying to have a pleasant day of fishing. As I end this rant,I would like to remind the readers to try and remember the big picture.It isn't the sport fisherman who is the enemy of salmon.It is big business trying to make big money, whether inland or offshore,that poses the greatest threat to salmon stocks in our rivers and we must remain vigilant to their destructive practices in their pursuit of profits.

    On a more positive note,the salmon runs continue to be good in most rivers and I am glad to report that I have seen more salmon in Salmon River this year than in the last twenty! I can only hope that this trend continues and we see more fish in the future here at home. Just last week I looked out my window around 9:AM and saw a huge salmon jump that left a ring as if someone dropped a fifty pound stone into the river! I'm assuming that some of the 30-40,000 land-lock salmon that were stocked in Grand Lake will make their way up the river.One of the bioligists said a certain percentage of these fish would just naturally travel up the river system,perhaps not to the headwaters but up several miles from the mouth at Salmon Harbour. A couple of years ago,Kenney and I were fishing the mouth of  Sisson Brook and Ken got a landlocked salmon and missed a second one.We were quite sure they were landlocks because there had been recent stockings  in Grand Lake and the body profile is much leaner on the landlocked salmon because they are not going to sea to feed up in the rich salt water environment. It was also mentioned to me that trout fishermen fishing at Big Forks stream were catching a lot of salmon parr,so that tells me our river isn' dead to wild atlantic salmon runs yet and we still have breeding adults going up Big Forks. If there are salmon still in Big Forks then a lot of the other feeder streams should still have a few. It would probably be a good idea to take a count sometime if for no other reasnon than to see where the Salmon River stands today,in terms of numbers,as compared to former traditional numbers that were taken in yearly counts over thirty years ago.I had access to the run numbers for several years running years  but the last time I tried to find them,the secretary at the cache couldn't find it on the computer but I do remember that the numbers were 6-8,000 for Salmon River and thats not counting the Gaspereau River which has its own run of salmon. Back in the late 70's and early 80's many local salmon fishermen filled their tags right here on Salmon River and her tributaries and only took an occasional trip to the Miramichi or the Cains River in the fall,just for a change of scenery more than anything else. It would really be something to see those days again and you never know,Mother Nature has a way of healing herself,all we have to do is do our part as stewards of the land to help her along.

    My son Curtis was out on the lower Salmon River a couple of weeks ago guiding a Cape Bretoner stationed in Gagetown. Sgt. Cain had some experience fishing for trout and salmon but had never gone pickerel fishing and after listening to some of his army buddies talking about how much fun they had catching them,he asked Curt to take him out for the day. He couldn't have picked a better guide for this species. Curt grew up right on the shores of lower Salmon River and he's fished these things since he was a baby! As I said earlier,the fishing has been challenging for pickerel this year because of all the water but Curt was up to the task and the Sgt. caught enough pickerel that he had a big smile on his face when they landed back that evening.The following photos show Sgt. Cain landing a few pickerel.

Sgt. Cain did a tour of Afgahanistan recently and I was amazed at the level of maturity this young man showed.He said he had a great time and he     would be back again soon for another day out on the water.Ken was also out guiding a young couple from Collingwood,Ontario. Lucas Parker and his lovely girl-friend were vacationing in the area and wanted to do some trout fishing and Lucas's girlfriend really wanted to see a moose.Ken told them he knew a spot where they could catch some pan-sized brookies and probably see a moose during the trip. They packed up lunch and all their gear and headed for the upper Gaspereau River. After fishing a few spots and catching some nice brookies up to twelve inches long,Ken took them to a spot on the Gaspereau that has a lot of moose and sure enough,he rounded a turn and there was a nice ten point bull moose standing off in the clear cut.This young bull was quite co-operative and stood around and let Lucas walk up on him and he got some great video footage. A short time later,three bears ran across the road in front of them,so Lucas'girlfriend got to see some animals up close and personal. After landing back home and having a nice lunch,it was time to sit back for a bit and just relax a bit with your favorite beverage and reflect back on the days events. Both Lucas and his girlfriend said they had a great time and they thanked Ken and told him they would try to be back again next year.Unfortunately,Lucas' girlfriend was running the camera and the video footage and photos went back to Ontario with her but if I get it sent to me,I'll edit this post and insert the footage and photos of their trip.

    We have started to do some scouting for the up-coming moose hunt and the signs and numbers of moose we are seeing is encouraging. There is certainly no shortage of nice bulls in zone 18,where Ol' Wes hargrove has his tag. We have three very good spots within an area of about 50 sq.mi. and we will call and travel between the spots until Wes gets the shot. There are some real trophy bulls travelling in our area but I would expect we will see a younger satillite bull coming in to the call. Then again,if lady luck is with us and we hunt hard, Wes could be pulling down on one of those big old bulls that we know hang around in our chosen hunting area. We are all getting excited and we will do everything possible to get a nice moose in front of Wes. We may have another tag for our zone if Duane Hargroves son-in-law isn't training for a new exercise in the Canadian Armed Forces. We're keeping our fingers crossed in hopes that the young fellow can get the leave. We'll scout as if he is coming and the worst that can happen is we will have more spots for Wes to check out. I'll be sure to get lots of footage and photos of our moose hunt and I will include them in my next post in September.

    The annual duck hunt follows close on the heals of the moose hunt and Jamie has been at me to get out to the marsh and look things over. Every year it is the same ritual.Jamie and Dallas chomping at the bit to get out in the marsh and slog around seeing what we have for ducks. And me saying"What's the rush? We can just sit down front on the beach and watch the flights in the evening to see what's coming and going and what kind of numbers we have''. Then the boys will usually humor me and sit for a few nights and watch the flights as they come in to feed. I've participated in this little ritual for the last twenty-five years I've lived here on Salmon River and I never tire of it.Hopefully,we will be doing it for many years to come because we really have a great time on our duck hunts.From the look of things,there should be lots of birds around because there was lots of water during the nesting period and all summer, for that matter. We have a couple of flocks of geese practically feeding in the yard and we will have to get our neighbour, Floyd,to cut his field just before the opener to try and keep them in the area.We usually get a crack at them and I would expect this year will be no different. This photo shows me walking the island near our hunting spot on the first day last year.

    I have some nice little vintage items to show my readers this month and there is no shortage of goods out there,if you go to the right spots. One of these spots is the annual Flea Market in Sussex that was held recently. I always find tons of stuff at this sale and my main problem is being able to carry the stuff around for half the day! One of the items I found this year was a very nice vintage fishing board game called''HOOK-EM!'' It has great graphics and is in very good condition for the year,which is 1947.Here is a photo of that game.

I collect all kinds of board games but I don't come across hunting and fishing board games so I was very happy to get this item.

    The next item shown is a nice trout planter or nick-nack holder.This item is called lustre ware because of the shiney wet looking finish applied to the pottery. This piece was made in Japan in the 50's and is marked Shafford,hand- painted.

The last item I have to show is a pair of duck book-ends. These book-ends were also made in Japan in the late 50's or early 60's and is marked ESD,hand-painted. What I really like about these book-ends is the super condition they are in considering the type of paint and the delicate construction.The paint on this type of item has a tendency to flake and it is prone to chipping because it is quite fragile.

In closing for now,this is Dale Bauer saying ''Happy Trails to You,Until we meet Again!''

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!