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I am a beginner fly fisherman from New Brunswick. Currently attending school in Ontario. Anytime I feel homesick I check out the MSA website! The upgrades look fantastic!
yes the water is warm but the water is not low it will get alot lower then this yet this year and if the DFO decide to close the river there will not be a salmon river in few years its a free pass to the poachers at least now theres a few wardens and outfiters that as people in are on the river if the river is closed there will be no one, easy access to go net a river as for people worrying about the number of fish they will increase as soon as we get a big raise of water which will come. Many people that recently got into fishing has not seen these conditions cause the last few years has been high water but the people that has been the river for a lifetime rember 10, 15 years ago we always had low water just it stayed cool things like this all goes in cycles and we need to let the cycles work it self out
I am a little disapointed that the hours have not been changed to 6:00-11:00 A.m. as it is not really daylight @ 5:00 A.M.
Also it is very difficult for me to get fishing at the present hours as I have to travel 1 1/2 hours to get to my fishing spot.
The projected night time temperatures are looking favourable this week & the season is running out fast on many of the streams acessible to me, i.e. Sept 15th.
I was really hoping to get out this week.
Respectfully submitted.
Rick Fralic
Jeff's Riverside InnLtd.on October 9, 2012 at 7:07 pm
Thank You for all the postings of fish in the SouthWest Miramichi. They have been most helpful indeed during this most difficult summer for fisheremen and Outfitters alike.
Hoprfully next year will be better for all.
Marjorie Price
My queston, re; The Boston Dinner on Feb 2, 2013. Will they be posting up the live auction, silent auction items etc on the web site as they have done in the past.
I am amazed at the numbers of kelts (black salmon ) available in the main S W during Spring fishing season ! While you discribed the fish holing up during the winter further down stream, they must pack into the boguns up river as well !
Thank-you, for your report
Mr Everett;
I called last week to get your response over the salmon lease fiasco.
Since then I have emailed about 20 clubs, organizations, and magazines.
It seems no one in Canada or around the world knew of the auction.
I got an email from an American magazine that asked for more detail and could I pass on the name of a writer to maybe do a story.
Would you be interested and available?
Miramichi Salmon Associationon April 5, 2013 at 1:09 pm
In discussions with DFO we are confident there will be a hook and release fishery for most of the angling season this year for all areas up and around the coast. They are also suggesting a 7, 10 or 14 day season where you will be able to retain a fish. The exact length of the season and the dates have not yet been decided or released. THe closure will just affect Miramichi anglers. The dates and exact area for the closure are still not confirmed.
A very good piece of work overall. Great comments and suggestions on gear restriction(use of barbless hooks), gill and trap net fishery impacts, etc…
Only one glaring concern…
Why a recommendation for closure of any part of the river to recreational angling for other species as part of a proposed management plan for striped bass?
This would appear to be almost contradictory to some of the earlier and very well made points including that of a thriving population with more spawning fish than “ever before in living memory.” This with no such closure having previously been in place.
I would have seen it as being far more appropriate to suggest the current practice of no angling or targeting of the species during this time frame. Difficult to argue the fact that recreational angling for other species in these waters has had a negative impact on this population…(I for one would dearly love to see the hard data that exists to support such a claim). I remain adamantly opposed to any closures for this reason but fully support the efforts being made to protect our trout and salmon stocks.
Always difficult to try and find some middle ground and I certainly respect your position on this. I would only caution that one wants to be very careful with what they ask for. If history is any indication, once closed…it’s closed. It’s not justifiable and as such we shouldn’t have to concede.
We are proud of our member, Mark Hambrook , in his great achievement of winning this award, and offer him our sincere congratulations ! Hard work and perseverance will always win !
My wife Brenda and I wish to extend our most heartfelt congratulations to Mark and his family. There would be no individual more deserving of this prestigious award; you make us so very proud! I will always remember our days on the river especially launching our first boat.
I agree they should look at lowering the fees. Also, lifting the ban on retaining a grilse even if it was one grilse for a 48 hour period. Most people would like to take a fish home especially after spending the amount of money just to be able to go fishing. They should also use the method they do for applying for your moose license where if you were drawn previously within a certain period your chances degrease. I enjoy fishing crown reserve and the in most cases the people who use crown reserve water are avid fisherman also and do look after their particular stretch.
I guess we need to look at if this only started when they changed the rule to keep fish or was this an issue 7 or 8 years ago. If it only started when you cannot keep fish anymore, I agree with the person above stating that keeping at least one fish in 48 hours would help. You can hook and release like now but as soon as you tag one fish, you are done fishing. It would be simple. We would also need to know how money we are talking about for self sustainable. If you area talking 50k or 100k how can the Crown Reserve system find the funds on it’s own. Maybe it would be simple but we’d still need to know how much. The province says they are loosing 200k? where and how are they loosing? What is the cost and how much revenue is generated needs to be detailed.
Hello can anyone recommend A whole day fishing package or company that does them. Iam coming from Scotland I will be in New Brunswick from the 6th sep any help to point me in the rite direction would be appreciated thank you very much
Im pretty sure we all know the real problem,the gill nets in RedBank are what is happening to the salmon..the few that do get by them are usually marked up from them as well.
Mark,
Having travelled the roads to the Miramichi for 30+ years from N.J., the past two years have been a troubling ride home. It is clear to me that the numbers of salmon (and grilse) in the system have dropped to perilous levels. Without good numbers of fish in the river, visitor numbers will follow. Think how it makes a visitor feel when he spends his hard earned dollars, buys a “catch and release” license, and watches locals kill their alotted fish, along with their entire families allocation while the numbers of fish are seeming to disappear. You have a hard decision to make to keep people like me from finding another place to spend their money. It’s not just about the dollars and cents that trouble me, it’s the apparent lack of respect people have for a failing fishery to do what is necessary to try to save it. It is clearly time for a manditory catch and release on all salmon AND GRILSE in your system. With the extremely low returns, EVERY fish is important to increase spawning numbers. At this point I view the killing of any fish as “legalized poaching”.It’s a hard position to “sell”, especially to the locals who have killed fish for generations, but it’s as clear as the nose on your face….if you don’t do something now, it might just be too late. You can banter about the seals, striped bass, commercial fishery,poachers and believe they all have something to do with the failing returns,(which they most likely do) but to eliminate any mortality by “sportsmen” is allowing any fish that has avoided the seals, striped bass, commercial fisheries and poachers to make it to the spawning grounds. The culture of the poacher on Canadian Salmon rivers is the same as that of the moonshiners here in the states. They are somehow revered by some locals as a “Billy the Kid” hero type. Poaching will always be a problem until the mindset of a culture changes, and that might take too long for the salmon to survive. It’s time to rally every concerned sportsman and every local who somehow derives part of their income from the fisherman to protect EVERY Atlantic entering your river and allow them to rebuild the stocks of fish and the future of your region. MAKE CATCH AND RELEASE MANDITORY NOW!!!!…………….Respectfully ……..Bill Tomiello…………
Well said Mark, but we all know the disastrous effects of the river mouth full of striped bass.
Over 100,000 bass eating one smolt a day, not hard to capture those numbers.
On top of this, after paying millions to the Greenland fishermen for 7 years, they are back netting more salmon than ever before.
Very interesting article on the use of PSAT tags for Atlantic Salmon. I would be very interested in the outcome of the study, any followup on tracking data for these 10 fish. We are trying to do something similar in a California waterway, tracking adult Chinook salmon as they negotiate a river.
Any information would be greatly apprecieated.
Regards,
Robert Vincik
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
North Central Region.
Debbie- I’m an outfitter in Montana that Ozzie Ozfovich fished with for several years-I may be coming with him in Oct. if the water conditions are good enough- Please keep me posted. Thanks John
I think it is great the work being done by the Miramichi Salmon Association. As more and more people become recreational users of the Miramichi River I feel there is a greater need for more public awareness and respect for the natural habitat of the Atlantic Salmon. Hovercrafts should not be allowed on the river. Witnessed on several occasions on the river between Doaktown and Priceville this summer. Very damaging to the natural habitat.
Randy Lutes Presidenton September 22, 2013 at 3:19 pm
Congratulation Bud from the Miramichi Headwaters Salmon Federation in Juniper. We hope we can do what you have in your many years of dedication and hard work.
Miramichi Salmon Associationon December 3, 2013 at 3:08 pm
Fellow Members of the MSA,
Today I am ashamed to be a member of the Miramichi Salmon Association. My shame arose after reading an article which appeared in the November 36th edition of the Telegraph Journal and which is reproduced on the MSA website. In the article, MSA is calling for an unrestricted Striped Bass angling season in the Miramichi estuary in order to reduce Bass populations. They further recommend a commercial Bass fishery by First Nations. The reason MSA proposes this slaughter is the perceived threat that Bass pose to the migrating Atlantic Salmon smolt population. MSA makes a number of statements in support of this proposal. The problem is that there is little, if any, evidence to support these statements. Hence my shame.
Do we not recall that, until very recently, Striped Bass in the Gulf of St. Lawrence were classified as an endangered species? How can the MSA, as a conservation organization, make a public proposal to launch such an attack on this or, for that matter, any other species? This is especially galling to me because we have so little knowledge of the dynamics of this population. Why, you even note that you intend to gather the science but only after the institution of these fisheries.
Striped Bass have existed in the same physical environment as Atlantic Salmon for hundreds of years. For that matter, so have Cormorants, Mergansers and various seal species. As is so often the case in the natural world, a balance existed among them. This balance has been disrupted and the identity of the species that caused that can be seen in our bathroom mirror every morning. We need to focus our attention and efforts on changing the activities of ourselves rather than those of the Striped Bass. We need to stop being so self-centered.
I say shame on the MSA!
Yours truly,
Jim Sinclair
Miramichi Salmon Associationon December 3, 2013 at 3:10 pm
Dear Jim:
Thanks for your comments regarding the Striped Bass press release. I thought I might add a few points for clarification on the MSA position regarding striped bass and Atlantic salmon. You are very accurate in stating that “As is so often the case in the natural world, a balance existed among them. This balance has been disrupted and the identity of the species that caused that can be seen in our bathroom mirror every morning.” In the case of striped bass before the year 2000, there were no regulations pertaining to harvesting striped bass and adult bass were caught as a by-catch in commercial gasperaux gear each spring on the Miramichi and sold locally and juvenile striped bass were incidentally caught in the fall commercial smelt fishery, where thousands would perish every day as an unwanted by-catch. Anglers also caught some bass, but when DFO imposed the moratorium in 2000, it was the changes introduced to the commercial fisheries that DFO attributes to the success of the restoration program. Once protected, the bass numbers began to improve and spawning escapement was achieved in 2007 (target of 21,600 adults) and every year since that time. Assessments were not available in 2010 and 2012, but in 2011, the DFO assessment placed the number of adult striped bass at 200,000 fish and from field observations, there have been this many fish in the river since 2010. This amount of bass has not been observed before in living memory on the Miramichi and has reached this number only because of man’s interjection to protect the species. This swell in population is causing an imbalance to the ecosystem of the Miramichi and measures need to be taken to put things back in balance. The desire is to see a thriving striped bass population on the Miramichi, perhaps double or triple the spawning requirements, the same as we would like to see in a thriving Atlantic salmon fishery. Alas, the Miramichi has not met spawning requirements for the past 2 years and we are not sure what role striped bass plays in this shortfall of adult returns. We do know that striped bass populations are probably at an unsustainable level and are at 10 times the spawning requirement. It is time to ease restrictions on harvesting to put striped bass populations back to sustainable manageable levels. DFO can manage this population by permitting an increased angling harvest and if required, a quota-based commercial fishery. The MSA doesn’t want to see striped bass slaughtered, but we do want to see a balanced ecosystem where all species are at sustainable levels and to get there, the number of bass must be reduced now. I believe the majority of MSA members support this position.
Mark Hambrook
Any news on the bass fishing season for 2014. It should be opend year round 24/7/365 same as the bay of fundy. Although the size limit could go down compared to the 27 inch minimum they have in place.Hopefully dfo let people know what is going on before fishing starts this year compared to last year. Last year the season opened on may 1st and they never had anything posted on size limits until the morning of fishing ( I was already fishing at 6 ish ) All they stated is you were allowed 1 bass per day. I caught one and kept it and dfo stoped me and my fish was too big. They gave me a hard time about it and gave me a warning. They also said my name would go on record . Put the regulations out before fishing starts please.
Thanks concerned fisherman
Congratulations on the reduction of tags for grilse. A great conservation step. I am a little disapointed that you did not go to barbless hooks on the Miramichi watershed and I anxiously await your announcement on striped bass for this year. I hope that you are more liberal in your quotas for hook and keep.
I feel the tags should be reduced to 1 tag with an obtion to buy a second tag for an extra $10 to go directly to salmon conservation. No more than a total of 2 for tags. O also feel we should be pushing hard to have a longer stripped bass season with a limit
of 2 per day and no size limit or at least a larger size than what it is now.
I’m assuming there will also be a much larger harvest of seals in coastal waters, expanded fines and jail sentences for celebrities harassing those involved in the seal harvest, and a sharp reduction on the number of Native owned nets strung across the Miramichi? When will news of these changes be released?
No body more deserving than you Manley so a hardy congratulations what a great achievement on your part. We sure do need more like you. Judy and Randy Lutes
DFO is surely not in touch with reality. It seems they would like to see the end of the salmon
fishery so they would have one less thing to be concerned about and less work. The government has stripped a lot of their funds and Harper is only concerned about looking good re the budget in order to get re-elected.
Congratulations to Manley on a well deserved award, he has given many hours for the conservation of salmon and promotion of the Miramichi River and all Anglers who visit to fish, His support of angles, outfitters, guides and anyone who might have interests in the Miramichi River and his work to promote this great River should not go un-noticed. Again, congratulations Manley, Keep up the good work.
Are you aware of the environmental impacts to the environment farming salmon as well as the chemical and antibiotics in the fish when farmed? I do hope you educated the elders on what they were eating. Excellent to hear they are not dropping gill nets.
It’s nice to see that the First nation Band at red bank has voted not to put gill nets into the N.W. and L.S.W. Miramichi system,I only hope that this decision will be upheld for future years,and if any band members who opposed this decision don’t take it upon their rights and gill net the river. The bands decision to keep the gill nets out will give the salmon a fighting chance to reach the spawning grounds which is crucial in the recovery of stocks in these two rivers I look forward to crossing the Bridge at Red Bank and seeing where the two rivers meet free of the nets.
what happened? Gill nets are now in the water, why??? because the trap nets were damaged by Arthur???? Fix them now!!!! Every spawner that is slaughtered in these gill nets is precious, we must act now to protect this magnificent fish…..please, please stop this insanity before it is to late.
Close down the angling fishery for the 2015 season, not only for the recreational fishe rman,but a must for the outfitters as well. Last year i fished just below a sports pool on public water, just before some pools were closed due low water. I noticed a big fish floating down past me from up river. It was still moving a bit but i knew it would not live.I thought at the time they played it too long in the warm water and took their pictures for advertising their best pools on the river. They catch and photo the summer salmon and in turn catch them again in the spring as black salmon. This is ridiculous and a practice that been going on far too long, just for big moneys sake. So close it down for a number of seasons, and give the salmon a chance.Also open the season on striped bass or net them up near the entrance of the river. I say this because I noticed very few parr in the southwest river this year. Thank you.
I lived in North Vancouver BC during the mid 50’s and the Bobaks lived a short distance from my home in Lynn Valley. Bruno and Molly designed and built their house on Wellington Drive in Lynn Valley – it was very modernistic for the time.
I was good friends with Alex but he was known as Sasha and called that by both his parents. Bruno used to take us fishing to many streams and rivers in North and West Vancouver which was a lot of fun. I was very sorry when they moved to New Brunswick at the end of grade 5 for Sasha and myself. I recall Bruno had a new job at the University in Fredericton. Can you possibly direct me to an address for Alex (Sasha) so I may contact him?
As a Striped Bass fisherman for over 50 years & an Atlantic Salmon fisherman for 15+ years, I truly hope that someone is studying the recent large increase in striped bass and its effect on the salmon population in the Maritimes. It seems that the bass are arriving exactly at the time that smolts are dropping down to tidewater. Stripers are voracious feeders and would have little problem in virtually eradicating a year class of smolts, especially in the relatively confined areas of a river mouth/estuary. There is anecdotal evidence that even the relatively small bass which are allowed to caught & kept are feeding on smolts; the larger bass would be an even greater threat to these juvenile salmon.
I frequented the Donnelly Brook pool regularly throughout the 1980’s and early part of the 90’s. I recall on more than one occasion, warm summer days watching from the old Bailey bridge at Upper Blackville as salmon migrated upstream in search of the cooler water at Donnelly Brook. I sadly recall the period later in the 90’s when that pool infilled, knowing not just the loss of a good fishing pool, possibly for all time, but more importantly, the disappearance of a rare cold water sanctuary along that long stretch of the Main Southwest Miramichi River. Thanks so much to the MSA for restoring this beautiful pool, and preserving yet another piece of our River’s unique heritage.
malcolm ray.......Damariscotta,Me.on February 6, 2015 at 10:28 am
Hi Mark, Just a word of warning about people who run pipelines…..I’m sure you remember the line that was run from Canso area N.S. thru Maine to God knows where…….our river,the Sheepscott River here in Maine was directly in the way of their plans……they sent several sweet talking men and ladies to address issues we had with their route to cross our river….we were lied to and deceived many times by these people…..they promised to use directional boring to go under our river….never happened!!! They simply blocked the upper reaches off and dug ditches right through spawning areas…….we tried to video what was happening and were driven off by privately hired police officers…..the list of lies and mis statements is very very long……please be careful with these people,our experience was not good……they will tell you what they know you want to hear…..please do not trust them…..this is our experience with them…be careful…..the fish are having a hard enough time without this happening to your river also…they crossed our river in many places..take care Mac Ray……..Looking forward to June on the river at MSC for the 28th year..be well
While it is commendable to study and preserve the wild salmon population on the Miramichi, it should be recognized that many rivers and estuaries in New Brunswick are now and have been severely damaged by the open pen fish farming industry. Since provincial governments of all Atlantic provinces have blind eyes, deaf ears and closed minds to the pollution, poison, disease, mass mortality, and escapes of this industry and the federal government has compensated the industry with more than $100 million for mass mortality and are in effect trying to make it easier for them to operate, what chance does your organization have in getting support? The fish farming industry WANTS to see the demise of wild salmon. Increase market share by killing the competition. New Brunswick should be ashamed that the biggest and most unscrupulous player in this business operates right in their province and has been responsible for polluting, poisonong, spreading disease and using toxic and even illegal chemicals. Nova Scotia organizations, scientists, concerned professionals, fishers and coastal residents are fighting hard to protect our waters from this industry, while our government and bureaucrats are just as gullible as those in NB and the federal DFO. Since governments won’t do it, it’s up to individuals worldwide to boycott open pen farmed fish and put this poisonous industry out of business.
Again, while I commend what your organization is doing, it is of utmost importance to emphasize that the open pen fish farming industry is a KNOWN severe threat to wild salmon all over your province and also in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. You should lobby to end the compensation for mass mortality, require the industry to reduce pollution, ban toxic chemicals, support land based production as well as provide increased funding for preservation efforts like those of your organization. If the open pen industry was put out of business, wild salmon, lobsters and the environment of the rivers and bays would be far better off and some of the money now being wasted on them might be available for preservation. Too good to be true? Stop buying open pen farmed fish and spread the word around the world through family and friends and social media and it might be possible.
William Babson Jr. MDon March 28, 2015 at 12:10 pm
Woulnt it be better to capture wild returning salmon and use them to create progeny rather than using smolt for that purpose? The returning adult salmon have proved their worthiness to reproduce.
why are there no reports of striped bass in the DFO traps. Maybe if there are bass in the river people would leave the salmon alone for now. What fish are they trying to protect?
I am curious as to how a number of 16,000 salmon returning to the Northwest Miramichi was arrived at? In the ASF rivernotes of Oct 22, 2015 the count at the Northwest Barrier as of Oct. 18 was at 398 fish, which would be roughly 2.5%. Just wondering if this is normal?
“The Cassilis Barrier had great numbers this year to Oct. 15 – 1,372 grilse and 334 large salmon, totaling 1,706. Last year to the same date there were 105 grilse and 83 large salmon, totaling 188.
Especially with the high numbers at Cassilis, the Northwest Barrier count has been extremely disappointing, with 300 grilse and 98 large salmon to Oct. 18. This is certainly ahead of the 204 grilse and 66 large salmon in 2014 to the same date, but not the large increase one might hope for. – See more at: http://www.asf.ca/asf-rivernotes-for-oct-22-2015.html#sthash.Ac4DmnjN.dpuf“
This is the perfect website for anyone who hopes to understand this topic.
You understand a whole lot its almost tough to argue with you (not that I personally would want to…HaHa).
You definitely put a fresh spin on a subject that has been written about for ages.
Excellent stuff, just great!
Is there an 800 number that we can call for the latest update on these closings?
When I fish for salmon, I am often in the water by 5:30 am.
As you know, it is not possible to contact anyone at the time for the latest updates.
An 800 number would solve that problem.
This was such a kind act by the empoyees of Rocky Brook Camp, just one of the many touching stories you hear about the kind people living in the area. I was so happy to hear that Lynn got to go on this wonderful adventure with all her amazing family.
leave it to mark, and his thoughtfulness to make this happen for you I’m so happy he did this so you could see our beauty here did you feel like a movie starr you look like one .bunni
Mark, I have always known you have a wonderful heart, but this is a truly special thing for you to have arranged for Lynn! Glad you ALL had great day, the falls are truly wonderful!!!
Wow, that is such a beautiful letter!. Hopefully this will inspire everyone to be mindful of others and try to fill a need in some way when/where we can make a difference. Make someones day a little better.
Fred and Velma Munnon September 25, 2016 at 8:28 am
Such a great story,we got to speak to Lynn and give her a Hug on September 11,when the family was visiting her mother.Lynn is still as Beautiful as ever.
Why not stop fishing for black salmon in the spring? We fish them hard all summer, let them have a easy return to the ocean. This fishery is almost FUBAR anyways, lets help and do what we can.
I, along with Mr. Coburn are amazed at your findings.
Having grown up and lived and worked much of my younger life along
the Miramichi in the Boiestown / Doaktown areas, I read your article with interest.
The formation of frazil ice was sporadic at best and was used by the older folks as a weather forecaster, being a harbinger of soft weather, (mild weather and rain was on the way). And this was true in most cases, as I remember. Having utelized ice bridges on the Cains River for trucking logs to mills and you saw frazil ice forming you knew you had mere days before a thaw would hit the area. You were about to loose your use of the ice bridge and could be leaving logs across the river. Depending on the time of the thaw……. The remainder of the winter these rivers were free of frazil ice and flowed along normally.
I look forward to further in depth study on this phenomenon.
Robert Hovey
residents cannot fish salmon now because most of the salmon pools are PRIVATE AND ONLY FISHED BY MONEY PEOPLE OR COMPANY CLIENTS. EVERYBODY CAN GO OUT BASS FISHING. I HAVE SEEN THE SHORES LINED WITH ADULTS AND CHILDREN, ALL OF THEM GETTING A FISHING EXPERIENCE OF THEIR LIVES AND THE KIDS BECOMING HOOKED FOR LIFE. It is such a pleasure to watch the people of the river being able to fish again. A big salmon pool may be only fished by one or two clients/day and I have seen many days when several pools on the river have no fishermen using them, but the big Private Water signs are still there. I have fished salmon for sixty years, but after seeing what pleasure the local adults and children are having with the bass, and knowing that there is nowhere for them to fish salmon unless they are of the elite class, I am really at a quandry when it comes to getting rid of most of the bass. The salmon fishing now is like Europe-it does my old heart good to see so many people be able to just go fishing- like it should be, even if it is for bass-it is all that is available to them. Saving all of the salmon won`t do most of the people along the river any good-the pools have all been taken from them.
I read that CAST is a collaboration of industry leaders, conservation groups and scientists but what I failed to see mentioned was of any FIrst Nation groups. I heard of an information meeting held at the lodge this month but an information meeting is far from any consultations with First Nations.
I know this projects goal is to help the Atlantic salmon but removing thousands of smolts from the wild to be raised in tanks with no guarantee that these fish will even return to spawn is very troubling to myself and others I have discussed this issue with. When millions and millions of dollars in funding are involved one has to make sure that this project is about the salmon and not about the money. I have talked to many people in the Miramichi and hardly anyone was aware that this project started in 2015 and that wild smolts have been captured and removed from the river in 2015 and 2016 to be raised in tanks.
Devon Ward is our First Nation liaison for CAST. Please feel free to contact him with any questions, comments or concerns you have. I have also sent your comment along to the Executive Director of the CAST project.
Yours in conseervation,
You should be able to fish as many as your family can eat. If the river is so overpopulated with striped bass, let us feed our families without costing us so much.
Is there any evidence that this policy and the resultant decline in NB salmon anglers
led to more poaching, presumably of large salmon?
Brad Burns shared several articles on the benefits of catch and release on future salmon stocks. That makes sense. However, if more large salmon are being poached as a result of the policy, it would be counterproductive.
Thank you for printing the interview with Mervin Green. He is appreciated by both the members of Salmon Brook Association as well as guests. I have known him for over 65 years and he continues to tell new stories every time we are together. He is a history book for the upper river.
Thanks for doing this story! I hope that the other MSA members enjoy reading it. Kate was a very eager listener and we enjoyed sharing our stories with her. I have lots more stories of my experiences as a guide and outfitter if you should need them in the future!
It was a wonderful experience. Thank you very much for hosting me. Looking forward to adding more to this as I’ve saved more of the stories you’ve told.
I have never met or heard of a man of Mervin’s age with more energy and appreciation for his chosen vocation, guiding on the Mighty Miramichi, or more respect for the great fish that the river is famous for. He is dedicated to God, family and the river. Wonderful story – thank you Nola.
Many years ago Mervin was my very first guide on the Miramichi. I still remember the first salmon that I caught, an 8# fish at the Grilse Hole on Salmon Book Camp’s water. I have been returning like the salmon again and again to those waters. My wife and children all adore the camp, the people and the fishing.
Mervin has been an excellent teacher, mentor and partner. He and Myrna are cherished by me and my family. At Salmon Brook Camp we all are family.
Excellent article. Mervin is a true pioneer for salmon conservation . Mervin was one of my most trusted mentors when I was thrust into the family business at the age of 21. Kudos to Mervin and Myrna for their great leadership on our river.
When will the results of the 2016 smolt mortality study be released? Could it be there’s a cover up in progress because the results show more high mortality levels from striped bass? Early summer fishing clearly showed not only a lack of adult salmon but large increases in striped bass activity up river feeding on parr. The lack of even an acknowledgment of the risk posed by the massive striped bass population increase in the river by MSA is unconscionable. The CAST program is totally unproven and little if any scientific data suggests that hatchery reared salmon can spawn in the wild successfully even if they came from wild stock. The few smolts produced by this program will do nothing more than fatten up the future king of the Miramichi the Striped Bass!!! I have fished the Miramichi since 1965 and it’s a sad day when you have to accept the facts and realize it’s over!
Other rivers in the province have salmons in it , the problem is DFO only look at Salmon in NB as a Miramichi or ST-John fish neglecting to look at Salmon genetics of other smaller rivers
Nola,
Why is there no Conservation and Protection contact info for Doaktown area – it’s only Gulf detachments?
Also,if I see illegal fishing activity on the river (between Boiestown and Blackville,who do I call?
Finally DFO does something worthwhile. It’s totally irresponsible for CAST to have gone this far without a “peer review”. This part of the program is highly controversial and has the possible consequence of serious negative impacts to the wild populations. If this were a valuable recovery method it would have been tried before as declining salmon and steelhead stocks are a worldwide problem. Now DFO needs to step up to the plate figure out how to manage the Miramichi Striped Bass population to a sustainable but LOWER population than exists today!!
Terrific work. This may mean that unless some other adults wandered into that area later the hatchery raised spawners are headed back out to sea to rebuild just as a truly wild fish would do.
……Interesting………I fished there,,,,, Alot,,,,when I lived in Boiestown;
and usually had good luck using a dry fly, in the early morning, at the
mouth of the brook. Nice place….
Glad to see this enhancement has been done……
We were three anglers fishing the Buttermilk pool on the Cains river on Thursday last the 11th of October. My companion hooked and landed what we took to be a good sized salmon which took 10-12 minutes to land. To our consternation it proved to be a Striped Bass measuring 70 cms in length, which is 5 cm above the length at which fish can be retained. This, in a pool perhaps 40kms from the tidal estuary of the Miramichi. One can only imagine the predation on salmon parr as well as the ova of spawning fish that this voracious bass will cause in the Cains river at spawning time.
To our great chagrin we duly returned the fish to the water. What kind of twisted logic is this. DFO wake up and act !
Hi,
it was interesting to read your website. i will visit new brunswick this year and as a passionate salmon fisher i`m really looking forward to it. but it seems to be difficult to buy a fishing license. do i see it right:
1. first i have to buy a state license for salmon
2. if i´m on a river (maybe a public crown stretch) i have to buy or book a license for the stretch
3. then i have to hire a guide for the day
i will be with my family and it would be nice, if i could book a license from one day to the other (depending on the conditions). is that possible?
is a guide expensive? is the public water with limited access? puh, a bit difficult to see from here:)
There was seven boats at one time yesterday fishing in the red bank area and yes below the bridge and no officer to be seen now where were they how come some people can fish on a close river and nothing is done
DFO seems to have a history of “doing too little too late”someone needs to be pro-active to settle these many problems which seem to compound every year with little actual response……just an “outsiders” opinion…..
Government bureaucrats are lazy, careless, incompetent and risk averse everywhere. We see this in the USA and now we are seeing it in Atlantic Canada. What a sad state of affairs. It is time for a total change in leadership of Canadian DFO.
I have enjoyed the privilege to cast over Atlantic salmon for over fifty years and I would like my granddaughters to experience my feelings. But we are witnessing the ineptitude as government policy is tilting away from salmon survival to a bass fishery. If you cannot release the salmon why not strip the eggs and release the parr next summer.
Why are all these “conservation” groups sidestepping the fact that massive clearcutting is perhaps the most significant cause for salmon not returning to our watersheds. High water temperatures, heavy siltation, rivers becoming shallower and wider are issues we can remediate. Salmon are a cold water species-why would they return to the above?
What a terrific opportunity to clean up our own back yards before blindly accusing others and depending on government funding to fix it!
I have a question concerning the Northwest Miramichi River estuary being listed as the only confirmed sucessful spawnjg ground for stiped bass in the entire southern Gulf of St Lawerence, as established by DFO science-my question is why is tbe Norhwest Miramichi still the only river listed a sucessful.spawning area for striped bass in the entire Southern Gulf of St Lawerence? Surveys have been done by the Miramichi Salmon Association where eggs, larvae and juvenile striped bass have been found in the Southwest Miramichi as well as the Tabusintac river which prove that successful.spawning is occuring in other rivers besides the Northwest Miramichi The amount of spawning activity occuring in the Southwest Miramichi has been increasing every year and taking place further and further upriver each season as well The results of the surveys done on the Southwest Miramichi and the Tabusintac have been confirmed by DFOs own Scott Douglas If I remember correctly, I had a conversation with Scott Douglas in 2012 or 2013 while I worked as the Fisheries Coordinator here in Red Bank where he stated that it had been many years since DFO had conducted any studies or surveys of their own looking to see if bass were successfully spawning in other rivers that have historically supported successful.spawning so i am also wondering if DFO is planning on conducting their own surveys/studies to look for evidence of this There are many rivers in NB where spawning activity has been observed so why has it been so long since DFO has done any of their own studies/surveys to look for evidence of successful striped bass spawning? Other rivers in NB such as the Saint John, Kenebecasis, Nepisiquit, Richibucto, Kouchibouquac, Bartibogue etc have had striped bass spawning activity occuring over the past several years so is DFO planning on looking for evidence of succesful striped bass spawning in any of these rivers
We have the same concerns about this inaccuracy, but DFO won’t change until the evidence is published in a scientific journal and UNB is helping us get it published, but they suggested we should have 3 years of data, which we will have this year. The goal is to have it published this summer as COSEWIC is meeting this fall about the status of striped bass and the published report will allow them to take striped bass off the list as “species of special concern” because of only one spawning location.
Mark
I am a beginner fly fisherman from New Brunswick. Currently attending school in Ontario. Anytime I feel homesick I check out the MSA website! The upgrades look fantastic!
2011 was the best year in recent memory for the whole Miramichi system and let’s hope everybody practices hook and release with barbless hooks
Was just wondering if crown reserve waters r still open
Yes as of today crown reserve waters are still open.
yes the water is warm but the water is not low it will get alot lower then this yet this year and if the DFO decide to close the river there will not be a salmon river in few years its a free pass to the poachers at least now theres a few wardens and outfiters that as people in are on the river if the river is closed there will be no one, easy access to go net a river as for people worrying about the number of fish they will increase as soon as we get a big raise of water which will come. Many people that recently got into fishing has not seen these conditions cause the last few years has been high water but the people that has been the river for a lifetime rember 10, 15 years ago we always had low water just it stayed cool things like this all goes in cycles and we need to let the cycles work it self out
Good comment Tyler!
Wondering if the native fishery nets are up for this closure.
Believed that “conservation” trumps all other fisheries..(Sparrow case)
I am a little disapointed that the hours have not been changed to 6:00-11:00 A.m. as it is not really daylight @ 5:00 A.M.
Also it is very difficult for me to get fishing at the present hours as I have to travel 1 1/2 hours to get to my fishing spot.
The projected night time temperatures are looking favourable this week & the season is running out fast on many of the streams acessible to me, i.e. Sept 15th.
I was really hoping to get out this week.
Respectfully submitted.
Rick Fralic
This post gives clear idea in favor of the new users of blogging, that actually how to
do blogging.
I am fishing the cains & SW Miramachi this week & Next
Good luck!
Russel
Thank You for all the postings of fish in the SouthWest Miramichi. They have been most helpful indeed during this most difficult summer for fisheremen and Outfitters alike.
Hoprfully next year will be better for all.
Marjorie Price
My queston, re; The Boston Dinner on Feb 2, 2013. Will they be posting up the live auction, silent auction items etc on the web site as they have done in the past.
I am amazed at the numbers of kelts (black salmon ) available in the main S W during Spring fishing season ! While you discribed the fish holing up during the winter further down stream, they must pack into the boguns up river as well !
Thank-you, for your report
Mr Everett;
I called last week to get your response over the salmon lease fiasco.
Since then I have emailed about 20 clubs, organizations, and magazines.
It seems no one in Canada or around the world knew of the auction.
I got an email from an American magazine that asked for more detail and could I pass on the name of a writer to maybe do a story.
Would you be interested and available?
What about the richibucto , koughibouck ,bouctouch rivers????
In discussions with DFO we are confident there will be a hook and release fishery for most of the angling season this year for all areas up and around the coast. They are also suggesting a 7, 10 or 14 day season where you will be able to retain a fish. The exact length of the season and the dates have not yet been decided or released. THe closure will just affect Miramichi anglers. The dates and exact area for the closure are still not confirmed.
A very good piece of work overall. Great comments and suggestions on gear restriction(use of barbless hooks), gill and trap net fishery impacts, etc…
Only one glaring concern…
Why a recommendation for closure of any part of the river to recreational angling for other species as part of a proposed management plan for striped bass?
This would appear to be almost contradictory to some of the earlier and very well made points including that of a thriving population with more spawning fish than “ever before in living memory.” This with no such closure having previously been in place.
I would have seen it as being far more appropriate to suggest the current practice of no angling or targeting of the species during this time frame. Difficult to argue the fact that recreational angling for other species in these waters has had a negative impact on this population…(I for one would dearly love to see the hard data that exists to support such a claim). I remain adamantly opposed to any closures for this reason but fully support the efforts being made to protect our trout and salmon stocks.
Always difficult to try and find some middle ground and I certainly respect your position on this. I would only caution that one wants to be very careful with what they ask for. If history is any indication, once closed…it’s closed. It’s not justifiable and as such we shouldn’t have to concede.
Any news on the striped bass opening this spring
We have not had any word yet – expect a decision will be made by the end of the month
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We are proud of our member, Mark Hambrook , in his great achievement of winning this award, and offer him our sincere congratulations ! Hard work and perseverance will always win !
My wife Brenda and I wish to extend our most heartfelt congratulations to Mark and his family. There would be no individual more deserving of this prestigious award; you make us so very proud! I will always remember our days on the river especially launching our first boat.
Please add me to your list. Still in FL. Will be at camp first week of July.
See you then.
Tom
I agree they should look at lowering the fees. Also, lifting the ban on retaining a grilse even if it was one grilse for a 48 hour period. Most people would like to take a fish home especially after spending the amount of money just to be able to go fishing. They should also use the method they do for applying for your moose license where if you were drawn previously within a certain period your chances degrease. I enjoy fishing crown reserve and the in most cases the people who use crown reserve water are avid fisherman also and do look after their particular stretch.
I guess we need to look at if this only started when they changed the rule to keep fish or was this an issue 7 or 8 years ago. If it only started when you cannot keep fish anymore, I agree with the person above stating that keeping at least one fish in 48 hours would help. You can hook and release like now but as soon as you tag one fish, you are done fishing. It would be simple. We would also need to know how money we are talking about for self sustainable. If you area talking 50k or 100k how can the Crown Reserve system find the funds on it’s own. Maybe it would be simple but we’d still need to know how much. The province says they are loosing 200k? where and how are they loosing? What is the cost and how much revenue is generated needs to be detailed.
I think this article is vague a bit.
Hello can anyone recommend A whole day fishing package or company that does them. Iam coming from Scotland I will be in New Brunswick from the 6th sep any help to point me in the rite direction would be appreciated thank you very much
Im pretty sure we all know the real problem,the gill nets in RedBank are what is happening to the salmon..the few that do get by them are usually marked up from them as well.
Can anyone tell me what actual pools are closed ?
Mark,
Having travelled the roads to the Miramichi for 30+ years from N.J., the past two years have been a troubling ride home. It is clear to me that the numbers of salmon (and grilse) in the system have dropped to perilous levels. Without good numbers of fish in the river, visitor numbers will follow. Think how it makes a visitor feel when he spends his hard earned dollars, buys a “catch and release” license, and watches locals kill their alotted fish, along with their entire families allocation while the numbers of fish are seeming to disappear. You have a hard decision to make to keep people like me from finding another place to spend their money. It’s not just about the dollars and cents that trouble me, it’s the apparent lack of respect people have for a failing fishery to do what is necessary to try to save it. It is clearly time for a manditory catch and release on all salmon AND GRILSE in your system. With the extremely low returns, EVERY fish is important to increase spawning numbers. At this point I view the killing of any fish as “legalized poaching”.It’s a hard position to “sell”, especially to the locals who have killed fish for generations, but it’s as clear as the nose on your face….if you don’t do something now, it might just be too late. You can banter about the seals, striped bass, commercial fishery,poachers and believe they all have something to do with the failing returns,(which they most likely do) but to eliminate any mortality by “sportsmen” is allowing any fish that has avoided the seals, striped bass, commercial fisheries and poachers to make it to the spawning grounds. The culture of the poacher on Canadian Salmon rivers is the same as that of the moonshiners here in the states. They are somehow revered by some locals as a “Billy the Kid” hero type. Poaching will always be a problem until the mindset of a culture changes, and that might take too long for the salmon to survive. It’s time to rally every concerned sportsman and every local who somehow derives part of their income from the fisherman to protect EVERY Atlantic entering your river and allow them to rebuild the stocks of fish and the future of your region. MAKE CATCH AND RELEASE MANDITORY NOW!!!!…………….Respectfully ……..Bill Tomiello…………
Where are the public pools on the Sevogle?
Well said Mark, but we all know the disastrous effects of the river mouth full of striped bass.
Over 100,000 bass eating one smolt a day, not hard to capture those numbers.
On top of this, after paying millions to the Greenland fishermen for 7 years, they are back netting more salmon than ever before.
Very interesting article on the use of PSAT tags for Atlantic Salmon. I would be very interested in the outcome of the study, any followup on tracking data for these 10 fish. We are trying to do something similar in a California waterway, tracking adult Chinook salmon as they negotiate a river.
Any information would be greatly apprecieated.
Regards,
Robert Vincik
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
North Central Region.
Is there any word on the bass fishing season going beyond august 11. It is a little to early
Debbie- I’m an outfitter in Montana that Ozzie Ozfovich fished with for several years-I may be coming with him in Oct. if the water conditions are good enough- Please keep me posted. Thanks John
The starting point in negotiations would be to decrease NB grilse tags from 8 to 2 and turn more rivers into catch and release.
I think it is great the work being done by the Miramichi Salmon Association. As more and more people become recreational users of the Miramichi River I feel there is a greater need for more public awareness and respect for the natural habitat of the Atlantic Salmon. Hovercrafts should not be allowed on the river. Witnessed on several occasions on the river between Doaktown and Priceville this summer. Very damaging to the natural habitat.
Congratulation Bud from the Miramichi Headwaters Salmon Federation in Juniper. We hope we can do what you have in your many years of dedication and hard work.
As a concerned Miramichi River sport what is the most effective way to help pressure DFO to make the proper decision on the striped bass issue
Fellow Members of the MSA,
Today I am ashamed to be a member of the Miramichi Salmon Association. My shame arose after reading an article which appeared in the November 36th edition of the Telegraph Journal and which is reproduced on the MSA website. In the article, MSA is calling for an unrestricted Striped Bass angling season in the Miramichi estuary in order to reduce Bass populations. They further recommend a commercial Bass fishery by First Nations. The reason MSA proposes this slaughter is the perceived threat that Bass pose to the migrating Atlantic Salmon smolt population. MSA makes a number of statements in support of this proposal. The problem is that there is little, if any, evidence to support these statements. Hence my shame.
Do we not recall that, until very recently, Striped Bass in the Gulf of St. Lawrence were classified as an endangered species? How can the MSA, as a conservation organization, make a public proposal to launch such an attack on this or, for that matter, any other species? This is especially galling to me because we have so little knowledge of the dynamics of this population. Why, you even note that you intend to gather the science but only after the institution of these fisheries.
Striped Bass have existed in the same physical environment as Atlantic Salmon for hundreds of years. For that matter, so have Cormorants, Mergansers and various seal species. As is so often the case in the natural world, a balance existed among them. This balance has been disrupted and the identity of the species that caused that can be seen in our bathroom mirror every morning. We need to focus our attention and efforts on changing the activities of ourselves rather than those of the Striped Bass. We need to stop being so self-centered.
I say shame on the MSA!
Yours truly,
Jim Sinclair
Dear Jim:
Thanks for your comments regarding the Striped Bass press release. I thought I might add a few points for clarification on the MSA position regarding striped bass and Atlantic salmon. You are very accurate in stating that “As is so often the case in the natural world, a balance existed among them. This balance has been disrupted and the identity of the species that caused that can be seen in our bathroom mirror every morning.” In the case of striped bass before the year 2000, there were no regulations pertaining to harvesting striped bass and adult bass were caught as a by-catch in commercial gasperaux gear each spring on the Miramichi and sold locally and juvenile striped bass were incidentally caught in the fall commercial smelt fishery, where thousands would perish every day as an unwanted by-catch. Anglers also caught some bass, but when DFO imposed the moratorium in 2000, it was the changes introduced to the commercial fisheries that DFO attributes to the success of the restoration program. Once protected, the bass numbers began to improve and spawning escapement was achieved in 2007 (target of 21,600 adults) and every year since that time. Assessments were not available in 2010 and 2012, but in 2011, the DFO assessment placed the number of adult striped bass at 200,000 fish and from field observations, there have been this many fish in the river since 2010. This amount of bass has not been observed before in living memory on the Miramichi and has reached this number only because of man’s interjection to protect the species. This swell in population is causing an imbalance to the ecosystem of the Miramichi and measures need to be taken to put things back in balance. The desire is to see a thriving striped bass population on the Miramichi, perhaps double or triple the spawning requirements, the same as we would like to see in a thriving Atlantic salmon fishery. Alas, the Miramichi has not met spawning requirements for the past 2 years and we are not sure what role striped bass plays in this shortfall of adult returns. We do know that striped bass populations are probably at an unsustainable level and are at 10 times the spawning requirement. It is time to ease restrictions on harvesting to put striped bass populations back to sustainable manageable levels. DFO can manage this population by permitting an increased angling harvest and if required, a quota-based commercial fishery. The MSA doesn’t want to see striped bass slaughtered, but we do want to see a balanced ecosystem where all species are at sustainable levels and to get there, the number of bass must be reduced now. I believe the majority of MSA members support this position.
Mark Hambrook
KEEP UP THE PRESSURE MARK,BEST BOB
Any news on the bass fishing season for 2014. It should be opend year round 24/7/365 same as the bay of fundy. Although the size limit could go down compared to the 27 inch minimum they have in place.Hopefully dfo let people know what is going on before fishing starts this year compared to last year. Last year the season opened on may 1st and they never had anything posted on size limits until the morning of fishing ( I was already fishing at 6 ish ) All they stated is you were allowed 1 bass per day. I caught one and kept it and dfo stoped me and my fish was too big. They gave me a hard time about it and gave me a warning. They also said my name would go on record . Put the regulations out before fishing starts please.
Thanks concerned fisherman
Congratulations on the reduction of tags for grilse. A great conservation step. I am a little disapointed that you did not go to barbless hooks on the Miramichi watershed and I anxiously await your announcement on striped bass for this year. I hope that you are more liberal in your quotas for hook and keep.
Thank You
Deverne jones
I feel the tags should be reduced to 1 tag with an obtion to buy a second tag for an extra $10 to go directly to salmon conservation. No more than a total of 2 for tags. O also feel we should be pushing hard to have a longer stripped bass season with a limit
of 2 per day and no size limit or at least a larger size than what it is now.
I’m assuming there will also be a much larger harvest of seals in coastal waters, expanded fines and jail sentences for celebrities harassing those involved in the seal harvest, and a sharp reduction on the number of Native owned nets strung across the Miramichi? When will news of these changes be released?
Yes open it up year round same as it is everywhere else.
No body more deserving than you Manley so a hardy congratulations what a great achievement on your part. We sure do need more like you. Judy and Randy Lutes
DFO is surely not in touch with reality. It seems they would like to see the end of the salmon
fishery so they would have one less thing to be concerned about and less work. The government has stripped a lot of their funds and Harper is only concerned about looking good re the budget in order to get re-elected.
Where can I learn more?
Thanks
Congratulations Manley –well deserved recognition
Congrats Manley!!!
Congratulations to Manley on a well deserved award, he has given many hours for the conservation of salmon and promotion of the Miramichi River and all Anglers who visit to fish, His support of angles, outfitters, guides and anyone who might have interests in the Miramichi River and his work to promote this great River should not go un-noticed. Again, congratulations Manley, Keep up the good work.
Well Done!
soo happy to here there good new
Up the bag limit of bass would have been a great help to keep the bass numbers down. Think the bass have got the upper hand of the rivers.
Hope that retention limit will carry over for future seasons. Great for the salmon & the bass fishermen.
Can you confirm this? There is no such notice on DFO site this morning.
Are you aware of the environmental impacts to the environment farming salmon as well as the chemical and antibiotics in the fish when farmed? I do hope you educated the elders on what they were eating. Excellent to hear they are not dropping gill nets.
It’s nice to see that the First nation Band at red bank has voted not to put gill nets into the N.W. and L.S.W. Miramichi system,I only hope that this decision will be upheld for future years,and if any band members who opposed this decision don’t take it upon their rights and gill net the river. The bands decision to keep the gill nets out will give the salmon a fighting chance to reach the spawning grounds which is crucial in the recovery of stocks in these two rivers I look forward to crossing the Bridge at Red Bank and seeing where the two rivers meet free of the nets.
what happened? Gill nets are now in the water, why??? because the trap nets were damaged by Arthur???? Fix them now!!!! Every spawner that is slaughtered in these gill nets is precious, we must act now to protect this magnificent fish…..please, please stop this insanity before it is to late.
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Close down the angling fishery for the 2015 season, not only for the recreational fishe rman,but a must for the outfitters as well. Last year i fished just below a sports pool on public water, just before some pools were closed due low water. I noticed a big fish floating down past me from up river. It was still moving a bit but i knew it would not live.I thought at the time they played it too long in the warm water and took their pictures for advertising their best pools on the river. They catch and photo the summer salmon and in turn catch them again in the spring as black salmon. This is ridiculous and a practice that been going on far too long, just for big moneys sake. So close it down for a number of seasons, and give the salmon a chance.Also open the season on striped bass or net them up near the entrance of the river. I say this because I noticed very few parr in the southwest river this year. Thank you.
Trying to purchase the Atlantic Salmon Flies Book.. The website will not let me purchase the book..can you please help? Thanks.
I lived in North Vancouver BC during the mid 50’s and the Bobaks lived a short distance from my home in Lynn Valley. Bruno and Molly designed and built their house on Wellington Drive in Lynn Valley – it was very modernistic for the time.
I was good friends with Alex but he was known as Sasha and called that by both his parents. Bruno used to take us fishing to many streams and rivers in North and West Vancouver which was a lot of fun. I was very sorry when they moved to New Brunswick at the end of grade 5 for Sasha and myself. I recall Bruno had a new job at the University in Fredericton. Can you possibly direct me to an address for Alex (Sasha) so I may contact him?
As a Striped Bass fisherman for over 50 years & an Atlantic Salmon fisherman for 15+ years, I truly hope that someone is studying the recent large increase in striped bass and its effect on the salmon population in the Maritimes. It seems that the bass are arriving exactly at the time that smolts are dropping down to tidewater. Stripers are voracious feeders and would have little problem in virtually eradicating a year class of smolts, especially in the relatively confined areas of a river mouth/estuary. There is anecdotal evidence that even the relatively small bass which are allowed to caught & kept are feeding on smolts; the larger bass would be an even greater threat to these juvenile salmon.
I frequented the Donnelly Brook pool regularly throughout the 1980’s and early part of the 90’s. I recall on more than one occasion, warm summer days watching from the old Bailey bridge at Upper Blackville as salmon migrated upstream in search of the cooler water at Donnelly Brook. I sadly recall the period later in the 90’s when that pool infilled, knowing not just the loss of a good fishing pool, possibly for all time, but more importantly, the disappearance of a rare cold water sanctuary along that long stretch of the Main Southwest Miramichi River. Thanks so much to the MSA for restoring this beautiful pool, and preserving yet another piece of our River’s unique heritage.
David Dunn
i,m wondering what the dates are for the 2015 salmon classic..thanks PB
Hi Mark, Just a word of warning about people who run pipelines…..I’m sure you remember the line that was run from Canso area N.S. thru Maine to God knows where…….our river,the Sheepscott River here in Maine was directly in the way of their plans……they sent several sweet talking men and ladies to address issues we had with their route to cross our river….we were lied to and deceived many times by these people…..they promised to use directional boring to go under our river….never happened!!! They simply blocked the upper reaches off and dug ditches right through spawning areas…….we tried to video what was happening and were driven off by privately hired police officers…..the list of lies and mis statements is very very long……please be careful with these people,our experience was not good……they will tell you what they know you want to hear…..please do not trust them…..this is our experience with them…be careful…..the fish are having a hard enough time without this happening to your river also…they crossed our river in many places..take care Mac Ray……..Looking forward to June on the river at MSC for the 28th year..be well
Well done, MSA!
While it is commendable to study and preserve the wild salmon population on the Miramichi, it should be recognized that many rivers and estuaries in New Brunswick are now and have been severely damaged by the open pen fish farming industry. Since provincial governments of all Atlantic provinces have blind eyes, deaf ears and closed minds to the pollution, poison, disease, mass mortality, and escapes of this industry and the federal government has compensated the industry with more than $100 million for mass mortality and are in effect trying to make it easier for them to operate, what chance does your organization have in getting support? The fish farming industry WANTS to see the demise of wild salmon. Increase market share by killing the competition. New Brunswick should be ashamed that the biggest and most unscrupulous player in this business operates right in their province and has been responsible for polluting, poisonong, spreading disease and using toxic and even illegal chemicals. Nova Scotia organizations, scientists, concerned professionals, fishers and coastal residents are fighting hard to protect our waters from this industry, while our government and bureaucrats are just as gullible as those in NB and the federal DFO. Since governments won’t do it, it’s up to individuals worldwide to boycott open pen farmed fish and put this poisonous industry out of business.
Again, while I commend what your organization is doing, it is of utmost importance to emphasize that the open pen fish farming industry is a KNOWN severe threat to wild salmon all over your province and also in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. You should lobby to end the compensation for mass mortality, require the industry to reduce pollution, ban toxic chemicals, support land based production as well as provide increased funding for preservation efforts like those of your organization. If the open pen industry was put out of business, wild salmon, lobsters and the environment of the rivers and bays would be far better off and some of the money now being wasted on them might be available for preservation. Too good to be true? Stop buying open pen farmed fish and spread the word around the world through family and friends and social media and it might be possible.
Woulnt it be better to capture wild returning salmon and use them to create progeny rather than using smolt for that purpose? The returning adult salmon have proved their worthiness to reproduce.
why are there no reports of striped bass in the DFO traps. Maybe if there are bass in the river people would leave the salmon alone for now. What fish are they trying to protect?
Excellent post, i definitely love this website, keep on it
Why was this survey put forward? What about the 16 recommendations that they already have in hand. Doesn’t make sense.
I am curious as to how a number of 16,000 salmon returning to the Northwest Miramichi was arrived at? In the ASF rivernotes of Oct 22, 2015 the count at the Northwest Barrier as of Oct. 18 was at 398 fish, which would be roughly 2.5%. Just wondering if this is normal?
“The Cassilis Barrier had great numbers this year to Oct. 15 – 1,372 grilse and 334 large salmon, totaling 1,706. Last year to the same date there were 105 grilse and 83 large salmon, totaling 188.
Especially with the high numbers at Cassilis, the Northwest Barrier count has been extremely disappointing, with 300 grilse and 98 large salmon to Oct. 18. This is certainly ahead of the 204 grilse and 66 large salmon in 2014 to the same date, but not the large increase one might hope for. – See more at: http://www.asf.ca/asf-rivernotes-for-oct-22-2015.html#sthash.Ac4DmnjN.dpuf“
Can I enter the online and how much?
So who won? I’m holding on to three tickets!
This is the perfect website for anyone who hopes to understand this topic.
You understand a whole lot its almost tough to argue with you (not that I personally would want to…HaHa).
You definitely put a fresh spin on a subject that has been written about for ages.
Excellent stuff, just great!
Appreciate MSF sending out this kind of information in an effort to protect the Atlantic Salmon – keep up the good work!
How far below the Brook
Is the Joe Walls pool just below Wildcat Brook closed as well?
Is there an 800 number that we can call for the latest update on these closings?
When I fish for salmon, I am often in the water by 5:30 am.
As you know, it is not possible to contact anyone at the time for the latest updates.
An 800 number would solve that problem.
Merci!
Paul LeBlanc
382-4906
381-1440 cellulaire
Hi Paul,
Unfortunately no such number exists; however, here is a direct link to all the closures in the Gulf Region from the DFO Website. Hope this helps.
http://www.glf.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Gulf/FAM/Recreational-Fisheries
Good post. I’m dealing with many of these issues as well..
If you are interested in topic: how to earn online ocr free – you should read about Bucksflooder first
This was such a kind act by the empoyees of Rocky Brook Camp, just one of the many touching stories you hear about the kind people living in the area. I was so happy to hear that Lynn got to go on this wonderful adventure with all her amazing family.
leave it to mark, and his thoughtfulness to make this happen for you I’m so happy he did this so you could see our beauty here did you feel like a movie starr you look like one .bunni
What an awesome story. Triumphs and Tradgidies!! It sure made my eyes tear up.
Mark, I have always known you have a wonderful heart, but this is a truly special thing for you to have arranged for Lynn! Glad you ALL had great day, the falls are truly wonderful!!!
Proud of you, Mark Moir, and not a bit surprised that you made it all happen!!
Wow, that is such a beautiful letter!. Hopefully this will inspire everyone to be mindful of others and try to fill a need in some way when/where we can make a difference. Make someones day a little better.
Great job Mark Moir!!!!!
Barbara Wood
Such a great story,we got to speak to Lynn and give her a Hug on September 11,when the family was visiting her mother.Lynn is still as Beautiful as ever.
Why not stop fishing for black salmon in the spring? We fish them hard all summer, let them have a easy return to the ocean. This fishery is almost FUBAR anyways, lets help and do what we can.
I, along with Mr. Coburn are amazed at your findings.
Having grown up and lived and worked much of my younger life along
the Miramichi in the Boiestown / Doaktown areas, I read your article with interest.
The formation of frazil ice was sporadic at best and was used by the older folks as a weather forecaster, being a harbinger of soft weather, (mild weather and rain was on the way). And this was true in most cases, as I remember. Having utelized ice bridges on the Cains River for trucking logs to mills and you saw frazil ice forming you knew you had mere days before a thaw would hit the area. You were about to loose your use of the ice bridge and could be leaving logs across the river. Depending on the time of the thaw……. The remainder of the winter these rivers were free of frazil ice and flowed along normally.
I look forward to further in depth study on this phenomenon.
Robert Hovey
residents cannot fish salmon now because most of the salmon pools are PRIVATE AND ONLY FISHED BY MONEY PEOPLE OR COMPANY CLIENTS. EVERYBODY CAN GO OUT BASS FISHING. I HAVE SEEN THE SHORES LINED WITH ADULTS AND CHILDREN, ALL OF THEM GETTING A FISHING EXPERIENCE OF THEIR LIVES AND THE KIDS BECOMING HOOKED FOR LIFE. It is such a pleasure to watch the people of the river being able to fish again. A big salmon pool may be only fished by one or two clients/day and I have seen many days when several pools on the river have no fishermen using them, but the big Private Water signs are still there. I have fished salmon for sixty years, but after seeing what pleasure the local adults and children are having with the bass, and knowing that there is nowhere for them to fish salmon unless they are of the elite class, I am really at a quandry when it comes to getting rid of most of the bass. The salmon fishing now is like Europe-it does my old heart good to see so many people be able to just go fishing- like it should be, even if it is for bass-it is all that is available to them. Saving all of the salmon won`t do most of the people along the river any good-the pools have all been taken from them.
I read that CAST is a collaboration of industry leaders, conservation groups and scientists but what I failed to see mentioned was of any FIrst Nation groups. I heard of an information meeting held at the lodge this month but an information meeting is far from any consultations with First Nations.
I know this projects goal is to help the Atlantic salmon but removing thousands of smolts from the wild to be raised in tanks with no guarantee that these fish will even return to spawn is very troubling to myself and others I have discussed this issue with. When millions and millions of dollars in funding are involved one has to make sure that this project is about the salmon and not about the money. I have talked to many people in the Miramichi and hardly anyone was aware that this project started in 2015 and that wild smolts have been captured and removed from the river in 2015 and 2016 to be raised in tanks.
Hi Norman,
Devon Ward is our First Nation liaison for CAST. Please feel free to contact him with any questions, comments or concerns you have. I have also sent your comment along to the Executive Director of the CAST project.
Yours in conseervation,
MSA
You should be able to fish as many as your family can eat. If the river is so overpopulated with striped bass, let us feed our families without costing us so much.
Nola,
Is there any evidence that this policy and the resultant decline in NB salmon anglers
led to more poaching, presumably of large salmon?
Brad Burns shared several articles on the benefits of catch and release on future salmon stocks. That makes sense. However, if more large salmon are being poached as a result of the policy, it would be counterproductive.
Please share your thoughts.
Great report on an interesting fellow, Nola!
Fun, and a nice life lived well
Fun, a nice life lived well
Thank you for printing the interview with Mervin Green. He is appreciated by both the members of Salmon Brook Association as well as guests. I have known him for over 65 years and he continues to tell new stories every time we are together. He is a history book for the upper river.
Do you have 1, 2, or 3 day license?
What type of fishing can be done?
Where can one fish?
Hi Harold we do not sell licenses. You can head to the provinces website http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/services/services_renderer.1115.Fishing_Licence.html
Thanks for doing this story! I hope that the other MSA members enjoy reading it. Kate was a very eager listener and we enjoyed sharing our stories with her. I have lots more stories of my experiences as a guide and outfitter if you should need them in the future!
Tight lines!
Mervin Green
Thanks Mervin,
It was a wonderful experience. Thank you very much for hosting me. Looking forward to adding more to this as I’ve saved more of the stories you’ve told.
Cheers,
Kate
I have never met or heard of a man of Mervin’s age with more energy and appreciation for his chosen vocation, guiding on the Mighty Miramichi, or more respect for the great fish that the river is famous for. He is dedicated to God, family and the river. Wonderful story – thank you Nola.
Many years ago Mervin was my very first guide on the Miramichi. I still remember the first salmon that I caught, an 8# fish at the Grilse Hole on Salmon Book Camp’s water. I have been returning like the salmon again and again to those waters. My wife and children all adore the camp, the people and the fishing.
Mervin has been an excellent teacher, mentor and partner. He and Myrna are cherished by me and my family. At Salmon Brook Camp we all are family.
Excellent article. Mervin is a true pioneer for salmon conservation . Mervin was one of my most trusted mentors when I was thrust into the family business at the age of 21. Kudos to Mervin and Myrna for their great leadership on our river.
He is a great neighbour too 🙂
Kudos Mervin!
This says Tuesday July 20TH IS IT SUPPOSE TO BE THURSDAY THE 20TH
Thanks Bev – I just copied and pasted – they also had the Bartholomew flowing into the Little Southwest
When will the results of the 2016 smolt mortality study be released? Could it be there’s a cover up in progress because the results show more high mortality levels from striped bass? Early summer fishing clearly showed not only a lack of adult salmon but large increases in striped bass activity up river feeding on parr. The lack of even an acknowledgment of the risk posed by the massive striped bass population increase in the river by MSA is unconscionable. The CAST program is totally unproven and little if any scientific data suggests that hatchery reared salmon can spawn in the wild successfully even if they came from wild stock. The few smolts produced by this program will do nothing more than fatten up the future king of the Miramichi the Striped Bass!!! I have fished the Miramichi since 1965 and it’s a sad day when you have to accept the facts and realize it’s over!
Other rivers in the province have salmons in it , the problem is DFO only look at Salmon in NB as a Miramichi or ST-John fish neglecting to look at Salmon genetics of other smaller rivers
Nola,
Why is there no Conservation and Protection contact info for Doaktown area – it’s only Gulf detachments?
Also,if I see illegal fishing activity on the river (between Boiestown and Blackville,who do I call?
Finally DFO does something worthwhile. It’s totally irresponsible for CAST to have gone this far without a “peer review”. This part of the program is highly controversial and has the possible consequence of serious negative impacts to the wild populations. If this were a valuable recovery method it would have been tried before as declining salmon and steelhead stocks are a worldwide problem. Now DFO needs to step up to the plate figure out how to manage the Miramichi Striped Bass population to a sustainable but LOWER population than exists today!!
could I be updated on state pf salmon in the miramichi ? thanks R F Rubeor
Good morning,
Seeking employment & new opportunities.
How do I apply for this position?
MSA is Hiring an Event Program Coordinator.
Please take my phone number of the public comment box.
Regards Remy Reyjal
just send your resume along to info@miramichisalmon.ca
18 per cent is awfully on the low side. Use a parr for bait and see how long it is before a bass hits it.
very pleasant to talk to over the phone and gave me the information that I was looking for, thank you
Terrific work. This may mean that unless some other adults wandered into that area later the hatchery raised spawners are headed back out to sea to rebuild just as a truly wild fish would do.
Great to see what MSA is doing
Agree 109%. Gotta reduce the striper numbers. Whatever it takes to save our prized Atlantic salmon.
Save our salmon before it’s too late.
Has the MSA recently publisized the dismal return of salmon and grilse to the Miramichi watershed this summer?
what fish licenses do they sell
……Interesting………I fished there,,,,, Alot,,,,when I lived in Boiestown;
and usually had good luck using a dry fly, in the early morning, at the
mouth of the brook. Nice place….
Glad to see this enhancement has been done……
We were three anglers fishing the Buttermilk pool on the Cains river on Thursday last the 11th of October. My companion hooked and landed what we took to be a good sized salmon which took 10-12 minutes to land. To our consternation it proved to be a Striped Bass measuring 70 cms in length, which is 5 cm above the length at which fish can be retained. This, in a pool perhaps 40kms from the tidal estuary of the Miramichi. One can only imagine the predation on salmon parr as well as the ova of spawning fish that this voracious bass will cause in the Cains river at spawning time.
To our great chagrin we duly returned the fish to the water. What kind of twisted logic is this. DFO wake up and act !
Hi,
it was interesting to read your website. i will visit new brunswick this year and as a passionate salmon fisher i`m really looking forward to it. but it seems to be difficult to buy a fishing license. do i see it right:
1. first i have to buy a state license for salmon
2. if i´m on a river (maybe a public crown stretch) i have to buy or book a license for the stretch
3. then i have to hire a guide for the day
i will be with my family and it would be nice, if i could book a license from one day to the other (depending on the conditions). is that possible?
is a guide expensive? is the public water with limited access? puh, a bit difficult to see from here:)
best regards from germany
fabian
Please contact me at kate@miramichisalmon.ca if you are still looking for more information.
There was seven boats at one time yesterday fishing in the red bank area and yes below the bridge and no officer to be seen now where were they how come some people can fish on a close river and nothing is done
Is there anyone who can recommend the best product of Fly Fishing
DFO seems to have a history of “doing too little too late”someone needs to be pro-active to settle these many problems which seem to compound every year with little actual response……just an “outsiders” opinion…..
Government bureaucrats are lazy, careless, incompetent and risk averse everywhere. We see this in the USA and now we are seeing it in Atlantic Canada. What a sad state of affairs. It is time for a total change in leadership of Canadian DFO.
I have enjoyed the privilege to cast over Atlantic salmon for over fifty years and I would like my granddaughters to experience my feelings. But we are witnessing the ineptitude as government policy is tilting away from salmon survival to a bass fishery. If you cannot release the salmon why not strip the eggs and release the parr next summer.
Why are all these “conservation” groups sidestepping the fact that massive clearcutting is perhaps the most significant cause for salmon not returning to our watersheds. High water temperatures, heavy siltation, rivers becoming shallower and wider are issues we can remediate. Salmon are a cold water species-why would they return to the above?
What a terrific opportunity to clean up our own back yards before blindly accusing others and depending on government funding to fix it!
The First Nation is working with the Penobscot River restoration efforts. Why doesn’t the First Nation work with the MSA? William Babson MD
I have a question concerning the Northwest Miramichi River estuary being listed as the only confirmed sucessful spawnjg ground for stiped bass in the entire southern Gulf of St Lawerence, as established by DFO science-my question is why is tbe Norhwest Miramichi still the only river listed a sucessful.spawning area for striped bass in the entire Southern Gulf of St Lawerence? Surveys have been done by the Miramichi Salmon Association where eggs, larvae and juvenile striped bass have been found in the Southwest Miramichi as well as the Tabusintac river which prove that successful.spawning is occuring in other rivers besides the Northwest Miramichi The amount of spawning activity occuring in the Southwest Miramichi has been increasing every year and taking place further and further upriver each season as well The results of the surveys done on the Southwest Miramichi and the Tabusintac have been confirmed by DFOs own Scott Douglas If I remember correctly, I had a conversation with Scott Douglas in 2012 or 2013 while I worked as the Fisheries Coordinator here in Red Bank where he stated that it had been many years since DFO had conducted any studies or surveys of their own looking to see if bass were successfully spawning in other rivers that have historically supported successful.spawning so i am also wondering if DFO is planning on conducting their own surveys/studies to look for evidence of this There are many rivers in NB where spawning activity has been observed so why has it been so long since DFO has done any of their own studies/surveys to look for evidence of successful striped bass spawning? Other rivers in NB such as the Saint John, Kenebecasis, Nepisiquit, Richibucto, Kouchibouquac, Bartibogue etc have had striped bass spawning activity occuring over the past several years so is DFO planning on looking for evidence of succesful striped bass spawning in any of these rivers
We have the same concerns about this inaccuracy, but DFO won’t change until the evidence is published in a scientific journal and UNB is helping us get it published, but they suggested we should have 3 years of data, which we will have this year. The goal is to have it published this summer as COSEWIC is meeting this fall about the status of striped bass and the published report will allow them to take striped bass off the list as “species of special concern” because of only one spawning location.
Mark