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Atlantic Salmon fly-fishing conditions on the Miramichi River at McNamee on July 28th . As you can see from this mornings picture , we are once again blessed with the perfect weather . The river is up app 4 inches above normal and it is raining lightly with air temps in the low 20′s . These conditions are exactly what Atlantic salmon love , the fish are spread throughout the system and when the river does warm up they can easily find plenty of cold water to retreat to . One angler landed a beautiful fresh run salmon last night in a pool that is not typical for late July . These are the occasions when a good guide like Joe Stewart can make the difference for you , Joe knew exactly where to cast to in that pool , he said “if there is a fresh fish in this pool , he will be right there , if not we won’t waste our time here ” Most of the fish are getting a little dark now but still very lively . We are not seeing as many fish these last ten days as we did in mid July but again this is a sign that the fish are spread out well up and down the river . The three favorite flys have been the green machine w/white tail , glitter bear and green widow .

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Pictured here at the Wilson family homestead in the early forties are my great-grandparents Willard & Sade Wilson with Uncle Purdy sitting on the left and Aunt Maisie on the right . Note the old wooden spoked wheels on the trailor and the canoe . The canoe is known as a ” lap streak ” vessel , it is simply thin flat boards app 6 inches in width that overlap from the bottom up . The cracks were filled with black tar and heated with a gas torch to melt the tar into the seams . These boats were very heavy but stable and of course were leaking most of the time . In 1873 my great great uncle James Wilson would travel with a boat of this type all the way to Chatam Head ( known as Miramichi City today ) to purchase boot-leg liquor . He would pole all the way back to McNamee ( 60 miles ) where he ran a small tavern , until one foggy night upon leaving Chatam Head he was robbed and murdered for his goods . This is documented in a daily newspaper of that day, of course the culprits were never arrested .

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Atlantic Salmon Fly fishing conditions on the Miramcihi River at Wilson’s for July 23rd . I know some of you are going to think I am full of crap but I am pleased to report another perfect little raise of water . As of tonight the river is up app. 5 inches here in McNamee and under cloudy skies the temps are near perfect . We are having excellent fishing on some days with fresh fish moving through and other days it is about normal for late July fishing and when we get a really hot sunny day , which can be expected this time of year then the salmon retreat to the deep holding water and sulk . We have yet to get into the typical warm water period where bombers work best , when this does come around most of the guides think we are in for some fantastic dry fly fishing .

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Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions at McNamee as of July 21. The water height remains superb and with the rain today and showers with cool temps forecast for all this coming week the good fishing should continue . The last group of three rods hooked close to 40 fish in three days with several big salmon in the 20 pound range . We are also starting to pick up a good number of fresh fish again , which is unusual for late July . It is a good sign when we see all the public pools jam packed with anglers , that means the local boy’s are into fish too . If you have been putting off a trip to the Miramichi this year , then big mistake , this is the biggest run of salmon for our river in years . Wilson’s expert guides are standing by to take you on what might be your trip of a lifetime , call me now toll-free 1-877-365-7962 .

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Hi Keith,

This is Chris Leger just writting a quick note to say thanks again for your accomodations, you will find everything in good order. I am including a picture of ’20 incher plus Bad Boy’ ( that’s what I’ll name him’ ) that I caught and released last week on our trip in a pool somewhere between Odonnell’s and Otter Brook. The Cains is a jem, let’s all keep it that way!

Chris

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Atlantic salmon fly fishing conditions at McNamee on the Miramichi River as of July 17th . The water height remains superb, compare todays picture with my June 30th and July 5th reports to see the difference . The warm weather is heating things up during the mid day resulting in slow evenings but we are hooking fish in most pools in the mornings . Bombers are working if you know the best technique . Presentation does make a difference at this time of the season, Doug Hill , whom I consider a “Fly fishing Pro” hooked three fish and rolled several more yesterday under tough conditions .
(more…)

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Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions on the Miramichi River at McNamee on July 15th . The river is still a few inches above normal for the period . The weather has not been too severe and the river is cooling down most nights . After several weeks of high water and most fish running straight through we are finally seeing a lot of fish this week that appear to be slowing down and resting more in the pools . We would never complain about the higher than normal water and cool temps but it is nice to have fish pooled up in McNamee rather than seeing them rushing through . Reports from the headwaters confirm the great numbers of fish that went through since mid June . The long range weather forecast is calling for a cooling trend so I think it is safe to say that this great fishing will continue . On the five miles that we fish here we had fish hooked in all the major pools this morning . It looks like the Green machine with white calf tail is the best fly so far .

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Pictured here is Murray Wilson holding the flash light , brother Tom holding the gaff , unkown lucky guest holding the huge salmon and guide Pat Stewart holding the fishing rod . The Stewart clan guided side and side with the Wilson family for nearly 100 years and continue today as Joe Stewart , Harrold & Christies son, guides for Keith & Karl . This photo hangs in our lodge today and it always brings the question from the onlooker, what is the significance of the flashlight ? The photo was taken in the mid morning facing the rising sun , so no need of a light that time of day . So it is our guess that Pat Stewart , the guide , had to call in backup late the night before as darkness overtook the pair trying to land this big fish , so Murray held the light while Tom gaffed the fish . Notice also that none of the men have their fishing gear on when the photo was taken . So readers , it is important to always take your camera to the river , you never know what interesting story will be told , or as in this case guessed at many years from the day . Stay tuned for a series of old pictures airing in the coming weeks .

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Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions at Wilson’s on the Miramichi River as of July 10th . Surprise surprise , yet another beautiful 6 inch raise in water as of 5 pm today . Maybe it is true , this could be ” one of those years ” that anglers wait for . The last three days has been very hot and the river warmed up but with the more than perfect water height we are still seeing fish moving . The air temps are forecast to cool right down overnight and into Sunday so with this raise we should be in for more good fishing . Reports from up and down the river and most rivers across eastern Canada are all the same , the best fishing in years . A 52 inch hen salmon has been recorded at the Juniper barrier pool app 10 days ago , to think that she swam right by my front door and I had a chance to hook into this monster is enough to keep any angler awake at night .
Now is the time folks and we have several spots available over the next two weeks . Give us a call for some great discounts , toll free 1-877-365-7962.

July 6th, 2008
Hello Keith,

Don’t think my first try made it. Here is the 2nd attempt. Pics. sent separately.

Don and I are back safely, but wishing we were still in camp chasing the wily salmon.

After more than 20 years of fishing at Wilson’s Don Hoyt and I had one of the best days ever with both of us landing 2 salmon and a grilse each in one day. The salmon ranged from 9 to 22 lbs. and were the strongest, feistiest fish we have ever played. Having fished for Atlantic Salmon in Iceland, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and other New Brunswick rivers we keep coming back to Wilson’s year after year and hope to do so for many years to come. While salmon fishing is never predictable your pools have been the most productive and reliable waters we have ever fished. Not only that, but the guides are the best, the dining is wonderful and the accommodations are comfortable and scenic. It is like coming home for Don and I.

We look forward to coming back in the fall and will always remember the July day we netted over 75 lbs. of Atlantic salmon in one day.

Tight Lines,

Bill Wilkinson

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The big water on the Cains this last week messed up the fishing for some folks but for Bob and Dale the big raise only forced them to change tactics and the results were fantastic . The boy’s got into 10 nice trout ( 16 – 21 inches ) as pictured here in a pool that is never looked at under normal water conditions . As suspected the trout were out of their summer pools obviously in search of food , and it must have been big bugs or mice because all the trout taken were on extra large bombers and rat faced mcdougals . They fished Wildcat as well but nothing seen nor taken down on the turn . The high water might not be too good for anglers but it sure gives the trout a much needed break , unless you are as smart as Bob and Dale who seem to know where to go for high water fishing .

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Atlantic Salmon fly-fishing conditions at Wilson’s on the Miramich River July 5th . The water is still high and dropping slowly . The aquefer ( underground river ) that stretches far out under the islands allong the river as well as the inland swamps and brooks are fully soaked with water now, which will help keep the river up over the coming summer months . According to world renowned hydrologists Robert Newbury ,who conducted university studies here a few years ago on the river , says that there is almost as much water under these islands during normal summer height as what there is in the river , this is crucial in maintaining a healthy watershed . This is why it is so important not to strip these islands of the precious top soil that protects the aquefer from evaporation . It took thousands of years for the top soil to build up and it takes only a few hours with a tractor and loader to destroy . Luckily for the Miramichi , and other NB rivers land owners are regulated by very strict laws that protect this riparian area from destruction . Air temps at 6:30 Am are around 10c. so water temps are ideal . During the afternoon this last couple days air temps warmed up but with the above average height and cool nights the water is good . We started seeing a lot of fish again yesterday , most of which are grilse so this is obviously the July run on its way in . With the high water we are still fishing only a few pools but these pools fish best in high water anyway .

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Fr: Doug Hintzman – July 1st
During the week that Pete Humphreys and I gave spey casting instruction at Wilson’s Sporting Camps on the Miramichi River we had the pleasure of seeing Karl Wilson join the team of guides . Karl is Keith & Bonnies oldest son and he grew up on the Miramichi and fished it regularly . It was interesting to see Karl working side by side with two of the most experienced guides known to the river , Ernest Long and Joe Stewart . They shared lifetimes of information and tricks of the trade with “the new guy” whom they had both watched grow up around camp . During my stay Karl guided a couple fishing Stanley’s front Pool one evening . The women was brand new to fly fishing but with a bit of patient teaching on casting and fishing technique she was able to hook her first ever bright grilse . Guides secrets will continue to be passed on from E.J. and Joe over the years to come, but Karl already has a good foothold and will do the Wilson family tradition proud . I look forward to being able to tell fellow anglers in the future that I was at Wilson’s the week Karl started guiding . Good luck Karl , see you again soon.
Douglas Hintzman