Fishing The Northern U.s. And Canada

[ozark trout fisher]

I just got back from a long trip across the northern US and Canada. I decided to drive into Canada at Port Huron, and drive across the southern part of Canada looking for places to fish. In this, I was pretty dissapointed, as the majority of the drive seemed to be through big cities, as opposed to countryside. I did, however, find a nice spot on the St. Lawrence River, where I stopped and caught a couple smallies. I didn't find any of those Canadian brook trout streams I was hoping to. The fishing got better almost instantly after crossing back into the states south of Montreal. I drove through the mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire, and managed to find a few pretty brooks there. Two of the the three I tried didn't produce, but I did managed to catch a few pretty 5 to 9" brookies in the last one I tried (this one was in central New Hamphshire, in a particularly mountainous and beautiful area) , using a size 14 Elk hair Caddis on my 6 weight. The water was pretty warm everywhere in the other two brooks, which could explain the poor fishing. Wet wading wasn't really even uncomfortable, which is a bad sign.

Finally, I arrived at the place I decided to stay a few miles from York, Maine, at about midnight (stopping to fish can explain the late arrival). The next morning, I went out on the surf, and went fishing with my 8 weight that I bought specifically for this trip (I decided to not bring the spinning rods on this one, just to see how I could do). I fished all day, with not a single tap. Finally, late in the evening on a rising tide, i tied on a 2/0 Clouser Minnow. On my first cast, the line went tight, and I was on with a heavy fish. It took a while, but I finally brought the 20" striper to shore (he was released unharmed.)

The next morning, I went out on the charter boat. This was the one day that I wouldn't be fly fishing on this trip. The guide provided tackle. We used a three way rig, with a full 24 ounces of weight. The guide took us out to 300 feet of water, and we got to fishing. We were fishing on the bottom with cut clam. The catch was pretty good, with a nice mix of Haddock and Atlantic Cod, as well as more dogfish than you can count. I released the cod, but brought home one haddock to eat. Make no mistake, reeling a 5 pound fish up 300 feet with 2 pounds of weight already attached is hard work. I once timed how long it took to reel up without a fish on the end, and it took a hair over five minutes. Of course it took signicantly longer when I actually hooked up. The next day, I went fishing in the tidal York River, where I managed to catch one more small striper, also on the clouser. A guy fishing near me caught one that measured 48", using cut herring.

As for pictures....Tried to take pictures of Niagara falls just a little too close on the way home, and the camera didn't survive the mist .

[Danoinark]

Sounds like a dream trip. Thanks for the posting.

Dano

[ozark trout fisher]

Sounds like a dream trip. Thanks for the posting.

Dano

It was a lot of fun.

[KCRIVERRAT]

Bet you saw a lot of beautiful country fisher. Did you go by yourself?

[ozark trout fisher]

Bet you saw a lot of beautiful country fisher. Did you go by yourself?

It was a lot of beautiful country,especially around Vermont and New Hampshire. I did go by myself.

The only problem whatsoever, is that it was a bit more touristy than I was expecting around York, Maine. The good news is, lobster is only 4.99 a pound up there

[smallmouthjoe]

To be in the middle of beautiful country by yourself. That's my idea of a perfect trip.

[ozark trout fisher]

To be in the middle of beautiful country by yourself. That's my idea of a perfect trip.

mine too.