Welcome to Brad Burns Fly Fishing
This website offers the books On the Cains and Closing the Season, and shares with my fellow Atlantic salmon devotees information about the Miramichi River’s Atlantic salmon fishery. Other books by me such as Maine to Montauk and Black Spruce Stream can be purchased through my “author’s page” on Amazon at this link.
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Do you have any questions for me about the Miramichi or Atlantic salmon fishing in general? Just e-mail me at bigbass@maine.rr.com. To read Miramichi salmon blogs and fishing reports select Miramichi Salmon Blog from right side of the menu bar near the top of the screen.
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CAST Background Information Many people interested in Miramichi Atlantic salmon have heard of “CAST” or Collaboration for Atlantic Salmon Tomorrow, but most people are probably still not aware of exactly what CAST is doing to help Miramichi salmon not only survive, but hopefully to once again thrive. As background the CAST program was conceived by bringing together a diverse group of representatives from government, higher education, industry, conservation organizations, and private business. These partners, …Read More →
I made a trip over to my friend Chas Gill’s farm in Bowdoinham today, and we went out on the Abbagadassett River “The Abby” for smelts. These relatively early ones still have the colors of the sea, and are really the finest of the season. Man was I ready for them! Here are a few of my prizes before being cleaned and rolled in cornmeal. Fishing was a bit slow with a lot of fine, …Read More →
Just at the end of this morning’s small snow storm I decided to pull on some boots and take a little walk around the few acres here in Falmouth, Maine that my wife and I have lived on for the last 29 years. Compared to some Mainers my age who are living on family properties that they grew up on, 29 years is no big deal, but it is long enough that I remember, …Read More →
Boston MSA Dinner – on Saturday, Feb 2 at the Burlington, MA Marriot, the Miramichi Salmon Association MSA will hold its most important USA event of the year. Without a doubt the MSA is the feet-on-the-ground organization that is working to help the Miramichi and its salmon in a variety of important and practical ways. This dinner is a major source of funds for the MSA, and it is an annual meeting of old and new, …Read More →
The picture above was sent this morning by Jason Curtis of the river in front of his home. The Campbell’s Pool house is in the far upper left of the picture above.When I look out the window, and then down at the date on the corner of my computer screen, things don’t seem to mesh. We are in the middle of yet another snow storm, and this one may accumulate up to 10 inches, …Read More →
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans “DFO” salmon counting trap at Millerton on the Southwest Miramichi River is finished reporting for the year. I have put together a spread sheet below that has the number of grilse on one tab and salmon on another for each of the bi-weekly reporting dates throughout the season. I have also charted the counts throughout the season. I’m not, …Read More →
Click on any of the photos to enlarge. Since I’m now fully retired from the 9 to 5 world, and I spent the last 5 weeks of the Atlantic salmon season at my camp on the Miramichi. I was there long enough that coming home seemed a little strange, though being back with my wife June helped ease the withdrawal symptoms. That I was salmon fishing three days ago seems a little far-fetched when, …Read More →
Recent Happenings The big news is that due to sufficiently cooler weather DFO opened up the listed cold water pools to salmon fishing on 4:00 PM this past Tuesday afternoon. I don’t know about other parts of the river, but I do know that in the general vicinity of the mouth of Cains, and the main stem of the lower Cains, that there have been a significant number of fish holding in the, …Read More →
Weather Update Anyone who lives along the East Coast corridor doesn’t need me to tell them about the once-in-30-year high pressure system that has kept us, and continues to keep us, in a flow of incredibly warm, humid air. It appears that this is with us through mid-month, though there is some forecast cooling of temps both day and night so that salmon may not be in as much danger as they have, …Read More →
First Nation’s commercial striped bass fishery approved. An article in the Miramichi Leader recently reported that the Natoaganeg First Nation’s band “Eel Ground” has been granted approval by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for a commercial striped bass fishery with a quota of 50,000 fish per year. The details of the distribution are unclear at this time, but the times when the fishery will be conducted are in late May/June and then, …Read More →