Book now! Sturgeon Season is almost here!

As we move into September, we get into my favorite time of the year... Sturgeon Season!  Any week now I'll be starting my regular weekend outings to the Kennebecasis River to fish for not only sturgeon but also the odd huge striped bass.    The fishing for sturgeon is also great in the Spring as the river first thaws, but that season only lasts for a few weeks.   We have a few months to look forward to here now!

Last year I had the pleasure of guiding groups of eager anglers, young and old, out on the river every single weekend through the Fall as they searched for their first dinosaurs.   There were only a few days where the anglers didn't land fish, and that was typically on days we ran into poor weather.   But for the vast majority of people who came out, several sturgeon, sometimes exceeding 4 feet in length, were landed!

Last year in August, one of the first sturgeon was caught by 10 year old John as seen in this video.   It was fantastic to be able to watch this young man handle himself like a experienced pro in catching his first sturgeon.   Hopefully I'll be able to help a few more young anglers do the same thing this year!

Here are a few more pictures of some of the sturgeon that were caught last year by my guided fishing clients.   If this is an adventure which you would like to try, or if you know someone who may like to do it, please consider contacting me.   Space is limited so best to book early, already nearly half of my Fall is booked up.

I will provide a top of the line kayak, all the fishing gear necessary, life jackets,...etc.   You just need to show up, dressed appropriately for the weather (ideally with a waterproof outer layer) and be ready to have fun.    You don't even need a fishing license as we operate in tidal waters!

The price for this adventure is just $100 per person for a half day (about 4 hours on the water) or $175 for a full day (about 8 hours on the water).   You cannot get this type of entertainment for that price anywhere else!

Also, at no extra charge, I will bring a couple of GoPro cameras as well as a quality Nikon camera to capture video and stills so that you have footage to share the memories with others!  

So contact me today at 506-650-0395 or joetilley76@hotmail.com and book your guided kayak fishing adventure for shortnose sturgeon today!

A 100 Fish day!

Yesterday a group of us went out to Black's Harbour to see if we could catch a few mackerel.   They have been running in the past few weeks, and uncertain of how much longer they may be around, we were hoping to run into a few schools.

Two weeks prior I was out with my friends Craig and John and we had a great time catching somewhere north of 100 fish between us, several times hooking 5 at a time.    So what would today have in store?

Turns out the fishing was even better!   Between 6 people in kayak, three of us caught 100 or more fish, while the others all caught a decent number of mackerel as well.   Unlike a few weeks back when our fishing was based on following the numerous boils all throughout the harbour, yesterday the fish were in deeper water and we had to look around before we struck upon them.   But when we did find them, the action was fantastic.

14 inch mackerel, my biggest to date

The minimum retention size for Mackerel in our waters is I believe is a touch over 10 inches, but I am not 100% certain, it may be 11 inches.    Finding a clear and concise set of salt water fishing regulations is next to impossible in these parts.   (Edit:  A friend pointed me to this link:   http://www.inter.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Maritimes/Recreational-Fisheries/Groundfish)

Most of the fish we were catching were in the 9 inch range, so most went back in the water.   I did manage to catch about 15 - 18 definate keeper sized mackerel though, some as large as 14 inches!   Those I didn't share with a few of the other kayakers, I'll be serving for dinner tonight for the family.

In addition to the 90 or so mackerel that I caught, I landed and released 6 small cod fish.   The biggest one was 14 inches long, definitely a different species of tommy cod fish than we catch up in sturgeon alley which may only ever get to 7 or 8 inches.    I also caught 5 smelt, 3 pollock, 1 small sculpin and 1 herring.   Put them all together and I am over the century mark for fish landed in the kayak in one trip for the first time!

Seagull making off with one of my smelt!

This was likely my last trip out into the Bay of Fundy this year, as I still haven't been able to find time to fish reversing falls for stripers this year.   That is my plan for next weekend.   Then in just a couple of weeks, I'll be taking people out for guided sturgeon fishing trips which will last right up till the rivers freeze over in December.