June 17th, 2024
Some weeks it is all about good fishing and other weeks it is all about the not-so-good fishing! lol But every week it’s all about our guests! As the years roll by, and as we all get older, we seem to appreciate more all of our returning guests who, like the salmon, make their way back to the Miramichi from destinations all around the globe. This past week, we welcomed back 90-year-old Hal Howard from New York, his twentieth year at Country Haven, and fortieth fishing on the Miramichi River! It is always a pleasure for us to see him return and to see him spend time with his long-time guide, 90-year-old Pete Randell to get reacquainted after another year has passed. Together they shared some wonderful stories, laughs, and a few tears too. This season, Hal brought two new fishermen with him to the Miramichi and I believe Hal Berry may now be hooked on the Miramichi River for life after landing his first Atlantic Salmon! Few things in life can compare to that experience for a fly fisher!
For close to two weeks now our guests have been chasing what locals call Rocky Brook salmon (the earliest fish coming into the system) and it is usually a hit-or-miss game although it comes with a spectacular reward for our anglers who are lucky enough to experience these fish. Some get just a tug, others a roll and some are lucky enough to hook up but it has so much to do with being in the right place at the right time with these salmon who are in a hurry to get upriver to their spawning area in Rocky Brook. These early June fish swim great distances each day no matter what the river conditions are and they are bright and beautiful with small heads and big shoulders.
Usually after this early Rocky Brook run, there is a bit of a lull in action until the summer run really begins in ernest and that seems to be where we are right now. But we expect this to change any day now and it will probably coincide with the full moon and high tides that will occur on June 21st. Then again so much will depend on the river conditions, in terms of water levels and water temperatures. With a mini heatwave forecast for later this week, we are hoping that it is a brief event and that it will be followed by cooler temperatures and some rain, which is forecasted for the following week. Fingers crossed that all works out in favour of both the salmon and the anglers and that the last week of June and early July will see some decent fishing!
