October 8th, 2022
As the rivers have now settled into their proper heights for this time of year, we have been fortunate to land some large salmon and some gorgeous grilse this past week. Many other salmon were not in the mood to be landed but gave anglers a thrill with both their takes and aggressive fights, some short and some longer. Several anglers limited out on multiple days while others had some tougher luck and no hookups but all of our guests enjoyed a wonderful week of beautiful weather and gorgeous fall scenery.
This past week our anglers had good success on the Cains River and several of the fish that were landed had sea lice on them. This is remarkable given they are as high up as 45 miles above from the tidal water! With the last raise of water, many of the salmon pushed upriver and into the tributaries and as a result the lower sections of the Main Southwest River experienced much slower fishing. Anglers had some success early in the week on the upper sections of the Main Southwest as the fish moved up and into the system. Most recently, anglers have begun to see and hook a few fresh fish again on the lower stretches with the full moon perhaps we will see another push of fresh fish into the season which could result in a great finish.
Country Haven is very fortunate to have access to pools throughout the SW system which allows us to pick up fish in pools even during slower times. This includes pools on the Renous River and we heard of some anglers who limited out on multiple days, landing bright looking fish even though they weren’t seeing any fish showing, which seems to be the way things have been as of late, perhaps due to the very cold water temperatures.
In spite of the limited fish sightings, there are a good number of fish being hooked which goes to show you should never stop casting just because you don’t see them! Several anglers this week also landed some nice trout which is always a nice bonus for this time of year. Miramichi brook trout can be multiple lbs. in size and have spectacular colours this time of the year too! Both fish species are certainly there so it pays to keep your fly in the water and our guests were having success this past week with smaller #10 & #12 bear hairs and ally cascades, as well as Red Francis and Blue themed flies as night falls.
Country Haven welcomed the second group of Spey anglers from Tightlines Flyfishing this fall, led by Andrew and Nancy Moy. This marks the 13th season for Tightlines Flyfishing hosted trips to Country Haven Miramichi and both guests and our staff alike enjoyed being reunited year after year. As trip hosts Andrew and Nancy go out of their way to help us while they are here at the lodge and it is so appreciated. We are blessed to have such wonderful guests join us at our lodge each and every week and we consider the Moy’s as a valued extension of our operation.
With the last week of the fall season upon us, it’s time to get out there and enjoy the final days of the 2022 season and we hope that our anglers have success landing one of those magical Miramichi Atlantic Salmon!
