Extraordinary fishing in Cains River

Extraordinary fishing in Cains River for early August. The lower stretch of the Cains was fishing very good Tuesday as many anglers were hooking up or limiting out. Peter Beardsworth and his sons Adam and Chris were fishing with me as we hooked into several salmon and it seemed like every second fish was covered in sea lice. We landed 9 salmon and hooked another 6 all on dry flies.

We returned yesterday and I hooked 4 and landed 2 by noon. My son Zachery landed a 20lb, 15lb and a grilse in the early afternoon also on dry flies. I also saw several locals fishing and many with fresh fish being landed. Flies of choice for many were brown and orange colored bombers and a few on green machines.

Steven Moody of Wades Fishing Lodge was also hooking a few fish. They were hooking fish in the home pool and on the Cains he said. His father Peter who never fished before landed his first on Monday using a bomber. I also tailed two salmon for Lester Vickers on the Cains River, he was using a white tail green machine.

On Lower stretch of the Main SW Miramichi River fishermen at Mountain Channel Club were hooking a few fish even though water levels were on the high side.

The Hershey Pool was fishing very well as Doctors Island were hooking fish almost every day there. They were also hooking fish at their home pool in Blackville.

Black Brook Salmon Club near the mouth of Cains River was having very good luck both on the Miramichi and Cains. Most fish seem to be running on the Camp side and heading up the Cains River.

In the Doaktown area Derek Munn of the Ledges Inn said fishing was good and there were good numbers of fish in all of their pools. He also said fish were getting very selective to fly patterns and they had to go with smaller flies to hook up. Flies of choice were green butt bear hairs, brown and blue bombers.

Local anglers on the North West Miramichi are still hooking a few fish. Between the bridges fishing has slowed down as it is hook and release, but anglers who do get out are seeing their share of fish they tell me. Fishermen fishing near Trout Brook are also hooking some fish. Trout Brook Fly Shop is the place to stop at while fishing the North West for that certain fly or type of gear that others may not have. It is also a great place to get the best fish report on the river as many guides and anglers are in daily.

Local fly shops on the river are always on hand to help you. Check with Curtis Miramichi River Outfitters, Doaks Fly Shop, Herb Barry’s Fly Shop and Georges Fly Shop for the gear you need. These shops all carry different gear so call or check them out when fishing.

When on the River fishing and your limit out early, places to check out is the Atlantic Salmon Museum where you will see lots of history on fly fishing. They have a great selection in their gift shop and such items as the Miramichi River Map, Doug Underhill’s new book Salmon Country along with much more.

McCormack Adventures in Boistown said fishing was very good last week. Many guest said they saw or hooked fish in the mornings. They also reported that tubing in the afternoons was going good while the fishermen take their rest. They also have canoes and kayaks available.

The river temperature is almost perfect and averaging in the 60’s (F). The river levels are a bit high for the lower parts of the river, but it makes it very good for the middle and upper stretches of the river and keeps the fish moving with this high water. Flies of choice are still the summer favorites’ like the green machines, green butts, undertakers and all sorts of bombers for the dry flies.

Until next week keep your lines tight and your reels screeching on the Miramichi.

After affects from Earl on the Miramichi River

Colford's Atlantic salmon river report from the Main South West Miramichi. With heavy rains hitting us from Earl we have yet to see that much of a raise in the river. The lower stretch of the SW Miramichi only got about a 6 to 8 inch raise so far. I talked to Syd at Trout Brook Fly Shop and he said the NW Miramichi only raised about 4 inches. Syd said there is not many anglers fishing but the few that are have saw fish around. The same goes for here on the Main SW river there are fish moving around the pools now from where they were before holding in cold water spots through out the pools.

This is a photo looking up towards the mouth of Cains river.

Today is very windy for casting and a lot of slim floating and making it hard to fish wet flies both casting and your drift/swing of the fly. The temperatures were very good this morning in the mid 60's F. I landed a grilse on a brown bomber, while James Vickers from Moncton landed a grilse on a green machine. Merle Colford lost a grilse and landed one on brown bomber also. There were a few other fisherman that hooked a few fish too around 10:00 am on dries.

I hope this fills you in a bit for the river conditions, I will post more later today or tomorrow if there are any changes.

Update from tonight: The river raised another 6 inches from this morning and looks like it is still raising this evening. The fishing was great as I landed 2 grilse from 7:00 pm until 8:00 pm. I witnessed a 40 incher being landed after telling the guy what he should use for a fly. I told him my flies work for this pool so put that one on! then he hooked his fish. Lucky call by me lol! All in all the river is up at-least a foot or better. I will update you again tomorrow.

Tight lines,

Rodney Colford

These are 'tying' times for fishing

On the Miramichi River system this week, there hasn't been much fishing to talk about except the weather. Heat was the topic and early morning dashes to the river seem to be the most excitement for most fisherman during the high humidity.

Most anglers took the time to tell stories on the banks of the river or practise their casting. Others said tying flies at times like this made for better days and gives the fish a break.

We all know the weather is very important topic when it comes to fishing and the heat is not the best topic for Atlantic salmon or us anglers when fishing. But after weeks of dry weather with only a few showers to be heard of, 40 to 50 millimetres of rain (about two inches) are forecast for this weekend.

Well that's enough to get excited about. It gives us hope that conditions will be much improved next week.

If the heavy rains come, what can we expect from our rivers?

With the rivers being so low and the water temperatures so high, it has to be better for the fish whatever precipitation comes from Hurricane Earl.

I would think the first day or two from a raise in water it will be very dirty from all the algae we have on the bottom of the rivers at this time. Let's hope when the rain comes it rises the water and puts lots more fish in from the bay to tighten our lines.

There were a few fish landed last weekend after a couple cool nights on the lower stretches. Saturday and Sunday morning seemed to be the first mornings that the fish wanted to take in a few days. Local anglers at Pool 66 hooked fish with one weighing in at 20 pounds. There were a few more around the 15-pound range and a couple of grilse. Flies of choice were brown bombers and small black patterns for the wet flies.

Black Brook Salmon Club also hooked a few fish Saturday and Sunday morning with the brown bomber with white ends being the fly. They said there were plenty of fish holding at the brook and early morning was the better time to fish as fish moved throughout the pool.

Monday at Pool 66 Steve Smith landed and released a grilse on a blue bomber and was netted by Dennis Grant. Joel Kitchen had a couple friends from Ontario fishing with him and landed a 35-pound salmon at Pool 66. They also lost a grilse. The fly of choice was a woolly bugger. I told him he must of been trying everything he had to get to the woolly bugger. It worked and that is all that counts under these conditions so I think I will dig mine out - if I can find them.

Wilson's Sporting Camps said there are plenty of salmon holding in their pools and are taking very well in the mornings. They urged people to take caution in the heat and to break fish off after the hook-up. Bombers were working best in the pools.

Curtis Miramichi River Outfitters had a good event over the weekend as Dennis Grant hosted a fly-casting school. They had a very good turnout on each day including myself for Saturday afternoon. It was a fun time for beginners to the more experienced casters. They said fishing was very slow but a lot of fisherman were in the shop getting flies. There were a few anglers that hooked fish on bombers and bear hairs but most were waiting for the weather to change.

The Cains River is very low and fish are holding in the cold water brooks. The Renous River is also extremely low and warm with fish holding wherever there is cold water flowing in. The Northwest Miramichi has fish holding in the cold brooks and there are rumours of fish in the tide waiting for a raise in water to get them moving upstream.

I hope this is the last of our hot humid weather and conditions will soon improve for your fall salmon fishing. The forecast for the next couple weeks is below seasonal temperatures so things are starting to look up with the rains we are expected to get. September is always a big fish month, so I look forward to hearing from you for that big fish being landed.

A tip for the anglers who have boats anchored or seats/benches out on a gravel bars - keep an eye out as the water may rise quickly and these items could be gone the next morning.

Let me know of that fish of your dreams caught on the beautiful Miramichi. So keep your rods high and your reels screeching until next week have tight lines.

* Rodney Colford is a third generation salmon-fishing guide on the Miramichi River and has been guiding fishermen ranging from greenhorns to some of the finest fly-fishermen in the world for 27 years. His fishing reports appear every Thursday in the Times & Transcript.

Salmon take on struggle

Warm weather again seems to be the hot topic for salmon fishing all over the Miramichi River system.

There are very few reports of salmon being landed on a fly rod but many dead ones have been netted out of the rivers, which have reported water temperatures in the 70 to 80 degree Fahrenheit (21 to 28C) range over the past three weeks.

Places like Big Hole Brook and Black Brook have seen many salmon fatalities as there are so many fish holding at these pools. Some fish are trying to swim up the brook in search of colder water in Black Brook. And as you canoe past this brook there has to be thousands of fish swimming together trying to survive.

Shop owner Sydney Matchett of Trout Brook Fly Shop on the Northwest Miramichi said there were a few locals fishing when the water got below 70F on early mornings but other than that you don't see many locals fishing in these conditions.

Curtis Miramichi River Outfitters said there were not many people fishing. Some sports were returning home as they thought it would harm the fish more if they fished. Still some good canoeing and kayaking.

Keith Wilson of Wilson Sporting Camps said the river was at a normal height for July and the temperature was down to 68F on Tuesday morning. He had one salmon hooked on Monday on a tiny No. 10 black bear hair.

Some anglers canoed the Cains this week and saw fish at Salmon Brook and the Brophy Pool. Water temperatures were in the high 70s as well.

Fishing weather for the weekend had been calling for heavy rains which seemed to change to only a few millimetres. The humidity also stayed at a high level.

If you can hold off on your fishing trip please do so until there is a change in weather and river conditions. And if there is no change soon, I would think things may be shut down on the river until there is.

Some anglers are wondering why it's not shut down to half days like it was a few years ago when water was low and hot. Until next week and hopefully better conditions, tight lines.

* Rodney Colford is a third generation salmon fishing guide on the Miramichi River and has been guiding fishermen ranging from greenhorns to some of the finest fishermen in the world for 27 years. His fishing reports appear every Thursday in the Times & Transcript.