The water is slowly rising after all this heat and is getting a little dirty too . Today the fishing slowed down to a more normal level but most anglers still limited . We are back to using larger flys and sinking lines . Some of the bigger salmon were taken in the heavy water on a long cast , down and dirty . Now we have to work a little for them . The air is forecast to cool down over the next several days and no rain till Sunday , it should be a good weekend .

Another picture of the lodge and new cabin in the background to the left . I will have full photo album of the new cabin soon as well as a new contest for a chance to win a weekend in Wilson’s new executive suite . complete with king size bed , fireplace and a two person European style whirlpool tub .

Keith-
Here is my report for the lower Cains April 15th .
Kevin,

Thanks Kevin-
A man of few words but we get the picture . KW

View of the lodge showing the upper level Bar/ Lounge and the lower level meeting room . We are pleased to announce that we are expanding our services to include meetings ( up to 22 people ) small weddings and other special occasion parties both large and small . Our dining room service will also be opening soon on a reserved basis . Please feel free to stop in and check us out , I think you will be impressed .

What a day Keith. A great number of bright, strong, cooperative grilse and salmon.
The best day of salmon fishing that I have ever had, anywhere. The fishery is in great shape!
Doug Hintzman

Good job Doug-
I find it strange to hear that Norris landed all his fish on a black wholly-bugger and you had luck on a bunch of different patterns, including skating a bomber across the top . I guess when these spring fish are in the mood to feed they sometimes really go for it .
Regards, Keith

Dear Keith,
Today was the best day of salmon fishing in my life! ( since 1961 )All on the same fly ! Perfect conditions -all the fish were healthy, some jumped repeatedly while others went into the heavy water,put their heads down and made it an effort to raise them up with the 7wt!It doesn’t get better than this. Norris D. Wolff – Guide Joe Stewart

Norris D. Wolff
KLEINBERG | KAPLAN | WOLFF | COHEN
551 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10176

Hi Keith,
Is the lounge open to the public, or guests only? We have a camp up in Porter’s Cove, and might consider a visit if you are open and willing to take smelly, thirsty, fisherman.
Cheers,
Dave

P.S. I’m heading up in the morning and trying to decide which boat to take, but based on your previous posts, I assume that canoes are in order. I have 20′ Miller that take a 6hp nicely. No problems for that at this water level, right?

Hi Dave-
Thanks for reading our river report . It looks like a good weekend to hit the water . A small jon boat with 10-15 hp. should be fine as long as you are careful .
The lounge is for guest’s staying with us fishing , snowmobiling , renting cottages , weddings or meeting groups . We will take reservations for groups buying meals for special occasions or just want to come by for a nice dinner and a cold beer .
We are not a “Public Bar ” per say , but you are more than welcome to stop in to have a look and I am sure we can find a cold beer for you . You might have plans for a special occassion sometime in the future and we would appreciate it if you would consider our new facility .
Cheers and good luck on the river this weekend .

Regards, Keith

We are happy to report that construction of Wilson’s new bar/lounge is complete , just in time for opening day of the 2012 season on Sunday April 15th . Karl and I put the paintings up just last night and Bonnie cleaned the floor and stocked the bar , ready to go . Stay tuned for pictures of more new developments to the lodge .

Well folks it is not much but we did manage about a ten inch rise here in McNamee . We will be fishing from the big jet canoes and hitting a couple spots from shore . This area of the river and on upstream will be tough on motors due to the many channels and islands to deal with . The lower end of the river from Blissfield to Blackville should be okay with motors . With the early ice-out and the low water conditions the boys down river are probably in for the best fishing . As for gear we are recommending anglers rig up with a versi-tip(Rio) system that allows for multiple sinks tips , and they are quick and easy to change . Any of the fine tackle shops listed on my web site can help you out with all your gear .

Finally getting a little something to help get the river back to normal . It has been dry and cold since the ice moved out a couple of weeks ago so this heavy wet snow is a blessing . The weather forecast is for more rain over the next several days so we should be in good shape by April 15th .

HI Keith,
I realize that it is presently is staying cold up there and that the river is slowly dropping. There does not appear to be a lot of rain coming there in the next two weeks either. I looked at the Graphs from Blackville and compared it to other spring fishing water levels over the years and it’s down around 1.5 meters at present and falling. Would you predict that by April 15th we can all expect to be wading instead of using motor boats to fish? And that as the water drops off, so do the fish drop down river? I appreciate your opinion on these subjects.

Thanks for any insight.
Charles H. C. Foster P. G.
Senior Hydrogeologist

Hi Charlie-
That is a million dollar question for sure . Trying not to be too bias on the subject, given my position as an outfitter with a lot to lose if no anglers come , I still think we will have a good number of salmon in the system until they ( wild fish ) reach a point in the length of day , water temperature and smelt run on the move . It is hard to tell what will happen though if we do not get a normal raise of water . Maybe we will be fishing from shore with more of a fall like fishing
approach . Sink tip lines, smaller flys etc. It is going to be interesting to see how things develop over the next few weeks . Karl pointed out yesterday that in a normal year we see fish jumping as the water drops to this level in May , but as of yet we have seen no fish jumping here in the Big Murphy pond .

Wilson’s Miramichi River Ice-run report for March 31st . As you can see conditions are ideal , if we could fish today . I urge all readers to launch a campaign to once again have our angling season open with the ice run or at least on April 1st . For many years we began fishing when the ice moved and for very good reason we should be doing the same today . Especially now that our springs seem to be getting earlier and earlier . It is a shame that the river sits there idle when hundreds of anxious anglers sit on the banks waiting . I am all for this move even with a total live release law until May 1st . I have brought this subject up before and the main reason DFO gave was that it was a budget issue with hiring wardens early, but given the current situation with very few wardens and less and less money for such , it would actually help DFO by allowing law abiding citizens on the rivers early to keep an eye out . We all know that our presence on the rivers is a strong deterrent to poachers . Not to mention the thousands of dollars of revenue and taxes being missed .

Atlantic Salmon Federation News
Monday, March 26, 2012

Media Leaks Indicate Canada Poised to Gut Fisheries Act
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Removal of habitat provisions from the Fisheries Act would jeopardize protection of wild Atlantic salmon. Read more about this.

http://asf.ca/news.php?id=857

A PETITION to keep habitat protection intact is online, and we ask anyone concerned to sign on for the protection that all watersheds and marine areas need.

http://asf.ca/news.php?id=852

600+ Scientists Write Canada’s Prime Minister on Habitat Protection

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More than 600 scientists have written Stephen Harper to demand habitat protection be maintained in the Fisheries Act.

http://asf.ca/news.php?id=855

EIGHT More Charges for Cooke Aquaculture
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Recently Cooke Aquaculture was back in court. Eight new charges were brought related to alleged use of illegal pesticides.

http://asf.ca/news.php?id=853

Sue Scott on the Perils of Salmon Aquaculture
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a piece published in the Huffington Post, ASF’s Vice President of Communications Sue Scott explains the need to rethink the present open sea cage approach to aquaculture. Read more: http://asf.ca/news.php?id=849

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 click “like”.

Hi Keith,

Thank you for posting this. It is heartbreaking to watch because I know the area – and it is even more heartbreaking to realize that this is happening time and again along many of our rivers and streams in NB. It is disgusting!

I will be certain to share this with the Board of the NB Salmon Council. The NBSC and the ASF are very concerned that the Province is considering increasing the annual allowable cut which happens to include a reduction in buffer zones of 55,000 hectares in NB. If this goes through, we are likely to see even more of this type of thing happening. We are actively working to convince the Province to not proceed with the proposed Crown land management plan.

I echo your call for concerned citizens to voice their objections and concerns to local MLAs, the Minister of Natural Resources, and the Ministers of other departments such as the Minister of Tourism who will undoubtedly be concerned that activities like this threaten our wild fish populations and the recreational fisheries that depend on them. We should be sharing this video with them as well.

Will be in touch.

Geoff

I am a strong proponent of a radical change such as I suggested in my July 31, 2010 posting where maybe the entire Miramichi watershed be converted to a park . It would actually create more jobs than what is presently available in the forestry sector ( Miramichi ) and it would eventually reestablish our forest to a healthy and vibrant ecosystem , even with a certain amount of logging and road building/maintenance . It makes one wonder when we hear today that the lumber markets are so poor that the mills need to close but when you talk to machine operators and contractors they have constant pressure from the companies to increase production . During the 1940′s and 50′s there were hundreds of workers in the woods and hundreds of mills running keeping our communities working and young people living here . Now we cut an unbelievable amount of land , very few mills running and only a fraction of the number of people employed, and our young people leaving the province by the thousands . Who is benefiting from the millions of feet of lumber being cut ? If our politicians are “Really” serious about a long term sustainable industry in the Miramichi maybe it is time to think outside of the box . The Park idea might not be a bad idea after-all . Cable skidders, horses , mills ( softwood and hardwood ) road crews , rangers, guides , camps , stores, restaurants , and hundreds of university graduates from around the world competing for jobs here . And a healthy forest to be proud of .