October 9, 1998
The arrival of the month
of October brought with it yet another heavy rain, dumping nearly two inches
on most of the watershed and raising the river several feet. Although
a few fish were caught even in the midst of the heavy water, the fishing
slowed down significantly over the weekend and really didn't begin to
improve until Oct. 5 - 6. Even in its improved state, it has been
slower than we would like, due to the persistently high water levels. However,
the population of fish being observed in many pools is quite encouraging,
but under these conditions, salmon are so transient that it is difficult
to get a fly in front of them for more than one cast (so it had better
be a good one!). Over the past few days the water has been clearing nicely
but still remains much higher than normal.
We were forecast to receive
more rain on October 8, but actually only received about 3/8" which should
not have much of an effect. All in all, things are looking better than
they did a week ago.
It is not clear whether
there are more runs of fish yet to come or not. It is possible that the
majority of our salmon are taking advantage of the water conditions and
heading to the spawning grounds earlier than in recent years. The reports
from the lower parts of the river would seem to indicate that fewer fish
are being seen there in the past few days while the upper portions are
reporting significantly better quantities.
September 29, 1998
We have certainly been
having our share of rain the past few days and the water has remained considerably
higher than normal as a result. On Tuesday evening, September 22,
after a generally good day of fishing throughout much of the river, we
were hit with well over an inch of rain. The subsequent raise of water
brought even more fish through the system but made it difficult to get
a fly in front of them long enough to elicit a response. By Thursday,
favorable reports were once again circulating with two in particular which
stood out. Larry Van Peursem of Bangor, ME landed a 30 lb. Salmon
at Flo's Fishing Lodge on a #2 Green Machine while just upstream from Flo's,
George Peavey, also of Bangor, landed a salmon of similar size at 42" also
on a Green Machine. We have heard of some good fishing at Wade's Fishing
Lodge over the weekend as well with 10 to 12 fish landed each day of Saturday
and Sunday.
On Sunday afternoon, the
upper portions of the Miramichi received yet another 1/2" of rain which
again brought the water up a few more inches. There are still good numbers
of fish being seen but aside from another 30 pounder caught at the Miramichi
Salmon Club, we have not heard great reports from the past two days. As
the water clears again we should see some better catching in the next few
days.
Although the reports from
the Northwest and the Little Southwest have not been encouraging, the Cains
system is beginning to produce some good fishing opportunities, having
benefited tremendously from the higher water this fall. All in all,
with water and salmon in the river and the fall foliage nearing its peak,
this is once again a wonderful time to be on the Miramichi.
September 21, 1998
The conditions on the
Miramichi are as favorable as they have been for several years, with good
water levels and regular rainfall every few days. We have had nearly an
inch of rain over the weekend and today, and the water is raising a little
as we speak. There is a bit more rain in the forecast which is even better.
The quantities of fish are very encouraging and are widely dispersed throughout
most of the system. However, the lower portions of the river from Boiestown
down to Renous have seen more fish than elsewhere during the past few days.
We have heard encouraging
reports of fresh fish with sea lice being caught in the Blackville / Blissfield
area yesterday and today with a good concentration of grilse interspersed
with some large salmon. The most common complaint however is that although
most anglers are seeing lots of fish, getting them to take has not been
easy. One fisherman asked us for a "Tetanus" fly which he thought
might be appropriate for salmon with lockjaw.
As the season progresses,
the likelihood of more incoming fish is steadily increasing. Traditionally,
the latter part of September is the time when we see the greatest concentration
of large fish and with conditions as good as they are, things are looking
great.
September 12, 1998
After receiving over 3
inches of rain this past week, we are pleased to say that the water conditions
are ideal for Miramichi fall fishing. Having come up about 2 ft. in all,
it is now settling down a bit and is very fishable. Although today was
a little quieter on the river, we have been hearing good reports of fish
moving throughout the system with several big fish having been caught recently.
In the past few days, Wades Fishing Lodge has released three fish in excess
of 30 lbs., the largest of which was 36 lbs. Pond's also reports a 44"
salmon taken on a green machine just above Doaktown and there are unconfirmed
rumors of a 40 lb. fish at Rocky Bend in the upper end of the river. All
in all, things are looking very good for a great fall.
September 9, 1998
After going for quite
some time with no significant rainfall, I am pleased to report that we
have received 2 1/2" overnight and the water is raising as we speak.
We expect it to continue to raise for at least another 12 - 18 hours and
possibly crest by noon on Thursday. Fishing reports over this past weekend
have been quite encouraging but the rain will bring about a welcome change
in the water which should bring more fish into the system and shake up
the ones we presently have. Several pools have already reported good fishing
this morning as the water began to rise and we are hopeful that things
will continue to improve over the next few days.
August
14-27, 1998
The past couple of weeks
have been reasonably productive, but there do not seem to be significant
quantities of new fish appearing yet. The water levels and temperatures
have been much better than normal for this time of year and we have had
an extra 3/4" of rain over the past couple of days to bring the river up
again by several inches on the Main Southwest Miramichi. Reports
from the Northwest Miramichi indicate a much more significant raise of
water for that river. We are hearing of a few more large salmon being caught
and several large fish have been seen in the lower parts of the main river,
but not in heavy concentrations at this point.
Unlike other recent years,
water conditions are very favorable for a good fall run, however, if and
when they decide to appear.
August 12-13, 1998
A wonderful demonstration
of God's providence has put an end to our hot dry weather and blessed us
with over 3 inches of rain in a 24 hour period. This in turn has brought
the water up by nearly 3 1/2 ft. as of mid afternoon on Wednesday. It has
crested now and is dropping and clearing quickly, which should make for
some greatly improved fishing by the latter part of the week end and well
into next week. It should also put more fish up to the headwaters which
will give us a much more accurate representation of this year's salmon
population than the low water Septembers of the past several years have
allowed.
August 7 - 11, 1998
The past few days have
been exceptionally hot and dry and unlike last week, the evening temperatures
brought little relief as we sweated our way through a scorching weekend.
As you might well imagine, the fishing slowed down a great deal and there
have been very few reports of fish being caught in the last few days.
However, we are pleased
to report that as of Tuesday morning, the air temperature has cooled significantly
and we have had a bit of rain overnight. Today's forecasts are calling
for more rain throughout the northern and western parts of the province
with some areas due to receive up to 2 inches of rain in the next 24 -
36 hours. Predictions are that much cooler air will accompany the system
and the outlook for the latter part of the week is for more moderate temperatures.
If this happens, we should see greatly improved conditions on the river
and this may be enough to start fish moving in to the system once again.
July 29 - August
6, 1998
At the time of this writing
some New Brunswick media reports are implying that the Miramichi River
system is closed to angling. We would like to correct this most recent
example of reckless reporting by assuring you that the Miramichi is still
open and is actually doing quite well, in the context of the time of year.
We have had our usual supply of warm days but their effect has been offset
by some very cool clear nights causing the early morning temperatures on
the river to be quite favorable. After the heat of the day, the evening
water temperatures have been less than ideal but all in all, the fishing
is still holding up during a time when it is traditionally slower. We were
blessed with two good solid rains last week and the height of the water
is still quite adequate.
There are small spurts
of fish coming through from day to day, causing some pools which normally
do not hold fish to report several fish a day being caught as they move
through. Generally speaking, however, the holding pools where the water
is cold and deep have provided the best angling opportunities under these
conditions.
July 25 - July 28,
1998
With low evening temperatures
and cooler days, the water temperature has dropped considerably and is
now in the mid to high sixties during most of the day. We are hearing of
more fish beginning to move in the Blackville area, with a good number
of people reporting fresh fish with sea lice on them . This is a
very encouraging sign and we are hopeful that the water temperatures stay
low enough to keep these fish on the move. We have received a bit of rain
on Tuesday but we are hopeful that the headwaters will receive a little
more overnight. The water is still much higher than the lows of '94 and
'95 but it is at its lowest point so far this year. This has made
for better fishing in the Blackville area, as the water had been too high
for many of their pools earlier. There is still enough water to comfortably
allow fish to move if and when they decide to do so.
July 9 - 24, 1998
The conditions presently
are improving slightly, after a couple of weeks of extremely hot weather.
With several of the nights also being very warm, the water temperatures
have remained quite high. Thanks to a big rain over the week - end of July
11-12, the water came up over two feet and although it has been dropping
steadily, we still have sufficient water levels to sustain acceptable fishing.
On Thursday, July 23 we
received about 1/2 inch of rain in the Doaktown area and although we did
not hear of any significant raise of water, the water temperature was much
better on Friday morning hovering in the mid to high sixties. Friday evening
has also been quite cool and we are hoping for better conditions as the
week-end progresses.
Reports of fish have been
quite spotty with large concentrations of fish in the cold water pools
and no significant run moving through at any point. While the number of
fish coming in early was much better than predicted, most of them went
directly to the headwaters with the good water of late June and early July.
We have heard of several fish being caught within the last day or two but
we are still waiting for more fish to start moving again.
A mid season assessment
was done on the Miramichi and the results were announced on Friday, June
17. The grilse retention limit remains at 1 per day but an angler can now
hook and release up to 4 fish per day. Please note as well that barbless
hooks are not required for the Miramichi, despite rumors to the contrary,
July 1 - July 8,
1998
With an unusually high
rainfall and cool nights, the water conditions have been much better than
normal throughout this past week. July began with heavy rain and water
temperatures in the low to mid sixties. This brought a good number of fish
through most of the pools and interception was good until the week-end,
when things began to warm up and water temperatures crept up to the low
70s. With another 1 1/2" of rain on Sunday, the water rose yet again and
the temperatures stayed in the mid sixties until Tuesday. With the water
dropping slowly and fish still moving, the catching has slowed down a little,
mainly due to the rising temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday. However,
the quantity of fish remains very good with good reports of fish sightings
from most parts of the river, especially downstream from Doaktown.
June 23 - June 30
1998
This past week on the
Miramichi has been one of the most encouraging weeks of summer fishing
we have had in quite some time, with an abundance of both salmon and grilse
showing up in all parts of the river. We are continuing to hear very positive
reports of more fish on their way and many of the pools along the Main
Southwest Miramichi are producing several fish per day. The reports from
the Northwest Miramichi are equally encouraging. Thanks to a fairly steady
supply of rain throughout the entire watershed, along with some intense
localized showers, we have had a good flow of reasonably cool water, except
for a couple of warm days this past Thursday and Friday when the water
temperature climbed to the low 70's. Saturday was much cooler, however,
and the water temperature slipped back down to the low 60's. As of this
writing, we are getting more rain and things look good for the next few
days and hopefully, for the next few months.
June 6 - June
23 1998
We are happy to report
that the Miramichi is in excellent condition and the quantities of fish
are improving every day. We are hearing increasingly better news from fishermen
on all parts of the river, although most of the success seems to be in
the middle and lower portions. However, this may just be due to limited
reporting from the upper end. We do have it on good authority that several
salmon have already reached the headwaters along with an abundance of sea
run trout and one camp in the Upper Blackville area reported 19 fish caught
last week ranging in size from 25 lb. and down.
We have had very good
rainfall for the past 10 days and this, coupled with cool nights has put
the river in prime condition for salmon mobility. After raising yet
again over the past week-end, the river is now dropping gradually and should
be at optimal fishing level in a day or so.
As of June 15, the counting
facility on the Main Southwest Miramichi was reporting more fish at that
point than during the whole of June 1997 and our most recent information
indicates a good mixture of both Salmon and Grilse.
May 8 - June 5,
1998
The ending
of the Spring Salmon fishery of 1998 turned out to be quite uneventful
with very little catching activity reported during the latter part of the
season. This time period is traditionally less productive but after such
an unusually late season in 1997, many people were hopeful that the same
thing might be repeated this year, despite a much earlier spring. Although
the fish were not as plentiful as in the first few weeks, we were blessed
with unseasonably warm, sunny weather which helped to make even fishless
days much more enjoyable.
As the month of May drew
to a close, rumors of scattered interceptions of bright salmon began to
swirl throughout the area and many of those unconfirmed reports have taken
on a greater air of reliability as the month of June unfolds. As more anglers
are compelled to discover firsthand what might be lurking beneath these
mysterious June waters, we are hearing increasingly more reliable accounts
of success. Some anglers are now reported to have caught and released several
salmon so far and while the early June fishery is always unpredictable,
the lack of quantity is more than offset by the size and quality of the
fish which are caught. On the Main Southwest Miramichi, the majority of
early June salmon are in the 10 - 20 lb. range and are predominantly female.
Taking advantage of an
unusually long period of cool, wet weather and higher than normal water
conditions here on the Miramichi, most fish in the river at this point
are moving quickly upstream without stopping to interact with anglers.
Thus, it is safe to assume that the actual number of salmon in the river
is certainly much higher than those intercepted by anglers and that gives
us great cause for optimism.
There are also reports
of good quantities of shad in the lower parts of the river although as
yet we have not heard of many in the Doaktown area.
As for the always evasive
sea trout run, there have been a few reports of some nice ones but not
enough to declare that the "run has hit". We are regularly asked
to predict the arrival of our impressive sea trout run but they repeatedly
defy our anticipatory efforts and frequently sneak past most of us with
nary a sideways glance. Based upon past years, however, most of the
sea trout run will have found their way to the headwaters before June 15.
April 25 - May 7, 1998
As the Spring
Salmon season has unfolded, it has brought with it a few surprises. For
example, we have had excellent quantities of fish being reported in the
upper river area above Boiestown which is traditionally not as productive
during the latter part of the spring season. With the early ice out this
year, there was even more reason to suspect that the spring fishery would
be concentrated in the lower parts of the river but such is not the case.
There have been lots of
reports of fish jumping and rolling in all parts of the river which has
made for great entertainment, but the salmon are less responsive than many
would like and thus, there have been fewer caught in the past week than
in the earlier part of the season. However, with the unusually pleasant
weather, the early explosion of leaves and buds, the abundance of trout
in the river and even the premature appearance of "fiddleheads",
this is a wonderful time to be alive in the garden of the Miramichi.
Of particular interest
to us is the number of really large fish in the 42 - 48" class, the presence
of which assures us that we will continue our heavy concentration of juvenile
populations in the Miramichi, despite some speculation to the contrary.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the credibility of those who have
spent their winter casting doubt over the health of the Miramichi is being
seriously undermined by the experiences of those who have spent their spring
casting flies over the wealth of the Miramichi.
April 15 - 24, 1998
The first
week of the Spring Salmon season of 1998 is now well behind us and it has
been a rather typical opening week. The first few days were warm
and pleasant with encouraging reports of good quantities of salmon and
grilse being hooked. As a result of the warm weather and a heavy
rain on Friday, April 17, by Saturday, the water had risen significantly
to its highest level of the year, covering the fields in many low
lying areas. As is normally the case, all of the debris and remaining shore
ice was washed away as well, making navigation by boat a rather difficult
task.
Needless to say the adverse
conditions affected the catch rate over the weekend but by Monday, we were
beginning to hear of fish being caught once again and as this week has
progressed, the reports have been steadily improving. While there appears
to be more salmon than grilse being caught, the quantities of both are
quite good. Unless there is a significant change in water conditions in
the next few days, we have good reason to expect that the fishing will
continue to be good for the next week or two at least.
Pre season - 1998
This has been a rather
unusual spring to say the least. After a massive snow build-up during
the months of November - January, we managed to escape any significant
snowfall in February and early in March, after a heavy rainfall and a bit
of melting, the ice ran in much of the Main Southwest Miramichi. The normal
time for ice out is April 7 - 15 so we were at least 4 weeks ahead of schedule.
In 1997 the ice didn't
run until the last week of April so this year's ice run was a full
6 weeks earlier than last year's. It is unusual to see the ice go in early
March although in 1996 we actually saw the ice run in January. However,
it froze over again, as was also the case in 1970 when the ice ran during
a massive flood in early February.
As for 1998, with a significant
amount of snow still on the ground and with two large ice jams, one in
Porter Cove and one in Upper Blackville, the Miramichi remained cool and
slushy for quite some time after ice out. Around the first of April
the last remaining ice jams cleared and the river was ready for another
season to begin. There is always some question as to whether the fish will
start to move out early in a year with an early thaw but the general thinking
is that as long as there is ice and snow melting into the river, the salmon
seem quite content to stay put until their normal time of departure, proving
once again that once you get to the Miramichi, it is hard to leave.
One interesting point
to consider about this past winter is that due to the early snow cover,
there was very little frost in the ground over the winter. This in turn
meant that when the spring thaw began, much of the water was absorbed into
the ground which will be of significant help to our water table in the
event of another dry summer.
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