May 6th, 2024
Last week on the SW Miramichi we saw lots of fish jumping and rolling on the river with guest seeing double digits daily also seeing fish on bars in the lower and clearer than normal water. The challenge became getting the salmon to take the fly and although seeing many fish it was frustrating for the guides and anglers alike not hooking up as much as they would have liked. That said, anglers who hooked into salmon enjoyed the fight that they put up and the numbers of jumping fish on the river was encouraging and suggested that last year’s run was better than had previously been reported by various organizations. Some anglers this past week fished hard and accomplished a Country Haven Miramichi Grand Slam landing an Atlantic Salmon, a Brook Trout and a Striped Bass all in the same day! Now that is pretty darn cool and we are so fortunate to have a river that can produce these species.
While the hooking of salmon is slowing somewhat folks are still seeing fish in the river and word from fellow outfitters is that some salmon further up stream are still being landed so we are hoping for another great week on the SW Miramichi even though we are now seeing an increasing number of striped bass entering and migrating up the river.
Warmer weather in the forecast will start to ignite the striped bass and this fishery will take off again and then it will be time for them to begin spawning. No better time than now to get out there and enjoy catching a great sportfish that also allows for retention and a great feed of a wonderful eating fish!
Good luck to all anglers and until next time, tight lines!
