Water is still high and we are seeing very few fish on the Miramichi . There is snow forecast for today so that will make the water even colder , and of course will keep the fish down . The Cains is still high as well so we have yet to get into much for fishing there either . I noticed over the weekend that the big trout are starting to play around in a couple of the spawning areas . We hope the water drops off to a normal height before they lay their eggs . Woodcock numbers are increasing daily and conditions are improving with the leaves dropping .

Well folks it happen again , big rain with two to three feet of a raise , that is on top of the last rise of two to three feet . As you can imagine catching salmon this week is nearly impossible . The Cains River is in even worse shape , it will drop quicker but not likely before the 15th . On a positive note the upland hunting isd going great . There are better numbers of grouse compared to 2008 and as the woodcock flights pick up we expect to have a good week . Hunting conditions will improve next week as the leaves drop.

Keith:
The guys from DFO Science and I were talking about that salmon last week and we were speculating that it was probably a consecutive repeat spawner, meaning that she spawned in 2008, went back to salt water in May of 2009 and came back into the river in mid-July 2009. From the transmitters that we have been placing on spring kelts, the consecutive spawners return to the river in July and not in the fall as I would have guessed.
Mark

Hi Mark-
Amazing , I did not realize this . Like many people I thought all salmon just took off to Greenland and hope to return someday . MSA and ASF are doing a lot of very worthwhile research and I urge all my customers , and readers of my report to generously support your efforts .
Keep up the good work ,
Keith

The river came up last night nearly three feet in the McNamee area , but it has started down already . It dropped about 6 inches today and is clearing up . One angler landed a nice 16 pound salmon this evening on a large bright colored ( no name ) fly with a floating line . Most fishing will be from boats but your chances of success are good dispite the high water .

Keith:
From the picture on your website of the record hen salmon, it looks like it is adipose clipped, meaning it originated as a parr from the Miramichi Salmon Conservation Centre or one of the many satellite rearing tanks along the SW Miramichi River. Maybe from a different view, the adipose fin might still be there. Either way, congratulations and may there be many more successful anglers this fall.
Mark Hambrook, Miramichi Salmon Association.

Hi Mark-
Thanks for the feedback. The fish was unusually lean , is it possible that she was actually a 2009 kelt that did not return to the ocean or maybe a really old fish that has no eggs ? I heard that Rocky Brook had a huge fish recently too . FYI , from July 5th till August 30 we had 14 large salmon in the 20 – 35 pound range , normally we get three or four per season . Last week we got into a lot of big male hook bills , of course the water came up since then and slowed things down again .

Regards, Keith