weekend.
Tuesday July 17th, Fishing Report.
We seem to be in another heat wave. Although last week the forcast was for rain and cooler temperatures for this week we didn't get it. River temperatures are raising and water levels are dropping making the fishing slow. There have been a few reports of anglers hooking into Salmon but with the major cold water pools closed we are not hearing of much action on the river.
Last week we heard of a lot of sightings of Salmon moving up the river and quite a few happy anglers. (Myself included).The cold evenings we had made for good fishing in some pools. The fish are there but we need rain and cooler temperatures. Most of the anglers we are talking to are hoping for rain and cooler temperatures. Guess we will just have to wait this one out.
The Blackville Splash Down is this coming Saturday. (An annual canoe run put on by the Blackville Fire Dept.). This is a relaxing run in support of the Fire dept from Mouth of Cains to the Park in Blackville. This is a great event where locals and cottage owners along the river come together and enjoy the river. Will post if I hear more on the river. Enjoy the week.
Thursday July 12th, Fishing Report.
While some anglers are not seeing anything others are not having the same experience. Today was an example of fishing I have only personally experienced once before in the late 1980's when my father and I limited out with two Grilse each in 1 hour. What a run of Grilse we had that year in mid July?
Anyway, I want to tell of a fishing experience I had today in my report. An old friend Randall Connors has been at me all week to join him for a morning fish at his private pools in Upper Blackville. I had an opening this morning and when he called I took him up on his offer. This was fishing that I wouldn't have believed if I didn't witness seeing the Salmon and catching the Grilse that I did. After meeting at the old Connors family farm, putting his jet boat in, floating over some water, and exploring the river, we settled in for a fish. Mind you it is now 9:40 AM but Randall seemed to be in no hurry and told me he would limit me to 3 Grilse and 1 Salmon. I couldn't help to think this was a bit far fetched but at 9:42 AM I had my first Grilse on. This all seemed quite normal to him and he was quite excited as I could land the hook at any placement he would point too. (Something he commented that a lot of people he guides cannot do).He kept reminding me not to yank to hard when I felt a tug as it would pull the hook from the Salmons mouth. " Let them set the hook he would say".What an amazing guide that has made this pool an actual study. Sure enough ,I did what he kept reminding me not to do and lost my second Grilse after probably 10 casts. I retied my fly at this point and went back at it again with the enthusiasm of a team player wanting to impress his coach. This now became serious business for me as I could see my guide was an old hand at this and all I needed to do was listen and follow instructions. Sure to Randalls word I took three steps, made three casts, and at 10:02 AM I had released another Grilse. Not bad for 20 minutes of fishing in the late morning in a river with most of its major pools closed due to warm water conditions. (Todays water temperatures were 20C). We talked fishing, river conditions, conservation efforts, the fact that we are getting some good runs of Salmon and could it be because of the Greenland agreement, and I changed a fly. At approximately 11:00 AM Randall said" we should see these fish move out soon and fresh ones start coming in". I said " do they actually move at this time of day in these conditions"? Oh ya! We are going for a Salmon now. Around 11:30 we counted a mix of 7 Grilse and Salmon slowly move out of the pool. Randall was excited as he felt those fish would not take now and new ones would be coming in. I fished until 12:00 and we jumped in the boat and floated approximately 500 feet only to count 12 Salmon moving into the pool. We then motored up the river about a kilometer and floated back to the old Connors Farm and saw 3 small schools of Salmon moving upriver.
Over the last couple of days we had anglers coming into the Tackle Shop who were catching Salmon but with the major pools closed in the river we didn't pay much attention to their reports. After today I would have to say " A lesson learned for me".I caught and released 2 Grilse, lost 1, and witnessed 4 schools of salmon moving up the river at mid day. Not what I was expecting at all. What a great day of fishing.
Thanks Randall, I will always remember this fishing experience as one of the best I have ever had.
(Randall Connors is a local guide who often guides and leases his pools to Country Haven Lodge. No wander Country Haven anglers report hooking into so many Salmon).
Tuesday July 10th, Fishing Report.
Just a quick update. Yesterday morning we had quite a few anglers tell us the water temperatures were in the 70F range. This is good news, although the warm temperatures yesterday would probably bring the river temperatures back up again. We also heard the locals were seeing fresh runs of Salmon coming in during the evenings. Since this is happening the river temperatures must be reaching conditions which will allow the Salmon to start moving up the river.
The Miramichi Classic is on and after talking to quite a few of the participants yesterday we could determine the fishing is slow. Hopefully with fresh Salmon runs coming in and a cooler forcast for the next few days this will change. As I write this report I received a call from a land owner here on the lower section of the river who told me they have been catching Salmon and Grilse. He is also seeing fresh salmon coming into his pool but says they don't seem to be holding very long.
So to summarize, I would say water temperatures are still high, fishing is slow in most areas, fresh Salmon are being seen moving up the river, and the odd Salmon and
Grilse is being caught. Everyone is looking forward to cooler temperatures to bring the fishing back to normal. Hopefully this will happen soon.
Friday July 6th, Fishing Report.
Just looking at the weather forcast and it is calling for heavy thunder showers today. Somewhere in the range of 20 cm -30 cm of rain is expected. We know salmon are now laying in the cold water pools so this will help to relieve some of the stress on these fish. Our canoers are still reporting seeing salmon along the river in the mouth of brooks and springs. It has been quiet the last couple of days in regards to seeing salmon showing. The forcast of rain and cooler temperatures are a welcome to our river conditions.
Please note, the MIRAMICHI CLASSIC is starting Sunday and will be running into next week. This is a great fundraiser for MSA and all money raised goes back into our Miramichi River system. Much of the research required to convince governments and DFO to act on making changes to our salmon rivers is funded by these fundraisers, your memberships, donations, etc. There is a lot of things happening by MSA, ASF and other groups to save our precious salmon. Now that Greenland is settled the focus can turn to Bass, Smolt, etc.
As I write this report it has started to rain. Lets hope we get enough to turn our river conditions around. Tomorrow is cooler and with cooler evenings the river temperatures will drop. It should be a nice weekend on the river. Enjoy and be safe.
Wednesday July 4th, Fishing Report.
Just a quick update. Variation orders are being put in place starting tomorrow. 26 cold water pools will be closed until further notice. Salmon have been seen holding in these pools. (Please note: this does not mean the whole river system is closed. It is 26 pools across 5 rivers, Cains, Southwest Miramichi, Renous, Little Southwest and Northwest Miramichi rivers). Generally when the river temperatures go below 20C for 48 hours the pools will be opened . Temperatures are forcast to drop on Friday. Hopefully we will see this order dropped later in week or early next week. Will update as we hear more. You can check the DFO website at http://www.inter.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Gulf/FAM/Recreational-Fisheries
Monday July 2nd, Fishing Report.
With June behind us most of would say it was an interesting month on our local rivers. Most comments from anglers coming into the Tackle Shop were along these lines; it is cold for this time of year, why so much wind, good river levels for wading, we are seeing salmon jumping, hooked a nice one today, cain't seem to land one always losing them, lots of Bass around, and where are the trout? The early part of June really didn't have a lot of anglers out fishing due mainly to cold weather, wind and rain. By mid June it really picked up and with more salmon coming in more anglers were on the river. The last half of June was really noticeable as to how many salmon were in the river and being caught or seen. For most of those who had access to good fishing pools they were rewarded with some fine Salmon on the rod. We heard of many stories of Salmon being caught or lost almost on a daily bases during this part of June. Most of those who spent any amount of time on t
Tuesday October 10th River Report.
Well, the home stretch is upon us for another angling season. We experienced a slow down with the fishing since Saturday, then last night it picked up and was quite good. Today it seems to have slowed down again. This may be due to the amount of rain we received on the river. The rivers have been raising so we may see a change until they level off and start dropping. That should happen today or tomorrow. It looks like we will have nice water conditions to the end of the week and with our Fall colors at their best it will be a nice time to be on the river. This is definitely a favorite time for a lot of anglers to be on the river.
On another, note we are hearing of large numbers of Striped Bass being caught in the rapids on the lower section of the river. One outfitter reported catching 40 Bass last night. Will update when we hear more.
Saturday, October 7th River Report.
We continue to hear of good fishing this week from anglers coming into the shop. Quite a few large salmon are being taken on small patterns. We have heard of 4 salmon between 30-40 lbs hooked and released this week here on the lower section of the Miramichi. Should hear more today as a lot of the clubs and lodges will have a turn over of new anglers and quite a few anglers stop by the store before leaving. Will post an update as soon as I hear more.
Tuesday ,September 26th River Report.
Today Norma commented to me that something interesting has finally started to happen with the anglers choices of fly patterns. Even with the weather as warm as it is we are seeing a shift in salmon fly preference. Up to this week we hardly sold any Fall patterns, everything was summer patterns. The past couple of days though we have noticed Fall fly patterns being more popular. A few of our customers have taken salmon on General Practioners. Ally Shrimps, Sugarman shrimps and Red Francis flies.
The forecast is for rain over the next couple of days. Something to note; the trend we have seen with our low water conditions this summer is that after any rain at all the river seems to produce salmon here in the lower section of the river. It is usually for only a day or two. Really wish we had more rain in the forecast. It will be interesting to see if the fishing picks up with this bit of rain in the forecast. Will keep you posted.
Sunday, September 24th River Report.
Most of this week seemed to be slow for anglers. We didn't hear of many salmon caught. Then yesterday reports came in of anglers hooking into fish. Other reports of salmon jumping in the Chatham/Douglastown area along with sightings of fish showing up in small numbers moving into the tributaries. It seems as though there are fish moving into the river and some might be making their move into the tributaries. This may be happening regardless of the low water. Rain is in the forecast for this coming week though it seems to change on a daily bases. All we can do is hope for a good amount of rain. With that said ,it seems as though the fishing is picking up again. The Fall colors are becoming more obvious which makes for an even better fishing experience.
Monday, September 18th River Report.
Today and yesterday have been what the locals call on the river as, Salmon fishing weather. The past couple of days have been cloudy and not a heavy rain but a steady drizzle. Any rain is welcome as our rivers remain low. The fishing though is another interesting story. Many of the anglers coming into the tackle shop are commenting on the numbers of salmon they are seeing on the river. Along with that are fresh fish being caught that are very bright with sea lice on them. For some here in the lower section of the river it has been good fishing. The further up the river you go it seems to slow down. We will probably hear more in the next day or two on the fishing upriver. Most seem to agree that we are seeing some of the fall runs starting. Flies of choice have been the Preacher, Green Machine White Tail, Red Francis, and Blue Bombers.
Sunday, September 10th River Report.
The rain we were hoping for has finally arrived. It has made a noticeable difference in our rivers. By Friday afternoon you could see the river was raising. We could see the difference in 2 hours Friday evening as the river continued to raise. The best part was hearing salmon jumping and splashing after dark around 9:00PM.It was like the river started coming alive with the raise in water. All day Saturday we continued to hear from almost all anglers at the Tackle Shop of their experience in catching or losing salmon. Here in the Blackville area I would say the river is just a nice height. Still good for wading but much higher than what it was. Anglers are mostly using Green Machines, Bear Hairs, General Practitioners and Shrimp patterns.
Monday, September 4th River Report.
The question in the past couple of days we keep hearing is-are the Fall rains finally coming? The weather forecast is showing some significant rain for this coming week. If that happens we should see a much different river from what we have been getting used to by the end of this week. Most of the angling reports are of few fresh fish being caught with a majority of fish hooked and released being in the river for awhile. There is word of quite a few fresh fish showing further down in the system but they are holding. Generally a good rain will bring in more salmon and the older fish move on. September is always a favorite month for anglers as the fall salmon runs coincide with the fall colors and fishing is usually good. Another full moon is around the corner and with rain in the forecast things are looking up. The lodges and clubs are busy so a lot of anglers are back on the river. It should be interesting how this weeks angling develops.
Sunday August 27th River Report.
This week while at the cabin I noticed the first signs of leaves changing on some of the Maple trees. It is also noticeable how the temperature is changing, that first feeling of Fall is in the air. There is also a change in reports from anglers as to numbers of salmon hooked and released. A couple of lodges are finally reporting normal numbers of salmon hooked and logged and mostly bright fresh fish. One report today is of a lady limiting out this morning while a total of 11 salmon were hooked and released yesterday at that particular lodge. Others from further upriver reported hooking and releasing 3 grilse yesterday. This seems to be the normal conversations we are hearing today at the tackle shop. More anglers seem to be on the river and we will probably be hearing more of the same throughout the week. Fresh salmon have been moving into the river but few anglers have been around fishing. Now that we seem to have more anglers around we will have a better reading on the river. Flies of choice are Green Machine, Green Butt Bear Hairs, and Bombers.
Sunday August 20th River Report
The weekend has brought good news to the Miramichi. Some much needed rain has finally arrived. There is also more rain in the forecast for this coming week. Earlier in the week we had been hearing from anglers of fresh fish coming in.Prior to that the salmon resting in the cold water pools had mainly moved out with the odd one being caught. Since Friday the comments from anglers are that we have a lot of fresh fish here in the lower section of the river. They are jumping and showing all around them. Haven't heard from anyone upriver yet but, with the salmon moving they should be seeing more salmon too. Many of the anglers are confident that we will start seeing better fishing. Currently small flies have been the norm. Will post when certain patterns become popular.
Wednesday August 16th River Report
Angling is picking up since the opening of the cold water pools. I watched an angler hook and release a salmon this past Friday around 3:00 PM in the afternoon. It really surprised me as the day was quite warm. Since then we have been getting more anglers at the tackle shop commenting on hooking and releasing salmon. Yesterday a gentleman told us about hooking and releasing a large salmon fresh in from the ocean. He also commented on how silver and healthy a fish it was. The river remains low but the cooler evenings are keeping water temperatures down. Everyone along the river is commenting on how a good 4 day rain would really switch things up for the fishing.
Thursday August 9th Fishing Report.
DFO has reopened the cold water pool closures starting today. This should be the end of the pool closures for the season due to warm water as the forecast is now showing cooler evenings. Rain is also in the forecast for Friday and Saturday.With the full moon and better conditions we should start seeing good fishing in the next couple of days. Expect to see more anglers coming into the Tackle Shop so will have a better reading on the river soon.
Wednesday August 9th Fishing Report.
Cooler evening temperatures have really brought the river temperatures down. We should hear from DFO soon that the 26 cold water pools are reopened. Will post as soon as I hear anything.
On another note, CBSM has arranged for ASF to do a presentation this Thursday night at the salmon museum in Doaktown in regards to SMOLT mortality on the Miramichi. This is the first we will hear on the results of their study.Contact Bonnie on the CBSM website and let her know if you would like to attend.
Thursday August 3rd Fishing Report.
Warm weather over the past couple of days have once again created cold water pool closures on the Miramichi.(Check out the 26 cold water pool closures on the DFO website).This has been a much longer dry spell here in New Brunswick than what we normally would experience. That being said, be aware of the fire ban throughout the whole province.(No open pit fires are allowed at this time).The forecast is for cooler temperatures next week. There also seems to be a bit of rain in the forecast, hopefully this will improve the river conditions and bring the rivers back to normal fishing.
Tuesday August 1st Fishing Report.
With warm days and cool evenings anglers are finding early mornings and evenings seem to be most productive. The low water pools are producing quite well in places. We had a nice run of grilse since the cold water pools have reopened and they were taking quite well. The general comment is ,these grilse are healthy and of a larger size. Smaller hooks in sizes 8's and 10's are most popular. Fly's of choice are Blue Smirfs, Green Smirfs, Green Machines White Tails, Undertakers, Bear Hairs, and Blue Bombers.
Thursday July 27th Fishing Report.
Good news yesterday from DFO. All cold water pools as of today are now reopened. This strategy is working much better than in the past as the rivers are being closed and opened on a much better bases.(We used to be to late in closing the pools and to late reopening them. The time frame now is better for all concerned).Now to get word out that the river is open. Pass the word on to other anglers.
It is cloudy and cool here this morning on the Miramichi with a bit of rain in the forecast. An answer to our prayers.Yesterday we had reports at the Tackle Shop of a few salmon being caught. Quite a few anglers are out on the river, so things are picking up again. Enjoy the fishing.
Wednesday July 26th Fishing Report.
With our rivers being low and water temperatures high the fishing has been slow but great for canoeing. Here on the lower section of the Miramichi these conditions are always favourable for those wanting to be on the water in a canoe. A relaxing day with family and friends can be just what the doctor ordered.
We are starting to see river temperatures dropping and after giving the river a rest for a few days we are now seeing anglers back on the open waters again. Reports from these anglers are they are seeing the odd small run of salmon moving up the river. Most of the salmon are holding in the larger cold water pools. If temperatures remain as they are we should see all the river open again in another few days. Sure could use a few days of rain. This seems to be what is really needed to bring our river conditions back to normal.
Thursday July 20th Fishing Report
Starting today DFO has a warm water variation order in place. This does not mean the whole river system has been closed. They typically close the larger cold water holding pools. If you check out the DFO website or MSA website you will find the 26 brook closures throughout the whole Miramichi River system. Temperatures are forecast to drop starting tomorrow. The evenings will be cooling down and this will lower river temperatures within a few days. This is normal here on the Miramichi. Each year we get a heat wave during the warm part of our summer for 2-3 weeks that warms the rivers up and closures are put in place until the rivers cool down. We can expect fishing to be back to normal in a few days. As the river temperatures get back to normal we generally will start seeing the best of our fishing from now to end of season.
Wednesday July 19th Fishing Report
The forecast is showing cooler temperatures in another few days. Typically we get a couple of weeks in early July that are quite warm causing the rivers to drop and temperatures to rise. We should see a bump this coming weekend in that the salmon will start showing and taking better as the river gets back to normal temperatures. We need to be aware that when we have warm water conditions we should take the time to properly release our salmon as they need to be revived before releasing. ASF has a great video on this and it is well worth watching. I watched a gentleman Sunday night hook and land a grilse without a net and it has bothered me ever since. With no net we have to play a salmon much longer in order to tail it. These fish need to be revived or they will die. Throwing a salmon back in the river immediately after removing the hook is going to kill the salmon, especially after being played hard. Lets work to make sure all anglers understand this river etiquette. We need to protect this precious resource. Tight lines. Enjoy the river.
Saturday, July 15th Fishing Report
It is that time of year when our canoe rentals pick up and we get a pretty good reading here on the lower section of the Miramichi. All of our canoers this week reported seeing salmon jumping while paddling down the river. Yesterday I had a great opportunity to instruct two young gentleman (ages 11 and 13)from Labrador. We had a beautiful piece of water donated by a good friend with salmon jumping all around us. The enthusiasm of these youngsters was contagious as my friend and I found ourselves pulling every trick out of our arsenal we could find to get them a salmon. Seeing salmon was certainly a motivator for them to improve their casting. We all had a great time but could not entice a salmon to take. Most of the reports are of large salmon with the odd sighting of grilse. Anglers at the Tackle Shop are reporting hard fishing with few catches but are seeing salmon in the holding pools. All seem to enjoy being on the river, seeing salmon, hawks, eagles, and other wildlife. In general they all agree that a good rain would change things up quite fast.
Saturday, July 8th-Fishing Report
Just a quick update on the river. Today quite a few reports coming into the tackle shop were about the number of salmon coming up the river. It seems as though our larger salmon runs are beginning to come in. While waiting for canoeists to come off the river today I noticed quite a few salmon showing. It seems as though the run started last night and is continuing through today. Hopefully we will see more as this weekend is a full moon which some anglers believe can make a difference in the salmon coming up the river. With rain in the forecast this is all good news.
Tuesday, July 4th-Fishing Report
Reports from anglers over the weekend here on the lower section of the river seem to be quite consistent. In most cases they are seeing salmon and feel they are going through. Guides and property owners who are on the river each day are saying "for the last week there has been a steady run of fish up the river". A number of comments seem to be the same in that they are rolling fish, hooking and losing fish, with the odd one being landed. Further up the river though they seem to be taking better with more successful landings. The larger pools seem to have salmon holding with a reasonable number of salmon hooked and landed and a lot of salmon showing.
Flies of choice are Samething Murray, Yellow Butterfly, Green Machines, and Natural Bombers.
On another note, some of the anglers are reporting catches of striped bass and shad. In fact a few anglers are only catching striped bass but are seeing salmon jumping.
Now that we are getting into July it shouldn't be long before the larger runs come in and start holding up in the smaller pools along the river. With the ice flows off Newfoundland some people feel our larger salmon runs will be a bit later.
Tuesday July 17th, Fishing Report.
We seem to be in another heat wave. Although last week the forcast was for rain and cooler temperatures for this week we didn't get it. River temperatures are raising and water levels are dropping making the fishing slow. There have been a few reports of anglers hooking into Salmon but with the major cold water pools closed we are not hearing of much action on the river.
Last week we heard of a lot of sightings of Salmon moving up the river and quite a few happy anglers. (Myself included).The cold evenings we had made for good fishing in some pools. The fish are there but we need rain and cooler temperatures. Most of the anglers we are talking to are hoping for rain and cooler temperatures. Guess we will just have to wait this one out.
The Blackville Splash Down is this coming Saturday. (An annual canoe run put on by the Blackville Fire Dept.). This is a relaxing run in support of the Fire dept from Mouth of Cains to the Park in Blackville. This is a great event where locals and cottage owners along the river come together and enjoy the river. Will post if I hear more on the river. Enjoy the week.
Thursday July 12th, Fishing Report.
While some anglers are not seeing anything others are not having the same experience. Today was an example of fishing I have only personally experienced once before in the late 1980's when my father and I limited out with two Grilse each in 1 hour. What a run of Grilse we had that year in mid July?
Anyway, I want to tell of a fishing experience I had today in my report. An old friend Randall Connors has been at me all week to join him for a morning fish at his private pools in Upper Blackville. I had an opening this morning and when he called I took him up on his offer. This was fishing that I wouldn't have believed if I didn't witness seeing the Salmon and catching the Grilse that I did. After meeting at the old Connors family farm, putting his jet boat in, floating over some water, and exploring the river, we settled in for a fish. Mind you it is now 9:40 AM but Randall seemed to be in no hurry and told me he would limit me to 3 Grilse and 1 Salmon. I couldn't help to think this was a bit far fetched but at 9:42 AM I had my first Grilse on. This all seemed quite normal to him and he was quite excited as I could land the hook at any placement he would point too. (Something he commented that a lot of people he guides cannot do).He kept reminding me not to yank to hard when I felt a tug as it would pull the hook from the Salmons mouth. " Let them set the hook he would say".What an amazing guide that has made this pool an actual study. Sure enough ,I did what he kept reminding me not to do and lost my second Grilse after probably 10 casts. I retied my fly at this point and went back at it again with the enthusiasm of a team player wanting to impress his coach. This now became serious business for me as I could see my guide was an old hand at this and all I needed to do was listen and follow instructions. Sure to Randalls word I took three steps, made three casts, and at 10:02 AM I had released another Grilse. Not bad for 20 minutes of fishing in the late morning in a river with most of its major pools closed due to warm water conditions. (Todays water temperatures were 20C). We talked fishing, river conditions, conservation efforts, the fact that we are getting some good runs of Salmon and could it be because of the Greenland agreement, and I changed a fly. At approximately 11:00 AM Randall said" we should see these fish move out soon and fresh ones start coming in". I said " do they actually move at this time of day in these conditions"? Oh ya! We are going for a Salmon now. Around 11:30 we counted a mix of 7 Grilse and Salmon slowly move out of the pool. Randall was excited as he felt those fish would not take now and new ones would be coming in. I fished until 12:00 and we jumped in the boat and floated approximately 500 feet only to count 12 Salmon moving into the pool. We then motored up the river about a kilometer and floated back to the old Connors Farm and saw 3 small schools of Salmon moving upriver.
Over the last couple of days we had anglers coming into the Tackle Shop who were catching Salmon but with the major pools closed in the river we didn't pay much attention to their reports. After today I would have to say " A lesson learned for me".I caught and released 2 Grilse, lost 1, and witnessed 4 schools of salmon moving up the river at mid day. Not what I was expecting at all. What a great day of fishing.
Thanks Randall, I will always remember this fishing experience as one of the best I have ever had.
(Randall Connors is a local guide who often guides and leases his pools to Country Haven Lodge. No wander Country Haven anglers report hooking into so many Salmon).
Tuesday July 10th, Fishing Report.
Just a quick update. Yesterday morning we had quite a few anglers tell us the water temperatures were in the 70F range. This is good news, although the warm temperatures yesterday would probably bring the river temperatures back up again. We also heard the locals were seeing fresh runs of Salmon coming in during the evenings. Since this is happening the river temperatures must be reaching conditions which will allow the Salmon to start moving up the river.
The Miramichi Classic is on and after talking to quite a few of the participants yesterday we could determine the fishing is slow. Hopefully with fresh Salmon runs coming in and a cooler forcast for the next few days this will change. As I write this report I received a call from a land owner here on the lower section of the river who told me they have been catching Salmon and Grilse. He is also seeing fresh salmon coming into his pool but says they don't seem to be holding very long.
So to summarize, I would say water temperatures are still high, fishing is slow in most areas, fresh Salmon are being seen moving up the river, and the odd Salmon and
Grilse is being caught. Everyone is looking forward to cooler temperatures to bring the fishing back to normal. Hopefully this will happen soon.
Friday July 6th, Fishing Report.
Just looking at the weather forcast and it is calling for heavy thunder showers today. Somewhere in the range of 20 cm -30 cm of rain is expected. We know salmon are now laying in the cold water pools so this will help to relieve some of the stress on these fish. Our canoers are still reporting seeing salmon along the river in the mouth of brooks and springs. It has been quiet the last couple of days in regards to seeing salmon showing. The forcast of rain and cooler temperatures are a welcome to our river conditions.
Please note, the MIRAMICHI CLASSIC is starting Sunday and will be running into next week. This is a great fundraiser for MSA and all money raised goes back into our Miramichi River system. Much of the research required to convince governments and DFO to act on making changes to our salmon rivers is funded by these fundraisers, your memberships, donations, etc. There is a lot of things happening by MSA, ASF and other groups to save our precious salmon. Now that Greenland is settled the focus can turn to Bass, Smolt, etc.
As I write this report it has started to rain. Lets hope we get enough to turn our river conditions around. Tomorrow is cooler and with cooler evenings the river temperatures will drop. It should be a nice weekend on the river. Enjoy and be safe.
Wednesday July 4th, Fishing Report.
Just a quick update. Variation orders are being put in place starting tomorrow. 26 cold water pools will be closed until further notice. Salmon have been seen holding in these pools. (Please note: this does not mean the whole river system is closed. It is 26 pools across 5 rivers, Cains, Southwest Miramichi, Renous, Little Southwest and Northwest Miramichi rivers). Generally when the river temperatures go below 20C for 48 hours the pools will be opened . Temperatures are forcast to drop on Friday. Hopefully we will see this order dropped later in week or early next week. Will update as we hear more. You can check the DFO website at http://www.inter.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Gulf/FAM/Recreational-Fisheries
Monday July 2nd, Fishing Report.
With June behind us most of would say it was an interesting month on our local rivers. Most comments from anglers coming into the Tackle Shop were along these lines; it is cold for this time of year, why so much wind, good river levels for wading, we are seeing salmon jumping, hooked a nice one today, cain't seem to land one always losing them, lots of Bass around, and where are the trout? The early part of June really didn't have a lot of anglers out fishing due mainly to cold weather, wind and rain. By mid June it really picked up and with more salmon coming in more anglers were on the river. The last half of June was really noticeable as to how many salmon were in the river and being caught or seen. For most of those who had access to good fishing pools they were rewarded with some fine Salmon on the rod. We heard of many stories of Salmon being caught or lost almost on a daily bases during this part of June. Most of those who spent any amount of time on t
Tuesday October 10th River Report.
Well, the home stretch is upon us for another angling season. We experienced a slow down with the fishing since Saturday, then last night it picked up and was quite good. Today it seems to have slowed down again. This may be due to the amount of rain we received on the river. The rivers have been raising so we may see a change until they level off and start dropping. That should happen today or tomorrow. It looks like we will have nice water conditions to the end of the week and with our Fall colors at their best it will be a nice time to be on the river. This is definitely a favorite time for a lot of anglers to be on the river.
On another, note we are hearing of large numbers of Striped Bass being caught in the rapids on the lower section of the river. One outfitter reported catching 40 Bass last night. Will update when we hear more.
Saturday, October 7th River Report.
We continue to hear of good fishing this week from anglers coming into the shop. Quite a few large salmon are being taken on small patterns. We have heard of 4 salmon between 30-40 lbs hooked and released this week here on the lower section of the Miramichi. Should hear more today as a lot of the clubs and lodges will have a turn over of new anglers and quite a few anglers stop by the store before leaving. Will post an update as soon as I hear more.
Tuesday ,September 26th River Report.
Today Norma commented to me that something interesting has finally started to happen with the anglers choices of fly patterns. Even with the weather as warm as it is we are seeing a shift in salmon fly preference. Up to this week we hardly sold any Fall patterns, everything was summer patterns. The past couple of days though we have noticed Fall fly patterns being more popular. A few of our customers have taken salmon on General Practioners. Ally Shrimps, Sugarman shrimps and Red Francis flies.
The forecast is for rain over the next couple of days. Something to note; the trend we have seen with our low water conditions this summer is that after any rain at all the river seems to produce salmon here in the lower section of the river. It is usually for only a day or two. Really wish we had more rain in the forecast. It will be interesting to see if the fishing picks up with this bit of rain in the forecast. Will keep you posted.
Sunday, September 24th River Report.
Most of this week seemed to be slow for anglers. We didn't hear of many salmon caught. Then yesterday reports came in of anglers hooking into fish. Other reports of salmon jumping in the Chatham/Douglastown area along with sightings of fish showing up in small numbers moving into the tributaries. It seems as though there are fish moving into the river and some might be making their move into the tributaries. This may be happening regardless of the low water. Rain is in the forecast for this coming week though it seems to change on a daily bases. All we can do is hope for a good amount of rain. With that said ,it seems as though the fishing is picking up again. The Fall colors are becoming more obvious which makes for an even better fishing experience.
Monday, September 18th River Report.
Today and yesterday have been what the locals call on the river as, Salmon fishing weather. The past couple of days have been cloudy and not a heavy rain but a steady drizzle. Any rain is welcome as our rivers remain low. The fishing though is another interesting story. Many of the anglers coming into the tackle shop are commenting on the numbers of salmon they are seeing on the river. Along with that are fresh fish being caught that are very bright with sea lice on them. For some here in the lower section of the river it has been good fishing. The further up the river you go it seems to slow down. We will probably hear more in the next day or two on the fishing upriver. Most seem to agree that we are seeing some of the fall runs starting. Flies of choice have been the Preacher, Green Machine White Tail, Red Francis, and Blue Bombers.
Sunday, September 10th River Report.
The rain we were hoping for has finally arrived. It has made a noticeable difference in our rivers. By Friday afternoon you could see the river was raising. We could see the difference in 2 hours Friday evening as the river continued to raise. The best part was hearing salmon jumping and splashing after dark around 9:00PM.It was like the river started coming alive with the raise in water. All day Saturday we continued to hear from almost all anglers at the Tackle Shop of their experience in catching or losing salmon. Here in the Blackville area I would say the river is just a nice height. Still good for wading but much higher than what it was. Anglers are mostly using Green Machines, Bear Hairs, General Practitioners and Shrimp patterns.
Monday, September 4th River Report.
The question in the past couple of days we keep hearing is-are the Fall rains finally coming? The weather forecast is showing some significant rain for this coming week. If that happens we should see a much different river from what we have been getting used to by the end of this week. Most of the angling reports are of few fresh fish being caught with a majority of fish hooked and released being in the river for awhile. There is word of quite a few fresh fish showing further down in the system but they are holding. Generally a good rain will bring in more salmon and the older fish move on. September is always a favorite month for anglers as the fall salmon runs coincide with the fall colors and fishing is usually good. Another full moon is around the corner and with rain in the forecast things are looking up. The lodges and clubs are busy so a lot of anglers are back on the river. It should be interesting how this weeks angling develops.
Sunday August 27th River Report.
This week while at the cabin I noticed the first signs of leaves changing on some of the Maple trees. It is also noticeable how the temperature is changing, that first feeling of Fall is in the air. There is also a change in reports from anglers as to numbers of salmon hooked and released. A couple of lodges are finally reporting normal numbers of salmon hooked and logged and mostly bright fresh fish. One report today is of a lady limiting out this morning while a total of 11 salmon were hooked and released yesterday at that particular lodge. Others from further upriver reported hooking and releasing 3 grilse yesterday. This seems to be the normal conversations we are hearing today at the tackle shop. More anglers seem to be on the river and we will probably be hearing more of the same throughout the week. Fresh salmon have been moving into the river but few anglers have been around fishing. Now that we seem to have more anglers around we will have a better reading on the river. Flies of choice are Green Machine, Green Butt Bear Hairs, and Bombers.
Sunday August 20th River Report
The weekend has brought good news to the Miramichi. Some much needed rain has finally arrived. There is also more rain in the forecast for this coming week. Earlier in the week we had been hearing from anglers of fresh fish coming in.Prior to that the salmon resting in the cold water pools had mainly moved out with the odd one being caught. Since Friday the comments from anglers are that we have a lot of fresh fish here in the lower section of the river. They are jumping and showing all around them. Haven't heard from anyone upriver yet but, with the salmon moving they should be seeing more salmon too. Many of the anglers are confident that we will start seeing better fishing. Currently small flies have been the norm. Will post when certain patterns become popular.
Wednesday August 16th River Report
Angling is picking up since the opening of the cold water pools. I watched an angler hook and release a salmon this past Friday around 3:00 PM in the afternoon. It really surprised me as the day was quite warm. Since then we have been getting more anglers at the tackle shop commenting on hooking and releasing salmon. Yesterday a gentleman told us about hooking and releasing a large salmon fresh in from the ocean. He also commented on how silver and healthy a fish it was. The river remains low but the cooler evenings are keeping water temperatures down. Everyone along the river is commenting on how a good 4 day rain would really switch things up for the fishing.
Thursday August 9th Fishing Report.
DFO has reopened the cold water pool closures starting today. This should be the end of the pool closures for the season due to warm water as the forecast is now showing cooler evenings. Rain is also in the forecast for Friday and Saturday.With the full moon and better conditions we should start seeing good fishing in the next couple of days. Expect to see more anglers coming into the Tackle Shop so will have a better reading on the river soon.
Wednesday August 9th Fishing Report.
Cooler evening temperatures have really brought the river temperatures down. We should hear from DFO soon that the 26 cold water pools are reopened. Will post as soon as I hear anything.
On another note, CBSM has arranged for ASF to do a presentation this Thursday night at the salmon museum in Doaktown in regards to SMOLT mortality on the Miramichi. This is the first we will hear on the results of their study.Contact Bonnie on the CBSM website and let her know if you would like to attend.
Thursday August 3rd Fishing Report.
Warm weather over the past couple of days have once again created cold water pool closures on the Miramichi.(Check out the 26 cold water pool closures on the DFO website).This has been a much longer dry spell here in New Brunswick than what we normally would experience. That being said, be aware of the fire ban throughout the whole province.(No open pit fires are allowed at this time).The forecast is for cooler temperatures next week. There also seems to be a bit of rain in the forecast, hopefully this will improve the river conditions and bring the rivers back to normal fishing.
Tuesday August 1st Fishing Report.
With warm days and cool evenings anglers are finding early mornings and evenings seem to be most productive. The low water pools are producing quite well in places. We had a nice run of grilse since the cold water pools have reopened and they were taking quite well. The general comment is ,these grilse are healthy and of a larger size. Smaller hooks in sizes 8's and 10's are most popular. Fly's of choice are Blue Smirfs, Green Smirfs, Green Machines White Tails, Undertakers, Bear Hairs, and Blue Bombers.
Thursday July 27th Fishing Report.
Good news yesterday from DFO. All cold water pools as of today are now reopened. This strategy is working much better than in the past as the rivers are being closed and opened on a much better bases.(We used to be to late in closing the pools and to late reopening them. The time frame now is better for all concerned).Now to get word out that the river is open. Pass the word on to other anglers.
It is cloudy and cool here this morning on the Miramichi with a bit of rain in the forecast. An answer to our prayers.Yesterday we had reports at the Tackle Shop of a few salmon being caught. Quite a few anglers are out on the river, so things are picking up again. Enjoy the fishing.
Wednesday July 26th Fishing Report.
With our rivers being low and water temperatures high the fishing has been slow but great for canoeing. Here on the lower section of the Miramichi these conditions are always favourable for those wanting to be on the water in a canoe. A relaxing day with family and friends can be just what the doctor ordered.
We are starting to see river temperatures dropping and after giving the river a rest for a few days we are now seeing anglers back on the open waters again. Reports from these anglers are they are seeing the odd small run of salmon moving up the river. Most of the salmon are holding in the larger cold water pools. If temperatures remain as they are we should see all the river open again in another few days. Sure could use a few days of rain. This seems to be what is really needed to bring our river conditions back to normal.
Thursday July 20th Fishing Report
Starting today DFO has a warm water variation order in place. This does not mean the whole river system has been closed. They typically close the larger cold water holding pools. If you check out the DFO website or MSA website you will find the 26 brook closures throughout the whole Miramichi River system. Temperatures are forecast to drop starting tomorrow. The evenings will be cooling down and this will lower river temperatures within a few days. This is normal here on the Miramichi. Each year we get a heat wave during the warm part of our summer for 2-3 weeks that warms the rivers up and closures are put in place until the rivers cool down. We can expect fishing to be back to normal in a few days. As the river temperatures get back to normal we generally will start seeing the best of our fishing from now to end of season.
Wednesday July 19th Fishing Report
The forecast is showing cooler temperatures in another few days. Typically we get a couple of weeks in early July that are quite warm causing the rivers to drop and temperatures to rise. We should see a bump this coming weekend in that the salmon will start showing and taking better as the river gets back to normal temperatures. We need to be aware that when we have warm water conditions we should take the time to properly release our salmon as they need to be revived before releasing. ASF has a great video on this and it is well worth watching. I watched a gentleman Sunday night hook and land a grilse without a net and it has bothered me ever since. With no net we have to play a salmon much longer in order to tail it. These fish need to be revived or they will die. Throwing a salmon back in the river immediately after removing the hook is going to kill the salmon, especially after being played hard. Lets work to make sure all anglers understand this river etiquette. We need to protect this precious resource. Tight lines. Enjoy the river.
Saturday, July 15th Fishing Report
It is that time of year when our canoe rentals pick up and we get a pretty good reading here on the lower section of the Miramichi. All of our canoers this week reported seeing salmon jumping while paddling down the river. Yesterday I had a great opportunity to instruct two young gentleman (ages 11 and 13)from Labrador. We had a beautiful piece of water donated by a good friend with salmon jumping all around us. The enthusiasm of these youngsters was contagious as my friend and I found ourselves pulling every trick out of our arsenal we could find to get them a salmon. Seeing salmon was certainly a motivator for them to improve their casting. We all had a great time but could not entice a salmon to take. Most of the reports are of large salmon with the odd sighting of grilse. Anglers at the Tackle Shop are reporting hard fishing with few catches but are seeing salmon in the holding pools. All seem to enjoy being on the river, seeing salmon, hawks, eagles, and other wildlife. In general they all agree that a good rain would change things up quite fast.
Saturday, July 8th-Fishing Report
Just a quick update on the river. Today quite a few reports coming into the tackle shop were about the number of salmon coming up the river. It seems as though our larger salmon runs are beginning to come in. While waiting for canoeists to come off the river today I noticed quite a few salmon showing. It seems as though the run started last night and is continuing through today. Hopefully we will see more as this weekend is a full moon which some anglers believe can make a difference in the salmon coming up the river. With rain in the forecast this is all good news.
Tuesday, July 4th-Fishing Report
Reports from anglers over the weekend here on the lower section of the river seem to be quite consistent. In most cases they are seeing salmon and feel they are going through. Guides and property owners who are on the river each day are saying "for the last week there has been a steady run of fish up the river". A number of comments seem to be the same in that they are rolling fish, hooking and losing fish, with the odd one being landed. Further up the river though they seem to be taking better with more successful landings. The larger pools seem to have salmon holding with a reasonable number of salmon hooked and landed and a lot of salmon showing.
Flies of choice are Samething Murray, Yellow Butterfly, Green Machines, and Natural Bombers.
On another note, some of the anglers are reporting catches of striped bass and shad. In fact a few anglers are only catching striped bass but are seeing salmon jumping.
Now that we are getting into July it shouldn't be long before the larger runs come in and start holding up in the smaller pools along the river. With the ice flows off Newfoundland some people feel our larger salmon runs will be a bit later.