Doing Stuff Outdoors-98

Today we're going bass fishing on the St. John River in New Brunswick.  Here a print story that Gary wrote about the adventure:

Years ago when the kids were younger I took them fishing. We went under the Nerepis Bridge and on my first cast I caught a nice bass. That was the last bass I pulled from the river until this summer. I recently had the chance to so some serious bass fishing with a pair of tournament anglers from the New Brunswick Sportfishing Association. Dennis Sennett lives in Grand Bay-Westfield and is the vice-chair of the organization. Bert Beek is the chair and he lives in Ripples.

First of all, bass are not native to new Brunswick. The species was introduced years ago and they're thrived. Now we have one of the best sport fisheries for smallmouth bass around. Tournament fishing isn't as big here as it is in the United States but it is very competitive. In fact some top prizes go as high as $10,000.

Bert and Dennis spend most of their weekends fishing in tournaments but on this day we were just out for some fun fishing. We met Bert in Oromocto and loaded our gear into his 18 foot Crestliner. We tried a few spots along the river including the mouth of the Nashwaak River in Fredericton. The fishing wasn't terrific but we all managed to catch a few fish, even though Dennis was a little slow off the start.

"Smallmouth are one of the most fun fish to catch," says Dennis. "I've fished for salmon and trout but if you catch a 3 or 4 pound bass it beats salmon." Bert calls fishing his way of relaxing. "You get away from everything, all the struggles of daily life," says Bert. "It's calm and quiet and gives you a chance to be among friends and tell fishing stories."

And every angler has a story. Bert says one day last year he and his father caught over a hundred bass in a tournament. It's always 'catch and release' and the top five biggest fish win. But Dennis says you don't need to be in a tournament with a fancy bass boat to enjoy fishing. Just drop a line anywhere you can and enjoy.

The River Valley has many great fishing spots. Some anglers have a lot of luck just fishing off the Westfield Wharf or where I caught that bass by the Nerepis Bridge. Further up river the fishing is great around Gagetown, especially if you can get in a canoe and paddle around some of the islands. If, like me, you haven't gone fishing in a few years, why not give it a try this summer. After all, as Bert says, a bad day on the water is better than a good day at work.

Music on the show by Bill Kahler. Email in your comments and summer outdoor adventures to [e-mail].