Lost Caper

Great thoughts

2008-10-02T01:52:00.001-07:00

The greatest achievement is selflessness. The greatest worth is self-mastery. The greatest quality is seeking to serve others. The greatest precept is continual awareness. The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything. The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways. The greatest magic is transmuting the passions. The greatest generosity is non-attachment. The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind. The greatest patience is humility. The greatest effort is not concerned with results. The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go. The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances. - Atisha ...

Who says men are insensitive

2008-08-15T06:12:00.000-07:00

A husband and wife came for counseling after 20 years of marriage. When
asked what the problem was, the wife went into a passionate, painful tirade
listing every problem they had ever had in the 20 years they had been
married.

She went on and on and on: neglect, lack of intimacy, emptiness, loneliness,
feeling unloved and unlovable, an entire laundry list of unmet needs she had
endured over the course of their marriage.

Finally, after allowing this to go on for a sufficient length of time, the
therapist got up, walked around the desk, and, after asking the wife to
stand, embraced and kissed her passionately as her husband watched with a
raised eyebrow. The woman shut up and quietly sat down as though in a daze.

The therapist turned to the husband and said, "This is what your wife needs
at least three times a week. Can you do this?"

The husband thought for a moment and replied, "Well, I can drop her off here
on Mondays and Wednesdays, but on Fridays, I fish."

A walk along the dobson trail

2008-08-08T05:04:00.001-07:00

Dobson-trail-night (2).jpg (JPEG Image, 448x336 pixels)

The 37 mile hiking trail has much to see. This picture was taken on a late evening stroll.

Miramichi catch and release efforts.

2008-08-03T05:01:00.000-07:00

Fishermen on the Nor-west, Cains, Main South West all the way to Juniper is picking up some salmon. The number are down over previous years and I blame the netting, greed and poor government relations resulting in disrespect for laws. Not only that but the catch and release efforts are not working.

If you ask somebody that knows the ways of the salmon like most of the old fishermen that has been sitting on the banks for more than 50 years, they will tell you that many fish that are being release are dying. As we know, we are allowed 8 griles. The grilse are the fish that are returning to the river for the first time since they were hatched. They are no more than 25 inches long and they are about 5 pounds. The large salmon must be released. That is a problem because many released salmon die after their lengthy fight. Different times 15 pound salmon are seen floating down the river dead. Some killed by nets and some of exhaustion from being played by sportsmen for to long. Many old fishermen say rules should be whatever you catch tag. Once your 8 tags are gone than no more salmon fishing. This would stop the fishermen from catching 10 big salmon a year, releasing them and having seven of them die then tagging 8 more smaller salmon.

Many sportsmen are fed up with rules that don't work. The situation is a bit out of control because they say the percentage of fish being killed by fly fishermen is low compared to the thousands killed by netting. I believe this to be true but speaking as a fly fishing sportsmen there are things we can do to help. One thing is either use an 8 or 10 pound test and pull the salmon in fast. No big salmon should be played with my more than 15 minutes. Bryan Freement, the owner of Escape Anglers and other great sportsmen caught lots of 30 pound salmon in 10 to 13 minutes. The quick release help insure their survival.

Another method is use a 2 or 3 pound test and bend the barb of the hook. After hooking a fish, get a couple of runs and jumps out of them then break them off. The hook will be out of their mouth in less then 2 hours. For the salmon, I suppose it would be something like getting your ear pierced. Perhaps they even brag a little to other salmon about their lip ring. lol.. Not likely but I say with a great amount of certainty that the exhaustion from the lengthy fight kills the fish not the hook being lodged in their lip for 2 hours. Did I mention what in hell is netting off a river all about and why is it allow to continue.

Feel free to visit my web site

Fishing Albert County, New Brunswick

2008-08-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

I just talked to a fishing buddy of mine. This after noon I believe we are going to hit some spots in alert county. It is raining and the rivers may be to high but we are going anyway. I believe we will be fishing in the Fundy Park area.

Cabot Trail

2008-07-14T05:14:00.001-07:00

For those of you who traveled the Cabot Trail knows just how beautiful it is. Here is a few items off the beaten trail.

Fishing Albert County, NewBrunswick, Canada

2008-06-14T05:23:00.001-07:00

There has been some decent bass and trout fishing in the Petitcodiac System. Some trout and bass are moving into the tributaries of the Peticodiac. The fishermen I have talked to seem to believe that the schedule for migration is a bit off but there are some bass and trout being picked up in the lower parts of some of the tributaries.

For more information visit my web-site at www.lostcaper.com

Miramichi

2008-06-14T04:42:00.001-07:00

Unlike the Nor-west Miramichi, the Main Southwest Miramichi is doing
well. The Trout are gone by Querryvillle and has been reported as being
far up river. The main flow of salmon has not yet hit Querryville. Down
stream from Querryville there is some salmon being picked up.

For more information visit my web-site at www.lostcaper.com

The Poor Nor-West

2008-06-13T02:46:00.001-07:00

This past week I fished different parts of the Miramichi. There was hardly a sole fishing and little wonder. Where the fish was suppose to be in the Nor-West there was not a one. Story has it the nets downstream completely cut of the Nor-West. If this is true them I am very disappointed. You see the nor-west Miramichi is one of the great rivers that produce good numbers of salmon for its size. There is not many like it left in the world and this will come to an end if it continues to be abused. What a loss it will be especially for the welfare of the salmon, the fishermen and the guides who make their living.

Anybody I talked to is not confident that the government will do anything about it this massive taking of fish. Don't go getting careless thou. Make sure you carefully measure the salmon you take because if it is an inch to long then you just may loose your car,boat and face a large fine.

I release just about everything I catch but I believe this practice is going to fall by the wayside because how can the Department of Natural Resource preach catch and release and have anybody take them seriously when they sit watching the huge amounts of salmon being netted.

I believe it is time we all start being fare to everyone involved including the salmon. If somebody has to give up a bit so be it but we have to make it fare to all. If we don't go through the pain of making it better now then will go through the pain of the loss later. Salmon this time then what is next. Perhaps drinking water rights? I just wish the government would get of their lazy avoiding fat ass and do something constructive.

Last week on the Miramichi

2008-05-23T06:13:00.001-07:00

Last week on the Miramichi was eventfull. Fresh salmon are in parts of the system and the trout fishing picking up as well. I will be writing more on this. Stay tuned. Good luck with the coming season.

The Pollett River Run 2008

2008-04-30T05:21:00.000-07:00

Pollett River Run 2008.

I was looking forward to the Pollett River Run this year. George, an experienced canoe man, with two of his friends wanted to hit the Pollett. Brianna being 16 years old, I felt that she was old enough to experience the Pollett River Run for the first time. The last Saturday of April arrived, which for the past 25 years, is the day of the Pollett River run. The timing was good because the river was high, it was 10 degrees, and I was recovered enough from the cold I was battling to make the trip.

George left his van at the takeout on the Sanatorium road. My jeep and the blazer carried us and our gear to the put in at Elgin

We skipped the traditional breakfast at the community hall and opted for an early start. We set sail around 09:30 A.M.

George has a loud voice that carried half way down the river. He told joke after joke to people 150 yards away. Brianna and I laugh our heads off for many hours of this day. George kept us entertained for sure.

George was not only a good joke teller and canoe-men, he was good at rescuing. One guy about 50 years old in a rubber boat hit a tree that was leaning across the river. He found himself in fast deep water holding on to the tree not wanting to let go. George got out a throw line and after a second attempt landed the line near enough for the poor man to grab hold and pull himself to shore. He was almost crying in fear and that he lost everything. This was a bad way to start the trip because this tree is only about 5 minutes down from the put in. This tree caught many people off guard especially the rafts that could not manipulate around this outreached tree.

About 2 hours into the run, I forced Brianna to take the stern. With a little teaching and practice, she quickly learned the tricks of the trade and guided us through the rapids, around rocks and bridges like a pro. We never did flip and she save our ass by having her paddle in the water. We hit a side current which nearly knocked me out of the canoe and nearly flipping us but she had her paddle in the water and I felt the force or her counter action stable the canoe. I though for sure we were going for a swim. I had people upstream say “ooooooo close one”

After about three or four stops along the way we came to a water falls on river left. We pulled the canoe in on river right for lunch. This was a great spot for lunch for there was a big dry field sheltered from the wind. The sun without the wind felt warm and we enjoyed a lot of laughs with these first time canoe partners. George proved himself to be a great outdoor cook as well and a canoe men, joke teller and rescuer. The salmon he cooked was incredible.

After lunch we moved on down river. We stopped at a camp where many people were socializing. A canoe came down the river and didn’t make the turn. It hit a rock and dumped its cargo and captains into the cold water. One girl had trouble getting to shore. Brianna had to go help drag her to shore. After looking at the injury, it appeared her leg was broken. After getting her comfortable and there were lots of people there to help we pushed our canoe to the rapids and continued our trip.

Brianna navigated her way down stream to the takeout on the Sanatorium road. At the takeout, there were about 1000 people partying. The major event was the mud bogging. Big truck and 4 wheelers cracked their engines wide opened through the deep mud holes. Much of the field was muddy so there were drunken people slipping and doing face plants.

It was about 07:45 when we finally got back to Riverview. We unpacked and sorted the gear and bid farewell to our canoing partners.

Brianna missed her soccer tryouts but she had a good time and was tired so she jumped in the shower and shortly thereafter headed to bed.

It was Brianna’s first voyage of type. Hopefully there will be many more and hopefully she will cherish these trips like I do.

Pre fishing season thoughts

2008-03-02T09:47:00.001-08:00

I sit on dinner break at work. We are experience the end of another one of our many snow storms this winter. Damien and I never got together to go fishing last summer. We are both so busy that cooridinating the time is not easy. Our day is coming old boy. Don't you worry! Until then I will just keep tying flies and will make sure I won't sell them all.

The salmon are holding in their winter homes under the ice of the upper reaches of various Maritime rivers including the Miramichi. The salmon have their privacy spawning this winter. The ice and snow is protecting them from most preditors. With the incredible amount of snow this winter, it certainly looks like we are going to have high water levels for the early part of the coming season. Time will tell.

Canoe Flipping

2008-02-12T03:05:00.000-08:00

In early summer of 2001 a three day canoing/fishing trip was the cure for the long ache of a cold wet spring. The canoes we used for most of our upper Miramichi fishing trips were 21 foot freighters. They were stable and we grew to trust them. Marvin, Damien and Scott were in one canoe floating over a deep hole. Damien spotted some big trout and when the other two inexperience canoe men decided to lean over the same side to see the fish, the canoe flipped. Denis and I were upstream about 200 yards. We had a good view of their pitiful faces as we glided passed. A site for sore eyes alright. They sat in the canoe filled with water, their fishing rods and gear floating around. They were wet, cold and Damien’s pride was hurt. He repeatedly commented on how he never flipped a canoe in 20 years. I suppose some would say it was crewel of Denny and I to start laughing at them. After we recovered our breath from laughter, we helped dump the water out of the canoe and gather the gear and beer. Damien’s two week old cell phone which he bought at a cost of $500.00 was sitting on the river's bottom. I am not sure where all the fishing tackle came from but there seemed to be a fair amount of it floating down the river.

Salmon

2008-02-12T03:04:00.000-08:00

When the leaves fall from the trees in fall, the salmon settle into their new home on the upper reaches of the rivers. There they spawning and house themselves under the shield of the winter’s ice. In spring they head down river to the ocean and feed for the summer. They make their way to the coast of Green Land and back to the very spot where they were hatched. On the way down the river these fish are easier to catch. Being a guide I can take you to these incredible fish. I practice catch and release and try to capture the salmon, take a picture and release it back in its realm as quickly as possible. A speedy capture and release help ensure the fish’s survival on its journey to Greenland. Maybe next year you will catch it again after it gains 20 pounds.

A Shot in the Dark in the Summer of 2000

2007-11-09T05:50:00.000-08:00

We arrived at Jewel’s house (Damien’s father) in Juniper in the middle of the afternoon. Damien’s family and friends gathered around the yard. The yard became dotted with old fast cars and big trucks which seem to be a big favorite in these parts of New Brunswick. A few beers and a bit a whiskey was had and plans were being discussed of getting up early and heading up river. Denny, Damien’s cousin, showed up excited about all the fish at one of our favorite pools upstream. Learning of the fish excited us to the point where we decided to head up river that night. It was a about a 3 hour trip in the dark. The dark and the rocks and the shallows were bad enough, but the bats swooping at us was the real challenge. I didn’t think Damien was scared of anything but trapped in a canoe having to pole over the shallow rapids in the dark with 500 bats touching your hair proved to be the real challenge. As Damien swung the boat pole wildly at the bats, the boat lost its position in the current and floated downstream and up against the bank. I thought we were goner but somehow the canoe stayed upright. Loosing the gear in the dark was not in the plans and I am glad we didn’t have to deal with that in our condition.

Deer Ville

2007-08-27T03:20:00.000-07:00

Spending time deep in the woods has its benefits in getting great nature pictures. This one was easy because the fawn was running along the highway near Sussex, N.B. I slowly drove beside him for 500 meters before he got discouraged from crossing the busy highway. Perhaps his plan was to reunite with his mother who may have been on the other side of the road.

Fishing

2007-07-26T15:36:00.000-07:00

I guided a friend of mine trout fishing the other day. Two hours under the spell of a tranquil evening fishing was just what the doctor ordered. We both released 5 to 7 nice pan trout, drank a beer and called it a day.

trout fishing

2007-07-26T15:34:00.000-07:00

Stopped at the upper reaches of the Concane River. In three minutes I had this fish on. He is 15 inches and 1.5 pounds. Nice fish. I think I will eat him soon.

Canada Day

2007-07-03T07:15:00.000-07:00

ON VACATION
It has been a great vacation. It started out with the Atlantics Soccer Tournament. Brianna is the keeper for the New Brunswick, under 16 team. The Atlantics tournament was here in Moncton on June 22,23,24. Brianna stayed in the hotel room with her team mates. We tied PEI and lost to the other provinces. Incredible competition indeed.

June 25 rolled around and Brianna had to get a vaccination for her China Trip and Brittany had an appointment with the Dentist. All was over and done with by 11:00 a.m. The car was packed the night before so we headed to Cape Breton.

In Cape Breton I visited my family, friends and in-laws. I went fishing every day and caught a few trout and a salmon. It certainly was good to be back on my old stomping grounds seeing some people I have not seen in awhile.

We headed back to Moncton on June 30th because B had a soccer game against the Dieppe women’s league. They won and B came up with big saves.

July 01 we headed to Halifax to celebrated Canada day. There they had a great concert, Nickel Back being the headlines. What a great concert with incredible fire works on stage that was part of the Nickelback show. Brianna and Brittany inched their way right to the front of the center stage. Did they ever have some stories to tell about their first big upfront center stage concert experience.

Yep! This vacation demanded lots of driving but the girls sence of humor, mostly led by Brittany’s craziness kept us entertained for what otherwise would have been a long journey.

July 02
We are back in Moncton. Last night’s fireworks were postponed due to weather. The girls, some of their friends, Sylvia and I decided to catch the belated show.

It is now July 03 and I am sorry to say I have only 3 days of vacation to go. Today Brianna has another soccer game and we have some running around to do for her China trip.

That’s all for now.

River Report April 30,2007

2007-04-30T17:00:00.000-07:00

Some areas of the Miramichi is reporting some very successfull spring salmon fishing. If you like catching salmon then you might find it worth braving the elements. One fishermen caught 22 salmon in one day this week. I bet he had a sore arm. Don't be jealous of this guy. Get your own sore arm. To get your own sore arm, visit our site www.lostcaper.com and book a tour from Moncton to the Miramichi. We take you to the fish.

visit other outdoor pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/Rays.Gonefishing/GoneFishing

Fishing Memories

2007-04-30T16:46:00.000-07:00

Through the years:

Through the later years of the 1990s and into 2001, Damien, Denis, Marvin, Craig and I traveled by canoe on various occasions on the upper reaches of the Main South West Miramichi. These three and four day trips are among our favorite memories. The trips came to a screeching halt when Marvin passed away, Damien moved to St. Stephens and Denis is now working out west. It is funny how thing can change so fast. To many memories do I have to list them all so I will post but a few on an ongoing, occasional manner.

The wait.

We sat in welcoming heat of spring not so patiently awaiting the expected phone call. Until Denny calls informing us that the trout are in the upper reaches North Branch of the Main South West Miramichi, Damien, Marvin and I hold tight and wait with great excitement. Reviewing gear requirements and envisioning our coming three day fishing trip only seem to intensify the agony of the wait. Denny usually waits until one of our comrades hooks a big one then in the midst of the excitement calls us on his cell. He knows the excitement is more then we can take so he can expect our arrival within a day or two.

The cell phone ring, a voice screaming “get the net” can be overheard from my lawn chair situated five feet from where Damien holds his cell phone to his ear. “Get the net” are those familiar words that are yelled with excitement to signify we hooked a big trout or maybe even a salmon. These words we grew to love for it is a symbol of our excitement and gives testament that the greatest game has begun.

As we load the supplies in the back of Damien’s green Ford truck I wonder how we are going to fit all this gear in two canoes. Damien is not worried about it. It is not that Damien has the space thing or anything else planned out; it is the fact that he does not really care and that is his way. He does not care if he even takes a sleeping bag, all he knows is we are going fishing and that’s all that matters. Nobody really expected him to live this long and I can see why. Damien hales from the Juniper area. He is a crazy one alright. It is guaranteed that going fishing with Damien, Marvin and Denny will make for a great time with a lot of laughs.

Final supplies are picked up at Lyon’s store and we continue our way up the 126 heading for the waters of the upper reaches of the Main South West Miramichi. The closer we get to the Miramichi the louder the music, the quicker we drink beer and the more we laugh. The release of our daily pressures is welcoming. My guilt for leaving my family for three days now subsides. My dreams now transform to reality; a joy that only a three day fishing trip with great friends can conjure.

Miramichi black salmon fishing.

2007-04-25T02:38:00.000-07:00

I visited the Miramichi on the weekend. There were still some chunks of ice left floating down the river. As expected, the ice melt and run off littered the river with debris and silt. Last week many salmon were trapped in the pools by the ice. Quarryville had a few fishermen who said they didn’t catch much, however they had their hopes held high for the moving of fishing by the end of the week. We will see what the end of this week brings.

The best time of the year to fish

2007-04-20T18:39:00.000-07:00

I get asked the question, when is the best time of year to fish and where. Here is my answer.

The Miramichi is made up of many different streams and rivers. Good fishing depends largely on when and what river you want to fish. Yes… July can be very good and the salmon are usually through much of the river system however there are some rivers that make up the Miramichi that does not have a run of salmon until fall. Example the Cains. So you think this is complicated; allow me to throw in the facts about the weather change. As we know the water levels have changed with the change in our weather. Once very predictable, the salmon would be at certain places in the river system at certain times of the year. The salmon has changed their habits. Last year a large amount of salmon made their way up river the first chance they got. It has been said by the elder local fishermen that they believe they are adjusting to the changes in the water levels and warmer temperature. For sure things are changing even for the salmon. In short if you want great salmon fishing it depends what time of year and where you go. Of course this is the Miramichi which is one of the best salmon fishing in the world so you should be able to find yourself some fish. Please note that if you fish for salmon in N.B. you require a guide. Feel free to visit my site www.lostcaper.com

Fishing in Snow Shoes

2007-04-15T18:12:00.000-07:00

I fished a few places in Albert County. The new rod and line worked great. I wasn't cold and there were no flies. Those darn April flies can carry you away.. lol.. I didn't catch anything worth talking about. It was however a little tricky getting to the river. I had to climbed over the clambers. The river itself was free of ice.

All in all I had a good day.

Fishing season is opening tomorrow

2007-04-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

Fishing season is opening tomorrow. It’s the final count down. Looking at the clock I will be fishing in 12 hours. After the long winter I am happy it’s here. Ice stills covers many of the pools. We had a very nasty spring. As a matter of fact the worst of the winter was the last couple of weeks where we had two of this winters worst snow storms. It remains cold but I am going to brave the elements and try a little fishing anyway. It’s not all about catching fish anyway. I wish you all the very best for the coming season.

Catfish

2007-04-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

This was emailed to me a few weeks ago. We don't have anything like this around here. I thought it would make for an interesting posting.

A Fish Story
>>A local resident in the area saw a ball bouncing around kind
>>
>>of strange in a nearby pond and went to investigate.
>>
>>It turned out to be a flathead catfish who had obviously
>>
>>tried to swallow a child's basketball which became stuck in its
mouth!!
>>
>>The fish was totally exhausted from trying to dive,
>>
>>but unable to because the ball would always bring him
>>
>>back up to the surface. The resident tried numerous times to
>>
>>get the ball out, but was unsuccessful. He finally had his
>>
>>wife cut the ball in order to deflate it and release the hungry
catfish.
>>
>>You probably wouldn't have believed this,
>>
>>if you hadn't seen the following pictures...
>>"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some
kind of
>>battle."

A Tribute to Atlantic Salmon

2007-04-14T04:37:00.000-07:00