July 12th, 2023
Well what a wild season so far on the SW Miramichi with extraordinary high water conditions and warm weather! The result has been hooking salmon a real challenge thus far although when the water heights have subsided our anglers have had some wonderful fishing days. The past weekend many anglers were hooking multiple fish per day and some even limited out. A few guides on their day off also hit the water and managed to get in on the action and one of them experienced one of those days when he knew it was only a matter of time before he hooked a salmon!
The good hooking days were short-lived however as this past week we experienced several big raises of water which understandably frustrated and disappointed anglers even though it is wonderful for the salmon on their journey upriver. With the extreme heat however, the high water was a blessing in disguise even if it did reduce the catch by our anglers. It’s more important for our salmon to be safe and the high water which covers the rocks enables the water to stay cooler than it otherwise would for this time of year which most certainly reduces the risk to the fish.
This week was also the return of the UK vs USA salmon trophy between guests Tony Spratt from England and Jason Andalo. Jason headed back to Massachusetts with the trophy in hand which always makes for a fun time at the lodge!
Even though there have been some tougher fishing conditions for our anglers this summer so far many believe there has been a decent amount of salmon steadily trickling threw the system every day. And while we don’t see as many fish showing themselves in the high water, it seems like we’ve had a decent grilse run to start the year which is always a good sign. While it is sometimes hard for anglers when not seeing fish show they can believe the fish aren’t there but they are and you can never give up because you just don’t know when the next great pull is going to happen and then game on with the king of game fish, the mighty Atlantic Salmon!
