All the latest Miramichi River news and updates from Keith Wilson at Wilson’s Sporting Camps. Follow our updates about the fishing conditions as well as a few pics of some of the action here at Wilson’s.

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 .

Atlantic salmon fishing conditions for the Miramichi near McNamee for August 30th . The river is very low and unfortunately it is likely to warm up this week too . We have extreme heat coming Monday through Wed . There are plenty of salmon in the big holding pools and are taking well in the early morning hours . Please take caution this week , we urge anglers to limit the pressure on the fish by rotating anglers in the pools and using very light leaders ( 4 lb. ) so you can break the fish off after the hook-up . Bombers are working best .

As it turns out this year we have no bookings for the last day of our season , October 15th . So I am inviting New Brunswick residents to enter their name in a draw where they can fish Wilson’s private pools for October 15th for free . We have sixteen pools over a five mile stretch of water and I will assign a low number of rods to each pool , totally 24 in all . If you get your name drawn , in exchange of a fee to Wilson’s we hope that you would consider making a small cash contribution to either the Atlantic Salmon Federation , Miramichi Salmon Association or the Childrens Wish Fondation . Simply send a reply in the comment section with your name , address and telephone number and your name is in. Your information will not be used for solicitation .
PLEASE NOTE: WILSON’S IS A LIVE RELEASE CAMP

Hello Keith and Karl,

I just wanted to send you both a quick e-mail to thank you for allowing us the privilege of fishing your private pools. As I had mentioned to you yesterday, I started fly fishing 30 years ago at the age of 5 and my father has been fishing for over 55 years and this was our first time fishing private water. To say we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves would be such an understatement! We sincerely enjoyed every minute that we spent on your water. In the afternoon, we fished O’Donnell’s for about 1.5 hours. Even though we didn’t see any fish, we enjoyed it immensely. We enjoyed the solitude of being in a pool on our own and we also had the opportunity to see a mother bear with her cub along the bank of the island. In the evening, we fished Dudley as you know… This was arguably the single best evening of fishing that I’ve ever had. Not because we both limited out, but because of the fact that we were fishing Wilson’s private waters. All my life I’ve been reading every book on fishing that I could get my hands on. From Wayne Curtis, to George Frederick Clarke, to Peter Clarke and the list goes on and on. In all these books, the fishing is almost exclusively done on the ever elusive private water, and here I was fishing at the most storied fishing operation on the Miramichi. I realize that this must sound funny for you guys since you were brought up on the river and in this system. However, for someone who’s never had the privilege to fish private water, it was truly a special evening. By the way, we did manage to catch 3 salmon last night which was an incredible bonus. Two of about 10 pounds and one of about 8 pounds.

Again, a very sincere thank you and I wish you all the best for the remainder of the season.

Best regards,
Chris

Conditions remain tough , water is low and very clear but lucky for the Miramichi we have more fish in the system so far in 2010 than we have had in any single year since the late 1980’s . All the big holding pools , such as Dudley , Cold Water and Buttermilk are holding a good number of salmon . Best times are early mornings and late evenings with a well placed bomber .

The river remains very low , but lucky for anglers and especially the salmon we are getting cool nights . The water still warmed up to the mid seventies this last few days . Despite the conditions we are still hooking a few fish in four of our larger holding pools , all with bombers of course . Light rain coming today and much cooler temperatures over the weekend so fishing will pick up for sure .

Keith, A great idea. And it should not be impossible. In the States both the Adirondack Park in NY and The National Seashore in MA show the way. Both enclosed much private land, homes and activity. Always contentious, and still is here in the Seashore where I live and work to preserve the good stuff, but both efforts ultimately successful. So congratulations from your US guest, a one time logger, 26 year Salmon fisher, and admirerer of your visionary imagination and writing skill.

Water height is now down making a lot of pools unfishable . But most of the larger holding pools have good numbers of salmon and they are taking bombers and small black flys . Seems like the best technique when fishing wet is to cast straight across then strip to get more speed on the swing . It is cool and rainy today and tomorrow so combined with the cool nights this should keep the water temps almost ideal . During bright sunny days the best time will of course be in the AM .

I am putting the bomber fishermen on notice . The conditions are ideal for good bomber fishing , the water is at a normal August level and still a good flow in most pools .We are seeing a lot of fish down low in the pools as well as a few still moving through . The best part is that the “summer run” was late getting here so most fish are fairly fresh ,so they can be very active , especially on mornings like today when we had six fish landed , two of which were very fresh. One guest had seven fish come to bombers , hooking three of them and landing one , needless to say this guy had a fantastic morning .

Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions for the Miramichi River at McNamee for August 7th . It may sound strange but it is just like an early September morning out there at 6:34 am . The air is only at +7C and there is a lite mist drifting off the water . We have plenty of fish still moving and even more salmon and grilse settling into the large holding pools now . Best angling is still during morning hours and best luck seems to be on very small black flys with extra long leaders . This is the kind of fishing where a good guide can make or break your trip , listen to your guide !