This article originally appeared as the Faces Outdoors column in the May 2012 issue of Faces Fredericton, a local lifestyle & entertainment magazine that features those who partake in the city’s nightlife, dining, shopping and entertainment events in and about Fredericton.
Saint John River smallmouth, caught in Fredericton
Click to visit Faces Fredericton
Something that seems to regularly surprise people I speak with about fly fishing is when I tell them where my favourite spot in New Brunswick to chase fish is: Fredericton
The reactions are varied, ranging from mild shock (“Fredericton?!?”) to receiving a look one might get if they had just sprouted a second head from their neck. Once I explain myself, however, they’re usually asking me to take them fishing.
Sadly, it seems some people here in Fredericton view the Saint John River only as an obstacle to get across during rush hour, but unbeknownst to many residents of our fair city, the waters of the Saint John River hold big fish. Trophy fish, such as four-pound smallmouth bass, muskie over a meter long, and the powerful striped bass, some weighing over forty pounds.
Of these three piscatorial local residents, my favourite is the smallmouth. While the number of people chasing ‘smallies’ or ‘bronzebacks’ on a fly rod here might be on the small side; throughout North America, smallmouth fly fishing fans number in the tens of thousands. Kirk Deeter, an editor at Field & Stream magazine, called them “the ultimate fly rod fish” in an online article in June, 2011.
Smallmouth had big fans way back in the day, too: “Inch for inch, pound for pound, (they are) the gamest fish that swims,” wrote Dr. James Henshaw. Back in the day in this case means 1881, that is.
I can say not much has changed in how much fun can be had chasing smallies on the fly rod. And I must not be alone, for even super-high-end rod manufacturer Sage makes a $550 rod for them...and it’s on its second, updated version!
Smallmouth bass are native to the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River and the upper Mississippi River, but due to stocking programs in the late 1800s, they are found in all ten provinces and every state except Alaska & Florida in the USA.
New Brunswick was first stocked with smallmouth in about 1870, and they have since thrived here. In fact, prolific smallmouth angler, guide and author Tim Holschlag consistently puts the Saint John River in his list of top 100 smallmouth locations in North America, and we’re regularly featured in Outdoor Canada’s annual list of top fishing spots in Canada.
If you’re a new to fly fishing, or attempting to help someone get started in fly fishing, smallmouth bass are the answer, for two main reasons:
1. they are (usually) very willing to eat.
2. they fight like green demons once they’re hooked, with multiple jumps and rod-bending runs for cover.
Besides, if you only have 4 hours to fish after dinner, do you really want to spend two of those hours driving to & from Boiestown or Doaktown?
Save the gas money & give fly fishing for smallmouth in Fredericton a chance; once you’re hooked up with a couple pounds of bronze fury, you won’t regret it.
Remember last year, when I posted "Lazy fish porn post: Striper madness" while I was in Senegal (but had to wait the better part of a month to watch it in its entirety due to shitty internet)?
Well, two things about that:
That title has provided me with many laughs over the past year & some due to Google search terms. Think "lazy stripper porn," "strippers with fish," and so on & so forth...
the filmmaker of that fishing video, Peter Laurelli, just released the full version of his 2011 video, and it's right here:
It's time to end the 'short-term gain' myopia that plagues our society. It's time to start thinking about long-term consequences of our actions...and regulators inactions, too.
Do some forward-thinking and apply this to Atlantic salmon farming. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is an accomplice in the potential decimation of wild anadromous fish by the aquaculture industry.
I'm excited about this; it's five weeks off. In the best part of the season for Atlantic Salmon...and smallies, stripers and muskie...oh my!
I'll have some fishy content next week after I take a few days to win back the love of my girlfriend & Awesome the dog.
My new furled leader, fly box, and a couple books were waiting for me when I returned home. Notes about using/reading them will be included in this so-called fishy content I speak of.
Hope everyone enjoys their weekend. I'm going to Lava Vodka Lounge & seeing Bedouin Soundclash tonight.
Here's some music. Definitely NOT Bedouin Soundclash. Enjoy!
But if you can figure it out, you're more than welcome to visit.
(This is a basic IQ test: if you can't figure out what town this is, you're too dumb to be here. This is to prevent you getting elected to the provincial government.)
Here's some of that (sort of) local music I speak of. I say 'sort of' because, while not necessarily from here, he visits. Often. In fact, this summer, at FredRock.
Time/Date: 1010 AST, 20-Jun-11
Location: Fredericton, NB
(Can't see the pics or video in the post? Click here to see the full post)
Side note #1: I had to look up the date and the day of the week. No clue. I consider this a positive aspect of my life.
Side note #2: This is my first post in 6 days, which pushes the limit on how far I go between posts. But when it comes down to fishing or writing about fishing, well, you now know that outcome.
Tuesday, 14-Jun-11
3-day fishing result
I left for the coast just after supper, timing my arrival coincide with slack tide on the low. The moon was full on the 15th, so the already-intense Fundy tides were more intense for a few days last week.
With weather & water becoming a little warmer, I figured this was a good time to (try to) land my first striper from the salt.
Or not. I didn't see anything: no stripers, no baitfish, no birds. Nothing.
And anyone who says fly fishing the coast at night is easy is full of shit. I can't wait to try it again really soon.
Wednesday, 15-Jun-11
Bucky with a nice one
Back to my freshwater roots for sea-run brook trout & the possibility of early Atlantic salmon on the Miramichi.
We hit a couple pools, finding them high, fast, and tea-coloured.
Bucky got into a nice one; however, I had another date with that black & white bastard.
This skunkening was more my fault than the previous night: a strip-set on what would have been a nice trout was a little...over-aggressive...to say the least.
Later I rolled a nice-sized grilse (or huge sea-run trout) on a shrimp pattern but received no love on successive casts.
Side note #3: This was three skunkenings in a row. At no point did I feel like torching police cars or smashing windows of stores & looting.
Side note #3.1: The term 'skunkening' is my own. It is derived from skunked. I got the idea from the movie Your Highness, which used the expression 'the f**kening.'
Thursday, 16-Jun-11
A last-minute invite for a downtown fish for stripers/muskie/smallies resulted in the end of the skunkening.
I wasn't messing around; this is what I rigged up for an afternoon on Pat's vessel:
5wt TFO with WF-5F + small cork-bodied popper
8wt Redington CPX with WF-8I clear sink tip + size 2 Clouser
10wt Redington CPX with sinking-tip Striper line + big, eff-off muskie fly
The Clouser did it for me: nice smallie. Skunkening over. Video evidence exists, too.
Side note #4: As a highly experienced smallie-on-the-fly person, I can confidently state smallmouth bass take Clouser minnows 100% of the time. And if you take the previous sentence seriously, you are a complete jack ass.
Side note #5: Smallmouth bass on the fly rod have been my best surprise fish of 2011. It's a good time! I mean, they can hit hard or they can take subtle, they fight, they jump. Fun as hell.
Side note #6: I really, really need a 6wt fly rod, reel & line now...
It was at Rocky Brook Lodge, more famous for its swanky digs & salmon pools, but they also offer trout fishing on their (what I would assume to be stocked) lakes.
Side note #7: This place is really swanky. The manager, Manley Price, is a great guy, and it's staffed with some really friendly guys that probably know more about fly fishing than I will ever learn. Thing is, they don't act like it, which is even more awesome. But I couldn't find a website, so if you ever want to go there, leave a comment & I will get you the contact info.
It was strongly suggested by a few people to use spinning gear. I chose to ignore that suggestion.
Luckily, it was a prudent decision: when we arrived, all the loaner spinning gear we had been promised had gone missing through various means. So fly gear it was.
We weren't disappointed with the decision.
The first two fish were taken on a small black & white Clouser. Then I switched up to a #16 mayfly dry, which brought a lot to the boat. Once that got too soaked with fish slime to float, I changed to a #12 Stimulator.
And then it was on.
We boated a couple dozen. Each. In under four hours.
We released them all, but lost one to the psychopathic loon swimming around (& underneath) our row boat.
Side note #8: Those friggin' things are fast as hell under water. And a little scary.
Good times. Except for the loon.
A typical-sized offering
It's not a small trout; I just have GIANT HANDS!!!
Psychopathic stalker-loon
My weekend was spent relaxing with my beautiful girlfriend (she doesn't fish a lot). We went to see Super 8, which was pretty damn good (and fortunately not a two-hour ad for the motel chain).
I'm hoping to be chasing some St. John River fish within the next couple hours.
I'll try to not wait six days to write a report.
Side note #9: I remember saying I would try to keep my posts to 250 words when I started this. Yeah. Might try to do that again.
*******
Music time: when living a hero's life, you require a hero soundtrack. I think Explosions In The Sky provides that soundtrack. Even if you're just cleaning your bedroom (which, in some cultures, might be seen as heroic).
The muskie hunt on Saturday morning was really fun.
I got to learn a few things about muskie and their habitat & prey, and also (finally) got to try out my Redington CPX 10-weight rod.
PLUS...
There's something perversely enjoyable about fly fishing from a boat in downtown.
The only way it could've been better would be if it was a week day and all the sorry saps stuck in traffic on the Westmorland Street Bridge were on their way to work while I was casting away all the worries in my little world.
In fact, if it were a week day, I would've tweeted the mayor to look out his office window. I probably would have invited him. There's a good chance he'd accept, too. That's what it's like having a cool mayor (looking at you, Toronto...that's what you get for electing an ass).
As for fishing for muskie, I'll let this photo speak for itself:
Regardless of the outcome, it was a good time, and there's plenty of season left to land this so-called fish of ten thousand casts.
Only about 9500 more casts to go.
Thanks for the guided trip, Andrew!!
********
Tonight, it's striper-hunting time on the Fundy Coast.
Tomorrow's a full-moon, i.e., higher than normal tides (aka "spring tides"). It's mid-June. Migratory stripers may be here.
Where I'm heading, low-tide is ~1730, high tide is ~2330. Sunset is about 2130-ish. This could work out in my favour.
It'll be a late one; I plan on fishing until 2AM or so.
But I am ready.
We'll see how it all unfolds tonight.
An army of Clousers await marching orders for tonight
It will be about an hour and a half drive each way. I'll probably a little tired on the way home. That's why I have this tune well-situated on several road trip playlists to sing along to. It gets the synapses firing.
Fish steep sandy beaches. Look for bars and cuts and the rips they create.
Fish Current. It can never be too strong. Bass are not lazy.
Fish inlets and esturies and salt water ponds where they exit into the sea.
Fish to start with at pre dawn to first light until the bite stops. Fish dusk.
Fish all night when you are happy with your casting.
Fish hard and with purpose and you will catch.
Fish neap Tides, Full moon and New Moon spring tides to find what works best in your area.
Trust me you don't need much more than the above to put yourself onto fish. Plus you don't need your hand holding and you found the fish and that is very satisfying.
Brilliant post.
It's a perfect 'what-to-do' primer to get started. My own reading list (and extended reading list) for my Saltwater 101 self-study course is obviously more in-depth, but Mike's post definitely summarizes a billion pages of information on catching striped bass on the fly rod.
Don't forget, you can stay up to date on striped bass conservation efforts at Stripers Forever! Join their mailing list today.
I posted my first reading list for my self-directed saltwater fly fishing course a couple months ago. Here are a few more titles I've been reading while waiting for stripers to arrive (and now waiting to leave here so I can return closer to saltwater).
I'm not completely through all of them yet but, based on what I've read of them so far, they would be good additions to any (wannabe) striper fisherman's library.
Fly-Fishing the Saltwater Shoreline by Ed Mitchell: This is the sequel of Fly Rodding the Coast and is more detailed with regards to various species found along the coast of Northeastern US (and, sort of by default, the Maritime Provinces). Like the previous book, this is a reference manual that will be handy to keep close at hand.
Fly Fishing the Striper Surf by Frank Daignault: This guy is a crusty old salt and well-known sharpie when it comes to fishing stripers. He's published about four thousand books about surfcasting (which I haven't read). This book is alright & I enjoyed his crustiness that comes through in his writing. You'll learn lots of useful tips from this book.
Striper Moon by J. Kenney Abrames: Don't be put off by this book being half the number of pages of a magazine: this is a good read. This book is written almost purely on opinions & observations, and not necessarily a how-to book. As Lefty Kreh wrote in the foreward: "My only regret is that Ken did not write a bigger book."
There would have been a fourth title to review in this post, but it's has been on backorder since the first week of March. Apparently (as I found out after the fact) it's a "must-have" title for anything & everything about fishing stripers on the fly; in fact, that's the title: Stripers on the Fly, by Lou Tabory.
I keep forgetting I ordered it, but Amazon keeps emailing me every 3-4 weeks to say the delivery date is going to be 4-6 weeks later than planned. So maybe in July I'll have a blurb about it.
Of course, by July, I'm hoping to have landed my first striper on the fly.
********
I brought my fly-tying vice to Saskatchewan. And, unlike Mexico, I'm actually using it!
I find a bit of irony in tying my first flies of 2011, saltwater flies at that, while located in Saskatchewan, the furthest I have been from an ocean in over a year (I think...?).
I brought a very small sample of tying material with me: bucktail, yak hair, marabou, crystal flash, thread, eyes, stainless steel hooks, head cement.
It's been good practice for the last couple nights, which I sorely need: I've probably tied less than a dozen flies in my life. I hope to stay motivated to bang out one or two each night I'm here...or until my materials run out.
Here are a few examples (in chronological order, since Friday):
Blue over white bucktail with pearl flash, size 1 hook
Clouser practice: Night Clouser with red flash
Black bucktail streamer with red head & chartreuse flash
Black on black bucktail with black flash
(my heads are getting a little more tidy)
********
Music time. An appropriately-titled song for me for 2011.
Sorry for the burst of posts today, but I couldn't pass up sharing this one with you.
I was lurking around Jason Puris' website, The Fin (Twitter here, Facebook here) and stumbled across his YouTube channel. And found a little gold mine of procrastination:
A reality TV show. About fly fishing guides at Montauk, NY, living in a house, a.k.a., the Guide House, while chasing the fall run of stripers, bluefish & albies with their clients.
Fly fishing reality TV. Brilliant. Their might be hope for mankind just yet.
Here is episode 1 (in three parts).
(btw, hit Jason up on Facebook & Twitter, he always has great content posted)
Time/Date: 1515 CST, 01-Mar-11
Location: Estado de Guerrero, Mexico
This still remains a fly fishing blog, at heart. Honestly.
I have just sort of found myself travelling and not fishing over the past little while. That's not to say I haven't been obsessing thinking about fly fishing this whole time.
As some of you might have read over the past few months, I have been afflicted with the bug of saltwater fly fishing. It took one day of hooking redfish to develop this affliction.
Even though most of my time since New Year's has been spent working in far-off locations, I have been doing lots of homework to start taking this whole new world of saltwater fly fishing seriously.
Here's some of the reading material I've been going through to get my fix:
Fly Fishing in Salt Waters: this magazine has some fly fishing heavyweights writing for it: Lefty Kreh, Nick Curcione, Barry & Cathy Beck, and more. Lots of info pertaining to techniques, fly-tying, gear and places in each issue. Best part: you can subscribe for cheap via digital copies of the magazine through Zinio. I have the Zinio app on my iPod, which lets me take multiple issues in my pocket.
Fly Rodding the Coast by Ed Mitchell: This book has A LOT of information on how to read shores & coasts for finding fish. Predominantly focuses on the species found in the Northeast US...which is found close to the Fundy Coast of New Brunswick...just sayin'
The Orvis Guide to Saltwater Fly Fishing by Nick Curcione: This is a very good starting point for those making the switch from chucking size 16 dry flies for 12" trout i.e., me last fall.
Due to 3rd world satellite internet feeds, I haven't yet been able to watch this completely, but what I've seen so far, it's pretty damn good (and a good soundtrack, too). The link below the video will take you to his vimeo page.
I've been reading/studying/dreaming about saltwater fly fishing ever since my redfish trip to Louisiana in November. It's definitely going to be a focus of mine in 2011. In fact, I'm working on an upcoming Intro to Saltwater 101 post, so we can learn along together.
Stripers are found in New Brunswick, fyi. I'm not going to pinpoint exactly where until I land one, though...
New Brunswick was first stocked with smallmouth in about 1870, and they have since thrived here. In fact, prolific smallmouth angler, guide and author Tim Holschlag consistently puts the Saint John River in his list of top 100 smallmouth locations in North America, and we’re regularly featured in Outdoor Canada’s annual list of top fishing spots in Canada.
