Along with might I say a quite exciting striped bass fishery. New Brunswick also has an excellent and super fun smallmouth and pickerel fishing experience to have. Which I was lucky enough to enjoy for the first time earlier this year in the Woodstock area!
I've seen many, many striped bass shows over the years. Fly fishing is relatively new, for stripers, as compared to other types. I'm originally from the U.S. where fly fishing for striper was almost non-existent until the past 15 years or so. I can truthfully say that this show is by far the best I've seen while using fly rods. Rob Heal is outstanding with the fly rod, and Steve Delaney, in my humble opinion, is the best striper guide in New Brunswick. My wife and I, have previously caught personal bests with Steve. Rob lost a couple of really big fish, which I would have loved to see, but barbless hooks make it a fair fight, and I'm all for that. Congrats to Rob and Steve, on a really entertaining show. I'd also highly suggest booking a trip with Steve if you want that big tug on the end of your line.
Those stripers really pull hard. On my 10 weight with a CLA 5, drag at full, they still took line out! The place I fish is in Chandler in the Gaspesian peninsula. I like this place because I don't own a boat and fishing from shore is very easy.
Nothing against the fine fishing in Saint John but NFF needs to come do a Part II in the Miramichi watershed next May. From mid May until about the middle of June, Stripe Bass fishing is HOT. While many fish using soft baits, more and more people are coming to enjoy fly fishing for stripers. Cast and retrieve sand eel and baitfish imitations and even top water action on poppers after the spawn. So many fish concentrated in such a relatively small area makes for some amazing angling. Literally hookups practically every cast from 2-3lb schoolies up to the big guns in the 12-14lb range. Crazy on an 8 weight. We even have an annual Striper Cup at the end of May, coupled with the Rotary Ribfest. What more do you need?
11 wt seems to be a bit heavy for the size of the fish seen in the video. Although the current did look quite strong. The heaviest rod I’ve used was an 8wt for fish up to 27” in Maine estuaries and up to 20lbs in East Tennessee
The fish landed were mostly schoolies and under 15lb'ers, but typical size range is 15-25lb. We didn't have time to fish the incoming tide during the night nor another spot with very strong current, but I use 12wts with fighting foregrips to give us the ability to pull the bass out of the current a bit easier. I've used a friend's 14wt in the heavy current and it was by no means overkill on a mid 20lb striper. Without that fighting foregrip on the Orvis rods, Rob had a hard time lifting the big bass off the bottom and it cost us the bigger fish, especially after fighting a lot of fish and casting big flies on Sinking line all night, which would wear anyone out. We've hooked bass on spinning tackle that stripped 260yds of 50lb line off in no time while we're chasing at 10mph in the boat, so I'd rather be a bit overgunned than undergunned.
It’s funny when a pro suggests a guide for fishery I’ve been fishing alone since I was 12 (long before Canada’s ridiculous 16+ boating laws and boater safety cards).
MANY MANY MANY places hahhah any river from bouctouche up to cape tormentine , have stipped bass in them now ,, i fish for trout in these riers until mid may , then all of a sudden when your not catching any trout for a few days , you know the stripped bass have arrived try fishing at the wharf in bas cap pele ,by the westmorland fish processing plant, they have a exhaust pipe going into the ocean ,,,,, MONSTER strippers there ,, come over and catch them all ,,,, they are getting on my last nerve heheh
They had to edit all the cuss words out so there wasn't much left to use. I really gave it to Rob the entire trip. 😁🤣 "Set the $&*#ing Hook, Rob!!! It's not a $&# d@mn brook trout!" 😁 I'm not a big talking BS'er who loves the attention like some other guides. I only do shows to help bring some attention to our striper fishery in hopes that our governments will do more to both protect and enhance the fishery. It's like pulling teeth due to NB being a "salmon" province but that's changing with shows like this and the other shows Fishn Canada has done over the years in NB. Also Jeff Wilson's striper cup has been a huge draw to striper fishing in NB. I'm pretty easy going and my voice was starting to go due to stress etc at the time. Lucky I was even able to do the show as my wife nearly died a day before and was put in the ICU, all this only a day after being released from having the baby. What a stressful time due to Covid restrictions at the hospital as well. Rob and NFF crew did a great job putting up with me and making an excellent show of it and was glad to be a part of it.
If there was a strong wind, for sure but this was a lovely, still night and I wasn't concerned with it. Not a bad idea though to carry a pair of clear glasses if you're not overly comfortable with your casting. Valid point indeed.
While you may be exaggerating a little bit, I will agree that pound for pound, bluefish do fight harder, but they don't get near as big and are not nearly as sporting as striped bass. I've probably caught more bluefish than anyone else in Atlantic Canada in just one outing (since they're not common here) and got tired of catching them after 3-4hrs of non stop action. The other bluefish were attacking the fish that were hooked when attempting to steal the lure and I had to fill the front of the boat with mortally wounded blues. Gave most away to the mackerel anglers on the wharf who, for obvious reasons, weren't catching jack...nor Jacks! ha! This was well over 15 years ago and I haven't seen any since the year after.
Two words that will help this host land more fish. Strip set. He's losing all these fish because he's trout setting. Surprisingly the guide doesn't try to correct him.
No need to stripset in the heavy current on the swing with these fish. If it was slow current or surf, yes, strip set for sure. The river looks calm on the surface, but I will tell you, it's very strong and these bass are coming up, grabbing the fly and turning back down to the bottom...just tighten up on the line quick and the hook will hit home. Striped bass are notorious for bump testing or trying to stun their prey. I think a few of the missed hooksets were nothing more than a bass bumping the fly and getting stuck on the gillplate or outer lips...or getting a fly caught in the spines quickly as the bass attempted to "rake" it. The main problem turned out to be the flies Rob had brought didn't have stout enough hooks and were springing out or not digging into the boney mouth of these stripers. Definitely hooked well over 20 fish, maybe closer to 30 that night. I couldn't see the hooks due to the light from the camera blinding me unfortunately. Rob had brought some nice flies tied by a pal and they caught fish, so we kept rolling with them. That's night fishing and you have to carefully inspect everything in the light beforehand as one small detail is all it takes to lose fish. We met up at dusk and got on the water. When I fish at night, I use little to no light to keep our night vision sharp. Next day, the fish turned off due to seal activity and the full moon so we didn't get a chance to right that wrong with some other flies. I was hoping to get some big bass up river but the moon put an end to the bite there as well. Totally different fishing up river for stripers on the fly, much like muskie fly fishing, except it can sometimes be humanly impossible to get a fly moving fast enough to trigger a reaction strike, especially late summer/early fall when the water is still warm and bass are very active, yet still suspicious of artificial offerings. More follows than takers from big 20-40lb bass in shallow slow moving water that time of year. Night time and late fall turns things around in the fly Angler's favor for the fewer but bigger bass up river.
![[Live] : ONE 169 วันนี้!! "อนาโตลี vs อูมาร์"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IK3YZVWuFJg/mqdefault.jpg)
New Brunswick is known for mostly brook trout and salmon, its awesome seeing our other amazing fisheries getting recognition
Musky show coming next from NB!
Along with might I say a quite exciting striped bass fishery. New Brunswick also has an excellent and super fun smallmouth and pickerel fishing experience to have. Which I was lucky enough to enjoy for the first time earlier this year in the Woodstock area!
Great show! Thanks!
I've seen many, many striped bass shows over the years. Fly fishing is relatively new, for stripers, as compared to other types. I'm originally from the U.S. where fly fishing for striper was almost non-existent until the past 15 years or so. I can truthfully say that this show is by far the best I've seen while using fly rods. Rob Heal is outstanding with the fly rod, and Steve Delaney, in my humble opinion, is the best striper guide in New Brunswick. My wife and I, have previously caught personal bests with Steve. Rob lost a couple of really big fish, which I would have loved to see, but barbless hooks make it a fair fight, and I'm all for that. Congrats to Rob and Steve, on a really entertaining show. I'd also highly suggest booking a trip with Steve if you want that big tug on the end of your line.
Please be sure to tune in to The New Fly Fisher also. It's a really good and informative show.
Correction: People have been fly fishing for striped bass in the US for 50 years. It's been very popular for at least 30 years.
Thanks Stephen. And yes, Delaney is a great guy to fish with.
Steve is a great guy, he's always giving people tips on NB fishing forums and is super knowledgeable
that was way cool , the night action is amazing to watch
Very intriguing adventure I think I must do ....thanks for the introduction to night fly fishing...very nicely done thank you!!!
Glad you enjoyed it
Nice to see an Ozark boys fly being fished for stripers! Sluggo by Chad johnson!
Those stripers really pull hard. On my 10 weight with a CLA 5, drag at full, they still took line out! The place I fish is in Chandler in the Gaspesian peninsula. I like this place because I don't own a boat and fishing from shore is very easy.
Been waiting for this one. 😉
More to come!
Nothing against the fine fishing in Saint John but NFF needs to come do a Part II in the Miramichi watershed next May. From mid May until about the middle of June, Stripe Bass fishing is HOT. While many fish using soft baits, more and more people are coming to enjoy fly fishing for stripers. Cast and retrieve sand eel and baitfish imitations and even top water action on poppers after the spawn. So many fish concentrated in such a relatively small area makes for some amazing angling. Literally hookups practically every cast from 2-3lb schoolies up to the big guns in the 12-14lb range. Crazy on an 8 weight. We even have an annual Striper Cup at the end of May, coupled with the Rotary Ribfest. What more do you need?
We just returned from the Miramichi. It was outstanding!
@@robertheal261 was this for NFF or purely a pleasure trip?
@@granthendry1001 we shot a show.
@@robertheal261 Excellent! Any idea of release date?
@@granthendry1001 it will most likely be early 2023.
11 wt seems to be a bit heavy for the size of the fish seen in the video. Although the current did look quite strong. The heaviest rod I’ve used was an 8wt for fish up to 27” in Maine estuaries and up to 20lbs in East Tennessee
An 8wt would have handled any of the fish, but not the current, the lines and the flies.
The fish landed were mostly schoolies and under 15lb'ers, but typical size range is 15-25lb. We didn't have time to fish the incoming tide during the night nor another spot with very strong current, but I use 12wts with fighting foregrips to give us the ability to pull the bass out of the current a bit easier. I've used a friend's 14wt in the heavy current and it was by no means overkill on a mid 20lb striper. Without that fighting foregrip on the Orvis rods, Rob had a hard time lifting the big bass off the bottom and it cost us the bigger fish, especially after fighting a lot of fish and casting big flies on Sinking line all night, which would wear anyone out. We've hooked bass on spinning tackle that stripped 260yds of 50lb line off in no time while we're chasing at 10mph in the boat, so I'd rather be a bit overgunned than undergunned.
It’s funny when a pro suggests a guide for fishery I’ve been fishing alone since I was 12 (long before Canada’s ridiculous 16+ boating laws and boater safety cards).
Very nice video, except for the annoyingly loud music. Looks like a beautiful place with great striper fishing…….Thank you 👍🎣
Is there anywhere in southern NB that someone could fish for stripers on foot?
part of the miramichi you can in May for stripers
@@newflyfisher thank you
MANY MANY MANY places hahhah any river from bouctouche up to cape tormentine , have stipped bass in them now ,, i fish for trout in these riers until mid may , then all of a sudden when your not catching any trout for a few days , you know the stripped bass have arrived
try fishing at the wharf in bas cap pele ,by the westmorland fish processing plant, they have a exhaust pipe going into the ocean ,,,,, MONSTER strippers there ,, come over and catch them all ,,,, they are getting on my last nerve heheh
Steeve who the guide ? Tx
No mic for the guide?
They had to edit all the cuss words out so there wasn't much left to use. I really gave it to Rob the entire trip. 😁🤣 "Set the $&*#ing Hook, Rob!!! It's not a $&# d@mn brook trout!" 😁
I'm not a big talking BS'er who loves the attention like some other guides. I only do shows to help bring some attention to our striper fishery in hopes that our governments will do more to both protect and enhance the fishery. It's like pulling teeth due to NB being a "salmon" province but that's changing with shows like this and the other shows Fishn Canada has done over the years in NB. Also Jeff Wilson's striper cup has been a huge draw to striper fishing in NB.
I'm pretty easy going and my voice was starting to go due to stress etc at the time. Lucky I was even able to do the show as my wife nearly died a day before and was put in the ICU, all this only a day after being released from having the baby. What a stressful time due to Covid restrictions at the hospital as well.
Rob and NFF crew did a great job putting up with me and making an excellent show of it and was glad to be a part of it.
Would you recommend safety glasses?
If there was a strong wind, for sure but this was a lovely, still night and I wasn't concerned with it.
Not a bad idea though to carry a pair of clear glasses if you're not overly comfortable with your casting. Valid point indeed.
A 10 inch blue fish will fight as hard as 28 in stripper ,blue fish hands down will kick the crap out of strippers ,
Wow! I've caught my share bluefish, never a 10 incher, though. I feel that I may have missed out on something.
I caught tens of thousands of blue fish to 12 pounds and thousands of stripers, I'd say they are on par with each other.
While you may be exaggerating a little bit, I will agree that pound for pound, bluefish do fight harder, but they don't get near as big and are not nearly as sporting as striped bass. I've probably caught more bluefish than anyone else in Atlantic Canada in just one outing (since they're not common here) and got tired of catching them after 3-4hrs of non stop action. The other bluefish were attacking the fish that were hooked when attempting to steal the lure and I had to fill the front of the boat with mortally wounded blues. Gave most away to the mackerel anglers on the wharf who, for obvious reasons, weren't catching jack...nor Jacks! ha! This was well over 15 years ago and I haven't seen any since the year after.
Two words that will help this host land more fish. Strip set.
He's losing all these fish because he's trout setting. Surprisingly the guide doesn't try to correct him.
Yep. I need to work on that, but I'm getting there.
No need to stripset in the heavy current on the swing with these fish. If it was slow current or surf, yes, strip set for sure. The river looks calm on the surface, but I will tell you, it's very strong and these bass are coming up, grabbing the fly and turning back down to the bottom...just tighten up on the line quick and the hook will hit home. Striped bass are notorious for bump testing or trying to stun their prey. I think a few of the missed hooksets were nothing more than a bass bumping the fly and getting stuck on the gillplate or outer lips...or getting a fly caught in the spines quickly as the bass attempted to "rake" it. The main problem turned out to be the flies Rob had brought didn't have stout enough hooks and were springing out or not digging into the boney mouth of these stripers. Definitely hooked well over 20 fish, maybe closer to 30 that night. I couldn't see the hooks due to the light from the camera blinding me unfortunately. Rob had brought some nice flies tied by a pal and they caught fish, so we kept rolling with them. That's night fishing and you have to carefully inspect everything in the light beforehand as one small detail is all it takes to lose fish. We met up at dusk and got on the water. When I fish at night, I use little to no light to keep our night vision sharp. Next day, the fish turned off due to seal activity and the full moon so we didn't get a chance to right that wrong with some other flies. I was hoping to get some big bass up river but the moon put an end to the bite there as well. Totally different fishing up river for stripers on the fly, much like muskie fly fishing, except it can sometimes be humanly impossible to get a fly moving fast enough to trigger a reaction strike, especially late summer/early fall when the water is still warm and bass are very active, yet still suspicious of artificial offerings. More follows than takers from big 20-40lb bass in shallow slow moving water that time of year. Night time and late fall turns things around in the fly Angler's favor for the fewer but bigger bass up river.