Time for some optimism...

We're on the verge of a seasonal change, some leaves are falling and the US is heavy into the hurricane season (send rain please!) I haven't been salmon fishing since early July - well that is until last night, and Dad and I saw no fewer than 18 fish show on the coming tide and just as we were sitting here having breakfast and coffee we saw 2 fish roll directly in front of the Den... I'm not saying it's time to assault the rivers with high expectations but it certainly is time for some optimism - for a change.....

Tying some fall flies ...

Another thing I haven't done much of lately is tie flies - first off the vise:

Guy's Shrimp...

Here's the story and recipe: CLICK ME

This original fly was very good to me in 2011.

It's been a long time since I rock and roll....

Rock and Roll

Who knew August would be so busy without salmon fishing? Certainly not I! I didn't intend to neglect the blog for so long but here we are... We had a beautiful week of family vacation in Murray Beach, N.B. and scooted over to P.E.I. for a day to do the tourist thing. We did a little bit of fishing for Atlantic Mackerel and I topped it all off with a nasty computer virus -- what a pain in the arse! I hate computers!

Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks...

Cape Tormentine:

Confederation Bridge

Red sand beach:

Tying Supplies everywhere (Great Blue Heron)

We had a few sun showers and got some great rainbow pictures:

Final evening of the trip:

Mackerel Fishing on the weekend:

Invasive patrol on the weekend:

We're heading to the Den this weekend ... hard to believe I haven't been up river since early July! Where did the summer go?

Variation order partially lifted on the Miramichi...

A bit of good news from DFO - it must mean that things are improving up river... I think i'll wait until next week just the same though...


SALMON FISHERY ON THE MIRAMICHI

Moncton – August 23, 2012  - Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) today announces that angling for all species on the Miramichi River system will reopen every day two hours before sunrise until two hours after sunset as prescribed in the Maritimes Provinces Fisheries Regulations, starting Saturday, August 25, 2012.

Pools and areas previously closed to angling (see notice to fish harvesters dated July 27, 2012) will remain closed for all species during the entire day.

Please refer to Gulf Variation Order 2012-068 for further details. The Fishery Closures / Variation Orders Registry are available online at:

Orders Registry

For more information please contact your local DFO office.

A couple earthy, buggy, buckbugs..

Here's hoping the rain that the weatherman is threatening us with actually happens this time! Bring it long, loud and hard - the rivers and the fish need it!



I'm just passing a bit of time at the vise this evening spinning up a few plain looking green machines... I hope I get to use them soon!

That Vince fella....

Well I have to say Gary, you warned me about that Vince fella...  since meeting you two characters  during the classic in July I can't seem to avoid a Tanner or Swazey reference when it comes to anything to do with Atlantic Salmon...

Here's the latest reference I spotted at the Atlantic Salmon Interpretive Centre in St. Andrew's yesterday during a New Brunswick Day tour:

Paul and Vince on the LSW during the Classic:

I guess it's not so bad bumping into you characters from time to time =)

Another run to the Hammond

I made another run to the Hammond yesterday with 2 targets in mind, smallmouth bass and a big bag of garbage - not much of a difference between the two.... I started up by the French Village bridge as there is a school of bass that hang out under it - I caught several before moving further down river. The long pool before the deep hole seemed to have fewer bass in it - I believe they all moved down into it as the river just keeps dropping and getting warmer....

As I got down to the run above the deep hole I noticed 2 Off Road Enforcement Officers were keeping an eye on the river crossing. I went over to chat with them for a while and we discussed all the trash and idiots crossing the river with their bikes and 4x4's... They were working with DNR on the river crossing issue. No sooner had they left a bike appeared and proceeded to cross... I heard through the grapevine later on in the day that they had this guy pulled over -- good stuff!

The idiot in question:

So I fished away, did some good work for the salmon and trout. There are so many bass in this river it's disgusting ... I hear people talk all the time about going to these far out of the way places to catch bass and all they have to do is drive 10 minutes from Saint John and you can catch all you want.. sure you need to use a flyrod after July 1st in the Hammond but they'll take a fly just like any other fish will... 

So after fishing for several hours it was time for a little cleanup.. there was a party recently and the assholes who threw it decided to also throw their garbage, break glass bottles and leave a huge mess down on the gravel bar. In a normal summer this bar would be half sumberged. Warning to anyone going down there with bare feet or pets -- be very careful or you'll end stepping in glass and who knows what else.

Before:

After:

One of the young lads down swimming asked me what in heck I was doing and I told him, cleaning up after ignorant pigs... he said 'Cool!' -- not sure of the sincerity level but it may have gotten him thinking?

Another passerby caught this pic of me scaling the rocks across the deep hole -- I was trying to see if there were anything else in the pool besides bass and a few suckers .... the answer "NO, not a thing!"
The good news is I didn't spot any pickerel either.

After finishing up there I deceided to hit the graveyard pool on the way home... there are 2 large schools of suckers and some other kind of fish hanging out there... the other kind of fish is smaller and hanging out closer to shore than the larger (24"-ish inches) suckers. Everywhere else -- bass and pickerel.. and lots of both. I counted at least 6 pickerel and bass, well I can't count that high... all age classes and sizes up to at least 16-18"... I finished the day there and by the time I arrived home realized I had way too much sun...

Deer hair with attitude...

I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to put this over some silver with the shape of the rivers .....

The wing and tail are tied almost 'Elson' style - Paul likes his wing flat and tied almost like a tail .. I think the proportions mirror his though :)

Boy oh boy do we need rain and a weather change!