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Dear Keith,

Just wanted to say thanks for a GREAT week at your camp. You were a great host and a joy to be around. The camp and the guest camp were fantastic. Bonnie, Wendy and Stacy made all our meal times very enjoyable and were an absolute pleasure to meet. The food was amazing…..I can feel my self getting fatter as I was unable to turn down any portion of the meals over 7 days, as they all were incredible. Please tell Wendy (more…)

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Sometimes big water requires big equipment in order to operate efficiently. We are fortunate to have two of these beautiful cedar strip canoes for getting around in all river conditions . These vessels are designed and engineered to work perfectly on this area of the Miramichi . They are unique by the fact that they are 28 feet long with a square stern and pushed by a 25 hp jet outboard , they will skim over just 8 inches of water with two anglers and guide aboard so we can navigate the river all season . The bottom of the boat is finished with a kevlar mat and heavy hardwood keel , inside is smooth clear epoxy over 1 inch wide cedar strips . Each boat is also set up with electric start on remote controls and a stick steering system that places the guide app 8 feet from the stern , this puts all the weight in the middle of the boat . Having these boats on site provide anglers much more convenient access to our five miles of river therefore increasing your chances of hooking the big one .

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Just when the river was getting down to the perfect level we get hammered with rain and really high water . It dumped on us big time Saturday night , most of Sunday and then again this morning . The water was still coming up as of 6:am this morning so fishing will be tough for the next few days . On a positive note this is good for the river and good for the fish and with this big run of fish on the move there will still be fish taken in some areas . We will focus our attention on island sections that have wide slopeing beaches that will be covered in one to three feet of water , this will be the travelling lane for the salmon and if you get a fly over one it will still take . So not all is lost we just have to change our tactics and be content with three or four pools instead of twelve to sixteen .

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Pete Humpreys landed this beautie at Cold water pool yesterday and now the debate is on about whether this is a Rocky Brook Salmon or just a short and heavy main river fish . Rocky Brook salmon usually come in very early June and are easily identified with the short heavy body and tiny head . In my opinion this salmon is not a Rocky Brook salmon , it is one of the many early run fish to our river in recent years that are obviously very healthy and maybe they have been at sea a shorter period of time and have found a new plentyful food source . Regardless of the actual gentetics we are sure happy to be seeing more and more of these large salmon returning to the Miramichi River . With this weeks perfect water and weather conditions we are expecting the July grilse run to hit here soon .

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Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions and report for the Miramichi River at McNamee on June 27th . Pete Humprey’s , spey casting instructor and student / fishing partner Sean Collins show off with pride their success of the morning . Note how thick these early-run Atlantics are , they are the best of the best , fresh from the ocean and full of fighting power . The water at McNamee is ideal for most of our pools , again this is the advantage on this area of the river , we produce fish in most water conditions .

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Our spey casting camp is going very well this week . We are getting into some decent fishing and as you can tell by this photo some folks are enjoying a shot of Scotch as well . Note the fly box , it is obvious this guy did not want us to see what he is using for fly’s , he shows mostly fall patterns here , so some things never change . We are most encouraged by this cool wet weather and the fact that we are seeing plenty of fish moving through . Nancy W caught her first ever Atlantic Salmon yesterday on her new Orvis Zero Gravity 7wt rod , needless to say she was the first body at the breakfast table this morning , with her new rod still in hand .

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Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions and report for the Miramichi River at McNamee on June 25th . If I was to write a prescription for the ideal weather and water conditions for late June on the Miramichi River , it would be exactly what we have now . The water is the perfect height to get fish moving into the system and temps are good . The water level is a little high for many pools but Wilson’s has the advantage of owning ( not leased ) a wide variety of pools therefore providing a good chance of hooking up regardless of water height . Shown here is Doug Hintzman , one of our Spey casting instructors this week who has landed three nice salmon , silver bullets fresh from the ocean . The fish are moving through quickly and not holding up for long , but again, better than low water and fish holding in the bay . Pete and Sean had a good morning as well , each with a nice fresh salmon .

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June 23rd – 28th is Spey Casting week at Wilson’s . Doug Hintzman and Pete Humphrey are two of the best spey casting instructors on the water today and they are bringing their expertise and talent from Michigan to the Miramichi to help our guest’s, as well as our guides improve their abilities at this age old approach to fly fishing . It has always been our goal at Wilson’s to not only take you fishing but to also teach you all the techniques to help you catch more fish . We still have a few slots open for next week and big discounts to boot . If there are any NB residents who would like to come in for just the instruction portion ( less meals and lodging ) we can arrange that as well . Doug and Pete will have all the necessary gear with them so you don’t have to worry about a new rod , yet . The water and weather is perfect to move fish up the river this week , setting the stage for some great action during our spey casting week .

Cains River sea-run brook trout enthusiasts , check these maps out , posted under Cains River on the side bar on my home page . Go to the link , bring up what map section you wish to see then go to the bottom of the photo and hit the green arrow to zoom in to full size .They were produced by DNR back in the 1960′s so some of the names may have changed by now and the new roads may not be marked , but it shows very clearly the river and pools . It would be well worth your effort to explore some of these harder to reach pools . With all the new roads in that area now most pools will not be more than 20 minutes walk . Todays most popular ( easy access ) pools like Wildcat , Acadia Bridge , Otter Brook and Blue Rock are being heavily fished and as a result the good fishing will drop off very soon , and unfortunately we will begin to see fish dieing as a result of this heavy pressure . Please do your part to conserve this fantastic resource by relieving some of the pressure on the pools .

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The two anglers posted here are Caitlyn Munden and Chris Munn . Chris and Caitlyn recently dropped in to Wilson’s for a few hours of Salmon fishing , a nice evening on the water but no-hook ups this time . Chris is proprietor of Fredericton Outfitters , a full service Orvis store conveniently located on Route 8 ( 285 Canada Street ) in Fredericton New Brunswick , phone

506-450-4044

. Anglers travelling from the US to the Miramichi pass right by his door , so there is no excuse to show up on the Miramichi River empty handed . Fredericton Outfitters is set up in a beautiful historic building with large spacious rooms and well displayed Orvis fly- fishing and upland hunting gear . In addition to his well stocked store , everything you see on line at www.Orvis.com Chris can get for you or have it shipped directly to your door . If you miss Chris in Fredericton , Wilson’s in McNamee also has a basic Orvis supply in our shop and again Wilson’s can order and drop ship any product the Orvis sells .

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Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions and report for the Miramichi River at McNamee on June 15th. The Miramichi River is in superb condition , the water is still above normal and temperatures remain cool . The weather forecast for the next five days is ideal , rainy and cool . There are some real beauties being landed in the 10- 18 pound range and even a few grilse are showing up . It is still early for the grilse run but on this good water maybe the “early run ” will much better than in previous years . Reports from up north (more…)

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Hi Keith,

My name is Chris Leger (with the Dieppe Fly Tying Club) and I had the the opportunity to meet you last year, actually, we rented your camp for the night last July at Wildcat, “awesome time”. Just wanted to say hello. I’m always on your site reading the river reports and looking at photos, you have a fantastic site. I have included some photos of a few Sea-Run Brookies that swim trough your pools and in front of your camp, these fish were hooked a little further up-river. Feel free to post these on your site. All the Sea-Run Brook Trout that I hooked last year ( 57 in total, both on the MSW and the Cains) were released properly and unharmed. These fish are a treasure and must be protected. I will be talking to you soon, till then, tight lines.

Chris L
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Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions and report for the Miramichi River at McNamee on June 9th . A big thunderstorm last night gave us a little bump of water that will help keep the river is good shape at this critical time of year . Local boy’s are getting into a few Rocky Brook run salmon and even a few grilse . There are still a few big trout around but it seems that most of the sea-run trout have gone through this section of the Miramichi . Local trout numbers are very high so plenty of action on the 12-14 inch size .
The Cains is running about normal in height and the temps are still very cool , this will get the sea-run trout into the upper holding pools well in advance of the summer weather . Reports from the Cains this past weekend was good fishing but to date there does not seem to be the numbers like we had in 2007 . It is still early so as long as the water remains at a good height we are confident that the fish numbers will increase .

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Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions and report for the Miramichi River at McNamee on June 5th . We had another small raise of water early this week so the river is in superb condition for mirgrating salmon . We have had several reports from further down river of a few Rocky Brook Run salmon being caught . C. Gilks landed a beautiful 25lb. salmon just yesterday , what a beauty . These fish are tough to catch but if you put your time in on the water the reward will be well worth the effort . I have been on the water each night this week for an hour or so but no luck yet . The big sea-run brook trout have been on the lower Cains for a few days now so with this good water I am certain the entire Cains system will be producing some real trophies over the next several weeks . This is a picture of Geoff Giffin’s huge sea-run brook trout taken last year on the Cains , Geoff is hitting the Cains again soon for a try at another big one, good luck Geoff hope you succeed .

Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions and report for the Miramichi River at McNamee on June 1st . We had a nice rain over the weekend that brought the Cains up app. 6 inches and the Miramichi app. 4 inches . This is the perfect rise at the perfect time . We are seeing tons of sea-run trout on the Miramichi at McNamee. There is a good may- fly hatch going on so the trout are getting plenty to eat . One local angler reported (more…)