June 1st, 2023
The chrome summer salmon have arrived on the Miramichi with multiple reports of fish being hooked or seen throughout the river this past week. They were all rumors until Jeff Curtis, brother of Jason Curtis, landed a beautiful salmon this week with a nice photo to prove the summer run has begun! As word of fresh salmon in the river spreads, many local anglers will be finding their way to the river to try and hook the next big bright summer fish!
Most anglers on the river were targeting striped bass this week although there was still the odd kelt being seen with Stephen Beckett of Paris, Ontario landing the last spring salmon of our season. There were also a few local folks landing some nice sea-run brook trout on the Main Southwest along with its tributaries, the Renous, the Dungarvon, the Bartholomew, and the Cains river systems. These fresh brookies are hard to catch as they migrate upstream at a very fast pace but with good timing and better luck, anglers can make some great memories!
“When the striped bass are taking, they are really taking!” were the words of one of our anglers recently! Another said, “This kind of fishery along with world-class salmon and trout fishing is one of a kind, and you are blessed to have such an amazing fishery!”. Indeed we sure are lucky, although it needs to be managed for all species who use the river to spawn and not just one species. It’s really all about having a balance in the species of the river ecosystem.
The striped bass this past week moved into spawning mode during the couple of rare heat wave type days which for the end of May is early. Most years this seems to slow down the bite but this year it has proven to be more steady with one angler boating 56 fish in 3 hours on a fly rod! As the weekend hit we did get some colder weather and light rain showers which slowed down the spawn and helps to keep the massive numbers of stripers in the tidal area. The striper fishery certainly enables our local anglers and those from away to get out and hook fish and also get a delicious feed of striped bass!
As June rolls along and as next week’s forecast calls for a decent amount of rain, anglers will want to be on the water trying their hand with family and friends to make wonderful memories of a lifetime casting to the mighty Atlantic Salmon which is what made the Miramichi river famous a century ago! Get out and enjoy the river and the salmon that migrate 3000 miles to return to their spawning grounds and have a wonderful 2023 Atlantic Salmon season! We look forward to continuing to keep you all updated as the season progresses! Tight Lines!
