September 2nd, 2023
Cooler nights this past week along with a nice half meter bump in the water level on the Blackville gauge led to some improved fishing conditions and results! Fall fishing season is certainly in the air and it made for a wonderful time to be out on our river system! Many of our guests were landing large salmon this past week and in good numbers which made many happy anglers and guides alike! Fish were landed on a variety of fly patterns but the top ones this past week were the Yellow Wing Butterfly, the Ally’s Shrimp, and of course the good ol’ Undertaker!
As this week calls for some warmer weather and no rain in the forecast the lower stretch of the Main SW River should shape up nicely and probably be at its lowest height of this season which is hard to believe! This summer season will be one to remember for the extraordinary high water which was unusual but the water height will now help more fish hold in the lower area of the river system. Many folks living along the banks of the main river have seen more activity the past couple of weeks than in typical years so everyone is hoping for a steady run of fish into September and October.
Guests from Massachusetts, Colorado, Alaska, Nova Scotia, Maine and even local New Brunswickers were fishing our pools this past week and from now through til the end of our season in mid October the lodge will be filled with guests from all around the world! It goes to show how special the pursuit of Atlantic Salmon really is and just how important the Miramichi River system is to our guests, our guides, our kitchen staff, local fly shops, restaurants, and our Provincial economy in general. Folks come here to fly fish but fall in love with our river system and our people and we are reminded by our guests daily of what an amazing place this really is! We don’t seem to count our blessings nearly enough but we should be thankful for what we’ve been given!
Every week we hear so many interesting stories from guests … this week we had Andrew & Anna Nab travel from Colorado to try Atlantic Salmon for the first time having fished for many other species around the world. Andrew wanted to try for Atlantic Salmon as it was one of his father’s favourite species and the Miramichi River was one of his favourite fly fishing destinations. Although his father Terry had passed, his log book revealed enough to Andrew to choose Country Haven Miramichi and we are so happy he did! While packing for his trip he also threw some of his Dad’s fly fishing kit into his fishing bag and was surprised to learn that many of his Dad’s flies that he brought had previously been purchased at Curtis’ Miramichi Outfitters Fly Shop right here in Blackville! Andrew knew then that his Dad was smiling down upon him when hooked and landed his first Atlantic Salmon although he wasn’t sure if his Dad would be laughing and celebrating or be a bit jealous lol … overall a truly special trip for Andrew & Anna however and we are so happy that they were successful on their first attempt.
As the fall salmon season is now underway it’s time to get out on the river and enjoy some of the beautiful scenery that the Miramichi watershed offers and with a little luck, you too may just hook and land one of the world’s most sought after gamefish species!
