River Report

Friday July 23rd, 2021 River Report.
I am adding comments from quite a few anglers who were coming into the tackle shop this morning and almost all of them are reporting hooking salmon or seeing salmon jumping along the shore of the river here in the Blackville area. One guy mentioned that they released 4 salmon this morning. Most of the salmon being caught or seen are within 10' - 30' from shore. I wanted to update my mornings report as it seems to be relatively good angling along the shore of the river..
Just a quick update showing river conditions after this weeks rain. The two pictures in the slideshow to the left show it all. I took these pictures Thursday morning. The river was still coming up. As you can see the boat below the ramp is now floating and previous to the rain it was high and dry. The water temperatures yesterday morning were 62F here in Blackville. It was cool last night and the air temperatures this morning was 13C here in Blackville so I bet the river is even cooler today.
I expect the water levels will start dropping today. We should have good canoeing for the next few days on the main river and tributaries in this area. I have been using the boat ramp here at the park in Blackville as a reference as most people are familiar with that location. We are also on the lower section of the river and sometimes see higher conditions after a rain.
With the river levels up and cooler water temperatures it will be interesting to see how the fishing shapes up for the coming weekend. I will report when I hear more. Enjoy the coming weekend and be safe.

Wednesday July 21st, 2021 River Report.
River conditions continue to be quite good here in Salmon Country, especially on the SW Miramichi. Lots of anglers coming into the shop reporting hooking and losing salmon. River levels are now at a point where the holding pools are producing salmon. In some cases significant numbers are being hooked and released. I measured the water temperatures yesterday in early afternoon and my thermometer was showing 69F. Not bad for the third week of July.
I had an interesting conversation a couple of days ago with an older salmon fisherman and guide. He said, "we generally get salmon in good numbers on the Miramichi if we have the rain to keep our river up and water temperatures cool. When we don't get rain they won't come in. The salmon tend to wait for the right conditions which could be later in the season before coming in from the Bay." Another person who joined in the conversation then asked the question a lot of us involved in the river have been wandering for years. Could it be possible during warmer Summers that our salmon returns do not come in until after counting fences are removed? We have no science based evidence that this is happening but many lodge owners, cottage owners, guides and local residents mention how many salmon and grilse they see jumping in the river later in the Fall long after counting fences are removed.
The picture on the top left shows the boat ramp here in the park in Blackville. I wanted to make a correction from my estimates of how high the river came up in the last big rain. My previous report on water levels were off a bit. If you stand now at the waters edge and look up the ramp to the edge of the pavement the water levels would have been somewhere between 8' - 10' higher than they are now. I had estimated 5'- 6' but it was much higher.
Rain is in the forecast and cooler temperatures to follow. We should see a bump in river levels again which will be good for the river. I hope this cycle of weekly rain continues. The steady run of salmon coming upriver has been ongoing now for weeks and the fishing has been better than we have seen in years. In fact some of our guides are claiming they haven't seen salmon returns like this in two decades. The numbers of first time salmon anglers hooking into salmon are proof to that. Looking forward to seeing the results of this forecasted rain. Will report when I hear more. Enjoy and be safe.

Friday July 16th, 2021 River Report.
Just a quick report going into the weekend. This is what I have experienced and have been hearing at the tackle shop from our customers here on the lower section of the Miramichi in the Blackville area. River levels are continuing to drop and are getting much better for angling. We are noticing more anglers reporting hookups each day. River temperatures yesterday in Howards above Blackville was 68F. Some of the low water pools are starting to fish again. It seems a steady run of salmon are coming in and if this keeps up we should have good angling over the weekend. Quite a few grilse and salmon are being hooked.
The pictures in the slideshow on top left were taken on the Renous Wednesday night. The third photo of two anglers fishing salmon was taken in Howards just above Blackville. River levels couldn't be better and water temperatures were also good. The Dungarvon is also at a nice height and salmon should be moving in those rivers.
It is nice to see salmon fisherman from out of province again. Certainly feeling more normal but we definitely are missing our friends from south of the border.  It sure would be nice to share this great season with you again. Enjoy and be safe. Have a good weekend. Will report when I hear more.

Tuesday July 13th, 2021 River Report.
The pictures in the slideshow to the left are from a run I made upriver from Blackville in the Jon boat Sunday morning. It was a beautiful day, the river was clearing and starting to drop so I picked up Brennan and we packed a lunch and headed to the river. These were not normal conditions that we are used to for July.
It was interesting seeing the old farms along the way. As we passed through Keenans, the old Curtis homestead and across from it the Hallihan place, up further to the Connors Farm then the Upper Blackville bridge, I got the itch to go further. We passed Donnely Brook, the old Morehouse homestead, Mercury Island, The Dean and Wasson Bar, then up through to the mill in Doaktown past the route 8 bridge, Big Hole Brook, the Taylor Farm and finally to Nelson Hollow where the old covered bridge is above Doaktown. We saw a salmon jump in close to shore along the way and the Bald Eagles, ducks and Geese were everywhere. On the way downriver we met a few more boats below the mouth of Cains. After getting back to Blackville we decided to go up the Bartholomew River and managed to get up almost to the old Burns Farm.
I have seen these locations in the Spring of the year from a boat but never at this time of year in July. The river was high along the banks, into the grass and alders. River temperatures were 65F and felt cold holding the thermometer in the water. We didn't fish, it was just nice enjoying the rivers from a boat.
Prior to the heavy rain Friday and Friday night we heard from quite a few people of salmon jumping between Miramichi City and Derby. I witness salmon jumping Saturday in Blackville even though the river was full of debris and running brown with silt. I talked to a friend who was down in the Bay Sunday fishing for Striper Bass and here is what he told me. As he was fishing for Bass his girlfriend noticed a large number of fish move past the boat. She asked what they were. My friend said they were salmon and they watched them for awhile and they gradually disappeared upriver. Shortly after they noticed the water turned black and for quite a ways out from the boat. When they checked the fish finder it was a large school of fish. Watching closer they realized it was salmon and they were moving up further into the estuary. We have had a steady run of salmon for about 4 weeks now and by these sightings we will be continuing to get more bright salmon for some time.
River levels are dropping but a bit high for most pools. Salmon are being sighted throughout the river system especially below Blackville. In a day to two days we should be hearing of anglers hooking into salmon again. Be careful when wading, enjoy the angling, and be safe.

  Monday July 12th, 2021 River Report.
The top two pictures at the left give you an idea of how high the river came up after Friday and early Saturday mornings rain. These pictures were taken Friday morning and then again Sunday Morning. A friend and I were practicing our Spey casting Saturday morning at this location and while there the river was still coming up. We initially saw a lot of grass, sticks, and beaver chewings coming down the river. Within half an hour the debris got much larger and we were seeing logs. Then within another half hour we were seeing full trees floating down the river. The river was brown and coming up as we were standing in the water.
The bottom picture is the very bottom of the ramp on Friday. The top picture is showing the water level above the lower cement , above the square cement blockings and then the edge of the pavement, taken Sunday morning. I can only predict how high the river really came up but it was at least 5' here at the park in Blackville and quite possibly more.
What is interesting though is that we actually saw two salmon jump Saturday morning. The first salmon was within 15' of the shoreline on the other side of the river. The second salmon that jumped was just a few feet up the river beyond us at the back of a Seadoo that a couple of young people were anchoring on the river edge. It amazed all of us. These salmon were moving upriver in these conditions.
We had quite a few people make contact with us regarding finding docks, canoes, and boats floating down the river. It is a great feeling to see how thoughtfull our local community along the river can be and how they are willing to take the risk to bring in a capsized canoe or boat and try to save it. Hats off to you folks for your kindness.
I have more pictures of a boat run I took yesterday going upriver that I will be posting later. The river is gradually dropping, we are getting reports of salmon being caught already but the conditions should be quite good in another day or two. Enjoy and be safe.

Wednesday July 7th, 2021 River Report.
The pictures in the slideshow to the left are from this evening on the river with a father and his two sons. It is always interesting how things will change as the sunsets behind the trees on the river. You lose the glare off the water, the wind dies down, and things seem to come alive. Just before we called it a night and headed off the river a salmon surfaced. I bet they were going to move upriver. We would have stayed longer but with the Habs into game 5 we had a priority to get home for the game. While driving home we saw a large cow moose. It certainly left us with a nice memory of our evening on the river.
A number of anglers have been reporting hooking into salmon since my last report. Although it is hit and miss it seems that some waters that aren't always the big producing pools are enjoying pretty good fishing. What is encouraging though is the comments from guys who spend a lot of time on the river and are continually seeing salmon moving upriver. I want to focus on this in my evening report tonight as I know these guys and trust their comments. These gentleman in particular spend a lot of time on the river reading the water and they see things a lot of anglers won't see. It is pretty hard to fool some of our local boys when it comes to the river. This is their life, they are never far from the river. If Randall Connors talks about seeing a V in the river or Danny Stewart mentions a swirl, or Tyler Coughlan sees a flash, it isn't their imagination. They know salmon. I must mention that I used the previous names as these are guys I have been talking to and hearing comments from recently. There are many more along our river who can point out similar signs. My point is though, when you hear comments like these from these kind of riverman, you can be assured there are salmon moving upriver and in better numbers than we have had in quite awhile. Many of us aren't catching salmon but it isn't because they aren't there. Timing means a lot and fish that are moving upriver sometimes seem to have what locals will refer to as lock jaw. Why they take in some pools or stretches of the river is the mystery that makes salmon fishing so challenging. This is a tough sport for those who are used to instant gratification. Many salmon fisherman have made a life long study of this sport. Personally, I have learned to enjoy the river, its surroundings, and when that hook up comes along that is the bonus.
The forecast is for more rain tomorrow night and Friday. Water temperatures Monday were 65F and tonight were showing 70F, quite good for this time of year. Tonight the air temperatures are going down to 10C. So lower evening temperatures and more rain in the forecast will continue to bring good salmon fishing conditions. I will report as I hear more. Enjoy and be safe,

are Sunday July 4th, 2021 River Report.
Just getting back from picking up a group who were on a two day run canoeing the Miramichi. It is great to see river levels up like this in early July. We have had quite a week. Lots of rain, cloud cover, and wind. It certainly has cooled our rivers down and brought them up. Our group spotted a few salmon and enjoyed the weekend though the weather in no way followed the forecast.
We are getting a few reports from some anglers of hooking salmon especially in the good holding pools. I suspect though that as things clear up and river levels start to drop we will hear of more salmon caught on the fly.
An old friend and I loaded up the Honda Pioneer side x side yesterday and spent the day fishing the Dungarvon. We were curious how the conditions were and wanted to check out some of the pools in the backcountry. I wish we had of had more time. The pools looked great but our time was limited as we left later in the day and it took quite awhile getting further upriver as our plan was to fish the pools coming back down. I hooked a nice trout and we know salmon were there but didn't entice any to take. I am sure more time spent on some of these waters would have been productive though. Be assured we are heading back in very soon. I must confess, I absolutely hated to leave this river. The challenges of determining the best way to fish the waters takes a bit of time and that for me is what I enjoy. Unfortunately we didn't have time on our side. Darkness was coming upon us and we had a good hike back to the Honda. A lot of the pools were a bit of a hike and getting back to the Honda took some time. The pictures in the slideshow on the top left are from some of the runs we were fishing. All and all it was a great day fishing the outback in Salmon Country.
The mosquitoes are still present but didn't seem to be as bad as they have been. You can now have a campfire if camping. The tributaries are in great shape for angling. We should be hearing of more hookups soon. I will post as I hear more. Enjoy the angling and be safe.

Sunday June 27th, 2021 River Report.
River levels are slowly dropping from the raise in river levels we got early in the week. It is still nice wading levels though and angling for salmon continues to be consistent in those pools where salmon are taking. I have been around the tackle shop prepping the front of the building for painting so been able to talk to quite a few anglers. All are seeing salmon. This is consistent among our customers and has been for a couple of weeks. While not everyone is landing salmon most are seeing salmon and there are quite a few who have had a lot of hook ups over the past couple of weeks.
The weather has been quite good this week and it is what a lot of us would call, "salmon fishing weather". Nice cloud cover, a fine mist and at times a good rain. In checking the forecast for this coming week we are in for some significant rain. I find we don't always get what is forecasted as it changes from day to day. So we will have to wait and see.
While waiting last night at a take out point for a group of canoers I had on the river I was able to have a discussion with some older Rivermen who were sitting enjoying the river and watching a couple of anglers in the pool. We must have seen 3 or 4 salmon roll and jump while talking about the river. I always enjoy discussing the Miramichi with these older gentleman. Getting their views of the changes on the river and what should be done to ensure a healthy river and salmon stocks into the future is quite interesting. Most of our local river people are never consulted when changes are made to angling regulations. They feel that they have never been consulted and no conservation group represents them. Although they have spent more time on the river than most people they have had no say in the decisions made that would impact their lifestyle and culture. I always walk away from these discussions wandering what can be done to give them some input. The take away from these discussions and it is always the same, keeping in mind these guys worked their whole life as woodsman and guides. The one thing they firmly believe is we need to increase our buffer zones which will help hold river levels after a rain and have a cooling impact on the river during warm periods in the Summer. Why this isn't a priority among the government departments and conservation groups is something they find hard to understand. For me, I am starting to see the wisdom of these guys and wander if we will ever see the day when this will become a priority. Healthy rivers first could mean healthy salmon stocks into the future. Just wanted to mention the thoughts of a large group of river people who have never been heard.
Enjoy the angling, be safe, and tight lines.

Wednesday June 23rd, 2021 River Report.
The pictures in the slide show to the left are from the Upper Blackville Bridge and the Park here in Blackville. We had rain last night and the river is coming up. Hopefully the pictures can give you an idea of river height and wading conditions. I was hoping for more rain last night but we may have got enough to keep our rivers up for a few days. Brennan and I were fishing from my boat tonight here in Blackville and I would say the river is still raising.
I had a good tug tonight but that was it. We didn't see anything other than 3 Otter, 1 beaver, and various ducks. Another friend below us also had a salmon on but for just a brief moment. We continue to hear from anglers of seeing salmon moving upriver and the odd salmon is being hooked. One thing that is very noticeable this year is the number of anglers we are talking to who are losing salmon. The barbless hook is taking some getting used to.
The common thought going into the next few days is that the river is raising and with a full moon we could quite possibly see more runs of salmon coming in.
While taking pictures of the river Sunday at the Upper Blackville Bridge a friend and I counted 20 grilse in one group and another 12 in another group all within about 15 minutes. They seemed to be moving upriver. I think we have had a good number of salmon coming into our river system in the last 2 weeks and maybe this will continue with a raise in river levels and the full moon. I will post when I hear more. Enjoy and be safe.

  Sunday June 20th, 2021 River Report.
It was quite an exciting week here on the lower section of the Miramichi with many anglers commenting on hooking into salmon, shad, and the odd bass. The difference though is the focus for many anglers is salmon. We are seeing the familiar faces of salmon fisherman who enjoy the challenge of salmon and being on the river.
My talks with some of the guides and outfitters seem to indicate a good run of salmon has been coming in and they have been seeing fresh fish on a daily bases this week. One thing among most of the anglers I have been talking to is the difference the barbless hook is making in landing salmon. Quite a few salmon are being lost due to no barb. This is a change for us and we will have to get used to it.
I have fished a few nights this week and while fishing salmon from my boat here in Blackville I saw quite a few salmon jumping and rolling but they were not takers. There is no doubt those salmon were moving through but, though I haven't hooked and landed any yet it is nice to see the fresh runs coming in. We also were able to see the shad moving downriver.
So, good fishing for some, frustrating for others who are losing salmon on barbless hooks, and then there are those who haven't been able to see any fresh salmon yet. They are there as I can say I am seeing them almost daily. Lets see how this coming week shapes up. Get out and enjoy. Be safe.

Wednesday Evening Report in addition to my mornings report, Wednesday June 16th, 2021 River Report.
Reports have been coming in all day of salmon being caught here in the Blackville area. I wanted to update my mornings report as so many reports were coming in throughout the day of anglers hooking salmon. In particular an old friend in the Upper Blackville area who was fishing his family farm pool caught a salmon, lost a salmon, and hooked two grilse. More reports of salmon being hooked at the mouth of Cains and other reports below Blackville all seem to indicate a fairly good run of salmon. The river continues to raise with recent rain so we should have good salmon fishing for the next couple of days.
Wednesday June 16th, 2021 River Report.
The pictures in the upper slideshow to the left are showing river levels here in Blackville at the mouth of Bartholomew and around Doctors Island. They were taken this morning while I was bailing my boat out. The rain yesterday and today has the river raising to nice angling levels. As one angler said, " this is nice salmon fishing weather." It is cooler and the cloud cover makes for nice angling.
For a couple of weeks now we have been getting reports from anglers who were seeing bright salmon jumping here on the lower section of the Miramichi. There have been a few hook ups. We heard that Jason Curtis hooked and landed a couple of salmon last week and we are hearing of others who have landed salmon this week. It is definitely picking up and we will start to see more salmon anglers now on the river. Most of the lodges and clubs are just starting to open for salmon fishing. It looks like covid restrictions will be changing soon for the better and with that we hope to see our out of province friends back on the river. It has been a long time coming and will sure be nice to see the cottages and clubs active again.
   Anglers are still hooking nice trout especially on the tributaries. Others are going for shad and now with a raise in river levels we will see more early run salmon along the river. While at the river this morning I couldn't help but to notice the wild strawberries ripe for picking. There were also numerous mosquitoes to contend with. It is that time of year, a beautiful time to be enjoying the outdoors canoeing and angling here on the Miramichi. Enjoy and be safe.

Thursday June 10th, 2021 River Report.
I received this information from a very reliable source today who lives on the banks of the Miramichi. He was seeing the wakes from Salmon going upriver and decided to give it a try. He did hook into a nice Salmon but was not able to land it. That seems to be the case as another angler reported the same experience. One of the brooks is holding Salmon so it won't be long and we will see a picture of one landed.
Temperatures are really dropping. It had a Fall feel in the air today. Quite cool actually compared to the last couple of days. The forecast is for frost in some areas tonight. This should really cool the river down and make angling good.
We have been hearing for a while now of people seeing Salmon jump along the river but these reports are coming in from seasoned Salmon anglers who are hooking and losing Salmon. I feel confident now knowing our early runs are coming in. We should be hearing more in the next few days. I will report as we hear of any changes on the river. Enjoy and be safe.

Tuesday June 8th, 2021 River Report.
The pictures in the top slideshow to the left were taken upriver on the Cains and at the Mouth of the Cains with two thrown in of Black Brook. You can see the nice water levels and how advanced the vegetation is. Reports from canoers camping on the various tributaries was of good trout fishing and average trout fishing. Many reported seeing lots of trout rising to hatches.
No reports yet from anyone landing a bright salmon although there are reports of seeing them.
Fly fishing is now the primary method of angling as spin casting has been closed since the end of May on the tributaries. With Gaspereau, Shad, Striper Bass, Trout , and possibly the odd bright Salmon in the river it is always fun to see the anglers who prefer a fly rod back on the river. Some are really enjoying the Shad fishing on the fly rod. Others have been having fun hooking into Bass and one angler experimented with streamers and Bass flies only to find they had an appetite for them all.
  The heat wave we are experiencing will raise our water temperatures and possibly impact the angling for a few days. Tomorrow the forecast is for the heat wave to end and lower temperatures later in the week.
This is one of my favorite times of year to be on our rivers here on the Miramichi. Everything is so healthy looking. Not only is the vegetation coming alive but the hatches are improving each day. A lot of our birds are nesting and their eggs are hatching. We are watching at one pool here in Blackville an Eagles chicks learning to fly. I cain't imagine a better place to be.
If you are planning an overnight camping experience keep in mind there are fire restrictions right now in this area. Enjoy and be safe. I will report as I hear more.

Tuesday June 1st, 2021 River Report.
I just came back from bailing my boat out on the river here in Blackville. Judging by the amount of water in the boat we should see a nice raise in river levels. It is coming up but will need more time to crest. The river is nice right now for angling and I think I will give it a try tonight. You cain't help to think June Salmon are in the river system. That being said, we are getting reports from locals seeing bright Salmon here in the Blackville area. These are early Salmon and a joy to hook into.
The pictures in the slideshow to the left are of the Main Dungarvon and the North Dungarvon from this past Saturday. You can see river levels have been dropping limiting canoeing but very nice for wading. My friend and I always enjoy trout fishing these rivers at this time of year. The young Moose was feeding along the road as we approached it. He didn't seem to be to scared and allowed us to get a picture. I added a picture of the squirrel that entertains us at my parents house. He seems to think he is a bird.
I have a feeling we will hear of bright salmon being hooked soon. The river conditions after this rain may very well bring in a nice run of salmon. It is also showing more rain in the forecast for later in the week. This will help to maintain river levels for those wanting to canoe the tributaries. I will report more later in the week if I hear anything new. Get out, enjoy, and be safe.

Friday May 28th, 2021 River Report.
This has been an interesting week weather wise. We didn't get the rain originally predicted. One day was in the high 20'sC and then to top it off we had frost advisories. Every day seemed to produce high winds in the afternoons making it difficult for casting.
Hatches...........yes, lots of black flies and mosquitoes, making it a bit more challenging for camping and angling. Lots of anglers around, with many catching trout and a few still fishing for bass. It seems to have slowed down on the N.W Miramichi but we are still catching bass here in the Quarryville area. Even today anglers are reporting catching nice bass on the fly in Quarryville. Nothing new on bright salmon this week. Other than some rumors last week of bright salmon we aren't hearing anything from our local sources. That being said, it could happen any day now.
We certainly are approaching that time when things will shift and salmon anglers will be the majority on our rivers. I look forward to the time when we hear of a Rocky Brook salmon being caught, then we know the brights are in. It always seems like this is a very select group who have the opportunity to hook into one of these fish. The news is we may see our salmon angling friends to the south this season. We certainly miss these salmon anglers and cain't wait to see them back on the Miramichi.
The forecast is for cooler temperatures over the weekend. If you are camping and canoeing our tributaries be aware of campfire bans in this area. Prepare for the bugs, they are quite numerous right now. A section of river on the N.W Miramichi is closed for fishing due to bass spawning. Get out and enjoy. Be safe.

Monday May 24th, 2021 River Report.
The pictures in the slideshow to the left were all taken this past Saturday on the Dungarvon. I wanted to show how advanced the vegetation is in this area for this time of year. I have seen years where it was not this advanced until the second week of June.
River levels aren't bad for canoeing and are certainly quite good for trout fishing. Reports coming back from all the canoers we had on the various tributaries are saying they had pretty good trout fishing. Some even reported hooking into sea run trout.
The videos and reports of the striper bass situation on the North West Miramichi can only be summed up as ridiculous. It is absolutely crazy the numbers of bass right now. I am talking to people who do not feel comfortable in a boat in that area because the bass are so numerous. There are lots of videos online to show how many bass are in our river right now. We are also seeing things pick up here on the Main South West Miramichi in regards to bass. Over the weekend they were catching them as far up as Keenans.
If you made plans to canoe a tributary in this area you may want to book it soon. Unless we get more rain it may be difficult to canoe them. I know a lot of us tend to wait for late May or early June but things are at least 2 weeks early right now and if we don't get good amounts of rain each week they will drop below good canoeing levels.
Get out and enjoy. Be safe. I will report when I hear more.

Friday May21st 2021, River Report.
This is one of my favorite times of year. It is hard to live along the Miramichi and not be around the river at this time. River levels are dropping for motoring but most of the tributaries are pretty good for canoeing. The vegetation has really come alive this week. You will see a noticeable difference. Along with that the black flies and a few mosquitoes are also making an appearance.
We are hearing of a few bright salmon being caught. I need to say that this is not coming from our regular early salmon anglers. We have a couple of local salmon anglers who usually are on the river and hook into brights. These guys are my go to for information of this sort. The odd black salmon is being caught but very few now. The bass have even slowed down in Quarryville this week. Reports of trout being caught on the tributaries are trickling in and a number of large trout on the lower section below Blackville have been caught.
Fiddle heads are still coming up for those interested in adding those to your meal. Everything is shaping up to be a nice long weekend. Though rain is in the forecast the temperatures will be in the low 20C range so it won't be that bad on the river. Get out and enjoy. Be safe. I will report when I hear more.

Saturday May 15th, 2021 River Report.
Beautiful weather is in the forecast for the next few days. River levels are dropping but we can still motor down to Quarryville from Blackville in our boats. We continue to get reports of the black salmon being caught along with the odd good sized trout and of course the bass fishing is also doing very well.
We had a report of a bright salmon hooked this week but haven't been able to confirm it. With everything being early this year it wouldn't surprise me. It won't be long though as we are approaching that time when they normally start moving into the river system.
Not a lot happening yet with trout on the tributaries either but once again, it is that time when things could change any day now.
With warmer weather in the forecast and we are into mid May, I expect we will soon see a change in the fishing where bright salmon and trout will be more active. It will be nice on the river this weekend. Get out and enjoy. I will report when I hear more.

Sunday May 9th, 2021 river Report.
Today is cloudy with a few rain showers. A bit warmer than yesterday but the wind is keeping things cool. I just got back from Shinnickburn on the Cains. Water levels are great on the tributaries and we had to pick up canoes as we had a group of fathers and daughters up there for the weekend camping and canoeing. These guys have been doing this run for a few years now. Really nice to see them again and it is great that they are enjoying the outdoors with their daughters.
Yesterday Brennan and I took the jon boat and motored down to Quarryville from Blackville to try our hand at bass fishing with fly rods. (Pictures in slideshow to right).It was no more than 7C with wind and showers. I really could have stayed home but he wanted to go so I gave in and took him down. It was a good thing we dressed warm as it was not a nice day to be on the river. The water surface was choppy and the wind made it cold. I was quite surprised when he got his first hit on a Christmas Tree streamer within 5-10 minutes after throwing the fly in the water. He wasn't hooking up well at first and we lost at least half a dozen fish before landing his first bass. It was a keeper and while we had the line reeled in I decided to put a Blue Smelt on. Back out we went and after losing a couple more he hooked another keeper so we called it a day. On the way back upriver he suggested we make fish and chips. When you consider what he learned about bass fishing, how to fish them with a fly rod, how to land them, how to clean and make batter, then cook it , it was a pretty good day. With full bellies we sat back and watched the Leafs and Habs hockey game. A great way to end a day on the river.
There are still a few salmon around and the bass fishing is great. The rain is keeping our rivers up so fishing should be good for awhile. Not a lot happening in regards to trout fishing on the tributaries yet. It is still early so that will change soon. Water levels are high, be careful and enjoy the rivers.

Thursday May 6th, 2021 River Report.
We seem to be in a nice weather cycle here on the Miramichi. Each week we have been getting a good amount of rain which has been keeping our rivers up quite well. It started raining late yesterday and this morning we have a mix of rain and snow. Although the snow will be disappointing for some it will very quickly green things up and generally we will see a major difference in the growth of vegetation.
The grass and trees are already showing signs of growth. The buds on some trees are sprouting into leaves and the grass in our lawns is ready for mowing. Fiddle heads are out and I saw some trilliums last weekend. While all of these changes are becoming more and more noticeable the fish in the river are also improving. We have a smelt run on right now, the bass are up to Quarryville, trout are being caught and quite a few kelts are still here in the Blackville area.
This rain and snow will give the river another bump in height and should make for good fishing in another day or two after the river clears, especially for those who want to fish from a boat. Temperatures are showing single digits and low teens so dressing warm will be necessary.
Looking forward to the weekend. Conditions should be pretty good by then. Get out and enjoy. Be safe.

Friday April 30th, 2021 River Report.
I had to bale my boat out yesterday and while doing it thought, maybe I should take a run up the river. The temperatures were in the 18C range and it was really to nice not to be on the river. I didn't take a rod with me, it was just nice to motor around and check out river heights and the mouths of the Bartholomew and Cains rivers. Water levels are dropping but still passable if you keep an eye out for the low spots. I managed to get up to Upper Blackville and even went up the Cains a ways.
Things are coming to life quite fast on the Miramichi. Two of the pictures in the slideshow to the left are on the Cains River and you can see the buds and leaves sprouting on the Red Maples. I saw all kids of birds especially Ducks and Geese. A large Kelt (Black Salmon) jumped at the butment where the old walking bridge was at Keenan's. You have to work at it but anglers continue to enjoy hooking into the odd salmon and quite a few large trout are being caught too.
We need rain and that is coming today. We have a significant amount of rain in the forecast which will raise the river and hopefully maintain good salmon and trout fishing. To be honest, I wish I had my rod with me yesterday with a floating line. I would have enjoyed trying for some trout . It is early for that but the conditions make it very tempting.
It should be a nice weekend to be on the river, water levels will probably crest and start dropping making for another few days of good boating and fishing. Enjoy and be safe.

Monday April 26th, 2021 River Report.
Water levels crested Friday and started dropping Saturday. By Sunday it had dropped approximately 2'. There were lots of local anglers out on the river. Some were fishing from the shore, others were wading, the majority were angling from boats. While out in the boat we saw quite a few anglers with salmon on. It was windy and cold Saturday but Sunday couldn't have been any better for fishing. It was warm and the wind wasn't bad at all. While some anglers were landing quite a few salmon and trout others were not so lucky. It all seemed to depend on what part of the river you were fishing. Quite a few anglers are starting to hook into nice trout.
  My friend and I took our grandsons out in our boats Saturday and Sunday. One of the boys hooked a really nice trout at the mouth of Renous in the 4lb range. In the slideshow at the top left you will see Brennan in my boat. The first picture shows him watching his rod and line. The next picture shows him fighting a salmon. The third picture is after I brought the boat to shore and he was able to land it on shore. The fourth picture is of he and Danny holding the salmon. This is his first salmon landed. He did everything right and is one happy 14 year old. There is an old saying here on the Miramichi among salmon fisherman and that is, " who really got hooked here?" I know he wanted to get back out Saturday night and then again Sunday so that might answer the question. Ha! Ha!. We had a great weekend of fishing and he is already preparing for next weekend. Guess I found myself a fishing buddy.
It rained hard last night and again today. We need the rain to maintain good river levels. The forecast is showing more rain later in the week so our rivers may maintain a nice height for the rest of the week. Salmon are still in the river but will start getting pickier about how they take on a hook. For some of us we will be concentrating on the Brookies and salmon will be a bonus. Enjoy and be safe.

Friday April 23rd, 2021 River Report.
The pictures in the slideshow on the left are of water levels today in Blackville. This is just below the mouth of the Bartholomew River. While prepping our boats for tomorrows fishing I took these pictures to show the water levels.
Heavy rain Wednesday into Thursday really brought the river up. It seems to have peeked today and should be quite good fishing over the weekend.
April always brings all kinds of weather and this week is an example. Early week we saw 18C, by Wednesday it was pouring rain , then in the evening and yesterday we saw snow with a few flakes again today. It never fails to amaze me though what a good rain can do for the environment this time of year. Yesterday the buds were showing on some of the hardwoods and some were even sprouting into leaves. The grass in some areas is turning green. Subtle changes but noticeable to those who spend time in the outdoors.
This should be a nice weekend to be angling on the river. The temperatures are warming up tomorrow and Sunday with sunny skies in the forecast. Enjoy the fishing and be safe.

Tuesday April 20th, 2021 River Report.
Another beautiful day on the river today. Temperatures are pushing 17C and 18C here at the tackle shop. Lots of anglers around and most are commenting that it is still pretty good fishing. I checked the river levels yesterday and they are dropping and quite clear. A few comments about being a bit more careful running a boat in some areas but most aren't complaining about the water levels being to low yet. Rain is in the forecast for the next couple of days so we should see a raise in river levels. Not a lot of snow left. So most of the melt is behind us. The Golden Eagle, Renous Special, Black Ghost, and Blue Smelt are the popular flies we seem to be selling the most of. It will be nice to see the rain tomorrow. We need it to keep our rivers at a nice level. So, the salmon are there, get out and enjoy. Be careful on the river and protect our salmon.

Friday April 16th, 2021 River Report.
The first day of angling season was a major success here on the Miramichi. Our concern about salmon numbers can be put to rest. We had a very busy day yesterday at the tackle shop and everyone we talked to were catching salmon. Young or old there were lots of fish stories and smiles on peoples faces.
Opening season is always a time here on the Miramichi that we look forward too. It brings a lot of families and angling buddies together for an early salmon angling experience. We continue to miss our friends from south of the border. It just isn't normal not having these salmon fisherman in our communities and on the river. Lets hope that things will change in the near future.
Reports from anglers coming into the tackle shop are interesting. Some are trolling and others are casting but all seem to be catching salmon regardless of the technique used. To catch salmon from the shoreline is good fishing and that is happening all over the river. It is hard to say what fly was most popular but one seemed to stand out on a particular section of the river and it was the Blue Smelt. Almost everything was working though.
So lots of smiles, great experiences and another great opening day. Be safe, enjoy the fishing, and handle our salmon carefully. Enjoy!!

Tuesday April 13th, 2021 River Report.
We are experiencing cold wet weather here on the Miramichi. It really isn't unusual for this time of year. Today we open our Tackle Shop for the season and these are normal weather conditions. River levels though are much lower this year than what they normally would be.
  The question a lot of people are asking is, will there be any salmon left in the river? With the river ice going out so early and river levels dropping ,it is much earlier than most years. Our experience at the tackle shop over the years in discussions with guides and salmon anglers leads us to believe there will be salmon around to angle. Water levels definitely play a part but we tend to believe water temperatures also play a part in their journey downriver.
I have included a couple of pictures on the left of how the river looks. These were taken this past Friday. The top picture shows snow on the Dungarvon Road above the Furlong Bridge here in Blackville approximately 12 miles from the village. The middle picture was taken at Red Pine Landing or the old Prison Farm site. The third picture is of the boat ramp here in the park in Blackville. You will notice very little ice or snow along the rivers. That has disappeared in the past week. Even the snow in the woods is melting quite fast. I thought I would include the picture though of the amount of snow still remaining in Dungarvon.
We won't know what the angling will be like for another two days. It will be interesting to see what happens Thursday. Many of us are quite curious how the fishing will be. I will report as I hear more. Enjoy the river and be safe.

Tuesday April 6th, 2021 River Report.
Our weather has been a bit of a roller coaster since my last report. Warm temperatures followed by cooler evenings, sunny days then cloud cover with rain and snow. Sunday we received about 3" of snow and it is mostly gone now. Typical April weather here in the Miramichi valley. Our rivers seem to have levelled off and are dropping. They also seem to be clearing quite well. I haven't heard any boats on the water yet but expect that to happen quite soon.
Other changes I noticed over the weekend was the first signs of Summer birds showing up in the area. Geese being the most noticeable. I woke this morning around 6:30 AM to the sounds of birds. It is the first time this year that has happened and that will be the norm for the season now. It is spotty but you can also see the buds showing on some of the hardwoods in certain areas.
The snow continues to melt and most open areas are melting off and the grass is showing. We do have lots of snow remaining in parts of our wooded areas. This is not a bad thing as it will help keep our rivers at a nice level longer.
So things are looking much different in the short time since my last report. One week can make quite a difference. The count down is on as we wait for our fresh water angling season to open. I am already hearing and seeing pictures of nice Stripers being caught in the tidewater. It won't be long. I will post as I hear more.

Sunday March 28th ,2021 River Report.
We are experiencing an early breakup here on the Miramichi this Spring. Mid week I noticed lots of open water in the Doaktown and Boiestown areas. Yesterday the ice started moving here in the Upper Blackville and Blackville areas. The Bartholomew River here in Blackville is also running with ice and high water.
The pictures on the left are from the boat ramp here in the Blackville park and from the Pineville bridge on the Renous. I have also seen pictures of ice flowing and open water on the Little South West Miramichi and the upper part of the North West Miramichi.
We still have quite a bit of snow in our forests and fields. It is melting but will take awhile. We are well on our way to having clear rivers this year for Spring Kelt fishing. In fact, I am seeing the odd boat appearing in peoples driveways and passing through Blackville.
  From the calls and emails we are getting through the Tackle Shop we can tell people are anxious to get on the river. Generally our snowmobile season runs up to April 15th and then we switch to Angling but, this year we will be boating much earlier. I am sure covid is a factor in the locals wanting to get out and enjoy our local rivers more. Last year was the same. Hopefully our covid bubble will be expanded to the Maritimes soon but it isn't looking good for our neighbors to the south. We miss you folks and hope all is well south of the border. Lets hope for an end to covid and an abundance of salmon returns for 2021. Take care, be safe.

Monday February 15th, 2021 River Report.
It doesn't get much more scenic than this when snowmobiling the backcountry here on the Miramichi. I realize this isn't about fly fishing but it gives some people an idea what things look like here on the river at various times of year. We spent 3 days at a friends cabin running the backcountry this past weekend. The pictures were taken at the mouth of The Sisters and Falls Brook Falls Brooks. The pictures give you and idea what it looks like with a view looking upriver and downriver from each of the brooks. We broke a trail up to the Falls but my battery decided to die on me so couldn't get a picture of the Falls frozen in. The river is freezing in up there but not as much as it normally would be for this time of year. Our winter hasn't been as cold as it normally gets this year. This area we were snowmobiling in would be a good 80 - 90 miles or more above Blackville through the backcountry to get to these brooks. Much of it in the highlands.

Monday February 8th, 2021 River Report.
Some off trail riding on our ski doo's. I have access to this area by ski doo so thought I would take a few pictures. As you can see in the slideshow to the left, the river is freezing in quite well on most sections of the river. This is the Dungarvon River , I spend quite a bit of my time between the Dungarvon and Renous Rivers. We were in the area of both today but I only had time to take pictures along the Dungarvon.
  The Renous tends to freeze in more and would not have as much open water. That area is just a bit higher and in more of a snow belt. If you like the outback in the winter the scenery along the rivers in this area is quite spectacular. In one of the pictures you can see tracks along the edge of the ice. Down river from this picture is fresh tracks and they look like Lynx tracks. Lots of game sign along the rivers. Moose, Deer, Fox, Coyote, Lynx, etc.
Covid is still a concern here in N.B. We think of our friends from out of province all the time and hope everyone is well. Be safe and take care.

Sunday December 20th, 2020 River Report.
I took this picture of the Dungarvon River Friday. It gives you an idea how quickly things can change on the watershed. When I was up that way a week ago Saturday, there was no ice at all showing along the river. In less than a week this particular part of the river is almost frozen in. It will freeze and thaw like this for another week or two then things become more permanent.

Sunday December 13th, 2020 River Report.
The pictures in the slideshow to the left were taken yesterday along the Dungarvon River. While doing trail work for the snowmobile club I had a chance to take some pictures in this area. River levels are down to normal now. After previous rains they were quite high. You can also see how the brooks are up and some of the wetland areas are starting to accumulate water again. These wet areas were completely dry well into the Fall.
There is much more snow up there than in the Blackville area. We did get snow last night though and this morning the ground is completely covered here in Blackville with a couple of inches of snow. Yesterday was possibly the last time I will be able to get up in that area on my Honda UTV. We are getting our trails ready now for snowmobiling.
Colder weather with highs in the single digits are in the forecast for this coming week. Winter is settling in quite fast now and our rivers will take on a whole new beauty. It was encouraging to see normal river levels before freeze up. It is possible the next time I get any pictures in there will be from a snowmobile. It may be awhile before I get more pictures. In the mean time be safe, Merry Christmas, and all the best in the New Year.

Wednesday December 2nd, 2020 River Report.
I took these pictures today (slide show to the left)on my walk to the park here in Blackville. One of the pictures is from the N.B Trail bridge looking down the Bartholomew river towards the Miramichi. The other picture is from the boat ramp in the park of the Miramichi River.
It sort of felt like back in April, a week or two after the ice went out. You wouldn't believe the difference in two days. Our long wait is finally over to see a good flushing of the river. It will be interesting now to see how long this holds. Our rivers seem to raise and lower so fast after rains now.
As I reflect back on the weather we had this Fall and the pictures of our rivers you can tell how inconsistent our weather was in this area. Some pictures show low water conditions, while others show ice build up, and then thawing with low water and now high water levels. It seems to have been a warmer Fall with less Fall rain until now, which is late. Normally we see more rain throughout the Fall.
This warmer weather will probably change soon though ,and things will continuously freeze with cooler temperatures each passing week. Most people prefer not to see this transition into Winter but, sometimes the ice with snow brings us some very scenic pictures along our rivers and streams. I will try to post some in the coming months.


Monday November 23rd, River Report.
This is an off season report for those who are interested in seeing the changes during the Fall season on our rivers. The pictures in the left slide show are of the Dungarvon and Renous Rivers. Two of the pictures are from the front veranda of my cabin looking upriver at the island and downriver at the bend in the river. I spent the last 4 days up there enjoying the outdoors. As you can see the rivers are still quite low, there is a freezing and thawing taking place now, and the leaves are completely gone on most trees. I added a picture of a moose scrape as we were seeing all kinds of sign like this.
One of the things I enjoy the most about this time of year is the visibility through the woods. Our local bald eagle made an appearance Friday. We enjoy lots of northern birds up there like Grey Jays, Blue Jays, and Black Capped Chickadees. Other than a few camp chores most of our time was spent looking for wildlife from the Honda side x side. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a picture of the Martin we saw . They don't hang around very long when humans are around.
  We really concentrated on seeing salmon redds but didn't have much success. Most of the time it was cloudy and the visibility wasn't there. Those areas I expected to see them they were not there. I am wandering if the low water levels may have something to do with that? In fact I was quite surprised at how low the river levels are for this time of year. Almost everyone we met along our travels felt the same way. We also noted the amount of dried up water courses and Springs. Out of 5 springs around my camp 4 of them are completely dry and one is producing a trickle of water. If I ever remember 2020 it will be for the small amounts of rain we received. Normally our rivers would be running quite high right now.
Something I will definitely take away from 2020 angling season is the need to see water as a resource that needs to be protected. In fact, if this continues to be the trend our focus with conservation groups may be that water becomes the priority above all else. Some of the old guides and rivermen here on the watershed have been saying it for years. Throughout the watershed people are drilling more wells to replace old ones than ever before and camps with springs supplying their water are going dry. The day may come when our provincial government will be forced to be more engaged in a resource that has been neglected for to long. This is a conversation that is becoming the norm in this area and people are going to want their water source protected. I hope it doesn't take our government to long to figure out. Global warming is becoming more of a reality and industrial practices cain't continue as they are. As an old friend who worked in the forestry industry all his life said "we need common sense now more than anything. Our government has to start protecting our water source"...........and I have to say" I couldn't agree more with what he said".
We should have snow soon. I will try to get some pictures to reflect future changes.

Saturday November 14th, 2020 River Report.
Tomorrow will be a month since the angling season closed here on the Miramichi watershed. This past week was unusually warm and any signs of winter are gone. In fact, we broke records this week in some parts of the province for the warmest days ever recorded at this time.
The picture below the video is from last week. You can see the ice build up on the upper side of the bridge on the Dungarvon River. Both the upper and lower side had ice build up. The video to the left is at the lower side of the bridge. No ice but, a beautiful salmon close to the water surface with small fish hanging out with it. They could be salmon parr. Note that the white spots on the water surface is foam not snow.
My efforts to find salmon spawning this Fall have not been successful at this time. ( We are now doing trail maintenance for the snowmobile club trails and it has taken most of my time to keep up with that). I am hoping to see salmon redds though and will post my findings if successful.
Normal temperatures are in the forecast for this coming week. This morning we had a few flakes of snow mixed with rain. We had snow this time last year. I expect things will change quite fast in the next week or two. Lets see what the colder weather brings.

Thursday November 5th, 2020 River Report.
I thought I would do a river report to update those interested in knowing how things look here on the Miramichi watershed right now. (Things look much different from my last report in October). The ice in the river is at the bridge in Dungarvon. It tends to collect there. We really haven't had major Fall rains yet. Nothing for an extended time. Those rains we have been getting bump the rivers up but they haven't been holding long. Today the Dungarvon looks fairly decent though and is in good shape for salmon spawning. I have been trying to catch some of the spawning but may have missed it. It is a very short envelope of time.
The picture of the spikehorn buck was also taken today while along the river. I thought I would add it as it was quite nice to see while out in the woods. We are into hunting season now so he may be at risk as he doesn't seem to be very concerned about me sitting in the truck. I have been spending quite a bit of time at the cabin and along the Renous and Dungarvon watching for spawning activity. The changes are very noticeable as we are moving into late Fall. I may post more on the rivers as the season transitions into winter just to give you an idea of what things look like during the different stages of the season. Although the leaves are mainly gone there is a different beauty along our rivers during this time of year. Looking forward to watching the changes. Will try and share it with you.

Friday October 16th, 2020 River Report.
Our angling season closed yesterday. With it came that raise in water levels we were waiting so long to see. Fishing has been quite good for some of the clubs and lodges during the past couple of weeks. For others who didn't have access to the better holding pools it wasn't as good. I think if we had of received rain earlier though that would have been much different. The salmon were there, the conditions were not .More rain is forecasted for tomorrow so our rivers should be in good shape for Fall spawning.
What a season? Good early runs which was very encouraging with lots of anglers hooking salmon. Then that long dry spell with cold water pool closures that we haven't seen the likes of before. In my 41 years of renting canoes on this watershed I have never seen the rivers so low for so long. As usual with these conditions many people wander if the salmon will be able to get up the rivers to spawn in such low water. The answer came the last couple of weeks in the season as fresh salmon were showing up in various parts of the watershed even though water levels were low..........And finally rain bringing the rivers up the last day of the season. I think we can be assured that the spawning will be successful with these conditions.
So, another salmon angling season is behind us. We would like to thank all those customers who supported us this season. We really appreciate it. To those of you south of the border and internationally, we really missed you. The season wasn't the same. You are a big part of our community and not having you on our rivers and in our communities was really different. Lets hope next year we can resume our favorite sport and welcome you once again to the Miramichi. In the mean time, enjoy the off season, be safe, and lets hope for a much different 2021 angling season. Take care. Cathy, Norma, and Brock.
We will be closing for the off season but if you need anything ,please call. We will continue to meet our customers and open the store when needed.

Thursday Oct 8th,2020 River Report.
I woke this morning just before 6:00 AM to the sound of rain. How nice the sound the patter of rain is on a metal roof, especially when our area needs rain so badly. With the blink of an eye though it stopped around 7:00 AM and blue skies are now showing off to the northwest. I couldn't wait to get this report on my website. I meant to do it earlier in the week but with computer issues I couldn't get it published. So, I am quite excited to do this report.
We all have been waiting to hear when the Fall runs are starting on the Miramichi and it is happening now. Since my last report on Sunday the river has been quite active with salmon. A few people always question whether they will come in when the river is low. Our experience is ,when they decide to come in they start moving regardless of the water levels.
Lots of reports from anglers all week of seeing salmon and hooking into salmon. These are good reports from reliable sources who make a living on the river guiding, etc. Most are commenting on the good numbers and how we haven't seen this many salmon in years. More than one angler has commented on catching the largest salmon in their life this week on the Miramichi. Reports of hooking into salmon over 40lb have been heard along the river. Keep in mind I am speaking more on conditions here on the lower section of the river in the Blackville area, though we are hearing of good angling upriver too.
For quite awhile small salmon flies and bombers were the flies of choice but lately anglers are reporting using streamers, marabous, and shrimp patterns. One angler commented you could cast anything out there right now and catch a salmon.
With one week remaining to the angling season I expect we will have quite a few positive reports in the next few days. If you have been waiting for things to change to get out on the river I recommend you get out there soon. With rain last night and fresh salmon moving upriver the chances of hooking a salmon couldn't be better. Enjoy! Hope to see you out there.

Sunday Oct 4th, 2020 River Report
We had another week where the forecasted rain missed us once again on the Miramichi. This has been the trend all Summer. So the forecast for this weeks rain isn't something I get to excited about. I know our Fall rains are coming but it seems like it will be late for the salmon angling. Regardless, we have anglers who are hooking into salmon and enjoying the Fall fishing. Other anglers are just getting out on our rivers to enjoy the scenery. It is beautiful out there right now and a favorite time of year for many anglers.
I would like to remind anglers that some of the tributaries are now closed above certain points on the rivers. The Dungarvon - above the Furlong bridge, the Renous - above the forks, the Little South West - above Clelands pool. You can double check in your angling booklets on this. I am only going by memory as these portions of the rivers are generally closed after Sept 15th.
Fall runs should be starting any day now. I have heard large numbers of salmon are in the Bay waiting to make that last effort to their spawning grounds. Lets see what the next few days bring. I will report when I hear more. Enjoy your favorite river. It is beautiful right now.

Monday Sept 28th, 2020 River Report.
The pictures in the top, left slideshow, are from the Dungarvon, Renous, Little South west and a branch of the Little South West Miramichi. As you can see , it is little wander so many anglers enjoy the Fall fishing on the Miramichi watershed. It is absolutely beautiful in this area right now. Water levels are extremely low. The lowest I have ever seen. We seem to have forecasted rain almost every week but for some reason our watershed doesn't get it. At this time we have a forecast for significant rain for Wednesday and Thursday. I really hope we get it.
I couldn't have asked for a better week at the cabin, and will add, that the gentleman who shared it with dad and I have been part of this annual event for many years. Our travels each day was in UTV's and my waders and rod were part of the cargo. While lunching the guys planned it around a pool so I could wet a line. The confidence in my ability to hook a salmon is quite low right now. Ha! Ha! My excuses were falling on deaf ears too. We did see salmon though and in some cases quite large numbers just holding in pools. Early in the week we estimated around 200 salmon laying in one pool, mostly grilse. We really need rain for these fish to move further upstream. It is little wander the counts are low at some counting barriers as the salmon are holding much further downstream.
The picture of the guys by the chimney is at a location below the forks on the Renous. My father is to the far right. At 84 years of age he really adds a different perspective to our annual event. His old buddy couldn't join him this year due to family issues but did make it in for a visit. They started this event over 40 years ago and we will be continuing it into the future.
So, there are salmon being caught here on the lower section of the Miramichi and a few comments from other rivers. The main comment though from anglers is, we need more rain. If we get what is forecasted that will make quite a difference and should jump start the fishing all over the watershed. I will report any changes . Enjoy! It is beautiful out there right now.

Sunday Sept 20th, 2020 River Report.
Forecasted rain for last week didn't materialize but we do have rain once again forecasted for this Tuesday. Hopefully we will receive a good soaking. One has to ask themselves these days how the salmon are getting up some of our rivers. Even so, some anglers are seeing and catching salmon. In fact quite a few anglers this past week reported hooking into salmon and seeing quite a few salmon in the river. Keep in mind I am mainly talking about the lower section of the river here in the Blackville area. These salmon are lying in certain pools at the mouths of brooks, tributaries, etc.
On another note, the annual Moose Hunt is starting Tuesday ,so be mindful when hiking through the woods and along streams of hunters who may be in your area. It might even be wise to have some hunters orange to make yourself visible.
This will be my last report until next week as I am away at my cabin for the week. I will report any changes of river conditions and angling when I get back. This is a beautiful time of year to be spending time on our rivers. If you are fortunate enough to take advantage of our Fall fishing I am sure you will enjoy it. If we get rain it will even be better. Enjoy and be safe.

Monday Sept 14, 2020 River Report.
In my last report I predicted it should be good fishing coming into the weekend. Well, it didn't happen. We had great angling that week and then it nose dived on the weekend. I am sure some anglers were wandering what I was basing my information on. It is interesting sometimes how salmon will just shut down and stop taking only to maybe get interested in the fly a few days later.
It has been a bit quiet in the last week and really we didn't have a lot to report. There were a few salmon caught and one salmon fisherman from Nova Scotia caught a beautiful salmon in the 30lb to 30lb plus range. But really not a lot to report.
In the last few days though it seems to be picking up again. More anglers are commenting on landing or hooking into salmon. Bombers and small salmon flies are still popular.
A good quantity of rain is in the forecast later in the week. Our rivers really need rain to bring them up to normal levels. I am sure some of our salmon are waiting for a good raise in the river too. The colors are becoming much more obvious these days. You can see changes each day now. A beautiful time to be on our rivers. Quite a few fisherman are commenting on how nice it is to be fishing this time of year. I will post as I hear more. Enjoy!

Friday Sept 4th, 2020 River Report.
The pictures of the small yearling moose in the slideshow to the left were taken Tuesday evening from my front veranda. I like to spend time on my veranda watching the eagles, heron, ducks, geese, etc fly up the Bartholomew River in the morning and back down in the evening. They tend to overnight on the larger Miramichi at night and feed during the day on the tributary. The moose was sort of a bonus. I caught something out of the corner of my eye while reading and looked up to see this moose watching me. I really don't know how long it was there. It wasn't in a hurry and seemed to be sniffing the flowers at the corner of the house. After awhile it slowly moved on to another point of interest.
Many a time we have had customers comment on waiting for the deer to move so they could park or the eagle they saw soaring within view of the tackle shop. We probably have a unique business as I don't know of to many tackle shops that are this close to nature.
Things are shaping up for a good weekend angling on the Miramichi. The forecast is for nice weather. Almost everyone we have been talking to all week are hooking into, losing, or landing salmon. The flies of choice seem to be smaller patterns and bombers.
A good friend who is a professional guide at one of the clubs commented today on his son catching a fresh salmon earlier in the week. Maybe with the full moon we got some fresh salmon into the watershed.
If you are here fishing this weekend, enjoy the river. This is a great time to be angling.

Sunday August 30th, 2020 River Report.
The pictures in the slideshow on the top left are of the Sabbies River which flows into the Cains River. In one of the pictures you will notice the red showing along the shoreline on the Maple trees. Another picture shows a Spring which is still producing a good flow of water. These pictures were taken yesterday while searching for the original Underhill land grant in this area along the river. At the time the family owned a saw mill and grist mill which was water powered. We explored this area in UTV's and ATV's. I was fortunate to have Grant Underhill a descendant of the original Underhill family with me who was able to give me a history of his family. This sight was settled in the late 1700's and early to mid 1800's. They came here after the American revolution as Loyalists.
Standing on the shore while eating hot dogs and sausage and listening to the family talk about their recollection of where the homestead and mill were was a real treat. One could only imagine the existence these folks were faced with back in the day.
On another note, this is the area where the forest fire went through earlier this Summer. We noted how the fire tended to hit in pockets. It seemed to jump from one pocket of forest to another, back and forth across the two rivers.
As more anglers are now starting to get back on the river we are seeing the clubs and lodges back in business. With that is more reports of anglers hooking into salmon. Some anglers seem to be doing quite well.
The rain we got today and yesterday didn't seem to arrive as forecasted. Hopefully the headwaters received more as we could use a raise in our rivers. Temperatures are no longer a concern. Everyone now is hoping for rain.
I am looking forward to this week as we have more anglers in the area and will get a better indication of the angling along the river. I will post as I hear more.

Friday August 28th, 2020 River Report.
We have had lots of confusion this week with anglers not being aware and not seeing on DFO's website the notice on reopening of the cold water pools. If you scroll down far enough on their webpage you will find a section on REOPENING. Unfortunately if you aren't following this website every day you would not know what decisions are being made on the river. There are no other means of hearing or reading what DFO's decisions are on the river. Some anglers were sure it wasn't open and even had us believing it for awhile.
So, other than a bit of confusion things are starting to look up. River temperatures are now quite cool and rain is in the forecast for the weekend. We really need rain. All of the rivers in the Miramichi watershed are low and need rain to bring them up. I haven't heard if there are any new salmon runs coming in. Salmon are being caught along the river but no one has indicated if any fresh salmon were among them. The next full moon is just around the corner so maybe we will see a fresh run then.
Early signs of Fall is quite noticeable this week. You could detect it in the cooler day temperatures and very cool evenings. More people are also commenting on seeing the odd maple showing Fall colors. This is a great time to be salmon angling. From here on into the season it only gets better. Fall colors and Fall rains will slowly change how things look along our rivers. For many anglers this is their favorite time to be salmon fishing. As most of us say " any day on the river is a good day." This especially applies to our Fall fishing.
For those who are getting back on the river after a long heatwave you will see the difference quite fast. You will also notice the early signs of Fall. Enjoy the weekend. I will post if I hear anything new.

Sunday August 23rd, 2020 River Report.
I need to apologize for missing DFO's notice on cold water pools opening this past Thursday. Apparently the notice was posted but I didn't see it. I guess most of the anglers I talked to hadn't been aware of it either.
Water temperatures continue to drop. I checked the river temperatures yesterday morning and my thermometer was showing 65F. We are also hearing of other anglers hooking into salmon and having pretty good luck. Now that the river is completely open again for angling we should start hearing of more hook ups. It has been a long time since July 21st so good news to finally have conditions back to normal and all pools open for angling. I will report when I hear more.

Friday August 21st, 2020 River Report.
Here is a quick update on river conditions going into the weekend. For those of you who are wanting to get back on the river and try your hand at catching a salmon this is good news.
I have been measuring the water temperatures for the last 3 days and we are now 2 days below 70F. At noon today in three inches of water along the shore I consistently got a temperature reading of 66F. Air temperatures are still at 13C with rain and tonight it is forecasting a low of 9C. Unfortunately, DFO will probably not make a decision on opening the cold water pools until next week. They probably won't do anything over the weekend.
For the past three days we have been seeing an increase in the number of salmon fisherman coming into the tackle shop. Are they catching salmon? One of the guys mentioned catching a salmon Wednesday. So with so few anglers on the river that probably isn't a bad percentage. Today is cool, cloudy, and raining, what most of us would call a "salmon fishing day."
I may be a bit premature in saying this but, most of the anglers I am talking to including myself are quite curious to see how long it will take DFO to open the cold water pools.
On another note, while in the park today measuring the water temperatures Blain Higgs who just happened to be making a stop in Blackville on the campaign trail approached me and we had a really good chat. He asked about the river and seemed genuinely interested in my thoughts on the angling industry.  I was encouraged when he told me that his party is looking at some kind of management plan for the rivers of N.B in the future. I have to say, I didn't mince my words when I told him that the provinces record of engagement in managing their responsibility for our rivers was sad and embarrassing. It surprised me when he agreed and felt the same as I do. He seemed to be more aware of this resource than I thought he was and it was encouraging to hear he would like to try to do something about it. I told him if he planned to do something about it he would get my vote. It is long overdue to have a government engaged in managing our rivers. Maybe there is hope for better management of our rivers in the future after all.
I will post as I hear more. In the mean time if you are waiting for improved river temperatures they are here. Enjoy the weekend.

Wednesday August 19th, 2020 River Report.
DFO lifted morning fishing restrictions yesterday to full day fishing. Cold water pools are still closed but all other fishing is back to normal. I have been checking river temperatures and they are slowly returning to normal temperatures. We have had some evenings where it has been quite cool. It is showing 12C here this morning. Day temperatures have dropped this week too.
Our canoers are seeing salmon jumping at the mouth of brooks. The cooler water temperatures generally sparks a bit of life back into the salmon. Other comments on seeing lots of ducks, geese, eagles, herons, etc along the river. The change is also showing in the number of anglers around. We are seeing a few of the guys making their way back to the river again. If the weather continues as it is forecasted we should see the rivers back to normal soon. It has been a long stretch of hot weather this summer. Most of us just want to see the river back to normal so we can enjoy it. I will post when I hear more.

Thursday August 13th, 2020 River Report.
DFO has made notice that morning fishing only will be in place from 6:00 AM to 11:00 AM starting today. This applies to any water that is open for fishing. All cold water pools also remain closed. This pretty much applies to any salmon river in N.B.
It was quite cool last night and the forecast is showing much different temperatures for the next two weeks. Thankfully the heatwave is behind us. It dropped to 14C last night and we will be seeing more of these evening temperatures in the future.
Things have been quite quiet here on the Miramichi. The heatwave has really slowed the angling down. We should see a shift though in water temperatures as the new forecasted temperatures take affect. It is just a matter of time and hopefully things will be back to normal. Most of us just want to see cooler temperatures and our rivers fishing again. That slow change into Fall is just around the corner. In fact, I saw the leaves on a Maple showing red this past Sunday. That is an early sign of what is to come. In the mean time we need rain. Rivers are low and a few days of rain on top of the forecasted cooler temperatures would really change things up quite fast. I will post when I hear or see any positive changes.

Wednesday August 5th, 2020 River Report.
I want to share a unique river experience a group of us here in the Blackville area do each year. Many years ago my mother and father encouraged Norma and I to join them for a canoe run on the full moon of August. My parents said, "you guys will enjoy it". We certainly did and have continued the tradition to this day. Though my parents don't participate now they are still involved in shuttling the trucks for us.
This past Monday night we loaded our equipment and gear and met our two friends Grant and Diane who have become as excited about this event as we are and a few others to run the river. It was just coming on dark, the river was covered in a hatch, you would think at first there were drops of rain hitting the river surface as the hatch was so abundant. By the time we had all the kayaks and canoes in the river it was quite dark. Parts of the river though had a silver sheen to it as the light from the moon was reflecting off it. We paddled hard to the other side of the river, hit the run and then pushed hard to river left towards the mouth of a nice brook. Grant said, "Brock, time to swing the canoes upriver and watch for the moon to come up above those large White Pine standing along the shoreline". We were just passing the mouth of the brook and I had the canoe part way turned upriver when a splash off my right happened. Grant said, " a salmon just jumped". He hardly got that out of his mouth when another splash occurred and we all saw that salmon. Two large salmon jumped in less than 5 minutes on the water. Everyone commented how nice it was to be able to have this experience, especially those who were with us for the first time.
We floated pointing upriver for quite awhile watching the moon come up. The odd comment was made how this full moon was called a low moon. As the moon rose above the treeline it was like pushing a light switch and turning the lights on. I spotted an eagle and it left its perch and flew downriver ahead of us. It was extremely quiet and you could hear the springs flowing into the river. As we approached a few of the bars we could see wakes where salmon were moving upriver. We had to laugh when Troy asked if we minded him playing a little guitar. I think he felt we would sooner enjoy the quiet. With Troy on his Martin equipped with new strings sounding in the background, I am sure those in cabins who have seen this all before made there way out to their verandas to listen, watch, some saying hello, joining us in this annual ritual. A few people at one of the cabins which is locally owned ,were sitting out watching the moon too and you would think the Dungarvon Whooper had returned with all the whooping that started when they saw us on the river. Whooping tends to be a Miramichi thing. Especially at a party in the evening. Ha!
Later we saw a beaver and he swam along with us for a short distance ,then the smack of his tail on the water and off he went. Other than when we put in the canoes there were very few flies. We saw lots of wakes the salmon were making moving upriver and quite a few times they were jumping at the mouths of brooks.
Though the river is low and water temperatures are warm we saw quite a few salmon. The lower section in the Blackville area is still good for canoeing. We really need rain though and cooler temperatures to improve the fishing. Whether the salmon we saw were coming in on the full moon is hard to say. There were definitely salmon moving upriver and it was very encouraging to see the numbers of salmon jumping along the river.
As the days slip by, Dog Days will soon be behind us and cooler evenings will become more common. The forecast is for warm weather but that will soon change. I will post as I hear more.

Sunday July 26th, 2020 River Reeeport.
    Just a quick summary of this week on the river. Warmer temperatures and very little rain have had an impact on salmon hook ups. We heard very little from anglers coming into the tackle shop on hooking into salmon. Cold water pools remain closed but we still have anglers fishing open water in the mornings and evenings. Most just enjoying being on the river. Which is good because we need anglers on our rivers as they discourage poaching.
   What is interesting this season is the number of salmon that continue to come in to the river system regardless of river conditions. While instructing a spey casting client yesterday we watched about 12 salmon swirl, not jump, above the Coughlan Bar here in Blackville. These salmon were all above the bar and seemed to be possibly moving upriver between 10:00 and 12:00 in the morning. Lots of other reports are coming in from anglers saying " the mouth of Renous in Quarryville is full of salmon".
   Rain is in the forecast for a number of days this week and lower temperatures too. This will definitely help river conditions. Most anglers are hoping to see the river back to normal and cold water pools open soon. A good rain to raise the river and flush it out would be good. Lets see what this weeks forecast brings. I will report any changes when I hear of anything.

July 17th, 2020 River Report.
    Just a quick notice on cold water pools. Apparently I missed the variation order yesterday where DFO opened the cold water pools for angling. Things started to pick up yesterday and we continue to hear today from anglers who are catching salmon, so it should be good fishing over the weekend. Sorry I didn't get the information out earlier on the cold water pools opening. Enjoy the weekend. Be safe. I will report if I hear anything new.

Thursday July 16th, 2020 River Report.
    Quite a few customers coming into the tackle shop commented on catching or hooking into salmon today. Keep in mind I am talking about the lower section of the river in the Blackville area. I also have been hearing from some of our locals sources who live on the river that fresh runs of salmon are coming in. It slowed for a couple of days but they claim we are getting salmon coming in almost every day. In fact, quite a few anglers believe we haven't seen these kinds of numbers since 2011.
    Because it just started picking up today we haven't heard if anything is happening upriver. I expect they are experiencing good fishing too as the river conditions are quite good. Cooler temperatures this week have brought water temperatures down and many anglers are calling wandering if the cold water pools are open. At this point the warm water protocols are still in place. Maybe that will change tomorrow.
   If you missed out on the great fishing last week this may be a good time to get out on the river. I just picked some canoers up here at the park in Blackville and they saw quite a few salmon jumping along the river. Cooler temperatures again this evening should make for another good day angling tomorrow. Enjoy! I will report when I hear more.

Sunday July 12th, 2020 River Report.
I stood on the shore overlooking the Grey Rapids last night ,about an hour or more before dark. The sky was overcast and a sprinkling of rain was coming down. It wasn't a steady rain but had an on and off pattern to it. Things were quiet and the flies were even cooperating. As I stood there I noticed a lone angler come out of the tree line on the north side of the river overlooking the Grey Rapid Pool. I watch him strip his line out and start casting, slowly working through the pool. It was so quiet and peaceful and as I stood there waiting for my canoers I couldn't help to think how many Saturday nights I have spent in various weather conditions on the banks of the Miramichi waiting for canoers and most times enjoying a few casts before their arrival. While most people are home socializing on a Saturday night and I must say," I enjoy being with friends and family too", but this has always been an important part of my life. In fact this connection was well rooted in my life when I first started renting canoes back when I was 18 years old. Forty One years later as I stand on the bank of my favorite river I still enjoy it every bit as much as I did as a teenager.
As I stand soaking up the environment around me I couldn't help to wander about the connection and joy I get being around the river. Watching the first canoe approach the shore, the way it glides through the water, and not a noise as the paddlers swing the bow upriver and glide to rest on the rivers edge. As the next three canoes repeat the same maneuver all coming to rest and all 8 people with a smile on their face, anxiously wanting to tell me of the salmon they saw jumping, the bald eagles they counted, the ducks, geese, and especially the spot on the shore of the river where one of the lady's, (soon to be wife) of a good friend found a clay deposit and sunk to her knees in it. Of course all 8 of the paddlers had to get their turn trying to walk through it becoming filthy and having to go in for a swim. This group from Fredericton had a great day even though it was cloudy and pouring rain at times.
   After we load the canoes and I prepare to depart this enthusiast group of young adults I take one last look at the lone angler across the river. It isn't long now before dark, I jump in the old Ford and start up the hill, trailer in tow, knowing I am one of the luckiest people on earth.
   The angling has slowed but what a week we had. The forecast is for much cooler temperatures Tuesday and much cooler evenings along with rain. This will slowly bring river temperatures back down. There is much more though to fishing than only hooking fish. I encourage people to get out on the river and try to connect with this great ecosystem. Enjoy! I will report as I hear more.

Friday July 10th, 2020 River Report.
    Just a reminder for those who aren't aware of DFO's postings. Our cold water pools were reopened Wednesday and Thursday but will be closed again today. If you notice a salmon fisherman who is fishing on these waters let them know so they are aware of the postings.
   Late yesterday afternoon we had quite a thunder storm go through the Blackville and Miramichi City area. I don't think it hit upriver from us but the rain should give the ground in this area quite a soaking.
   Anglers coming into the tackle shop yesterday were commenting on landing salmon upriver as far as Doaktown. So the salmon runs we are seeing here in the Blackville area are making their way further upriver. We continue to hear of anglers catching salmon especially in the low water pools. Also hearing from anglers that they are still seeing quite a few salmon jumping and showing along the river.
   The forecast is for warmer temperatures over the weekend but we can still enjoy good morning and evening angling. Enjoy the weekend and I will post if I hear anything new.

Thursday July 9th, 2020 River Report.
   I wasn't aware when I did yesterdays river report that DFO had reopened the cold water pools for July 8th and 9th and they will be closed again on July 10th. Be aware of this as it will probably create some confusion as to why and what is open this weekend. Sorry I missed this yesterday but we were not notified of this change. Enjoy the fishing.

Wednesday July 8th, 2020 River Report.
   Today is cool with heavy rain at times, the kind of day some salmon fisherman would refer to as - salmon fishing weather. This long awaited for rainy weather is a blessing and should improve river conditions even more. Since the weekend we have heard from anglers of the large numbers of salmon being seen along the lower section of the river here in the Blackville area. These salmon seem to be coming in prior to the full moon Sunday night as a few reports of salmon moving upriver were coming in Friday.
    Though DFO haven't opened the cold water pools yet, and most of us don't understand why, it doesn't seem to have discouraged those willing to get out on the sections of the river that are open and land a few fish. Some of the low water pools have been producing a few salmon but since Sunday we are hearing some great news from anglers who all seem to be catching salmon. One angler said he hooked 4 salmon Sunday and everyone else at that pool had hooked at least 1 salmon. Everyone coming into the tackle shop today are talking of hooking salmon or of the numbers of salmon they are seeing. The flies of choice seem to be the undertaker, preacher, and green machine.
   The main conversation from all the anglers right now coming into the tackle shop seems to centre around DFO and how they are letting the Miramich down. Most cain't understand why the cold water pools still remain closed. It almost reminds one of a few years back when the warm water protocol came into place and they would close the cold water pools to late and open them long after the river conditions had returned to normal. Sometimes it would be two weeks after the river was back to normal before they would open the cold water pools again. Whatever their reasoning it just seems to be creating a deeper divide and frustration from camp owners, outfitters, guides, salmon fisherman, etc and DFO. It really is unacceptable and needs to change. It seems every major aspect of river management here on the Miramichi is in jeopardy due to DFO not being able to make a decision. Most salmon fisherman who fish the Miramichi has a deep respect for this river system and when discussing the river management by DFO and the provincial government will generally sum it up as being SAD and EMBARRASSING that things have reached this point.
   Things being as they are this is a great time to be angling the Miramichi. If your wanting the thrill of hooking into a fresh salmon on a fly rod this is the place to be. Enjoy! I will report when I hear more.

Sunday July 5th, 2020 River Report.
   The pictures in the slideshow to the left were taken yesterday along the Dungarvon river. I was curious to see what kind of shape this river was in and it surprised me to see the river height being what it was. We have been getting some thunder storms but no major rain. I guess the bit of rain we have been getting has brought this river up to a good level.
      A friend of mine watched two schools of salmon moving upriver yesterday morning before 9:00 AM. He said the Main Southwest had raised 6" or more. Unfortunately the cold water pools are still closed. We thought they would be opened yesterday but haven't heard anything from DFO. Quite a few anglers are commenting how things should be back to normal fishing as the conditions are good now for fishing. Those areas that are open seem to be producing salmon on the fly. The green machine seems to be the favourite among those who are hooking salmon.
      The forecast is for more rain this week and cool evening temperatures. We should be hearing of the cold water pools opening soon and more anglers hooking salmon. I will post when I hear more.

Wednesday July 1st, 2020 River Report.
I don't have a lot to report on salmon being caught as the cold water pools are still closed. Crown water restrictions have been lifted and we are now allowed to travel in the woods and on the rivers. We should see cold water pools opening soon. The temperatures have been cooler, especially the evenings. A few heavy thunderstorms passed through the area and the last two days have been cooler with cloud cover and mist. Some of us refer to this weather as salmon fishing weather. Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow so hopefully things will open after that.
Though we haven't been able to angle on the rivers we were able to watch some significant activity on the Miramichi. Lots of folks are commenting on how many schools of shad they watched over the past two weeks. These fish have been spawning here in the Blackville area and have returned downriver. My take on this from discussing the shad with the locals is that we had a very good return of shad this year. For almost two weeks these folks have watched the shad going downriver in large V's. The shad will leave a V shape in the water on their way out to the ocean. This is always a unique experience on the Miramichi for camp owners.
      Word on the salmon is that we are seeing quite a few salmon moving upriver. This heatwave has caused them to hold up in the cold water pools. Even though river temperatures are warm they continue to come in. It was nice to see a mix of salmon and shad coming upriver but we are seeing salmon continue to come in to the river system.
      So, good shad runs, lots of comments on how good the trout fishing was, and salmon continue to come in to the river. What the salmon numbers are we don't know as DFO have not put in the counting fences yet. If things go well we should be angling salmon soon. I will post as I hear more.

Tuesday June 23rd, 2020 River Report.
      Just a quick update this morning on river conditions. DFO made notice yesterday of cold water brooks that are closed due to warm water conditions. You can check the specific brooks out on the DFO website. This heatwave should be coming to an end within the next couple of days. Provincially all crown lands are closed too. These are very unusual conditions and we have to be careful of forest fires.
   The good news is the weather forecast is showing rain almost every day for the rest of the week into next week. We also keep getting reports from locals of the number of salmon they are seeing along the river. Keep in mind I am referring to the Blackville area here on the lower section of the river.
   Be patient as this heatwave will be coming to an end soon and things will hopefully return to normal in a few days. I will post as I hear more.

   Friday June 19th, 2020 River Report.
   Although we are in a heat wave and our woods are shut down resulting in canoeing, kayaking, tubing banned until we get rain, I do have some good news. Wednesday we heard from an angler that he saw a salmon jumping here in the Blackville area. Again on Thursday we heard the same thing and today we heard of salmon jumping at the mouth of Renous in the Quarryville area. There is obviously a run of salmon coming in and these fish will probably start holding in the cold water pools, unlike the earlier salmon back a couple of weeks ago that moved through the river system into the headwaters.
   The pictures in the slideshow to the left were taken this morning here in the Blackville area. As you can see water levels are nice for wading and with salmon moving into the river we should have pretty good fishing in the near future.
   I would like to mention once again to our salmon fishing friends from the U.S and internationally that we do miss seeing you folks here on the Miramichi. Covid 19 has not been kind to our sport. I am afraid we may have lost some of our salmon fishing friends. Time will tell. We are a small community of anglers who enjoy salmon fishing. That being said, I heard this week from a friend in Maine who told me his father passed away. Twelve hours before his passing he was speaking of his upcoming fishing trip to his cabin on the Miramichi. The Fenderson's have been coming to the Miramichi for decades fishing salmon. We send our condolences to the family. Mr. Fenderson will be missed on our river.
   Tomorrows temperatures are dropping and hopefully this heatwave will be behind us soon. Time to get salmon fishing. Take care and be safe. I will post as I hear more.

Wednesday June 10th, 2020 River Report.
   It has been awhile since my last report. Things have been a bit hectic since dad was diagnosed with Lukemia. I wish I had more pictures of the river to post as it is that time of year when the vegetation has that rich green look, the hatches are happening, and all kinds of species of fish are in our rivers.
   Reports have been coming in of the odd bright Salmon being caught here on the Miramichi and it's tributaries. River conditions are perfect for Salmon fishing and they are here. Unfortunately we have fewer anglers this season on our rivers so not as many reports coming in. We do have quite a few local N.B residents angling but do miss the hard core out of province Salmon fisherman who are always here to chase the Rocky Brook and early Bright Salmon runs. The Miramichi always attracts a small unique group of salmon anglers that wouldn't be anywhere else but the Miramichi this time of year. We have been communicating with some of these folks but for those of you who might be reading this report we really miss seeing you here on the Miramichi. It isn't the same without you.
   A good friend who lives here in Blackville and only starts fishing when the Trout are taking dry flies was in over the weekend to pick up more dry flies. Ian generally starts his season sitting on the bank of a river watching the water and early signs of change. As things shape up to suite him he will make his way to the tackle shop for a specific batch of flies and off he goes. Well, that time is here and he has been at it hard core for a week or so. Guy's like Ian are a great gage as to what is happening on the rivers here in the Blackville area.
   Bass fishing is slowing down. Not as many anglers going for them now. Most locals have enough in their freezer to keep them happy. The focus in the past while has been Trout. This seems to be a good season for the Trout fishery as we have had lots of reports of large Trout and extremely happy anglers. The Shad runs are here in the Blackville area and a few anglers who enjoy a Spring meal of Shad are out enjoying that experience.
   Overall, this is one of the best times to be angling on the Miramichi. Very few rivers offer as many species of fish to angle as the Miramichi. If you are interested or craving a meal of fresh Trout, Shad, or Bass this is the time to be on the river. Lots of locals are enjoying time on the river and a meal of fresh fish and fiddleheads all picked or caught on the river. Remember to bring fly repellent. Enjoy, and be safe.

Sunday May 31st, 2020 River Report.
   I just posted my report when we got word Jason Curtis caught a bright salmon here in the Blackville area. This is probably the first bright salmon caught on the river this season. It is great to know they are here.
Sunday May 31st, 2020 River Report.
   Things have finally cooled down and the forecast for this coming week is for a continuation of cooler temperatures. This heatwave has increased river temperatures creating perfect conditions for our bass to spawn, smolts to start their migration from our rivers to the ocean, forest fires, and all kinds of hatching is occurring. You will also notice a significant difference along the rivers as things have really greened up.
      So this week one of the major concerns here in our communities along the river is the forest fires in the Cains River area. They are about 60% contained at this time but things are very dry and it is difficult to put these fires out in these conditions. Be very careful if you have plans for camping in the backcountry.
      A section of the Norwest Miramichi is closed from the Redbank bridge to the Williamstown road due to spawning bass. Everything outside of that area remains open and people are catching quite a few bass here on the Main Southwest Miramichi in the Quarryville area. I know of quite a few anglers doing quite well in this area. Another report from a local angler who showed us a picture of a 7lb trout his brother caught along this same stretch of the river gives us an idea how big some of the Brookies are on this river. No word of bright salmon yet but I have been talking to a few locals who are preparing to start angling for them and we will probably hear this week of bright salmon being caught. The conditions are right and they should be here any time if not right now.
I also would like to mention an effort by the Miramichi Salmon Association as it is of great importance to our salmon fishing industry .The Miramichi Salmon Association is making an effort to support our local lodges get through this covid19 time. They are putting together an auction where you can bid on prime salmon pools you may have thought about in the past. I encourage you to check this out on the MSA website as it is a great effort by our local conservation group to help the industry during these tough economic times. On top of all the other things MSA is trying to do for our rivers and salmon they are adding this to their work load. It is encouraging to see this happen and a great opportunity to fish prime waters.
      Expect to hear more on bright salmon soon. I will update as I hear more.

Thursday May 21st, 2020 River Report.
      Things are shaping up to be quite good for this coming weekend. The forecast is for warm weather, our rivers are holding making the tributaries good for canoeing, and we continue to hear good comments on the fishing.
You can really see things greening up along the shorelines and the poplar and maples are budding and coming to life. Fiddleheads are being picked on a daily bases now.
Salmon (Kelts) are still being caught below Blackville in the Quarryville area. The golden eagle being one of the more popular flies. With the water temperatures raising the trout and bass are much more anxious to feed and the fishing as a whole is continuing to get better. We are hearing of anglers catching trout on a daily bases now. Bass fishing has been quite good especially in the Miramichi City area but are also being caught further up the South West Miramichi towards Doyles brook and Quarryville.
   Things are dry and fires were not permitted the last I looked. I would check on this depending on the zone you are in to make sure. Especially those who are canoeing and camping in the backcountry. This is a great time of year to be on our rivers. Enjoy and be safe.

   Friday May 15th, 2020 River Report.
   Just a quick posting going into the long weekend. River levels are good and some people are even starting to do some shore fishing. Tributaries are great for those who want to get out with their canoes. Salmon and trout are still being caught below Blackville and anglers are picking up Bass in the Quarryville area.
   The forecast is showing a little rain for tomorrow but nothing major. Temperatures are on the rise and today couldn't have been better on the river. It is noticeable how things are in the early stages of turning green and lots of buds are sprouting on the hardwoods, especially our Maple trees.
   This is the weekend a lot of people begin angling, canoeing, opening camps, etc here on the Miramichi for the season. It certainly is shaping up weather wise to be a good one. Enjoy the weekend. Be safe.

Sunday May 10th, 2020 River Report.
   Things are quiet here today in Blackville. I think the continuous snow all day yesterday and into last night along with the 4" - 6" blanket of snow on the ground has most people inside where it is warm. No doubt there is the odd angler on the river but most will probably wait for the snow to melt. This snow won't last long once the sun hits it.
Rivers continue to be up and word of the odd salmon being hooked this past week by some anglers was mentioned at the tackle shop. Expect we will have a two day lull in angling and then it will pick up again.
We will see a facelift along the Miramichi as this snow melts. Things will green up even more. Those warmer sunny days are coming and with it the urge to be on the river will be even more enticing. Our canoe bookings are already picking up as people are planning their annual canoe runs on the tributaries. Water levels are high and canoeing should be good on the tributaries this Spring.
    The forecast is showing more rain this coming week along with sunny days. I will post more as things change along the river.

   Tuesday May 5th, 2020 River Report
   River levels are running quite high here in the Miramichi watershed. Last Fridays rain brought the rivers up over the weekend. More rain Sunday night, Monday, and today will continue to keep the rivers at Spring levels. Haven't heard of many salmon being caught in the last two days. They were catching them though over the weekend.
    The slideshow on the left gives you an idea of how much snow is in the area. The snowbank on the side of the dirt road was taken along the Dungarvon Road here in Blackville. The picture with part of my finger in it is of the Dungarvon River. The other picture is from the veranda of my cabin on the Renous River. You can see snow on the shore below the cabin. These pictures were taken Sunday afternoon. So quite a bit of snow left to melt north of the Miramichi River.
   Trees are starting to bud and the snow today will really green the lawns up over the next couple of days. Will post as I here more. Be safe.

Sunday April 26th, 2020 River Report.
   Yesterday proved to be quite successful for quite a few anglers. Lots of reports from anglers catching large numbers of salmon. Being the first day of the season no one really new what to expect. Almost everyone we talked to were hooking salmon. Some of the boats were hooking 20 plus salmon and that was before 2:00 in the afternoon.
   There is no denying the smile that shows on an anglers face whether he has caught one salmon or a much higher count. We could hear the motor boats on the river all day yesterday from the tackle shop making it feel more normal for our community here in Blackville. It has been so quiet on the river. These reports were all from anglers fishing here in the Blackville area. We will start hearing more from other parts of the river over the next few days.
   One of the comments from a few of the anglers was the absence of large numbers of boats on the shoreline in front of some of the big camps and lodges along the river. Sometimes these lodges will have upwards of 20 boats in front of the lodges ready to go with sportsman from all over the world. We have been hearing from quite a few salmon fisherman especially from state side who are missing their annual fishing trip to the Miramichi. It doesn't make it any easier to read reports like this of excellent salmon fishing on the river. It certainly is a wake up call for those of us who took our angling for granted. I am sure when this is all over we will have a much different appreciation for the experience of being free to fish on our rivers.
      So, a quick message to our friends to the south and internationally . Seeing the various fishing parties after each weeks turnover at the lodges arrive at our tackle shop is always a pleasure and we really miss catching up on how everyone is and seeing you at the begining of our salmon season. We hope you are well and safe from this covid19 pandemic. Salmon fisherman are really a small but very unique and special group in the angling world. We really miss sharing this unique experience with you. I am optomistic we will see you in 2021. Take care.
   The fly's of choice yesterday were the Christmas Tree ,Renous Special and Blue Smelt.
   River levels are dropping so be careful of the rocks and bars. I will update as things change and we hear more on river conditions. Be safe.

Friday April 24th, 2020 River Report.
   Good News!!!!Restrictions were lifted today in N.B on fishing. Our phone started ringing this afternoon and it has been non stop. The excitement is unreal. It has been a long 6-7 weeks of being cooped up in our homes and not being able to do anything. Norma and I had to comment on how good this news is for the locals who live along the river. We cain 't help to grin from ear to ear at some of the people who have been by the tackle shop. One young man who stopped by to pick up fishing licenses for his father, uncle, and himself, commented that his father and uncle were like having two bad young lads wanting to go fishing. They couldn't wait for him to take them to the river.
    River levels are dropping and we heard of someone hitting bottom damaging the prop and leg of their motor. This was further upriver in the Doaktown area. It looks good here in the Blackville area but be careful as it may be low here too.
      The municipal park was opened today here in Blackville so access to the boat ramp is possible.
We are trying to make arrangements to open the tackle shop tomorrow. We may have to restrict people in the shop. At this point we have been leaving things outside for people to pick up. As we learn more on the changes we will keep you informed.
      The forecast is for nice weather this weekend. For those of you heading to the river......enjoy, be safe, and best of luck angling.

Sunday April 19th, 2020 River Report
   When I downloaded these pictures I couldn't help to notice how little snow there is in the background of the pictures. Don't let that deceive you. There remains quite a bit of snow in the area.
    The upper and lower slideshows are pictures taken today from the N.B Trail going through Blackville. The smaller river is Bartholomew River and the larger river is the Miramichi. This years ice out didn't seem to do much damage along the shoreline. As you can see, everything is quite clean along the rivers. The same applies to current conditions on the river. It would be really good fishing right now.
   The 3 pictures of Dr's Island give you a good idea of river levels. The river is dropping but not down so Marilyn's Rock (named after Marilyn Munroe) is showing. So boating is still quite good. There are a few boats on the river but nothing like what we would normally see.
   The rainfall this Spring hasn't been what we normally would get so the rivers are dropping. There isn't much rain in the forecast and with cool evenings our snowmelt isn't creating any major raise in the rivers.
      All in all, great fishing conditions, but fishing restrictions for this year are keeping us off the river. We can only be patient and see what comes in early May. Take care and be safe.

Friday April 17th, 2020 River Report.
    Normally I would be reporting numbers of salmon caught and the fly of choice for the last two days but not today. I can give you a sense though of how things look here on the river.
    Norma and I took a drive last night to check the rivers out . I need to say it looked very inviting and the lure to want to be out in a boat angling is very difficult to suppress. Both the Bartholomew and Miramichi here in the Blackville area are running high but no where near flood levels. Both seemed to be quite clear with no signs of grass, ice or debris floating down them.
      The angling conditions look very good in this area. We just couldn't help to notice though the absence of boats and anglers on the river. Never in our lives have we not seen early fishing and boating activity this time of year on the river. It certainly isn't normal for our community. You could only explain it as having a silent, quiet appearance.
   I have to share an experience we are having at the tackle shop. In our area there are a lot of older riverman who have been Spring guiding all of their lives. They are watching the river and know with the conditions being what they are what fly to be using, the length of anchor rope required, what stretches of the%

Saturday June 22nd, 2019 River Report.
   I put a group of canoers in the river yesterday afternoon around 3:00PM. Though it was raining this group were not deterred from making their annual run on the Miramichi. The river looked good and water temperatures were quite cold to the touch. The rain Thursday night and Friday has brought a nice change to the river. One text this morning from a guide and pool owner in the Upper Blackville area suggests it should make for nice salmon fishing. While river levels were on the rise last night one of his anglers hooked a large salmon but unfortunately didn't land it. Although the grilse seem to be outnumbering the salmon in the river right now the salmon we are seeing are big fish. These are not always easy to land. Some just seem to have a mind of their own and cooperating with the angler isn't it.
   Other reports from Thursday indicate salmon, grilse, and shad being caught here in the Blackville area. Actually, there is quite a few shad in the Blackville and Upper Blackville area right now and for those who angle them they can be a lot of fun. Not as much fight as a salmon but still a nice fight for that first run. Another bonus is you can keep a shad.
      The river levels should start dropping today and with that we sometimes see salmon taking better on the fly. This is a beautiful time to be fishing our rivers right now. Most of the anglers we are talking to coming through the tackle shop are commenting on how healthy things look along the river. The trees and foliage have those rich colours only seen this time of year. Not to mention a river with an abundance of bass, good salmon returns, and a nice run of shad all for the angling.
   I took Brennan our 12 year old grandson out trout fishing Monday night. He has been showing an interest for the past couple of weeks so I took him to a trout hole I tend to fish not far from our house. We spent some time going over the fly rod and the basics of casting on the grass before going to the river. His first cast he hooked a 6" trout. Before the evening was over, and we only spent 2 hours on the river ,we had hooked 3 trout . Tuesday night his bicycle was here at the house and the trout rod was gone. I noticed this around 3:00 PM shortly after school would be out. He couldn't wait to get to the river. I am telling this story because we are seeing a number of parents this season who are getting their kids out on the river. We tend to see this generation engaged in cell phones, computers, etc and not interested in the river and fishing. For those parents who stopped fishing after hook and release was mandated for salmon angling they are finding it quite enjoyable to be back on the river. I guess we have to ask ourselves, just because we cain't keep a salmon, should we stop angling even though we have some of the best fishing for bass, trout and shad which we can keep? This generation of kids want to fish. Lets get them on our rivers. You soon will find out our old values may not be that important to them at all. These kids are much more aware of our environment than most of us are. Lets give them the chance to be future Stewarts of our rivers.
   I am off to the cabin on the Renous for the weekend. Will not be reporting for a few days. As we get back next week I will get back to my updates. Enjoy the weekend.

      Monday June 17th, 2019 River Report.
   I was able to do a follow up today on whether the Shad are this far upriver. I was curious as some anglers enjoy these fish and like to know when they are in the Blackville and Upper Blackville area. Normally I will confirm this information from a couple of guys upriver, and Randall Connors had called me to join him at his farm for a morning of fishing so I took him up on it. He brought along his 5 year old son Ivan who is a very fortunate youngster. Ivan can already run the boat motor and fish using a fly rod. Of course growing up on the banks of the river is a bit of incentive.
   We left the farm and headed down river to Randalls lower pool. It was a beautiful morning with the sun out and very little cloud cover. The first thing we saw on an island to our left was a Bald Eagle. Then on river right we saw another Bald Eagle. Both were large mature birds who much like us were looking for fish. Randall claims there is a Bald Eagle about every 4-5 miles along the river now.
      As we reached the pool and kitted up to fish for Salmon Randall pointed out how the island had changed and the run was much faster on his side of the river, all to his advantage. Saturday night was the last time a bright salmon was hooked in his pool and he was anxious to see if there were more in the pool. He was telling me how these bright salmon haven't been showing at all but are there. He also noticed how they will lie in the pool and not show any interest at times in a fly. That seemed to be the case this morning. We were really there to see if any shad was this far up the river so after a few passes through the pool we motored upriver and did a float down through the pool. Sure enough, we counted 8-10 salmon and grilse and lots of shad. Excited to see the pool again we did another pass and counted more shad. Once we verified there were shad in the area we decide to motor as far up as the Upper Blackville bridge and float down through the different pools. The bridge pool showed 1 grilse and lots of shad. Further downriver at Randalls upper pool we couldn't count the shad. There was just to many.
      To top the morning off we also watched a groundhog swimming across the river. He was not a very fast swimmer and we discussed how they must make prey for the Bald Eagles.
      After talking to anglers today at the shop we know they are also catching the odd bright salmon upriver in Doaktown and further up towards Boiestown. For whatever reason they aren't showing a whole lot at this time and in Randalls case his pool seems to be producing more in the evenings as they hooked 3 the other evening. The river is up due to last weeks rain and the water temperatures today around noon were in the mid 60's.
   I really enjoy this stretch of the river. It is easy wading and your back cast is free of any obstacles. It is always a pleasure to spend the best part of a day on the river with locals like Randall. They grew up on the banks of the river and have farmed its shores for generations. This local knowledge is a very valuable asset as they understand how any change in the river, temperatures, water levels, etc can impact the fishing. Thanks again Randall. Really appreciate hanging out on the river with you and your son Ivan.

Saturday June 15th, 2019 River Report.
   For two weeks now or a little better we have been hearing of early bright Salmon being caught mainly on the lower section here of the Miramichi. Generally it is spotty as this time of year the only people on the river fishing are those select anglers who want to hook into a Rocky Brook Salmon or bright June Salmon. With few anglers around the reports are few. Things always tend to change quite fast though around mid June and as the lodges and clubs start opening we get more reports of Salmon being hooked.
   Yesterday, I heard of a number of Salmon being hooked below Blackville. This morning I received a call from an old friend in the Upper Blackville area to tell me they are doing quite well in his pool. Last night they hooked into 3 bright Salmon. All large Salmon and what a joy the anglers had bringing them in. Prior to last nights catch they have been watching a good number of Salmon lying in the pool but wouldn't take. These are early bright Salmon just coming in from a long migration from Greenland. We are also hearing from people who are on the river of quite a few Salmon jumping as they move upriver.
   From the reports I am getting there seems to be a healthy run of Salmon on at this time. This is good news for the Miramichi and maybe the work of our conservation groups with Greenland is finally paying off.
   River levels are good for wading in most pools, the water temperatures are cool, and with Salmon showing like they are we should have good reports over the next few days.
   There has also been a report on Shad here in the Blackville area. I have a local guy that I need to see who will verify that for me.
   So, things are shaping up to be good fishing for the next while, we can only hope this will be early signs of a great season here on the Miramichi. Time to get your rods out and get on the river. Enjoy the angling.

Tuesday June 11th ,2019 River Report.
   I had the pleasure last week to spend some time with and old friend canoeing the Miramichi from Halfmoon to the Norrad Bridge in Boiestown. The last part of the week I spent on the Renous. Lots of river time. I have to comment that this old friend absolutely loves to fish and be on the river. He spends a lot of time on the river salmon fishing and is considered one of the best salmon fisherman in our area. We had a trip of a lifetime. Water levels were dropping so we spent most of our time paddling to get down river to better river levels. The upper part is quite fast and with the river dropping we wanted to get below Push Be Damn.
   Lots of hatches and we could see trout coming to the top feeding within minutes of putting in at Halfmoon. The pollen was plentiful and the shoreline in places was completely yellow. Bald Eagles and Hawks along with Kingfishers kept us company all along the river. This time of year is always alive with wildlife along our local rivers.
Although salmon and sea run trout have been caught in the lower section of the river we didn't see much on the upper section. It was like they haven't made it up that far yet. We talked to one club caretaker and he said they will be opening for this weekend and they generally start fishing around mid June. So we may have been a bit early.
Here on the lower section of the river there has been word of salmon being caught in Quarryville and also salmon showing in the Upper Blackville area.
I also talked to a couple of Bass fisherman who were doing quite well. They said they quit fishing after landing 100 Bass between the two of them.
More anglers are starting to get their kits ready to start salmon fishing for the season so as we get more people on the river the reports will start coming in about salmon being caught. It is a bit early but things are going to change fast.

Sunday June 2nd,2019 River Report.
   I initially did my river report earlier this morning and while having a late breakfast Norma and I were discussing the weeks fishing and changes on the river. After giving it some thought I felt it time to acknowledge a very small group of anglers who are really part of an elite group in my mind. This is a group of anglers that if offered a trip to New York, London, Paris, etc they would have to decline as they could not be anywhere else other than on the Miramichi chasing bright early run salmon and sea run trout. Most of these guys are usually locals but a fair number are camp owners along the river who are lured by the river and its early season angling. It is really interesting how some of them know it is that time of year to be on the river. Years of running a local tackle shop have given us the opportunity to meet most of these characters and get to know their annual habits. How is it that they know the time is right to start fishing early run salmon? All of a sudden they will show up at the tackle shop for a salmon license, purchase a few flies and other odds and ends and then off they go. Sometimes it may be only hours and other times it may be a few days but then we hear they have hooked into a bright Rocky Brook Salmon. Yes, a very select group of salmon fisherman who I have the utmost respect for and once again tip my hat too. Hats off guys. If you are reading this know that you are being recognized as part of a group of very select salmon fisherman on the Miramichi.
   Getting that out of the way now to the past weeks river report. This is probably one of the most exciting times for some anglers on the Miramichi. There is always that small group who are engaged in the river and are anticipating the return of bright salmon and sea run trout. It is felt by some the ultimate angling experience on the Miramichi is hooking into large sea run trout or an early bright salmon. Some of this small group feel it is time ,while others spend enough time on the river watching the changes in river levels, blossoms on the trees ,insect hatches, etc and know it is the time to get out there. For this group that time has finally arrived. There have been numerous accounts of both sea run trout and bright salmon being caught here on the S.W Miramichi in this past week. We noticed earlier in the week some anglers using dry flies and being successful for sea run trout. These are the best of the best for some anglers and hooking into a Rocky Brook Salmon is the ultimate experience.
      River levels are dropping and we will soon find some of the tributaries will not be as accessible in the near future. Rain will help and hopefully we will be able to get another few weeks of good canoeing in. Our trees in the last week have really come alive. It is hard to believe how fast things will green up in one week.
      If you are spending any amount of time canoeing and fishing it is advisable now to bring fly repellent as the hatches are starting. A great time of year to be on our rivers. Be safe and enjoy.

Sunday May 26th, 2019 River Report.
   Reports from anglers around the tackle shop this weekend indicate changes on the river. We were told a few salmon are still being caught upriver in the Blissfield area but it has slowed down in the Quarryville section of the river. Fewer large trout and hardly any bass are being caught compared to the last couple of weeks. The slow down seemed to start last Thursday and hasn't picked up yet. We did have some great angling for a couple of weeks in this area. There is word that sea run trout are being caught upriver in the Boiestown area.
      The focus now will be on Sea Run Trout. We are already having anglers asking about them who are out there hoping to get into a big one. No word yet of any bright salmon on the S.W Miramichi. There was mention of one being caught on the N.W Miramichi.
      River levels remain good for canoeing the tributaries and we had canoers on the Dungarvon who said the fiddle heads were plentiful. We are not hearing of many brookies being caught on the tributaries yet. Most people are canoeing the tributaries and not focusing on the trout fishing. We will soon hear of anglers picking up nice trout as we are approaching that time.
      A word of caution in regards to camp fires. The woods is really quite dry even though there has been a lot of rain. Things are starting to green up and the leaves are slowly coming out but a lot of underbrush is very dry. This is a time when forest fires can get out of hand very fast.
   Enjoy the fishing. This is one of the best times of year to get your gear out and get on the rivers. I will report as I hear more.

Tuesday May 21st, 2019 River Report.
It was an interesting long weekend in that the weather was really not that great for angling, canoeing, camping, etc, but a lot of people enjoyed it anyway. We were quite busy outfitting people with canoes and shuttling them to the drop off and take out points. Our tributaries in this area have perfect river levels at this time for canoeing and quite a few people are taking advantage of the good conditions.
   Whether canoeing, fishing, or enjoying the abundance of fiddle heads that are available everyone we talked to seemed to be anxious to enjoy the outdoors regardless of the wet, cooler weather.
   Most of the lodges have seen the last of the sportsman here to chase our Black Salmon. Though there are probably a few late salmon still lingering in the river most of the anglers now are concentrating on the trout and bass. Here is how a typical day looked last week for anglers. Salmon were mainly caught in the mornings while trout were hooked easier in the afternoons, the evenings then produced some extremely good bass fishing. There seems to be mixed reports on the bass fishing but our customers fishing with flies have been very successful. This has been a trend for over a week now. While other areas are not producing very many bass and some say the water is to cold, etc the Main South West Miramichi in the Quarryville area has had what one customer termed "ridiculous fishing". We have seen videos and pictures of the river boiling with bass in this area along with some ear to ear smiles. I guess it is important to know that depending where you are fishing the results can be quite different. Many of our locals find they can put their boats in here at the park in Blackville, enjoy the boat ride to Quarryville, and have great trout and bass fishing for the day. One really cain't complain about that for a day on the river.

Thursday May 16th, 2019 River Report.
   Cold, wet, windy conditions haven't kept all anglers off the river. Though conditions haven't been the greatest those who are braving the elements are having some success. Rewards of salmon, good trout, and bass continue to be the talk by those coming into the tackle shop for gear. There seem to be good pockets of time during the day that produce quite well.
      We continue to hear of salmon still showing upriver and here on the lower section they are being caught in reasonable numbers for this time of year. My impression from anglers and guides are that there is a much better showing of larger trout this year. Almost everyone we talk to who are angling for salmon are quite happy with the trout they are catching. If you are fishing in the Quarryville area the norm now is salmon, trout, and bass on the fly.
We have rain in the forecast and a gradual rise in temperatures. Most anglers feel the fishing will continue to be good for awhile yet. For those who like to chase the trout now is a good time to be on the river. Dress warm and enjoy the fishing.

Tuesday May 14th, 2019 River Report.
   We continue to hear of salmon being caught. Not the large numbers as before but it hasn't been that bad in the last day or so. The odd angler is actually doing quite well. Once again ,this week seems to be showing large numbers of trout being caught while fishing salmon. Quite a few anglers are also hooking into bass in the Quarryville area. In fact it is really good fishing at times.
      The weather is cold and cloudy and tomorrow we have rain and possible snow in the forecast. Dress warm and enjoy the fishing.

Monday May 6th, 2019 River Report.
Just a quick update on the river. I did an early morning report yesterday and up to Saturday we were having quite good fishing. Through the day yesterday we were hearing from more anglers coming into the tackles shop that they were catching fewer salmon. Today that trend seems to continue. There are some lucky anglers out there that seem to be doing O.K but others not so good. This seems to be following the up and down trend that we have been experiencing in the past couple of weeks. We still have salmon upriver so there will continue to be salmon coming downriver for some time.
   This is salmon fishing and as things change I will keep my reports updated. Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow. Lets see if that will change it up.

Sunday May 5th 2019 River Report.
   Fishing conditions are quite good at this time. A lot of anglers are catching salmon and we are getting more reports of higher numbers of large trout being hooked. It isn't uncommon to hear from anglers here at the tackle shop who have caught a dozen plus salmon in the morning and were going out again for the afternoon. Lots of fisherman on the river. We did a fly casting course yesterday and would see a minimum of three boats at any given time fishing within our view.
      Water temperatures remain quite cold and the salmon continue to stay low in the river. Those having the most success seem to be fishing with fast sinking lines. We still have a lot of snow in the woods and the melt is keeping the river temperatures cold. Our daily temperatures are getting higher so that can change quite fast. It has been a nice couple of days on the river and we have more in the forecast.
   The buds are becoming more noticeable on the trees and things are changing fast as each day brings change. It is a great time to be on the Miramichi. Looking forward to this week. Everything is coming to life and the fishing couldn't be better.

Wednesday May 1st 2019, River Report.
      By Friday of last week the angling was quite good. Rain on Saturday raised the river and by Sunday water levels were high enough to have grass, etc floating down it. The rivers started clearing by Monday and a few salmon were caught. Today the reports were more positive and we seem to be back into good fishing again. Along with salmon being landed we are also hearing of large trout being hooked. The smelts are in at Quarryville and some people are fishing them. The forecast is showing warmer days ahead so angling should continue to be good.
      We are now seeing more of the seasoned salmon fisherman on the river. It is always good to see the guys back for another season. Good weather over the next few days should yield positive results. I will post as I hear more. Enjoy the fishing.

Friday April 26th, 2019 River Report.
   End of day report.
It was a good day on the river today. A larger number of anglers are on the river and almost everyone coming into the tackle shop were reporting hooking into salmon. Even this evening trucks are still going into the park here in Blackville to unload boats and get the remaining evening fishing in. One group told of hooking upwards of 19 salmon today, while others are not so lucky, they are hooking salmon. Popular flies are Golden Eagle, Black Ghost, and pink colored flies. I haven't replaced my pictures yet but hope to get new ones soon. The river is really quite a bit lower now than the existing pictures show. Expect tomorrow to be another good day.

Just a quick morning report. The river continues to drop, in fact it is becoming quite fishable. I am surprised at just how much it has dropped in the last two days. Forcast is for sunny and warm today with rain tomorrow. Expect we will see good fishing today and over the weekend. Will continue to report any updates.

Thursday April 25th, 2019 River Report
   Addition to todays report - Things are quickly changing on the river. This afternoon we had quite a few anglers in telling of hooking into large salmon. One angler had hooked into 4 himself. Others were telling of hooking and losing salmon. The popular fly at this time is the Golden Eagle. The rivers have been dropping and are low enough now for the salmon to take. As word gets out more anglers will start launching their boats and we will continue to hear stories of hooking into the big ones. I will report as we hear more.

I checked the river last night at the park here in Blackville and it is slowly dropping. Both the Bartholomew and the SW Miramichi are showing signs of a gradual drop in water levels. More boaters are starting to get out on the river but still not hearing much yet on salmon being hooked. We need to remember that it usually takes a few days to a week for the river to clear and drop after the ice starts moving. With so much rain and the large amounts of snow in the woods we can expect it will be longer this year for angling conditions to get better. Snow on the ground here this morning. Much better weather in the forcast for tomorrow and weekend. Hopefully the weekend will bring positive angling news.

Monday April 22nd, 2019 River Report.
    The slideshow contains pictures I took Sunday evening at the park in Blackville and the old train bridge on the Bartholomew River facing down river towards the Miramichi. As you can see the river is quite high. This morning when I looked it was still quite high with no ice or debris that I could see. It is slowly dropping but continues to remain high.We have more rain in the forcast for tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised to hear of boaters out in the river soon. I will post updates as I hear more.

LIVE... Webcam from Bullock's Lodge on the Southwest Miramichi near Boisetown

Real Time Hydrometric Data, DFO, Province of New Brunswick

Northwest River at Trout Brook
Little Southwest River at Lyttleton
Catamaran Brook at Repap Road Bridge
Main Southwest River at Blackville

Miramichi River Environmental Assessment Committee Flow Data