By: Rick Greene
Trying to get ready for a show and deal with the aftermath of the accident last weekend made this week a bit of a challenge. Phil’s and Oleary’s both stepped up and got me back on the water so I could prefish a bit. It’s always easier to do a show if I have already located a few fish to break the ice.
I spent a couple of days on the Saint John River out of Woodstock and I found that it was still a bit of a tough bite but the fish were aggressive when you found them. The constant up and down of the water level this year might have them a bit messed up.
I met my guests, Premier David Alward and Minister of Natural Resources Bruce Northrup, on the highway at seven A.M. and we headed for Woodstock. Everyone was pumped up and eager to get on the water. Imagine my surprise when I pulled into the parking area at the ramp and found a whole line of trailers in the parking lot. Turns out the Fredericton Anglers Club had a scheduled tournament out of Woodstock. Now I am faced with the choice of going out on the water in the middle of an event or shifting locations. After a brief conference with our guests we headed back down river a bit and went to plan B. Prefish is now out the window because everything I had looked at was above Woodstock.
We all got a little wet as we launched the boat in the rain but it was warm and there was no wind. It was just a short run to where I decided to start and as luck would have it I must have stopped the boat right on the fish. The Premier fired a Blue Fox from the stern of the boat and before I got the trolling motor turned on he was into a fish. As smallies are prone to do, this one came unbuttoned part way back to the boat. It looked like I was going to be in for another day of getting beat up by my guests which makes for a great day on the water.
David wasn’t one bit deterred by losing that first fish because two casts later he was into another one and this one made it to the boat. I had started him off on the Blue Fox and Bruce with a Terminator Spinnerbait but after the fourth fish I decided to rig Bruce up with a Blue Fox as well. I handed him a rod with a Senko on it and he used that while I dug out another bait. He was into a fish before I got his other rod set. I think that we had eight fish in the boat in the first half hour. The fish were starting their move to fall spots because some of the areas that I thought should have held fish either had none or very few. We were on the move all day working a variety of spots and picking up fish along the way. We used the Blue Fox to cover water and Senkos, TriggerX Flutter Worms and a melon orange tube for a slower presentation. We caught fish on all of them.
There was a real sense of competition between my guests as they tormented each other most of the day. It wasn’t hard to tell that they were having fun catching fish and enjoying the day in some of New Brunswick’s most beautiful scenery. We commented several times during the day that we live where tourists come to spend their vacation. It doesn’t get any better than that.
We had worked shallow water for most of the day and at two o’clock I thought they might like a change of tactics and headed for deeper water. We idled around a bit until I located some deep fish on the Lowrance. I dropped a marker buoy beside the boat when I spotted the fish, shut the engine off and got out some drop shot gear. We were going vertical in 25 to 27 feet of water. These fish are not sophisticated by any stretch of the imaginations so finesse tackle wasn’t necessary. I gave David a Cumulus rod – Stradic reel combo rigged with 8lb Seige green mono and a green pumpkin Senko. A drop shot set up is tied with the hook above the sinker. In this case about sixteen inches or so. The fish looked fairly tight to the bottom around scattered balls of bait fish. You can see one of these big bait balls in the accompanying photos. David was into the deep fish before I got the other rod rigged for Bruce but it wasn’t long before they were both catching fish including several doubles. These fish were feeding up for fall and they weren’t shy about hitting five inch baits. We used some Senkos and TriggerX Flutter Worms rigged “wacky” style on 3/0 Gamakatsu hooks.
The drop shot action was fast and furious and we hated to leave but Premiers and Ministers have to work on weekends as they attend various functions and meetings around the Province and I had to have them off the water and back on the road by three. We reluctantly headed back for the ramp and got loaded up for the drive home.
You might wonder what it was like to spend a day in the boat with the Premier and a government Minister. I must admit I was a bit nervous going into this one but I shouldn’t have been. They are a pair of down to earth guys who enjoy the same things we all do. Friends, family, community and the sharing of our wonderful outdoor heritage. I had a lot of fun sharing the boat with them and I am sure they did as well.
Today’s gear: 6’6” Crucial and Compre Rods , 2500 Stadic FH Reels , Suffix Seige Green mono in 8lb test.
6’10 Cumlus Medium Action rod, 2500 Stradic CI4 reel, Suffix Seige Green mono
Number three Silver Blue Fox in line spinners
White Zoom Flukes
TriggerX Flutter Worms and Senkos
Rite Bite Melon Orange tubes
Gamakatsu Hooks
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