Salmon in the River

Miramichi Fishing Reports for the past week in New Brunswick, Canada. Last weekend was hot but it did not stop a beautiful silver salmon from taking my number 6 green machine with white tail. I hooked the fish on the North West at the Allison pool. Water was low and the river temperature was almost 70 F. There were lots of anglers fishing and a few were hooking some trout as my buddy Damir Sahic landed one about 12 inches and the colors on the trout were amazing.

Other anglers were saying they were only catching small trout but down river near the tide there was a trout tournament going on and they said there was a lot of trout taking, and some in the 2 to 3 pound range. There was a report of another salmon which had been landed near the Wayerton Bridge pool.

I fished all day yesterday with Maurice , Gerard and Jean Francois Mallet from Dieppe on the Main SW Miramichi. We traveled by boat all the way up to the Stop Sign pool and never saw a a single fish move.

Water was very low and we scraped the bottom several times with the boat going up and down river. I saw a few shad scooting from under the boat, but not in big numbers yet like they normally do. The water temperature was in the low 60's and the wind was making it almost impossible to cast a good line. I even had my 15 foot Loop Spey Rod with me and it was tuff to cast as well. So we decided to take a break and let the wind calm down for awhile.

After a short break we decided to give the Cains River a try. The wind was much better and the fishing was the same as the morning! We saw no fish around except for a few small trout and managed to pick up three.

We talked to a couple other fisherman on the Cains that were staying at the 6 mile camp. Bill Gumble said he had not saw any trout for the week or so they have been fishing. They said reports said there was no sea trout last week but this week that they were gone through? So there it is with some fisherman wondering are the sea trout here yet or have they all gone through? Any suggestions on this are more than welcome.

This is a photo of a couple trout I got a week ago Thursday 1 of which was 2 pounds and both hooked on a small green bomber with orange hackle. Karry Harris also landed a couple down stream on the same fly.

A few nights ago Pat Colford and Kenny Vickers stopped in and got a few shad flies from me and decided to giver a try! they fished a couple evenings and only hooked one but said there was lots of shad and they were just not taking or the flies they got were just no darn good! I laughed as there were tied by me lol!!

As the weekend approaches us and your heading out on the water have fun and bring lots of fly repellent as the bugs are very bad. Lets hope for some wet weather to improve the fishing conditions for the next week and bring in more of those beautiful Silver salmon. I am looking forward to doing fishing reports for the rest of the season and hope that you all enjoy my reports and send all your stories & photos you can and I will try my best to post them for you if you like.

Until next time.

Tight Loops,

Rodney Colford

Opening Week of Spring Fishing On Miramichi

Fishing on the Miramichi was far from fun as the weather was not cooperating very well with reggit temperatures, rain, snow and hail hitting us most of the time as anglers were fishing.

Most boats on the lower stretch was catching fish as we passed them by and the nets out ready to get the fish in the boat and back into the water with a easy release from there barb-less hooks. The first day saw some huge fish from 32 to 40 inches in size. Also some trout in the mix from 10 to 16 inches or so. With water being so low most boats were turning to there trolling methods to cover more area of the river. The group landed 40 fish opening day of the season and most hooked on Renous & Christmas Tree patterns.

This is a photo of Danny Colford of Howards landing a nice salmon at the ferry block pool! Danny was guided by his brother David driving the boat.

Monday April 19th:

This is Ron Falusy enjoying a rainy day on the Mighty Miramichi River after releasing a salmon that was hooked in the dorsal fin and took us 300 yards down stream. Ron also landed a salmon with the ado-pis fin punched and a tag in the dorsal fin.

River conditions are a little slow but there are fish around. We had the chance today to see several fish in the shallow water and they would not take any of our flies we threw at them. We did manage to land 2 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon. The fish we saw seem to be holding, lets hope the river will raise a bit and get them moving.

For some information on the area we are fishing please drop by the local Atlantic Salmon Museum for your copy of there map book. Or you can have them send it to you and it's a great way of finding all the open water pools on the Main South West Miramichi River. Web site for the museum is www.atlanticsalmonmuseum.com and ask for Linda Gaston.

Flies of choice for the week were Christmas tree, Renous Special, Golden Eagle and Black Ghost. We were using 3/0 hooks with pinched barbs and it really made releasing them easy.

For more information or want to have your report posted please give me a shout at miramichifishingreports@hotmail.com and I will post it for you and your friends to see.

Tighter lines,

Rodney Colford

Miramichi Looking Up For The Start Of The Season

Colfords Miramichi Fishing Reports for the lower section of the Main South West Miramichi River.

No worries for gravel bars today on the Main SW Miramichi River with water being very high and a beautiful day with a high of 17 C and makes you want to be on the water fishing.

These photos from Doaktown to Quarryville are over the last couple days. My last post said that the fish would be out of the river by the 15th? I meant that for the Cains River and not the Miramichi. And who says I no for sure if there going to be out of the river? As we all no that Atlantic Salmon have a mind of there own and what we think we no of them it can change the next time. Maybe what keeps us fishing them.

Here is a photo of the river in Doaktown today as you can see very little ice about eh! Don't forget to stop at W.W. Doak for supplies when in Doaktown for Sage products.

Looking up from the Upper Blackville bridge and feeling the pain of wanting to go out there fishing!!!! Taking that sinking line and casting or trolling and feeling that line tighten when it grabs your fly over the long winter months of not being able too! I'm sure you feel the same way.

This is a photo off the Howard Road looking at the river between Upper Blackville bridge and the Mouth of Cains River.

This photo looking at doctors Island yesterday and had plenty of ice in the river.

And here you can see lots of ice in the Quarryville area of the river.

As for salmon flies I still have lots available and still taking orders for more if you want them ready for what looks to be and could be one of the best seasons to come!!! I have talked to older guides like Pat Brophy and Malcolm McCormack and they said the fish will no when to get out of the river and usually when the 15th of April gets here is when they start to make there way down the river. And said the water will come up as high as the ice along the shore line and yes its up that far now!

And for any information you need please ask me anytime like Samuel Poirier with a photo of his first Atlantic Salmon ever last fall, he also asked for a few tips on fishing.

For more reports on the ice conditions along the river and tributaries else where check out Doug Underhills reports of the Miramichi and Keith Wilson on the upper stretches of the SW Miramichi river. And for the the Lowest Stretch on the Miramichi river check out Byron Coughlan reports of Country Haven.

If you want to subscribe to my blog please enter your email free of charge and get updates of the river. Or if you have something you want to post for the viewers to see from a fish to a fishing lodge for sale, please send it along or contact me with info how to have it posted here or on my website.

So until next time tight Lines,

Rodney Colford

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

Miramichi Ice Conditions March 21st

Miramichi River Report for March 21st 2010.

These first two photos are pictures of a couple of guides boats getting ready for spring fishing. The first boat belongs to John Colford of Howard.

This 2nd boat belongs to Donnie Colford of Howard. Also you can still see some snow that will make its way to the river.

You will see from these photos I added, the river is breaking up in places and also very very low water conditions. There is a jam between the mouth of Cains River and Blackville.

With the Cains River ice being gone so early the fish may completely be out of the river by April 15th. Also trying to boat on the Cains will be very difficult or pretty much impossible to motor up and down the river without breaking the motor. You can see from photo 5 that the ice is gone out of the Cains.

The Main Miramichi will have the same troubles with low water. The lower stretches is not so bad but when you get to the Middle Stretches of the river there are so many gravel bars that will make it hard to get over for the flat bottom boats.

Some of these photos the river is almost summer low! With very little snow in the woods we really need the big rains that are in the forecast. Only problem with getting the rains it will get the ice moving and raise the water which is good. But for the fisherman that believe the fish will start dropping back out to sea it is not good. Lets hope that the fish do stay in until the smelts make there run in and the salmon follow them out. And if this is what they do your into some good fishing on the Miramichi. The salmon feed on the smelts after a long hard winter under the ice and too help them get some strength back on there travels back to Greenland. You will even see them swim into towards shore after them if you watch closely and be lucky enough to be in the right spot at the time of feeding. I have caught them with smelts in there mouth and still take the fly.

Advantages to low water conditions will be having a guide that knows the lies of the river. Knowing how to get over the gravel bars with his boat. Telling you with type of line you should be using such as a sinking tip perhaps? Fly selection will make a difference aswell like the size of the flies. A few top flies will be Renous Special, Miramichi Smelt, Black Ghost, Golden Eagle and Christmas Tree.

These conditions are not something to get over excited about and cancel your trip! If you are the addicted fly fisherman you will know that there are so many different things about fly fishing that can change the way that a salmon will act. Just think of this season as another way to fish these wonderful fish.




Forecast for the Miramichi area this week is rain. We are suppose to get 3 days of rain starting Tuesday March 23rd 20mm, Wednesday 24th 10mm and Thursday a little more. Rumors were saying 50 mm before it is all said and done the next few days.







Photos 1 to 12 are, the first two are the boats, the 3rd & 4th is just a mile below the mouth of the Cains. 5,6 & 7 are at or around the mouth of Cains River, 8 is looking up towards Doctors Island off the Blackville bridge going to south Cains, 9 is looking down river off the Doaktown bridge, 10 is looking up river off the Upper Blackville bridge on the Miramichi, 11 is looking down of the Upper Blackville bridge and 12 is looking up river on the Doaktown bridge.

Hopefully everyone enjoys my reports! I by no means am no writer but I do enjoy giving you the reports of the river. I'd rather be fishing!! Perhaps the next few days I will have better reports for you for in planning your trip to the famous river The Miramichi.

I would like to thank everyone who emailed me with there thoughts for my fishing reports. I would like anyone that does have comments to please email me anytime. And if I can give you an answer I will or try my best in finding one.

I also have a good blog of the Miramichi for you too read and its at read more: You will see some nice fishing from this winter and more.

Also don't forget about the Dieppe Fly Fishing Show in Moncton next weekend for those who are close enough to go. There is some great deals at the show and good prizes.

Tight lines from the Miramichi,

Rod Colford