July 11th, 2022
Lots of rain last week resulted in a big raise of water on the river last week and that combined with nice cool weather has meant that lots of fish have been cruising comfortably up the river. The positive but rather strange weather is making the 2022 season a memorable one starting out as we are normally worried about low water and hot temps. All great news for the salmon and our fishery however! This past week saw lots of fish in the river but they were slower than normal taking flies after the heavy rain last week brought water levels up to early June heights!! As the water slowly started to drop the hooking of fish started to pick up and some anglers were getting into multiple fish each session while some others were only seeing fish but not hooking as the fish have been on the move once again with these excellent conditions for fish migration.
Many of the fish hooked this past week were popping off due to the fish acrobats and a result of barbless hooks and many beginners and even the more experienced fisherman were having a difficult time of keeping the lines tight enough while the fish were jumping. As many anglers and guides say, “The tug is the drug” which keeps you coming back for more and truthfully the take is always the best part of Atlantic salmon fishing. That sad not landing more fish means we don’t have those beauty fish pictures that we all like to see but in the end the fish that come off are able to carry on with their journey up river and that is what really matters most.
Word from local anglers throughout the system is that overall, fishing has been exceptional thus far this year! And those putting time on the water are being rewarded with rolls and hookups which is great to report. Friends from Miramichi City are still seeing multiple salmon and grilse jump daily which is always great news and bodes well for the coming weeks as the July grilse run seems to be starting into the river as it usually does the first or second week of July. There should be some fun days ahead in the coming weeks with these great conditions and excellent salmon returns. Looking forward to hooking into many more fish and keeping everyone updated! As the river drops, the salmon will begin to hold up a bit in pools along the way and the take rate should improve as will our fish pics in the river reports!
