To supporters of the Save Miramichi Salmon litigation strategy: You are receiving this e-mail because you expressed an interest in being kept abreast of SMS’s progress on its potential litigation with DFO.  In May of 2019 the FOPO Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans in Canada produced a document that instructed DFO to balance the populations of Atlantic salmon and striped bass in the Miramichi.  They made this point clearly and strongly.  You can, …Read More →

On 11/22/24, attorneys for SMS sent DFO a Demand Letter that can be read at this link.  In this letter we spelled out the basic approach that must be followed to begin the turn-around of the Miramichi salmon population.  We said that if DFO did not contact us and make a good faith effort to meet and begin negotiations toward these management measures that we would be forced to file litigation against them. So, …Read More →

  Fishing Friends While the early part of this fall was quite mild, the last couple of weeks have been substantially cooler.  This week it has been freezing 24 hours a day with temperatures consistently below normal along the Miramichi Valley.   As the photo below from Boiestown shows most of the river is already frozen.  It was well into January before this pool froze last winter. Twenty years ago, I remember feeling optimistic during, …Read More →

Fishing Friends – This posting to my blog is one that I must tell you I have no great joy in making, but to those of us who love the Miramichi and its Atlantic salmon, the message is critical.  A group of 6 private citizens: Alex Mills, John Bagnall, Karl Wilson, Rip Cunningham, Joe Walsh and myself have founded a not-for-profit Canadian corporation called Save Miramichi Salmon Inc.  “SMS.”  Our plan is to positively, …Read More →

Fishing Friends A fascinating exercise in the off-season is to ponder the data from the trap nets at Millerton and Cassilis that the Canadian DFO uses to calculate the salmon and grilse runs into the Miramichi.  Let’s take a little look and see if there are any revelations and/or trends in the data that are helpful either to our understanding of our favorite fish or in trying to get one on the end of, …Read More →

Fishing Friends – I think I can safely say that for anyone who does very much salmon fishing, 2024 will be remembered as the toughest season in a very long time.  That isn’t to say that no fish were caught, and that there weren’t some bright moments, but in general it was a continuation of the trend that began in 2012 and has accelerated in the last few seasons.  Striped bass, massing in the, …Read More →

Fishing Friends – Here is the “Fall Begins 2024 Miramichi salmon blog.” Miramichi Fishing Report – In the last few days I have heard from lodge owners, guides and fishermen from all over the Miramichi system.  In a nutshell, very few new salmon have arrived in the Miramichi since July until perhaps very recently.  This isn’t unusual in that August through the end of the first week in September is historically a very quiet, …Read More →

Fishing Friends – It seemed like this summer’s heat would just never end, but suddenly we’ve had a little bump in water levels, temperatures have cooled and the cold-water pools are reopened.  The next 10 day’s forecast looks pretty good too.  I’ll be headed up on September 6th for the rest of the season, and as always, I’m really looking forward to it. Let’s start out by reviewing the trap numbers through August 15. , …Read More →

Fishing Friends – I’m constantly reminded of the incredible importance that Miramichi salmon fishing has had to fly fishermen from all over the Northeast.  Here’s a little story about all that I hope you’ll enjoy. About this time of year, we are often looking for the cracks in summer’s armor. Sometimes things just change by inches, but more often the heat hangs on what seems like interminably, then all of a sudden there is, …Read More →

Fishing Friends – Thanks to catching a nasty virus that was working through the camp in Newfoundland I’m home in Maine.  First, a review of what I know about the salmon season in general so far…  I think it is fair to say waters in the middle and southern parts of North America’s salmon range have been finding this a tough season.  A friend who fished on the Flowers River, Labrador’s furthest north scheduled, …Read More →