My Biggest Catch of the Day.

Well, this season I am off to a slow start.  With that, I mean I have not been out fishing much.  Yesterday was the first time this year that I went fishing for the day.  Glenn was up to the Miramichi last week fishing for stripers.  He had such a great day that he decided to ask me to go.  Even though the outlook was not the greatest for the weather we decided to go.  We packed lots of warm clothes as it is no fun being cold when you are fishing.  We left around 7am and reached the boat launch around 8:45.  The tide was in, which made it easy to get the boat in at this location.  We were fishing right on the main Miramichi river, something I have never done before.  We got the boat loaded up and started fishing right away.  The night before we went and bought the baits that Glenn had success with the week before.  I am not sure what other people use to fish stripers but the baits we used worked very well.  They are called Mimic Minnows and you can buy them at the Dollarama.  They come in packs of 2 for $2.  They have different colors.  All the ones we bought worked well. Please remember you need to pinch the barb off the hook to fish them on the Miramichi.

When we first started fishing we were trolling back and forth across where we put in.  Glenn was using his fish finder to look for the fish and to also look at the depth of the water.  It was not long before Glenn had the first fish of the day on his line.  It was exciting for me because I have never seen a striped bass in person.  I have seen them in pictures on the internet after looking at this first one I did not realize how much they look like a smallmouth bass.  The only difference is their color.

Glenn's Best of the Day.

It took me a little while but I landed my first ever striped bass.  It was about 14inches long.  It was great fun catching that first striped bass.  The couple of times I was out earlier in the season I did not really catch much, besides one chub so it was nice to feel that tug on the line knowing you were catching the fish you were trying for.  We went a little while without catching any and then Glenn started to catch a few.  We then decided to make our way up the river.  We continued to troll and hit a few more fish.  The weather turned on us some as it got windy and started to rain.  The true fishermen we are we stuck it out and about a half an hour later it stopped.  It was cold with that wind and rain.  Once the rain stopped it did warm up a little as the sun tried to pop out here and there.

Another Nice One.

It was probably close to noon and we probably had roughly ten fish in the boat.  I had nothing to compare it to but the week before Glenn and his two friends caught over 90 striped bass for the day so compared to their day ours was going quite slow.  We continued fishing up river and decided to stop the more as we got into a few fish.  The other day I think Glenn trolled all day as well so he suggested we cast and reel in.  Well, I think we found the sweet spot on this stretch of the river as the fishing turned on and I mean BIGTIME!!!  We found a ridge and stayed on the shallow side of it and the fishing was just unbelievable.

One of Glenn's Many.

We got on such a roll that we were catching the striped bass on almost every cast.  We had double header after double header.  The wind would take us over the deeper part of the ridge and the fishing slowed down so we would motor back to the left and start on the shallow side again.  As soon as we did the fishing picked right back up again.  Most fish were in the 14 to 18 inch range which is a great size when we are smallmouth bass fishing.  Glenn caught a 24 inch striped bass earlier in the day and then I was lucky enough to also catch a 24 inch striped bass as well.  We stayed on this ridge and coasted back down the river.  Once we went quite a ways down the river we motored back up again and started all over again.

To me this number is amazing and I will probably never catch it again with just two people.  We caught a whopping 250 striped bass during the day of fishing.  Glenn tallied 140 and got 110.  I have never caught anywhere near that many fish in one day. Keep in mind that the first 3 hours we only caught 10 or so.  We had just an awesome day.  I certainly hope to get back up soon and try again.  It is always fun trying a new species of fish.  The striped bass certainly did not disappoint on this day.  It is a day of fishing that I will never forget and I will tell people about it for years to come.

I hope you are all able to get out and enjoy time on the water.  I hope to keep the blog more updated as I get out fishing.  Let me know if you are having any luck on the water.  Tight lines.

Mist on the water at 6:40am

Glenn and I decided to spend the day fishing on Monday.  When I say the day, I mean the day.  We left Riverview at 12:30 in the morning….yes the morning, for the Miramichi.  We got there close to 2 am and decided to have a 2 hour sleep and then head into the hole.  We woke up close to four and headed to the spot.  When we arrived, it was still dark and not surprisingly, there was no one there.   Glenn wanted to go back to sleep but I would not let him.  It was close to 5am and it was light enough to see to get ready so we did.

On this stretch of water, the rip is pretty close so we did not have to walk far.  Being nice, I let Glenn go through the run first.  I followed close behind.  We did not have any luck the first time through so we went through the run three different times using different flies.  Unfortunately, we did not raise any salmon.  I caught a small salmon pare and an eight inch trout but that was it.  Glenn said he has seen people fishing the corner in the past so we decided to give it a try.  People came in behind us so we thought it would be a good time.  It was tricky crossing the river as they had thundershowers there on Friday and the water was up some.  When we got  to the  corner we realized that this would be a great place for some fish to be holding up.  There was a nice run with some calm water on both sides.  Again, we did not have any luck.  We did see any salmon move or jump in the 4 hours we spent there.  It needs to be said: That is salmon fishing.  You need to be very patient.

We decided to go into Blackville and try fishing from the boat for some salmon.  Did I mention we brought Glenn’s boat????  We did   The water was running quite hard here.  We only stayed about an hour as there was no action at all.  We packed up the boat and headed to Chipman for an afternoon and evening of pickerel fishing.  Yes, I had to drive and let Glenn sleep in the car.

My pickerel and Glenn's thumb.

When we arrived in Chipman, the first thing I realized was that the water was extremely high for this time of year.  The heavy rain we had the week before must have done it.  We put the boat in and fished a little cove for a bit and had some chasers.  There was a another boat around so we decided to go to the main river and explore some.  We fished along the banks by the grass and had a few chasers but we were not getting any into the boat.  We kept exploring around the river.  I finally had one on while using a bubblegum colored senko.  It is the one of me in the picture.  It was a decent size.  We kept roaming around and I caught another one but it was smaller.  IN another area Glenn finally landed his first pickerel of the day using his top-water frog.  It is a great bait as it makes a racket on the water.

Glenn and his pickerel.

We were getting tired but decided to cross over to the other side where we started.  We went to the other side of the cove and actually  started getting into some pickerel.  It gave us some much needed energy at this point of the day.  We fished around this area for about another hour and a half before decided to head home so we did not have to drive in the dark as we were both really tired.

Even though the fishing was very slow, we both had a great day on the water.

Glenn trying for some elusive salmon.

While fishing for salmon, some of the flies we used were the white-tailed green machine, brown bombers, and yellow-winged butterflies.  When we were fishing for pickerel we used different colored senkos.  We also fished them wacky-style for awhile.  We used different poppers.  I also used a diver while trolling for awhile.

Here’s hoping the water drops soon.  I hope the rest of you are having some luck on the water.

If you are someone who has thought about giving Black Salmon fishing a try I would strongly suggest it.  Over the winter months my friend Glenn had talked to me about taking me to the Miramichi on the opening weekend of fishing season to try some Black Salmon fishing.  He told me to mark Saturday, April 16th on my calendar.  I always do what I am told so I marked the date.  As this weekend came closer the plans were finalized.  Glenn and Chris were going up Thursday night with some people and they were going to fish on Friday and I was going to go up Friday night with one of their friends and fish Saturday.

On Thursday we received an email stating Glenn’s friend was not able to go up as he had other things he had to get done.  Glenn told me that he and Chris would drive back to Riverview Friday night, pick me up, and drive right back to the Miramichi.  I told him not to be so foolish and that I could go some other time with him as I did not expect them to drive all the way back here to get me.  Well, am I ever happy that they did.

Chris with one of his many Black Salmon.

We arrived at Glenn’s friend’s camp on the Main South West at 11pm, got settles in and watched a little TV.  The guys were tired out from the long day on Friday and I would say everyone was asleep by midnight.  We woke up around 7:30, got some breakfast and set up for the day.  We were not in a big hurry as it was -4 degrees out at 8am.  Once we had our gear ready and dressed properly we headed down to the boat.  We dressed in layers so we could take off a sweater or two if it warmed up enough.  Glenn, Chris and I went in a boat and three other people went in another boat.  It was cold out but there was no wind so it was not too bad on the water.

Once in the boat we headed right on the river.  Just a few meters down the river there must have been 10 or more people fishing from the bank.

People fishing off the bank.

We headed past them a little ways and put the anchor down by the right edge of the river.  We stayed on the right side the entire day.  We decided to put the anchor down and cast out and let the current take the fly own river.  The current was quite strong so it did not take long for the fly to get down river.  The set up we were using was wet flies, with sinking line as the Black Salmon mainly stay down this time of year.  Glenn and Chris had many different colored wet flies.  Glenn used a light blue colored fly, I was using a yellow one and Chris used the yellow one plus a few different ones throughout the day.  I am new to salmon fishing and do not know all the names of the flies.  I will talk to Glenn and comment later with the proper names.

My first-ever Black Salmon

As we started fishing Glenn had a hit on his third cast.  The Black Salmon hit as he was retrieving the wet fly.  I was obviously very pleased to see a fish on right away.  We used a net to help land the Black Salmon throughout the day.  We continued to do extremely well right away as we landed 7 Black Salmon within the first half hour.  Chris caught the second one and then it was my turn.  As it was the first Black Salmon I have ever caught I was very pleased.  At that moment I told the guys I was very glad they came back and picked me up Friday night.

We continued to fish in this area and lift the anchor and float down a few feet and then put the anchor back down.  As the boat settled we had very good luck fishing this new area as we got strikes almost every time we fished over new water.  None of us changed our flies in the morning as we were all having good luck with the flies we started with.

The guys said on Friday that they did catch some very good sized fish.  As of this time in the morning we were catching grilse and did not see any big salmon.  This did not matter to me at all because I felt catching these grilse was awesome fun.

Just a little bit before lunch we decided to do a little trolling with the wet flies.  As we were doing this I had a very good hit and I told the guys that the hit was hard.  As I started to reel in the line the fish came in quite easily but soon I started to feel a more resistance on the line.  The other fish came to the surface of the water fairly fast as well.  This one was not coming to the surface at all.  It did feel heavier then the other fish I was catching in the morning so Glenn stated that I must have a nice salmon on the line.  After a bit more time went buy the fish finally surfaced and I was very excited as I quickly realized this was the biggest fish I have ever had on the other end of the line.  It took me a little longer to get the fish in the net but we did land it.  The picture below is me with the Black Salmon, a picture I will not soon forget!  It measured in at 32 inches long.

My catch of the day!

After this we went in to the camp for lunch and to warm up.  At around 2:30 we went back on the water and we back to the same area and did the same type of fishing.  We did some casting and some trolling.  Glenn had a big afternoon as he landed two very nice sized fish.    The biggest one he caught was 36 inches.

Glenn with his biggest Black Salmon caught.

As the day finished, we each landed our limit so we could not ask for a better day.  Glenn said hit was the best day of Black Salmon fishing he has ever had.  I am certainly glad I was there to be part of it.

If you are someone who has thought about giving Black Salmon fishing a try I would recommend finding a way to give it a try.  Thanks to Glenn and Chris for the fantastic day.  It will be a day I will remember for a very long time.

With fishing season less than a week away many of us are getting our fishing gear ready for another season.  In early spring I usually try some trout fishing but this year I have been invited to go Black Salmon fishing in the Miramichi.  I have never tried Black Salmon fishing before so this experience will be all new to me.  We are going to be fishing out of a boat.  We will be trolling wet flies.  I guess the trick to this is to find out the proper depth to have the fly.  One guy I am going with said they landed a handful last year so I am hoping for the same success this year.  A couple of the guys are going up and fishing Friday but I can not get the day off so I am going up with someone else Friday night and will be spending the day Saturday fishing.  The weather should be decent with a high of 10 degrees.  I went and bought some rubber boots tonight.  I also went to the store to buy my fishing licence but they did not have them yet.  I am sure it is because the government upped the cost and they are printing new paperwork.  I always get my money’s worth so I can live with the price going up a bit.

My buddy said he has a bunch of different flies I can use as I do not have many wet salmon flies.  I will be taking my camera and will hopefully be taking some pictures of some Black Salmon that we are going to catch.  If not, I will at least take some pictures on the water.  Either way I will be writing a post about the day on the water.

Good luck to everyone who hits the water this coming weekend.  Let me know how you make out.

My friend and I decided to go Atlantic salmon fishing last week in the Miramichi. I am still fairly new to salmon fishing as I have focused on trout, smallmouth bass, and chain pickerel fishing so my friend has been giving me tips on what to do if I hook a salmon and what flies to use, which I will write about in a bit. He picked me up bright and early at 4:30am. When it comes to fishing I do not mind getting up early. It was a beautiful morning when we got to the water. We walked onto the river right at a hole he has fished many times in the past. It was my first time at this spot. I started fishing the hole from the back at while he was getting rigged up.

I really enjoy watching fish hit lures and flies on top of the water so it is no secret that when I am fly fishing for trout or salmon I love to use dry flies. I started using different dry flies (which I will write a section about) At this hole I kept switching up every once in awhile. I was also using different wet flies. When my friend was ready he started fishing the top of the hole that had some rapids. Within five casts he had a grilse on! I was a little ways away so I just stayed there and watched. He fought this fish for a few minutes and then it got off. For me, it was exciting to see a grilse get hooked that early and to watch him fight it for a few minutes. We fished the hole for quite awhile with him raising another grilse but it did not take.

We decided to walk down the river some as he has never done that before at that location. We walked probably for 10 minutes and came across a nice run. It did not look terribly deep but we thought it was worth a try. I had a green machine on and floated it down beside a big rock that was sitting in the middle of the run. I did this a few times and then my line went down and I realized I had a salmon on. He jumped out right away and spit my hook. It was very excited but disappointing at the same time. I brought my fly in to make sure everything was alright and casted out to the same spot again. To both of our amazement I got another hit right away. This time I fought this Atlantic salmon for a good ten minutes and had it within a foot of the shore and it spit my hook out. Again I was very pumped up for having the salmon on that long but was again disappointed that I had it that close to shore and lost it.

We continued down the river but did not really see any other water that was worth fishing so we made our way back to the original spot where we started. My friend put his fly down the middle of the run and a very nice salmon hit his fly and must have jumped three feet out of the water, which was awesome to see. Unfortunately it spit the hook. After fishing here a bit longer we decided to leave this area and try another spot farther down the river.

After a 15 minute drive we made it to the next hole. It was a nice long run with lots of deep water. After casting my fly out a handful of times a salmon came up to take a look but did not hit the fly. It was nice to see there were some Atlantic salmon holding in the pool. My friend had a quick 10 minute nap and then jokingly said it was time for him to catch a fish. He worked his way to the back of the pool and got a strike. This grilse was very active and must have jumped out of the water five or six times. He was able to land it fairly easily after it finished jumping. He said I should wait awhile to let the pool settle down and then try it again. I decided to fish the top part of the pool and then about 15 minutes later I tried where he caught his. I was not paying the greatest attention when I got a strike. It hit basically the same spot as the other one. My friend did an excellent job coaching me as I tired to land this Atlantic salmon. This is how he coached me. This may help for any other beginners out there. He told me to always make sure my line was tight. He said when I felt or saw my leader wiggle that meant it was going to make a run. He was right as after every wiggle it did make a run. He said to let it run and then to reel in as soon as it was done running. He also said that if it jumped to let the head of my rod down. This let the line go slack during the jump. I followed his instructions and about fifteen minutes later I landed my very first Atlantic salmon. Let me tell you that it was an awesome feeling. I am certainly getting hooked on salmon fishing and a day like we had certainly helps with that. Overall, we caught 2 grilse and hooked into seven fish and saw a handful of others.

I hooked into two of my Atlantic salmon using the very popular green machine salmon fly. Here is a picture for anyone unfamiliar with the fly.

This fly if very popular on the Miramichi.

A few other dry flies that I used on the day were the Green Bomber and the Brown Bomber. Both are pictured below.

Now the salmon fly that I caught my very first Atlantic salmon on was a Carters Bug. It is an excellent dry fly for fishing salmon. It is big like the bombers above. I am certainly going to be picking up more of them.

This is the fly I used to catch my first salmon.

As I am in the process of adding to my collection of salmon flies I have been searching the internet to find some salmon flies that are decently priced. I do support our local people who tie flies but I am also going to buy online if I can save some money. The other day I did find an online store that I gave a try. This online store sells trout and salmon flies along with other items.

I was very pleased to see that they have a very good selection of trout and salmon flies. Even though I wanted to buy a handful of trout flies I did focus of buying salmon flies. Their sidebar has these flies under steelhead/salmon. I also decided to look under the heading bass flies and I did decide to buy some of those flies as I think they would work for fishing salmon as well.

When I was finished placing my order I bought a total of 13 salmon flies, with me buy multiples of some same flies. Not one of the flies cost more than a dollar (US) and shipping to Canada for fishing flies was only $2.88, which if you ask me is an excellent deal.

The store is located in Arlington, Texas but that did not scare me away because of their very low shipping cost. I received an email the other night saying the order was shipped so I will post again post a comment to this post when they arrive to say how long the order took to arrive and what the quality of the flies is like. I am sure they are going to be just fine.

So, if you are someone who likes to go salmon fishing and are always looking for places to buy salmon flies online, why not give this company a try. The name of their company is The Angler’s Dream Fly Shop. Give their name a click and give them a look.

If you are new to fly fishing you may be interested in these ebooks called Fly Fishing From Scratch and Fly Fishing Mastery.