June 25th, 2022
The summer Atlantic Salmon run has definitely started now and the lodge landed its first grilse this past week along with several others being hooked. Excitingly, we also had some larger salmon being hooked which is truly wonderful to see! Constant rain plagued us for several days last week which resulted in higher than normal water levels in our area and this seems to have become the new normal in recent years for our early season run. These water levels are great for the salmon but from a fishing perspective, slightly lower river levels would certainly make for better fishing conditions and would cause the salmon to slow down a tad on their way up river.
The forecast this week however looks great and with the dropping river levels the fishing will start to pick up again and we are anxious to see how our fishers make out in the coming days. With the higher water, our recent guests were able to try fishing from of the Miramichi tributaries and had some success and we’ve heard word from some local fishers that the numbers on the Renous river this year seem to be very good. The Dungarvon barrier numbers are also well above counts for this time last year, which is cause for optimism for a good season this year. Many fishers are hooking salmon but given the nature of barbless hook fishing, combined with the feistiness of June salmon and grilse, they are tough to hang onto! These early run chromers are strong fighters and jumpers too and many guests are experiencing the thrill of hooking one only to fall victim to the dreaded long line release! Lol. All good for conservation though!
Overall the past week was a good one throughout the Miramichi system and an excellent one at Country Haven with some wonderful guests and great fishing stories. This week we were once again fortunate to have returning guests from New Mexico … Rob (73 yrs old), Bob (83 years old) and Charlie (93 years old!) who enjoyed another season tormenting guides, hooking fish and having lots of laughs! These folks have been coming to Country Haven for 13 years and it’s always a pleasure to see them return and they had good success hooking some large salmon.
This past week we also welcomed an exceptional group of spey fishers from Far Bank Enterprises who represent Sage, Redington, Rio and Fly Water Travel. Jessie, the Regional Sales and Community Manager for New England, led the group and he had a terrific few days hooking 3 salmon and a grilse! Their group of 5 fishers from Maine, Vermont and Oregon were world class spey casters and it was a joy to watch them in action. And they were all so enthusiastic about being on the Miramichi River and to have a shot at one of the kings of fly fishing sportfish, the Atlantic Salmon. Three of the five managed to hook their first Atlantic Salmon which was as much as thrill for us as it was them! And even though they didn’t all land salmon, they all managed to hook or roll a few and to witness salmon being hooked and landed which was a wonderful experience for them. It was also fun for our guides with this group as it presented a wonderful opportunity for them to learn from these experienced fishers and to hear about their many fishing adventures around the globe. We are all looking forward to having these folks return again in the future and have a high degree of confidence that before long, they will all be able to check off “landing an Atlantic Salmon” on their fishing bucket lists!
When we have folks from away, who travel and fish throughout the world, share with us how much they enjoyed their time here and tell us what a special place it is, it serves as a good reminder of just how incredible our Miramichi River system and our Atlantic Salmon fishery really is. And it’s not just the beauty of our rivers and valleys, it’s other aspects like our awesome wildlife (deer, moose, bear, eagle, turkeys, beavers, etc.), our world class outfitters and guides, and the many local personalities that our guests have the opportunity to meet and interact with. For those of us who live and work here we are all guilty at times of forgetting just how incredible our region really is and it’s nice to be reminded of this by guests who have such worldly experience and perspective. We are truly blessed to be able to call this place our home and it’s a privilege to share this place with our guests and be with them when they land one of our most prized resources, the mighty Miramichi salmon!
