City boy does good in the Country!

We have been getting a nice mix of weather lately,with enough rain to keep water levels up and the temperature cool enough to keep the fish biting.We have had some great day's on the water lately.I had the pleasure of guiding Art Barthe of Hamilton,Ontario and his lovely girl-friend,Liz the other day and Art showed his fishing prowess under trying conditiond. We had a recent raise of water and sometimes when fishing pickerel in these conditions,they can be difficult to hook.But Art rose to the occasion,as can be seen in the photo in this post. He lost a couple of other fish right at the boat before a monster broke him off and took all his terminal tackle. I got him rigged up and going and we finished out the day with a couple more hook-ups before packing it in. Liz really enjoyed the boat ride and was fascinated with the amount of wildlife she was seeing.I have guided Art a couple of times previously,once with his son,and we have always done well hooking and releasing large pickerel in Salmon River. Art and Liz only stayed in the area for a short time because he had family commitments and he wanted to show Liz some of the attractions down here on the east coast. But Art assured me he would be back again soon and he promised he would be making some more time for the great fishing we have in our area.Hope to see you again soon Art and Liz! Any readers wanting a day or week on the water,just give me a call. I can just about guarantee you will have some great fishing! Tight Lines.

Unexpected grilse in Salmon River

We have been fishing salmon on the Miramichi R. for the last couple of weeks and Ken asked if I wanted to try the mouth of a spring brook on Salmon R. for some brook trout.Old Wes loves a feed of trout and we try to catch him a feed or two each year.So Ken and I struck out last evening,hoping to hook a few trout.Now,we knew that this spot held salmon and grilse back in the glory day's of the 80's,but the salmon stocks on our Salmon River were devistated along with the rest of the rivers emptying into the Bay of Fundy with the advent of the salmon farms in the Bay.So imagine our surprise when Ken hooked and landed a grilse,as well as losing another in the short time we were there.Of course,Ken's grilse was released no worse for the wear,but we were both surprised and happy to see these fish laying in at this brook.I did a little research after i got home and discovered that the Bay of Fundy rivers are getting some good runs of fish this year.This does happen fairly often when you have poor water conditions one year,the next year if the water is good,a good run of fish will follow.Salmon River traditionally had runs of four to eight thousand fish through the counter at the Castaway before disaster struck in the 80's.Ken and I are hoping that the DFO will solve this ongoing problem in the Bay of Fundy and we will once again return to the glory day's when salmon fishermen lined the pool's of Salmon River,hoping to hook one of these great fighting fish! Till next time,....Tight Lines!

The Salmon are Co-operating!

It has been really hot the last few day's,so we have been doing our salmon fishing very early in the morning and finishing early in the day.The salmon have been active from day-break until around lunch-time.Then it starts to warm the water up and the fishing gets tough.I managed to land a nice little grilse yesterday after a few days of rolling them and watching them jump all around us.Today I rolled a salmon twice on two casts,then rolled a grilse that also refused to take the fly. Tomorrow we will be fishing smaller flies,hoping to entice a fish into taking.If that doesn't work,I'm going to try some Bombers fished dry. The photo in this short post is of me with my grilse on the main SW Miramichi above Doaktown. Hope to have some more photos to follow soon.Until next time,Tight Lines!

Good Fishing Right Now!

Although we are experiencing a small heat wave right now,the fishing has been fantastic because of the raise of water last week. The Miramichi and all it's tributaries have a very good run of salmon and grilse going this week and it's looking like it will be a very good year for our beloved salmon. No wonder sportsmen from the U.S. and all over the world have been flocking to this area for decades to try and catch one of these great fighting fish! But don't let anyone tell you it's easy to catch an Atlantic Salmon.It can be sometimes,but usually not,even in good conditions and with fresh fish in the system. The photo in this post is of Donna Aguillon from Chilliwack,British Columbia.Donna loves to fish salmon and trout and I guided her yesterday while she fished the Main Southwest Miramichi.Although she was fishing open water during optimum conditions,she had a half-mile of prime water all to herself. Many outfitters emphasize the fact they have access to private pools,but the fact of the matter is they fish as much open water as they do private.Although she had fish jumping and rolling all around her,Donna could not get a strike.Not willing to admit defeat,I suggested we take a look at the mouth of a spring brook right in the middle of Doaktown. Sure enough,right there in the middle of the village at the mouth of the brook there was a pod of sea-run brook trout,with a large salmon laying down from the trout.After watching them for a bit,I noticed one would rise up and snatch a fly off the surface and settle back down into the pod. I tied on a large brown and white bomber for Donna and she proceeded to catch four nice sea-trout before all the action put them down.Usually the fish must be rested before they will take again and this was the case yesterday.But by that time it was getting quite warm,so we called it a day and finished off with a nice tour of the area. This is not the first time that these beautiful trout have saved the day after being frustrated by the elusive Atlantic Salmon. Along with all the wildlife Donna saw,including moose,eagles,ducks and lots of pilated woodpeckers,she had a great day on the Miramichi. We are also seeing a lot of buck sign while scouting for our deer hunters.This time of the year,the bucks are travelling together and we were surprised to see as many as four big bucks running together in one of our areas. Ken and I both believe it will be a banner year for taking one of these huge Northern Whitetails. The resident moose draw was just held and again the controversy over the draw is running rampant. Although the DNR has tinkered with the system to try and make it fairer,there are still many residents who have been applying for twenty plus years and have yet to be drawn.Hopefully,sometime in the near future,a system will be in place that will allow these unlucky hunters at least one tag in their lifetime. I believe a non-resident has a better chance of being drawn for a tag under the present system than a resident,so do not be afraid to apply if you are a non-resident looking for a moose hunt. All in all,this is shaping up to be a great year for wildlife and the sports who are out there pursuing the abundant fish and game we have in our area. Hope to see you all soon!