Wilson’s Miramichi Atlantic salmon report is pleased to show Tyler Storey with his beautiful “Rocky Brook Run” Atlantic Salmon caught yesterday ( May 29 ) at an undisclosed pool in the Miramichi . Good job Tyler , congratulations! Keith

I made a trip up to the Southwest Miramichi this weekend, not really expecting to catch anything except maybe some trout. I just wanted to spend some time in camp. I got a call from Jason Curtis the day before I left relaying that one of the neighbors said he had seen a salmon roll, and that he was certain is was a bright fish. Bright salmon, though, are a scarce May commodity on the Southwest Miramichi, and Wayne Curtis who grew up overlooking and fishing Campbell’s Pool said he didn’t remember ever seeing one caught there in May.

My trip started out by watching a big salmon leap from the water on Friday morning right in the heart of the pool. Lloyd Curtis and I found within the next hour that there were several salmon holding – in spite of relatively high water – in the lower end of Campbell’s side of the pool. Unfortunately we found this out by having salmon roll for the fly, but not touching it. We worked these fish from both sides, with every possible fly, line type, casting angle etc. but never had a touch even though some of the fish repeatedly made big wakes and visibly followed the fly for 20 feet.

On Saturday my luck changed, perhaps for the worse. The number of fish seemed to be down a bit, but we found a couple on the Keenan side too. We had three separate fish bump the fly, but not once did we feel a solid take. This seemed like really strange behavior for early, bright fish, but….

Sunday began with a little raise of water. We fished down the Campbell side and rolled a fish at the top. It never came back for another look. We theorized this was a moving fish. The hot area at the bottom of the pool was now vacant. Over on the Keenan side we fished down through some of the better high water lies without a touch, but in the exact spot where a big, broad-backed salmon had tapped my fly on Saturday we found that either another fish had moved in, or yesterday’s resident was still there – raising water and all. The fish looked at a #2 Silver Rat but did not take it. Jason Curtis and I discussed strategy, and after waiting for a couple of minutes we made the same cast and got a solid take.

Here is Jason holding what we estimated to be an 18 pound salmon. We thought the length to be only about 33 inches, but the fish was as deep and fat as a small tuna. She was hooked in the upper lip, and the fly fell into the net when we lifted her for the picture. A great start to the season, may it continue! Brad

Congratulations Brad and Jason-
What a beauty . I fished this evening ( May 29th ) and saw one salmon jump here in the Home Pool . There was a big Rocky Brooker landed in Ludlow this morning .
Tight Lines , Keith

Author : Scott
Comment:
I hooked 4 fish so far this year. Friday May 27, 2011 I caught and landed 2 grilse on the Northwest at 2 different pools. On Saturday May 28, 2011 I hooked 2 large salmon and landed one. Many others caught all day by other guys. Flies of all sizes from #8 green machines all the way up to 2/0 smelt type streamer patterns. Some nice large trout up to 4 pounds are being caught also. Not many but big ones.

Hi Scott-
Thanks for the report from the Nor West . I urge all anglers to feel free to drop me a line for news from other rivers , we all appreciate the updates . If I get enough pictures from my readers maybe I can set up a gallery to show them . I will check with my web guy to see what format is required .

Regards, Keith

Hi Keith

Just wanted you to know how much I appreciate your timely river reports. For those of us not lucky enough to live on the banks of the Miramichi, having you as a knowledgable observer of water levels, fish activity, etc. is a real asset.

In appreciation let me offer you a timely update. This may not be the first Rocky Brooker of 2011, but it’s the first I’ve heard of. My Dad, Bruno Bobak, released a beautiful 18 pounder this afternoon in the Blissfield area. We had to chase it 1/4 mile downstream by canoe and it took an exciting 45 minutes to get it close enough to tail and release….recovery time couldn’t have been more than ten seconds. An amazing start to the season for an 88 year old angler!

She’ll probably be passing through McNamee tomorrow and yes, the green machine with white tail seems to be working it’s magic for yet another year.

All the best

Alex

Thanks Alex, great news . I hear there are a few big sea-run trout being hooked in Blissfield as well . Finally after a long winter it looks like we are back to what we love to do the most . The river’s are still little high but exactly what we like to see for early June . Temps are perfect . Regards, Keith

Sunshine at last , the water is up again today and staying cool . Sunshine today should warm things up a bit which will help wake up the local trout . Still no sign of the big sea-run but it looks like early June is going to be spot on with this good water .

Atlantic salmon fly fishing conditions for the Miramichi River near McNamee for May 23rd. The water is still higher than normal and we are starting the third week in a row with a cold east wind . We are picking up a few “old trout” but no sign of the fresh sea-run trout yet . I fished Friday May 20th with a friend for twelve hours during a boat tour from McNamee up past Boiestown and back , we landed only two small trout , and they were hooked right in front of the lodge here at the end of the day . SLOWWWW Day ! There are no complaints about the present river conditions though, this is exactly what would like to see going into June , cold high water would be great for the famous “Rocky Brook Run ” !

E-mail : jammer212@msn.com
Comment:
Hi Kieth I am just wondering what flies would be a good choice for trout this time of year for your area ?

Hi Jamie-
for now I use mostly wholly buggers, small streamers and always always my favorite and most successful fly , the green machine with white calf tail . If you tie then try the green machine with a long shank bomber hook tied slim and the tail a little longer , instead of calf tail tie it with white buck or polar bear tail . Tied slim on a larger hook should get the fly down a little better . Work the tail end of islands and side channels .
Good luck ,
Keith

Brrrrr! It is still cold and rainy in McNamee this week . And to make things worse it is coming from the north east so fishing sucks . The spring run has left this area , except for the odd straggler , but there are good numbers of trout being taken by the few die-hard anglers still on the water . The river is still higher than normal for the time period so that boads well for the soon to arrive Sea-run brook trout . For those interested the annual fiddlehead picking season is behind schedule too with all this cold rainy weather . I spoke with Graham Lyons , our resident professional picker and supplier and he feels the season could be very short this year . If anyone is interested in getting your supply from Graham he can be reached at 365-7647 .

Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions for the Miramichi River at McNamee for May 10th . The water is still high and there are very few anglers on the water this week due to the Nor-easter we are in the midst of . We should be back to fishing again by the weekend but I expect most of the salmon have moved down river by now . The die-hard angler will still pick up a few salmon here in McNamee if they put their time in and remain patient . Sink tip line with darker flys such as the nine-three and grey ghost will work best .

You don’t want to be on the Miramichi River this weekend . The water in the McNamee area is up over four feet as of 5 pm today and it looks like more to come .

Spring salmon fishing is a great sport, and for good reason when you hook into fish like this one . As the water begins to warm a little and the fish rev up their down river migration we find they take well and jump numerous times . We are seeing a lot of fish jumping on their own too so that means they are moving out fast now .Most of the bigger salmon are taken on a long cast into heavy water closer to bottom . We are picking up more and more trout this week as well . It won’t be long now before the big sea-run brook trout start their journey up the river .

Nick Purdy would like to have this one to try over . The bigger salmon are jumping much more this week . We are seeing them on the heavy water edges and taking most on a cast with a heavy sink line . The water is down to a nice level this morning and cleared up very nicely . Darker flys are the answer .