By the looks of the river in the McNamee area we are in for an early ice-out this year . With the light ice build up this winter and now the warm weather the ice will most likely be gone well before opening day on the 15th of April . There are many theories of course about what this means for the fishing but I am going with most old- timers that say the fish will remain in the river until the water warms up and the smelt run has started in . One thing for sure is that with an early ice -out the river should be clear of heavu ice and other debris , which of course makes for much more pleasant day on the water . There is no way to predict what flys to use because one never knows what the water level will be four weeks from now .
Stay tuned for pictures of the ice as it moves out , we always get a big run-off sometime during this period and it can be quite a sight .
Last week will most likely be remembered as one of the best weeks on the Miramichi in many , many years . Several of Wilson’s guests commented that they haven’t seen fishing like this in over 20 years . Even more amazing was the number of big salmon, two guy’s hooked into 12 salmon in one 4 hour shift, one of which was near thirty pounds . Things are a little more normal this week, maybe due to the bright sun and heat . The weather forecast is calling for more rain and showers this week so maybe the hundreds of fish in the pools will turn on again . Bombers are working and of course green machines and small black bugs .
Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions for the Miramichi River at McNamee for July 4th , 2009 . It has been 20 todays of rain , cloud and cool temps but this picture shows a glimmer of hope that it will soon end . The water is still high and we are seeing just a fish or two on each beat , but we are optimistic that things will improve very soon . We landed two nice grilse yesterday and saw a couple of big salmon in the same pool . Big flys are the choice still and some people are using sink tip lines . The sink tip lines don’t seem to be doing any better than the full floating . I think most will agree that we can’t pass acurate judgement until the water comes down to normal at which time I am certain that the fishing will improve .
Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions for the Miramichi River at McNamee as of June 24th . We are pleased to report another perfect raise of water . The general population are all complaining about the dreary , cold , rainy weather but anglers are enjoying every minute of it . The locals picked up a few big hen salmon last week but nothing on the high water these last few days The water is still up about 12 inches and dropping slow , which is tough for this week but it boads well for the coming weekend and beyond . Big flys and a sink tip line might work best for a few more days .
The recent rain brought the water up again and a little dirty yesterday but it is dropping already . The water level in general is still above normal but there are plenty of fish to keep anglers happy . Our best luck seems to be on the Renous Special , or a variation of it as long as it has green and yellow and silver . Some guest’s are carrying two rods in the boat , one with a heavy sink tip and the other with a medium sink tip . Fish are still taking in the bogan water and edges and if you don’t mind pulling your fly out of the submerged bushes allong shore you can take grilse as the fly comes out . The old fashioned wood fire shore lunch is still very popular with our guest’s . The old timers called it “boiling the kettle” which is exactly what we do , we brew your coffee in a tin kettle and cook your meal in antique fry pans . There is nothing better than the old shore lunch after a morning of fighting salmon .
The river is open, with cold nights and no rain it is still holding at a low level. Fishing over the weekend was outstanding , with the clear low water fish were easy to catch with any kind of fly . We need a little raise of water to get the fish out of their winter holding pools and moving around so that the good fishing will last longer . Light rain is predicted this week but it does not look like anything major so conditions should remain good .
Please consider the following facts :
* Wilson’s on the Miramichi River is one of the most economically priced Salmon fishing lodges in the world
* compare our rates to fishing in Russia , Norway , Iceland and even Quebec .
* The US > CDN exchange rate is app. 25% in your favor today . We quote in CDN funds .
* Wilson’s is just a days drive by car from New York and Boston
* 2008 was the best season since the mid 1980′s and it promises to be as good or better for MSW salmon in 2009
* Wilson’s own’s some of the finest private salmon fishing pools on the river ( 5 miles – 16 pools) and we fish small groups resulting in no crowds and no line ups .
* Wilson’s has been in business since 1855, we know a thing or two about catching Atlantic Salmon .
* Wilson’s guides can make you a better angler .
………..I invite you to fish Wilson’s in 2009, it is going to be great fishing and more affordable than most other Salmon fishing destinations .
Sincerely yours, Keith Wilson
:: Look for buttons bottom of pop-up window to enlarge full size ::
The Wilson gang is all smiles as we wrap up what has been a fantastic 2008 season. The highlight of the year was a report of a 52 inch hen salmon that made it safely to the barrier pool at Juniper , just knowing that this size of salmon is back to our rivers makes every cast on the water worth the effort . 2008 was a banner year for Wilson’s and I am sure this is the case for most anglers that fished salmon anywhere in Atlantic Canada . I asked a neighbor of mine yesterday how many fish he hooked this year , an incredible 105 hook-ups . All rivers are reporting increased numbers of Atlantic slamon . We had more than our share of high water this year with three big rises of over 3 feet , too much water at times for the best fishing but it kept the watershed saturated . Our fall season was a little tough with big water but all visitors to Wilson’s could not believe the shear number of salmon in the pools , and it was common to see fish in the 20 – 30 pound range just about every day . Cains River had high water as well and a good run of salmon came right on time . Sea-run brook trout on the Cains done very well this year with all the high water , not so good for anglers but excellent conditions to protect and feed the trout .
All in all 2008 was one of the best seasons in the past twenty and we are optomistic that this upward trend will continue . As always , we strongly encourage all readers to keep your memberships up to date in the Miramichi Salmon Association and the Atlantic Salmon Federation. Thanks to these two hard working organizations we are enjoying better fishing on all east coast salmon rivers .
PS> I will be off line for a few weeks as I head out for the deer season , I will be reporting back in 2009 . Thanks for reading our report , looking forward to 2009.
:: Look for buttons bottom of pop-up window to enlarge full size ::
Well folks as you can see it sure is beautiful here this last few days of the 2008 season , but the fish are still not cooperating . The weather is gorgeous , the water is down to almost normal and we are seeing plenty of salmon , but they obviously have something on their mind besides chewing on a big green machine . It appears the same storey holds true for the Cains , most of the fall run is up there now and we are seeing a few fish in the upper headwaters actually working the redds a little . My only luck over the weekend was on a big purple mariboo ??
:: Look for buttons bottom of pop-up window to enlarge full size ::
Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions for the Miramichi River at McNamee as of Oct 9th . The water is coming down very slow and we guess that it will remain higher than normal till the last day ( Oct 15th ) . We are seeing and hooking fewer fish than before the big raise but the fish we are hooking are some real beauties . In the last three days we landed four fish in the twenty pound range so that makes up for the lazy grilse for the moment . The weather is forecast to stay clear so we predict that as the water continues to drop we will have better fishing . There are reports of decent fishing on some parts of the lower Cains River but the upper watershed is still slow , they will show up as always , but sometimes not till after the close. The Cains actually needs another little raise to get the fish into the headwaters before the 15th . Big red/orange flys are working best .
:: Click image to enlarge – fit your screen :: :: Look for buttons bottom of pop-up window to enlarge full size ::
The water on the upper Miramichi is coming down nicely but still too high for good fishing , but for folks like Fred and Suzie who came in with their group for a Cast & Blast trip , are finding the upland hunting to be great . The leaves are dropping at a good pace , the weather is cooling and the dogs are in their prime . Flight birds will begin showing up in greater numbers soon and as the river drops off we expect a great wrap up of the season .
:: Look for buttons bottom of pop-up window to enlarge full size ::
Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions for the Miramichi River at McNamee as of October 2nd . Well folks we are flooded again , and with this raise coming on the heals of a 3 foot raise just a few days ago it will probably mean early next week before we see any resemblance of a normal river . Even with this big water we are seeing some monster salmon jumping , but of course we can’t get a fly over them at this stage . We fished the Cains today but it too is blown out , the water came up at least two feet by days end . The big rain and wind is a blessing for the upland hunters though and our weather forecast is for clear and cold for the next 10 days . Woodcock will begin moving better and of course hunters welcome the more open coverts as the leaves continue dropping .
:: Look for buttons bottom of pop-up window to enlarge full size ::
Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions for the McNamee area of the Miramichi River as of September 29th . Thank goodness we missed hurricane Kyle but we still got a 3 foot raise of water . Good news is that even though the water is high , it is still clean . We are lucky in the McNamee area with all the islands and long sloping bars from these areas that hold fish in these conditions . We were seeing a lot of fresh fish the last few days so the fall-run is on the move , so this raise can only help us . Anglers this morning are fishing mostly from the big canoes using slow sink of sinking tip lines with larger streamer patterns . The jumping fish that have been entertaining us for two weeks or more are still at it , and even in the same places , so the high water did not seem to change their habits yet . The high water will be perfect for the Cains , which we plan to take full advantage of in the coming days . Don’t despair anglers , this high water will only help us in the McNamee and Cains River areas .
:: Look for buttons bottom of pop-up window to enlarge full size ::
Steve W. with the PWC group hooked into this monster on his first ever salmon fishing trip to the Miramichi River . He eventually lost the big salar but needless to say was more than thrilled with his trip . The boys had good fishing , mostly on one of Marcus’s creations , but standard fly patterns are doing the job too . The water is low but the fish are moving , so with the coming rain on the weekend we hope to get just enough water to bump it up a few inches , we don’t need a big raise at this stage in the game . All eyes are on the Cains to see what happens after the rain , based on reports from the lower Cains I think we may be in for some great action in there as well . PS: Expert guide Joe Stewart not only puts his man onto fish , he can also handle a camera . Correction: Steve did in fact land the big fish , and as quoted by Joe , “he done it like a pro “
:: Look for buttons bottom of pop-up window to enlarge full size ::
Atlantic salmon fly-fishing conditions for the Miramichi River at McNamee as of September 24th . The last ten to twelve days has been fairly slow but still a fish or two per day on average were taken . The PWC group finished up at noon today with 15 fish landed . Things are steadily improving with reports of fresh-run salmon coming in on good water . The temperature is warming up over the next several days as well as rain due on Saturday , which will set the stage for great fishing . We are seeing many huge salmon , and expect these big boys to begin taking better soon . The coming rain will set us up for good fishing on the Cains as well .
