The water height is perfect and the fishing has been fantastic till a couple of days ago . The only thing different is that the water warmed up from 51F to 65F in just 36 hours . Would this drastic change in such a short time cause the fish to stop taking ? There are still tons of fish in the pools and many of them fresh , but for some reason they stopped hitting all of a sudden . We have rain coming over the next two days so maybe things will turn on again . We don’t need a rise in water but we need something to change that will get these guy’s going again .

The river came up last night about 8 inches in the McNamee area . This is perfect timing , the boys down river have been seeing , and catching in good numbers many fresh-run fall salmon for the last three to four days .This should set us up in fine style for the next two weeks here in McNamee . The Cains came up too so it will be interesting to see how the fall run develops in there as well . Photo of Bob G. playing a salmon on the Cains in 2009.

Here is an example of what we are expecting this week, Jim M. landed this beauty in late Sept 2007 . Our first sign of new fresh salmon for this fall appeared just this morning . John & EJ landed a nice shiny grilse and a beautiful big hen in Big Murphy pool, no sea lice but they were definitely fresh . It looks like Jim will be hitting it right on again this trip .The water is a little low but actually in very good shape for most pools and as far as water to move fish in they will travel on much lower than this . Of course the water temperature is ideal , only high 50′s and not yet too cold . It seems like just yesterday that we were worrying about the water being too warm now we worry about it getting too cold . There is a rain forecast for mid week so we hope just enough for the Cains , we don’t want a big rise for the Miramichi at this time .

News from the Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF)

The New Brunswick Salmon Council, ASF’s Regional Council in New Brunswick, gave NB’s five political parties the opportunity to respond to three questions regarding wild Atlantic salmon conservation and recreational fishery issues in advance of the province’s upcoming election on September 27. Four of the five parties running in this election submitted answers to the questions. To view the Questions: http://asf.ca/docs/uploads/nb-election2010-questions.pdf

Answers: http://asf.ca/docs/uploads/nb-election2010-answers.pdf

To keep track of breaking news on wild Atlantic salmon, use the Atlantic Salmon Federation’s presence on Facebook. Log in, search for Atlantic Salmon Federation, and sign up as a fan.

ASF’s Webworks is an updating service on the world of the wild Atlantic salmon. If you wish to be added or removed from the list, email asfwebworks@asf.ca

Well so much for my “down and dirty” theory. I had everyone buying marabou flys yesterday and scrambling around for sink tip lines then half- way through the morning David changes to a tiny #10 double “Almost” and hooked five fish within one hour . The water is about normal height and color so why did such a small fly work ? We hooked a few more during the evening shift , all on different sizes and colors , including the “Chief “.

A big Miramichi fall salmon , 18 pound hook-bill taken on a brown bug and slow sink line . The big monsters are here in good numbers but are hard to catch .The male hook-bill is the equivalent of the bull moose or big white tail deer , these fish are my absolute favorite of the year , they take slow but fight strong and fierce . They can also be a little intimidating and scary enough when trying to retrieve your hook from that big mouth . Leo is going to a sink-tip line today and has dug way down into the secret pocket of his tackle bag for some of those nasty looking chorus girls and purple grapes . I agree , I think it is time to go down and dirty for the big boy’s .
Photo By Tom Montgomery

Wilson’s fall Atlantic salmon fishing report for September 17th . As of noon the water is up again app. 6 inches and still clear . The first report of any fresh-run salmon coming in this fall was from Mountain Channel last evening , one guest landed a big 16 pounder with sea-lice on it . This raise of water should be perfectly timed to set the stage for another good week of fishing here at Wilson’s .

Steve M. is all smiles on his third trip to the Miramichi this season . This is his fourth fish of the day , plus he hooked and lost three more . Steve was here during one of the extreme hot weather periods this summer so he is really enjoying the kind of weather , and the kind of fishing we are having this week at Wilson’s .

Fly fishing conditions for fall Atlantic salmon on the Miramichi River near McNamee for Sept 13th . The water is at the perfect height and the perfect temperature , and we have tons of salmon in the pools . Most fish have been in a while but they are taking very well . No sign of the new fall run yet but we are happy to have good water and good fishing anyway . Green machine with a white calf tail is the fly of choice this week .

The Miramichi fall Atlantic salmon fishing report at McNamee for September 9th . As you can see we got a big rise in water last night . The river is up app. 14 inches as of 8:am this morning . I checked with the boys at Cold Water Pool and the fish seem to be on the move . They are seeing salmon running in close to the north side as well as along the big rocks next to the table side . This should bring in the fresh fall run from the estuary . This big raise will also provide some relief for the sea-run trout on the Cains. It is still a little early but should see the beginnings of the fall run on the lower sections of the Cains now too .

Our 2010 Fall Atlantic salmon season officially kicks off today . Hurricane Earl brought us the perfect raise of water of app. 6 inches in the McNamee area , air temps this morning at 55F and water in the low sixties . Looks like more rain this week and cool temps for at least the next 14 days . We have tons of summer salmon in all the big holding pools and DFO reports the estuary is full too . We assume that the estuary fish are the beginnings of the 2010 fall run . A raise of water like this at a time in the season like this should turn things on , we shall see .

Thanks to everyone who participated in the October 15th Draw . Winners show up at Wilson’s on October 15 between 7:30 am and 8:00 am , if you are late you will miss out , staff is only here till 9:30 am to show you to the scheduled pool . The pool you draw will be your’s for the day , ( 8am – dark ) . PLEASE DO NOT ENCROACH ON OTHER POOLS . Draw is non-transferable and no rod sharing . Please do not bring friends or spectators , the other anglers in your pool probably want to enjoy the serenity with as little human interference as possible .There are tables on some of the pools and depending on water conditions there may be canoe’s for your use too.
I hope you enjoy your day. Tights lines to all, Keith
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Darcy Price…..Ashley Hay….Philip Brodersen…..Ian Robertson…Corey Collins….Rob Harris…..Jeff Gordon…..Sean Dolan….Junior Woodland…..Kerstin Coy….Scott Moorison….Kevin Duffy….Dennis Young……Jamie Price …..Marcel Richard……Steve Benteau….Tim Hay….Greg MacDonald….Scott Leblanc…Walter Melonson….Pat Daigle……Bev Amos….Chris Gaston…Mark Coy….

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I am pleased to report that the Miramichi Watershed Management Committee has done a fantastic job fixing up the government owned crown reserve roads , cabins and camp sites this summer . I have had numerous reports of the good work on the North West and Little S.W. areas and I can personally speak of the superb work on the Cains River crown reserve area . So when you find yourself travelling through some of these beautiful areas this coming fall give thanks to the work crews and the MWMC for a job well done .