Just like clock work a few salmon have arrived on the Miramichi

  Just like clock work a few salmon have arrived on the Miramichi. And still many fisherman are on the look out for more shiny chrome salmon to arrive and get their reels screeching for the Summer Bright's which we call it here on the Miramichi, of the 2012 season.

There have been a few reports over the last week of fish being landed in some tributaries of the Miramichi River. Most salmon seem to be on the North West Miramichi area of the river, which is not uncommon for earlier runs this time of the year to appear. There have been also reports of a few salmon hooked on the Little South West Miramichi River aswell. The Main South West Miramichi River has also had some salmon reports from Quarryville, Mouth of Renous River, Upper Blackville, Doaktown and all the way to Boistown area.

Sea Run Trout seemed to have gone through the lower stretches of the Miramichi as reports have trout up on the Upper Stretches of the Cains River and on the Upper Stretches of the North West Miramichi River. Last weekend for a couple days there were trout on the move as fishermen were getting them on the lower stretch of the SW Miramichi. I have heard that trout from 2 to 5 lb range have been hooked and released on the lower to the middle section of the Cains River the past week. Lets hope there is still some hanging around or more yet to come in.

I talked to a guy from Grand Manan that caught a 10lb salmon on Friday on the upper stretch of the North West Miramichi. There was also a report of a local angler landing a salmon at the Bridge Pool in Upper Blackville on a green butt moose hair pattern.

I fished with my brother Ryan and son Zachary on Sunday morning for awhile on the NW Miramichi but never saw anything. I fished Sunday evening on the Main SW Miramichi and rolled a salmon 5 times before he touched the fly and that was the end of the fun. I also landed a stripe bass about 4 lbs at the mouth of Cains River the same evening and must off saw 10 more bass splash the water around the same time. If it had been later in the evening I would of just thought they were Shad splashing. Speaking of Shad there are starting to be a few Shad in the river now and should be more and more over the next week. Local Guide Vaughan Arbeau of Upper Blackville once told me the Shad are most plentiful buy June 10th most years and he is usually right on the money each year as I always remember. I also remember he ties a pretty good Shad Fly too.

Chris Edmonds of CE Salmon Flies & Guiding had some luck rolling a few fish on the North West and Sevogle but nothing landed for salmon or grilse yet. He has been hooking a few trout in the 10 to 14 inch range. Flies of choice for Chris is Echo Beach and WT Green Machines.

In Doaktown at the Ledges Inn Head Guide Derek Munn said fishing was still slow for the most part. He rolled one and then struck him 3 cast later which he thought by the look of the take was a salmon. He also saw some Shad in the Doaktown area this week. Great news for the Shad fishermen in the area.

River temperatures have cooled down to 54 to 55 degrees ( F) on Tuesday evening and with lots of rain in the forecast for the Miramichi River System we should have great conditions in the coming week. The high tide for this week with a full moon on the 4th is High tide -1.71m at 6:17 am and on the 5th High tide-1.74m at 7:10 am. Lets hope some fish will make there way in with these tides this week.

 As of Tuesday the lower section of the Main Miramichi was still high and could use a bit of a drop in water to improve conditions. The upper stretches in the Doaktown to Boistown area was in very good condition as is. The North West Miramichi was low and could use a bit of a raise to improve the fishing. Cain's River was in good condition and salmon and trout could possible be in the river early again this June like last season on the lower stretch of the river. Sevolge River was very low and could use a raise to improve the fishing. Renous River was in pretty good condition as is.

Also don't forget to check with your local fly shops and guides in the area if your planning on fishing and want some fish gossip, as they know what's going on in their area of the river and can point you in the right direction to fishing and of course some new gear in the shop which we all like. Places to check out are WW Doaks in Doaktown, Curtis Miramichi River Outfitters in Blackville, Herb's Fly Shop in Blackville, Georges Fly Shop in Renous, Miramichi City Surplus in Miramichi on route 108 Derby Junction, Trout Brook Fly Shop in Trout Brook on the North West Miramichi. And on your way from Fredericton stop in at Fredericton Outfitters and Anglers. If I forgot your shop just give me a shout and I will gladly add it for you with my reports each week.

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

Atlantic Salmon on the Move

Atlantic Salmon on the Move

Still on the look out for the Brights

Fisherman all over the Miramichi are still on the look out for their first signs of Atlantic Salmon. Over the last week there have been a few reports of some salmon being landed or seen. I have heard reports of 3 being caught in the Quarryville area and another one all the way up at Norrads Bridge in Boistown. On the North West Miramichi there have been reports of several fish being seen. I saw one myself on Monday but we could not get it to take our fly.

Many trout fisherman have been into trout but they are very scarce yet but the higher water may be a big factor as they have not much to hold them up. At the fishing derby in Sunny Corner on the weekend there was trout caught in the 50 to 56 cm range, I wouldn't mind setting my fly into one of them.

Up in the Doaktown area Derek Munn of the Ledges Inn had some great trout fishing up at the lakes. Friday and Saturday they had a great hatch on which resulted in some great trout fishing from the 8 to 18 inch range. Derek said there was not much of anything going on around the Doaktown area yet as to salmon or trout but should pick up in the next few days or so.

Keith Wilson of Wilsons Sporting Camps said there was no sign of the rocky brook run yet or any fresh trout on the Miramichi or on the upper parts of the Cain`s.

Author Peter Clark released 3 sea run brook trout in Quarryville this week. He also tied The 2012 Diamond Jubilee Salmon Fly he designed in conjunction with the Province of New Brunswick in honour of the visit by Prince Charles and Lady Camilla. A special framed fly will find its way to Buckingham Palace also. He also fashioned a large number of Atlantic Salmon Broach Pins for the welcoming committee.







Ally Keenan landed a nice trout about 2 lbs on the Cains. There have been other reports but they seem to be very scattered over the river which makes them very hard to catch.

With river conditions very good on the North West and only a bit high on the Main SW Miramichi anglers should start picking up salmon and trout very soon. I watched for shad last night and have not saw any yet for those shad fisherman out there. Water temperatures is still in the low 60`s F which is perfect for the Miramichi system.

Tight lines for another week on the Miramichi.
Rodney Colford

May on the Banks of The Miramichi River

What more could we ask for this third weekend of May on the Banks of The Miramichi River. Well I bet if you ask just about any Atlantic Salmon angler, that first catch of the bright's, on a new season are remarkably one of the greatest hook ups one can have the honour off catching. This beautiful chrome football shaped animal that swims our mighty rivers are amongst the King of the sport fish of our wonderful planet. And people all over the world have this same religion for the Atlantic salmon as you do. And yes this is the weekend the past 3 or 4 years to start the ball rolling.

 For many anglers it's all about the take when you have that lucky chance of seeing the roll or swirl as it takes your fly and then like a bolt of lightning your reel is screaming out into the backing and just when you think you have time, you see the end of the spool on your reel and your running out of line. And if your lucky, really lucky, you will have the chance to start running the shore line and  retrieve some of the line before he (the salmon) takes control and does it all over again. What more excitement in fishing can you have than to have this happen on the first runs of Atlantic's.

Many fishermen and fisher-women are fishing for sea run trout coming into the system on the river. Anglers are catching a few trout in the 10 to 16 inch range. But no sign of any fresh trout yet from my contacts on the river. The gaspereau nets are down in the lower stretches of the river, the fiddle heads are up, so as we all know this is around the time the trout and salmon should be coming along.

And with the in between time laggering here on the Miramichi all we can do is wait for the salmon and trout to arrive. There is a very good volume of water and fish will have very little trouble coming in. And to some anglers on the lower stretches of the Main Miramichi this can be very tough as the fish can be just about anywhere. Most of the rivers like the Main SW, NW, Little SW and Renous are still high and could use a bit of a drop to help form the pools or have the fish hold up a little.

The weather has not been the best as we have been getting very high amounts of rain on the Miramichi over the past couple weeks. But the sky seems to be brightening up for the weekend and following week and should get the rivers into a great form for fishing.

Reports on the Restigouche River has over half dozen bright's landed that we know off. What more could get our hearts pumping here on the Miramichi than to hear about our northern river of the province hooking their first runs of bright's. Oh man, Oh man the season is starting.

Flies for the up coming weeks: Now that you can use singles and doubles with barbs as of the 15th of May you still should think about going barbless to help with releasing fish. I would suggest size 2 to 6 depending on the river your fishing you may want to go smaller sizes. Green Machines, Shady Ladies, Undertakers, Black Ghost, Butterflies and many many other great patterns.

Over the next week or the next few days someone will have the chance to catch the first Bright Atlantic Salmon on the Miramichi River system. And if you do please send us the picture and I will have it posted for you. All I need is a photo and or size of your catch, what fly, what river, we do not need the name of the pool or area you caught the fish. Just to know there in the system would be good. To view photos of my reports please go to my blog. You can contact me at www.miramichifishingreports.blogspot.com .


LOST BOAT AND MOTOR
Reward Offered
12 foot aluminium boat & 4 hp Mercury Motor
Boat lost from the Blissfield area.
If you have information please call 506-365-8940 or 506-432-0563.


Until next week may your reels be screaming on the Miramichi.
Rodney Colford Is a third generation salmon-fishing-guide and fly tier on the SW Miramichi River. I have guided fishermen ranging from greenhorns to some of the finest fly fishermen in the world for 27 years. Fly tying since I was ten years old and having the opportunity to fish with anglers all over the world. My favorite fishing buddies are my kids Laura (12) and Zachery(14) which both have caught there own Atlantic Salmon at age 4 & and 7. My fishing reports appear every Thursday in the Moncton Times & Transcript.

Pat Colford

Clark Hallman

Lunch break

Ray Walker

Ray Walker

Rod on a nice rainy day

My Daughter Laura

Laura practising her guiding at age 12

Laura and friends

I got this late report on a few trout and a very good story about what the trout was having for dinner!

Kyle Donovan's boys with a nice 3lb+ trout

This trout a had nice rat in his mouth when they landed it, tail was still hanging out of the mouth! 

Same trout and rat and the ones that did not get away!.

Spring Salmon fishing slowing down on Miramichi

Salmon fishing on the Miramichi is starting to slow down for the spring salmon season. Many anglers are only picking up 1 or 2 fish a day and some not getting anything. Water conditions are dropping fast but with rain expected it should put it up and get some fish coming into the system.

Anglers on the North West said water conditions were getting down closer to summer heights, again with rain in the forecast it will put it up quite fast. There were rumours of some big trout starting to make there way into the NW Miramichi.

Tuesday myself, Andrew Anthony, Derek Munn and Shawn Betts sailed from The Ledges Inn in Doaktown to the park in Blackville and landed 4 salmon and 6 trout. The trout were all around 10 to 12 inch range. We saw a few fish laying about but not near as many as 3 or 4 days before. Fish were all hooked on a cast with different patterns such as Marabou's, Buck Tail and Rabbit Strips streamers.

There are reports from Jerome Molloy that two Bright salmon landed on the Restigouche River this week and fish size were over 25lbs. It will not be long now for the Miramichi system as things seem to be starting early.

Up river at Wilsons Sporting Camps Keith said water was warming up quickly and the fish were moving out of the upper part of the river very fast. Anglers are fishing the middle section of the river using floating lines with long leaders.

The Ledges Inn said fishing was still good in the area but we are starting to enter the in between time when we are waiting for the springers to move out and the bright trout and salmon to move in. Head Derek Munn said they were catching most fish with sink tips and flies were Marabous and Rabbit Strip patterns.

Local fly fishing shop in Blackville Curtis Miramichi River Outfitters have a new web site up and running at www.curtismiramichioutfitters.com so go give it a look.

I will keep you posted through the week on my blog at www.miramichifishingreports.blogspot.com for fresh trout and salmon that are coming in. Tight Lines from the banks of the Miramichi.

Still lots of fish in the Miramichi system

With another week of salmon fishing in the wind, there are still plenty of fish in the river. And speaking of the wind, there was a bit of it the past weekend on the river. The high winds made it tremendously cold on the water as our finger tips and guides on the rod were freezing up a few mornings, and so was the Guide. Minus temperatures made slow starts to the mornings and long days on the water except the fish still kept taking the fly and kept us enjoying the cold temperatures, even though it was cold.

 Many fishermen are still having tight lines up river on the Main SW Miramichi and still seeing lots of fish. Anglers were also seeing and hooking lots of fish on the North West Miramichi river too. Chris Edmonds of Miramichi said his fishing was good for trout this week as he released several and landed a few salmon on the North West and Main SW Miramichi Rivers.

Water temperatures were around the 5 degree C mark (41 F) which is still very cold and may be why the fish are still holding in the river according to Derek Munn of the Ledges Inn in Doaktown.

 Many anglers I have talked to are still catching fish in the upper parts of the river. I fished up in the Blissfield area and Upper Blackville area and saw and hooked several fish the past week. Monday evening there was a bit of a hatch on the water and there were trout, grilse and salmon (one massive salmon that came up and took a May Fly I was watching as it was floating) taking flies off the top of the water as cold as it was. And to a dry fly fisherman it can really get the blood flowing when you see that happen for the first time of the season.  Most days we are hooking our fish on a cast and then there is days that it's just the opposite by trolling. Even though it's much more fun and more challenging by the cast to hook a salmon, that long line seems to get there attention as it swings across the current and tightens with a thud as it hit the fly.

Guides from Country Haven Lodge on the lower stretch of the Miramichi river on Tuesday said fishing was slow and was not seeing much.

Keith Wilson of Wilson Sporting Camps said the water cleared up and was dropping good and still at a very good depth for salmon fishing with still lots of fish in the area. He said it was windy the past weekend but fishing was still very good despite the bad weather. He said they are still hooking a lot of big salmon and on many different fly patterns.

Trout season opened Tuesday May 1st and many trout fishermen were ready to get at it. I saw a few nice trout caught from 12 to 16 inches over the past week so there are trout in the system.

There have been many talks this week about how one should release your fish. I always tell my guest to hold the fish as close to the water as possible with one hand under the front part of his belly and the other by the tail. Please to not hold them by the tail only as it can damage the fishes spin. Get your photo and release the fish as soon as it is ready to go with his head facing up river against the current, which this time of year they don't waste much time swimming off.
 Having a good net with a soft mesh is another safe way to release your catch. Many fishermen still use the old nylon nets which can really take the scales off the fish. Please be as careful as you can or get the fish as close to you and just grab the hook and release him. The hooks come out very easy this way with the barbs being pinched. Just a little tip to help you on the water. Many of the shops below carry the soft mesh nets or the mesh to replace the nylon net.

With lots of fish still in the rivers why not get out again for another weekend and enjoy a few tight lines on the water. Give your local Fly Shops a call at W.W Doaks in Doaktown for reports or some of the best gear on the market today. Curtis Miramichi River Outfitters in Blackville which has a sale on this week with very good deals on Loomis Jackets and great reports of the lower section of the Miramichi. On the North West stop and check out Trout Brook Fly Shop where there always on top of the river conditions and have salmon and trout supplies for your every needs. And Miramichi City Surplus highway 108 Derby Junction has super deals on salmon, trout gear and clothing and can give you very good reports for the tide waters in the area. And one could never forget to stop in and have a chat with George Routledge in Renous which has the best reports for the Quarryville area of the river. George has everything from hooks to waders so check him out in the area.

LOST BOAT AND MOTOR
Reward Offered
12 foot aluminium boat & 4 hp Mercury Motor
Boat lost from the Blissfield area. If you have information please call 506 365 8940 or 506 432 0563.

Any questions or comments please check out my blog at www.miramichifishingreports.blogspot.com

May your lines be tight and your reels be screeching on the Miramichi.