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Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions for the McNamee area of the Miramichi River as of September 29th . Thank goodness we missed hurricane Kyle but we still got a 3 foot raise of water . Good news is that even though the water is high , it is still clean . We are lucky in the McNamee area with all the islands and long sloping bars from these areas that hold fish in these conditions . We were seeing a lot of fresh fish the last few days so the fall-run is on the move , so this raise can only help us . Anglers this morning are fishing mostly from the big canoes using slow sink of sinking tip lines with larger streamer patterns . The jumping fish that have been entertaining us for two weeks or more are still at it , and even in the same places , so the high water did not seem to change their habits yet . The high water will be perfect for the Cains , which we plan to take full advantage of in the coming days . Don’t despair anglers , this high water will only help us in the McNamee and Cains River areas .

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Steve W. with the PWC group hooked into this monster on his first ever salmon fishing trip to the Miramichi River . He eventually lost the big salar but needless to say was more than thrilled with his trip . The boys had good fishing , mostly on one of Marcus’s creations , but standard fly patterns are doing the job too . The water is low but the fish are moving , so with the coming rain on the weekend we hope to get just enough water to bump it up a few inches , we don’t need a big raise at this stage in the game . All eyes are on the Cains to see what happens after the rain , based on reports from the lower Cains I think we may be in for some great action in there as well . PS: Expert guide Joe Stewart not only puts his man onto fish , he can also handle a camera . Correction: Steve did in fact land the big fish , and as quoted by Joe , “he done it like a pro “

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Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions for the Miramichi River at McNamee as of September 24th . The last ten to twelve days has been fairly slow but still a fish or two per day on average were taken . The PWC group finished up at noon today with 15 fish landed . Things are steadily improving with reports of fresh-run salmon coming in on good water . The temperature is warming up over the next several days as well as rain due on Saturday , which will set the stage for great fishing . We are seeing many huge salmon , and expect these big boys to begin taking better soon . The coming rain will set us up for good fishing on the Cains as well .

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Hello Keith,
First, Kerry and I want to thank you, Bonnie, Stacey, Ernie, Danny and staff for a first-rate salmon trip…….
Thanks to Danny’s instruction and teaching Kerry was able to handle a hookup and play and release a 12 pound salmon by herself………Danny was about 30 yards away with me when this occurred. During a period when the fish had “lockjaw” I think this was just awesome.
Second, I have been fortunate enough to fish at Iceland, Quebec, Labrador, etc for salmon and have never experienced a more welcoming and hospitable fishing lodge.
Finally, in regards to 2009 what availability do you have in late June and around the 2nd week of September?

Thanks again, Keith.
Sincerely,
Hugh

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Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions on the Miramichi River at McNamee as of Sept 17th . The Ruckno gang pictured here fished up until Sept 14th with mixed results but again a very successful trip according to party chief, “The Rev.” . The water has dropped off a little more since the 14th and the fish are still in the jumping mode . We have tried every fly in the book but it is still slow going and will probably remain so until these “fall fish” decide to turn on , which they always do. There are a few fresh fish but obviously the big fall push is not on yet . Small flys with long leaders is a suggestion and of course a good bomber presentation will work too. As for the weather , it is absolutely beautiful being on the water , it is sunny and only +15C. with very little wind and the fall colors are beginning to show . Fish on the line or not it is still the best time of the year to be on the river .

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Good news folks, it appears that the big fall run salmon are on their way . The river is in superb condition with more light rain coming today ,which is ideal for moving fish in . Last night I received word from a warden down river that the fresh fish were on their way and this was confirmed when one of our a guests landed our first two really bright and silver grilse in over two weeks . So, with the hundreds of older fish that we see jumping in all pools , that will also begin taking better , combined with these fresh-run fish we can promise some great angling heading into the final five weeks of the 2008 season . Our biggest salmon to date was app. 22 pound but we are seeing many fish in the 30 pound range that will soon be turning on as well .

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Thanks to organizations such as the Miramichi Salmon Association and The Atlantic Salmon Federation giant salmon like this 35 pound hen salmon taken at Dudley Pool Sept 2006 are more frequent these days .The Miramichi River is fast becoming a “big fish river” too . (more…)

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Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions for the Miramichi River at McNamee as of September 12th . The water is holding perfect and there are fish in every holding pool . We are starting to see more big fish in the 20 – 30 pound range but unfortunately they are taking slow . The fish are in the jumping mode , which is not unusual for early September but will soon switch to the taking mode as they begin the fall move in preperation to spawning time ( late October ) . All fish taken this week were on everyones favorite fly , the green machine with white calf tail . If the water stays normal height and clears up a little more we will start using more small black flys again . The long range weather forecast is calling for a little rain and moderate temps so hopefully the river will not get too cold before the big fall fish turn on . Anglers , keep the faith , we always have this little slow period with fish jumping eveywhere but taking slow , then it suddenly turns on .

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Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions for the Miramichi River at McNamee as of September 8th . Tropical storm Hanna treated us just perfect here in McNamee . The water is up this morning app. 10 inches and not at all dirty . For the last week we had tons of fish everywhere but the water was very clear . Even with that we had good fishing but now with this raise we expect new fish to come in and see more of the summer-run begin to move . Last night as the water began to raise the fish moved up tight to the bars and began jumping above the pools as they moved out . Just what the doctor ordered , a perfect raise of water heading into the middle of September is almost too good to be true . We shall see , remember we are still dealing with wild fish who make up their own mind as to when to take or not . Yesterday we were using small black flys in the 10′s and 8′s but today it looks like we are back to 4′s and 6′s , and of course the best fly on the river , green machine with white calf tail .

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Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions on the Miramichi River at McNamee as of September 3rd . As you can see by camparison to July photos , the river is finally down to normal height . It is a rainy , dreary , cool morning with no wind and plenty of fish in the pools , what better conditions to ask for . A little raise of water would be good anytime now and by the looks of the storms in the forecast we will likely get some water soon . Anglers are still picking up a few fresh fish but most are older summer-run , and there are some monster size salmon begining to show up too . Small black flys on long leaders are working the best , and of course tiny green machines .