Conditions almost perfect on stretches of river

There have been steady reports of fish being hooked on the Miramichi over the past week. The Main South West Miramichi River was hit hard with heavy rains and thunder and lightning storms on the upper, middle and lower stretches of the river and the water raised about 3 feet last Thursday and Friday. Since the rise in water things are now starting to get back to where it was. The middle stretches of the river from Boistown to Doaktown was almost back to perfect conditions on Tuesday, so by the weekend and without anymore heavy rains it should be awesome fishing in that area of the river. The lower stretches of the river from lower Blissfield to Quarryville area is still very high and could use another 2 feet of a drop if not 3 to be ideal conditions. Temperatures the past week were from the mid 50’s to high 60’s degree F.

On the North West Miramichi the past week anglers were still reporting lots of fish in the river but could use some rain anytime. Many fishermen are telling me they are seeing both salmon and lots of grilse in the river and tributaries of the North West Miramichi. Most anglers this week were hooking there fish on small flies size number 6 and 8. Water temperatures were much the same as the South West.

Fishing and catching the past week was good as Ken Macleod, Paul Hammond and myself were into some nice fish just after the heavy thunderstorm on last Thursday evening. We managed to hook five and land a grilse and a salmon using a fly called a King Rat. We also had one take a brown bomber on a dead drift and skating the fly. Monday evening Ken Macleod and Rick hooked two fish and lost both on a King Rat pattern. Then on Tuesday evening after an all day heavy wind we saw some fish below jump and not long after Rick was into his first grilse of the week on a number four green machine. After landing the grilse, Ken made his way through the pool and raised a grilse on a black cossaboom number 2/0 which on the 2^nd rise struck the fish. Then about 5 minutes later he had a nice salmon take the fly before he spit the hook.

Derek Munn of Ledges Inn landed a salmon on Monday using a Will Taylor Special pattern. Derek said that the water was about a foot higher than it should be on Tuesday when I was up looking at the beautiful pools of the Ledges Inn. I told him it was like a kid in a candy store as he showed me all the great looking pools they had at the Ledges Inn. Derek said fishing should be good by the weekend. There is plenty of space available if you’re looking to get out on the river, give them a call to fish the middle and lower sections of the Main SW Miramichi River.

Other reports up and down the river are anglers at the Upper Blackville Bridge Pool were hooking up several times this week. And the Sullivan Pool below the bridge was also having good luck as a few anglers from Country Haven Lodge were fishing it. There were also some fishermen between the Upper Blackville Bridge and the Mouth of Cains River hooking a few on white tail green machines. Down near Keenan`s Siding anglers were also hooking a few fish as Alley and Johnny Keenan both got into a couple salmon. There Brother Donnie landed a grilse and their fly of choice was the green machine white tail. In the Blackville Pool some local fishermen were hooking a few as Jamie Gillespie landed his first grilse of the season.

For more day to day reports check with your local fly shops in the area as they are always on hand to give you advise on the river conditions. Shops like W.W.Doak in the Doaktown area.Curtis Miramichi River Outfitters in the Blackville area and along with Herb`s Fly Shop in the Blackville area. George`s Fly Shop in Renous/Quarryville area. And in Miramichi check out Miramichi City Surplus for your fly fishing reports. And if you’re heading up the North West a must place to stop or call is Trout Brook Fly Shop for some great tips and advice. And you can always drop me an email anytime for a report of the river.

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

Fishing wonderful on the Miramichi

Salmon fishing on the Miramichi was wonderful the past week as hundreds of big silver salmon and grilse are running up the rivers. Most anglers are finding it very unusual to see this many grilse so early in the season. Others small rivers like the Sevogle, Little South West Miramichi and the Renous are also producing fish.

The past week I fished on both the North West and the South West Miramichi River and had very good luck. We landed 8 salmon and grilse and 2 striped bass. We lost another 6 fish that were very close to the net. There were many anglers on the North West Miramichi hooking fish and most said they saw lots of fish in the river. Flies were green machine, black ghost, green highlander and some bombers.

The Upper stretches of the Main South West Miramichi near Boistown is starting to see more signs of salmon in the river along with some sea trout the past week. Down near Doaktown Anglers were having very good luck hooking trout and salmon over the past week and some fish hitting the 25 pound range.

On the lower stretches near Upper Blackville to Quarryville fishermen were also having very good luck and one fish I heard being landed between Blackville and the Mouth of Cains River weighing over 30 pounds. Anglers were landing a few salmon on green machines, undertakers, green butt moose hairs and bombers.

If you’re looking to get out over the weekend fishing you’re best chances should be the North West Miramichi or the Upper Stretches of the Main South West Miramichi as the river levels are almost perfect conditions and with water temperatures being in the high 50’s to low 60’s (F) chances are very good to hook up. Flies of choice should be number 2 or number 4 brown bombers with white tails and some wet flies like the green machine, undertakers, black ghost and green highlanders of all different sizes from number 6 to number 2.

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

*Rodney Colford is a third-generation salmon guide on the Miramichi River. He has been guiding fishermen for the past 28 years. His column appears every Thursday.

Miramichi Salmon and Trout on the Run

Miramichi fishing reports from the SW Miramichi river for May 30th. Salmon are on the run for the last few days and so are the sea trout. I fished the last couple days and saw a dozen or so salmon and hundreds of trout. The trout are very finicky and are reluctant to take. I tried several trout patterns and did not have very much luck in hooking the big trout. I did get a few from 10 to 16 inches today and yesterday but the ones I saw roll were 3 to 6 pounds and some were rolling right next to my boat!

As the word had got out about fish being in the river so did some anglers. Yesterday Chris Munn of Fredericton Outfitters and a few buddies landed some whoppers from

15 to 25 pounds.

This is Robert Glenright with a 25 pound plus beauty caught yesterday with Chris Munn of Fredericton Outfitters.

This is Rob Foster with a nice female salmon.

The North West is fishing very well too as anglers are seeing lots of silver salmon in the river. Chris Edmonds hooked a few and landed a few!

Water is still high on the NW but the fish are there!

This is Chris Edmonds with one of his fish he released alone. Notice the fish is still in the water just to get a photo of this beautiful salmon. Hard to get a nice photo alone so he did the best he could.

The Main SW is still very high on the lower stretches but I would think the upper stretches would be ideal! Water temperature the last couple days was in the mid 50's F. Back in a day or two with hopefully a picture of "my" salmon!!

Also here is a great blog that that Gary Tanner writes. Its very good so please take the time to read and look at the beautiful pictures. www.theriverscourse.blogspot.com

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

Tight Lines,

Rodney

Fish should appear any day now!

Fishing on the Miramichi is still a bit slow and many of us are waiting for the sea run trout to appear any day now. Also the late May or early June salmon run should be in the river now and I would expect they are, just that the water is still high and they would be sailing right through pools and if you’re not patient enough to stay and fish for them you’re not going to get them very easy.

The North West Miramichi was very high on the weekend but with the high water it was very clear and very cold. There are rumours of a couple bright salmon being caught on the NW on the weekend. One was said to be 12 pounds and another 15 pounds.

I fished up around the Allison Pool on Sunday where last year the same date I landed my first salmon of the summer season, but not this year as the water was about 1 ½ higher than normal. I also noticed there were no fishermen fishing or camped at the pool. I did see a few anglers downstream at the McLaughlin pool fishing but no one at the Wayerton bridge pool.

Kevin Gillespie was fishing the NW this week and landed a few nice sea trout from 12 to 19 inches. He also said there was still a lot of spring salmon in the river and they had hooked a few. This could be the start of the sea runs coming in.

On the Main South West Miramichi there are a few sea trout being hooked but nothing in big numbers or size to speak of. A lot of anglers are picking up some brookies in the 8 to 12 inch range.

Down on the Lower stretch at Country Haven Lodge anglers were hooking the odd small trout and only seeing a few salmon. They said the fresh trout should be in anytime and so should the fresh salmon.

In the Doaktown area at the Ledges Inn head guide Derek Munn said things are slow on the river and the weather is wet and cold and is very good for the fish in this in between time of the season. Derek had not heard of any fresh salmon being caught on the river yet, but expects the next few days we will hear of one being hooked. Give Derek a call to catch a salmon or trout sometime.

A little further up at Wilson’s Sporting Camps Keith Wilson said sunshine at last and the water is up and staying cold. He was hoping the sunshine would warm the water up a bit and wake up the trout. He said there were still no sign of any sea trout up his way and it looks like early June should be the time to be on the water.

All in all not a bad report from some top notch fisherman on the river. It looks like this weekend could be a very good time to be on the water with some nice days yesterday today and Friday the rain should not be a bad factor in catching some trout or if your real lucky a silver salmon.

Don’t forget to give the fly shops a call or drop in for a fish report of their area of the river as their always on top of the river conditions and have the flies and gear for the river to suit your needs. Quarryville drop into George’s Fly Shop or in Blackville at Curtis Miramichi River Outfitters and in Miramichi drop into Miramichi City Surplus or in Doaktown at W.W.Doaks across from Tim’s and the Atlantic Salmon Museum. If you’re driving from Fredericton stop at Fredericton Outfitters and Anglers for your report on salmon, trout and bass in their area.

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

* Rodney Colford is a third-generation salmon guide on the Miramichi River. He has been guiding fisherman for the past 28 years. His column appears every Thursday.

Salmon fishing on the Miramichi is in the transition stages

Atlantic salmon fishing on the Miramichi is in the transition stages of the 2011 season as most anglers are switching there flies and lines over to summer tackle. And as the spring salmon are still in the system on the lower stretches of the river the upper stretches they are very spotty and seemed of moved on downstream. There are not many fishermen out on the water above the Blackville area but there are a few fishermen fishing and still hooking salmon down river by Quarryville.

With all the rain the past two weeks it has kept the rivers very high and fishing very difficult to get to certain pools and lies you would normally fish wading, is the rain ever going to stop and give us a chance at the sea run trout. The sea trout should be along anytime now and let’s hope we get a crack at them before they sail through.

For those of you that are looking to get into some Fly tying or Spey casting check out Fredericton Outfitters and Anglers. June 3^rd to 5^th 2011 for their Spey Casting clinic with Rick Worrell of G.Loomis.

Curtis Miramichi River Outfitters are also putting on their 2^nd Spey casting clinic on July 16^th and 17^th 2011. Dennis Grant of Atlantic Fly Fishing School will be on hand with his wife Valerie and Steve Smith. Give the fly shop a call to reserve your spot.

Why not drop into W.W.Doak & Sons for up to date fishing reports for the area and some of the finest quality fishing gear on the river. They are located in Doaktown, on Route 8 in the heart of the Miramichi river valley, right across the street from Tim Horton’s. Their just an hour from Fredericton, 50 minutes from Miramichi City, 100 minutes from Moncton and 2 hours from Saint John. Their open all year long, as well as all summer statutory holidays but remember we're always closed on Sunday.

Keith Wilson of Wilsons Sporting camps said there are still a few anglers around and a few fish but most have moved downstream from the area they fish. Keith said some anglers are catching a few trout and expects the sea run trout should be soon in the system.

Dereck Munn of The Ledges Inn said the season is coming to an end but the water was still at a good height and lots of fish. He had a few guest in on the weekend that caught fish from the 30-36 inch range. He said they were a lot of fish jumping and looks like they are moving downstream but with the amount of fish still showing on the upper area of Doaktown it should be still good for another week yet. Flies were various patterns such as Marabous and Rabbit Strips and black had been working best. There were also no reports of fresh salmon or sea trout.

Country Haven Lodge said anglers have been landing some great fish over the past week even though the numbers are not quite as good as they were in April. Fishermen are still doing very well in the lower stretches of the Main River. With the exception of the weather, so far this spring the fishing has made it worthwhile being on the river. After last weekend's rise in water levels the water has since been dropping and the fishing kept improving daily, in fact this weekend has been the best weekend since early April. Sometimes, the quality of the salmon landed later in May encourages the guides to say they enjoy fishing now more than April, especially with many anglers now using floating lines instead of the full sinking lines used in April - much more like summer and fall fishing. May can be a lot of fun when conditions and fish hold as they are doing this year.

Also the Atlantic Salmon Museum in Doaktown is hosting two Ladies Fishing Retreats. Their first one is on June 17^th to 20^th and the second is on September 10^th to 13^th. This is a great chance for all the women that can’t go with their husbands because they can’t fish, or your husband saying I wish you could fish so we can fish together. So check out this amazing retreat for the women to learn to fish and meet some new friends. Also get your River Guide to all the public water on the Main South West Miramichi. You can also pick up a copy of Salmon Country: NB’s Great Angling Rivers by Doug Underhill, Andre Gallant and Jacques Heroux.

Well it looks like the rain is going to stay with us again next week so let’s enjoy the couple days of sunshine and get out on the water. I will be back next week with your report on the Miramichi River and let you know how I made out fishing the North West Miramichi.

I would like to thank all the people helping me out with the fishing information and making the report possible. And if I forgot you this week or have not contacted you for your reports on certain sections of the river and tributaries please give me a shout anytime and I will get your report in the next week. You can see some photos of the weeks fishing on my blog at miramichifishingreports.blogspot.com. And if you want your pictures added please send them along.

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

*Rodney Colford is a third-generation salmon guide on the Miramichi River. He has been guiding fishermen for the past 28 years. His column appears every Thursday.