Wilsons Sporting Camps » Miramichi River Report

Salmon & Grilse Counts to July 15th

Keith — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:29:02 +0000

If you go to the DFO link on the right side of the main page you can access the DFO web site showing salmon and grilse counts up till July 15th . It also shows you a comparison dating back to 1997 . The main SW branch that we are on is counted at the Millerton trapnet. As you will see the counts are way above the previous ten year average for both large ( MSW ) salmon and grilse . This is great news for both the atlantic salmon as a species and for anglers who enjoy the sport so much . So the next time you hear someone complain about releasing a salmon remind them that this is one of the main reasons we have salmon here today . Now if we could get the entire Miramichi watershed ( rivers, brooks, lakes , swamps and springs ) buffer zone extended back ten to fifteen miles , instead of thirty metres like it is now , we could get a real start on returning our river quality and salmon numbers to the way it was in the 1800’s.

Wilson’s Miramichi River Report For July 28th

Keith — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:05:28 +0000

Atlantic salmon fly fishing conditions for the Miramichi River near McNamee for July 28th . The water is holding very well , actually some pools are still too high but we are taking advantage of others that fish only in this height . Air temperatures are still cool at night keeping the the water cool too . Air temps are supposed to warm up today but cooling right down again for the next ten days . We are picking up some nice fresh run grilse and the occasional salmon . Mostly on black stuff and of course the old faithful green machine .

Wilson’s Miramichi Report For July 24th

Keith — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 01:26:50 +0000

Finally , back to normal and fresh fish on the move . The water is dropping slowly , still app. 10 inches above normal , and the temperature is down in the low to mid sixties in the am and 71F tonight . We hooked fourteen fish today and landed eight , two of which were bright . We have a great raise of water , full moon this weekend and the high tide , along with cool temperatures for the next ten days , plus a bonus rain coming tonight and Sunday . This combination will set us up perfectly for next week . And for all of you that say each year ” call me if it is really good , I will make a reservation ” there is no excuse now , except of course for the usual … my aunt is visiting , grandkids birthday , car needs an oil change , the dog needs it’s toenails clipped or my poor old great great grandmother has a knot in her bowel, well too bad for you the fishing is fantastic right now .

Miramichi River Valley At McNamee July 23rd.

Keith — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 22:39:50 +0000

It is important to note that the McNamee area of the Miramichi is unique in that we have many islands and channels that have small , medium and large pools throughout . This big raise of water is ideal for our five miles/ 16 private pools . Many pools fish best in this water height . We produce fish in just about every water condition .

Wilson’s Miramichi River Report For July 23rd

Keith — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:34:46 +0000

Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions for the Miramichi River at McNamee for July 23rd. The water is up 10-12″ yet again this morning after another inch of rain . Air temps this morning are at 51F and water is 61F . This will surely move salmon from the cold water areas and should finally get the “July Run” on it’s way . For anyone that has been putting it off, now is the time . I am pleased to report that we still have a few openings for next week and the price is right . Call toll free 1-877-365-7962
PS> It is important to note that the McNamee area of the Miramichi is unique in that we have many islands and channels that have small , medium and large pools throughout . This big raise of water is ideal for our five miles/ 16 private pools . Many pools fish best in this water height . We produce fish in just about every water condition .

Miramichi Gets A Nice Raise Of Water

Keith — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:28:31 +0000

We went to bed Monday night in hopes of a big rain but it only showered at best a couple of times in the night . But we heard that Cleawater Brook area got dumped on , officialy they received over 30mm of rain and to our surprise by sunset last night the river came up here in McNamee eight inches . The temperature dropped another degree to 67 F by this morning . We hooked fish last night in the upper part of Dudley , which confirms the fish are beginning to move out of the cold water a bit . With rain and cool temps forecast for the next several days we should see more action for sure .

Wilson’s Miramichi River Report For July 20th

Keith — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:43:01 +0000

Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions for the Miramichi River near McNamee for July 20th . As you can see from this picture the river is now at a normal mid summer level . The height is still okay for fish to move on and most importantly the temperature is down in to 68 F. this morning . Daytime air temperatures are to be around 80 F today and Wed , which is not bad , and cooling down even more to low to mid 70’s for Thursday through Sunday . Rain is forecast for Saturday and Sunday . If you look at the weather network on my web site you can see the 14 day trend forecast , it is calling for below average temps all next week . A nice salmon hooked yesterday on a tiny #10 black bear .

Wilson’s Miramichi River Report July 19th

Keith — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:32:11 +0000

Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions for the Miramichi River near McNamee for July 19th . The water level is holding near perfect and the cool nights are keeping the pools fishable . There are still a few fish moving during the night so we are fishing the early morning and late evening hours and resting both anglers and salmon during the mid day . There has been no fish mortalities reported since last week when the temps soared to record heights . The weather forecast is good for the rest of the week with rain coming today and tomorrow and much cooler daytime temps . There is a good rain forecast for the weekend too .

Nathan Wilbur , UNB

Keith — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 10:59:33 +0000

Nathan says:
July 18, 2010 at 10:33 pm
I just wanted to put it out there that there is research being done on these cold water refuges like springs and tributaries. The fish may only need the cold water a few days each summer but in a few days of 30oC water temperature the salmon population can go from good to real bad. Roads, forestry, but also other forms of development are being looked into as to their effect on cold water sources. By understanding where they are and how they work, everyone can start doing their part to protect them. I think the dead salmon people are seeing floating downriver is all the evidence we need to realize how important cold water is. And I agree with Keith that there should be more of these sources throughout the system rather than only in a few spots like Big Hole and Black Brook. It should also be said that Irving is following this research pretty closely to see how they can reduce the impacts of roads, etc., and figure out how to manage around the sources of cold water.

The problem of warm water has been recognized by many conservation groups and research groups and things are being done to figure out some solutions. Hopefully they’ll work!

Reply
Keith says:
July 19, 2010 at 6:24 am
Hi Nathan-
I agree , of all the Canadian forestry companies , New Brunswick is lucky to have Irving . This company does more to protect than most any other in Canada . I think it is the basic philosophy in this province that forestry is more important than our environment . I think there could be much more done on private woodland operations too, i.e., better road building , and mandatory tree planting &
sivilculture .

Keith Wilson’s Rant , Part II

Keith — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 20:29:24 +0000

Well , since I am already ticked off I might as well spill my guts . On July 16th we done a tour on the upper Cains River taking temperatures of various brooks and the main river adjacent . Acadia Bridge Pool was 77.9 F , Wathan Brook was 58.o F , O’Donnells was 78.5 F , Beer Brook was 57.2 F , and Wildcat Pool was 78.0 F and the brook was 70.0 F.
I wonder why Wildcat Brook was so warm , could it have anything to do with the fact that the licensee just last winter cut the last remaining deer yard ( app. 30 acres )at the head of Wildcat Brook ? I spoke with the contractor there one day and he was complaining that it was not worth the effort to even be in there , the “wood chance ” was very poor and wading the mud was hard on the equipment on those cold January nights . I noticed that deep ruts were running full of mud straight towards the little buffer along the brook . It does not seem like it would be worth it compared to the damage that was done to the Wildcat Brook watershed .
I remember hunting that area since I was a kid and it was always so wet and swampy in there that you had to wear rubber boots . It makes you wonder what the mandate of DNR and the licenees really is . One thing for sure is that they have no compassion for the few remaining white tailed deer along Wildcat and they don’t seem to give a damn about the big sea-run brook trout that normally seek refuge this time of year at the mouth of the brook . Instead of watershed enhancement it is watershed destruction .