As I said in the “Springers or Spring Salmon” blog that I posted on March 3, the success of the Scottish salmon season often seems to be a harbinger of what will take place during the summer on the Miramichi.   That’s not surprising I guess since many of the Scottish and Miramichi salmon both spend their winters together off the west coast of Greenland.  But there is nothing more difficult to predict than the, …Read More →

After the long winter the Miramichi River finally ices out, and last fall’s spawning salmon who have spent the winter safely resting under the ice, find themselves again swimming in open water.  As of opening day, on April 15 these fish haven’t eaten in months, and they have lost a sizeable percent of their body weight.  These spring salmon aka kelts are anxious to get back to sea, and before they make that move, …Read More →

Fishing Friends: The MSA US fund raising season is history for another year, and thanks to the generosity of the many donors and financial supporters it was the most successful in memory.  All the auction winners have been notified and the auction items are being fulfilled.  Next year we expect to be back with a hybrid event that will have both in person and virtual formats.  The date of Feb 4th 2023 is already, …Read More →

Fishing friends – If you haven’t yet registered for the MSA USA Winter Event Feb 5th to be held at the Portland Country Club or through virtual attendance, now is the time.  If you are buying a table but don’t have all your names or meal selections yet, no worries, there is plenty of time for that, but please get your tickets now so we can stay on top of attendance.  Here is the, …Read More →

In my last blog post I showcased a historic canoe that will be offered during the MSA US auctions and dinner season beginning on January 28 and running until Feb. 8.  The dinner itself, including raffles, silent auction, and live auction will be held at the Portland Country Club in Falmouth, Maine on Feb. 5.  You can also attend virtually – including bidding and buying raffle tickets.  I said that over the next few, …Read More →

Another salmon season has come to a close on the Miramichi.  I’ve pasted in some pictures of ice forming up including these shots that Darrell Warren sent me of the Cains River from the deck of my camp at Mahoney Brook, and some photos that Byron Coughlin took down at Doctor’s Island (click on them for full size).                 I think things would have solidified a couple, …Read More →

The final counts for the season on the Miramichi River and its tributaries are taken on October 31.  These include the fish counting traps in Millerton and Cassilis manned by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans DFO, and the barriers on the Northwest and the Dungarvon that are run by the Miramichi Salmon Assoc for the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources DNR.  The traps catch a varying percentage of the run that, …Read More →

I spent the last 5 weeks of the salmon season in camp on the Miramichi fishing both the Cains and the main river.  My overwhelming reflection on that time, is how great it felt to have been able to return to Canada, and go salmon fishing.  Of all the fishing I’ve done anywhere, there is none that I prefer to fishing for Atlantic salmon in New Brunswick. I’m going to cut this season wrap-up, …Read More →

The good news is that the hot weather of mid-August ended about a week ago.  Water temperatures dropped from their highs quite quickly, and they have stayed dependably cool over the last week.  The coolness has been accompanied by some rainy weather that has the river about a foot higher than at this time last summer.  This has been great for the fish.  As I write this the remnants of hurricane Ida are threatening, …Read More →

The South West Miramichi  The August 15 Millerton and Cassillis trap numbers for the SW and NW branches of the Miramichi were recently posted, so I’ve written up a little discussion regarding them.   Let’s go right to the information that I think most people will find the most interesting.  Inserted below is a graphic showing the Millerton trap counts, first for salmon, and then for grilse.  The bar graphs from the DFO website show, …Read More →