My LAST weekend fishing report of 2012 .... (part 2 of 2)

After a great day on the river with Paul, I arrived back at the camp to expect to see Dad, Joe and Bill there but they were running a bit late. So I made some supper and a hot cup of tea to try to warm up a bit. This evening was to be the last session around the campfire for 2012 so I needed to build a foundation to support the evening’s events. Shortly after I got the camp warmed up and supper finished the lads showed up. Apparently a back road navigational error in unfamiliar territory caused a lengthy backtrack. Oh well, at least everyone was safe. We bundled up, arranged ourselves around the campfire and began agitating. As the evening wore on and the wood supply dwindled we realized how cold it was and decided it was time to retreat to the warmth of the trailer. Doug was supposed to come up that evening but he was pretty beat from a long week at work and wouldn’t be up until the next morning. Our plans were to meet up somewhere on the Cains and fish together for the last time this season.

A cool evening campfire:

There were to be no alarms the next morning as our mission was simply to finish closing and winterizing the camp, have some breakfast and head home while stopping for a quick fish along the way. Dad, Bill and Joe opted not to fish and headed straight for home.

Ice from the ‘automatic dishwasher’:

A cold set of waders:

The Southwest Miramichi:

One of the half dozen Whiskey Jacks who joined us for breakfast:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_Jay
A.K.A. Canada Jay, Gray Jay, Moose Bird, Gorby – this critter of many names are amazingly bold and will often eat from your hand.

After we finished eating and cleaning up we briefly discussed our plans to begin building the Wulff Den proper next spring! 2013 is going to be an exciting year at the camp, assuming of course we all survive Dec 21^st/2012 *rolls eyes* So we said good-bye to the camp, then each other and hit the road. I headed into the woods up the South Cains road to my first stop.

  

Last year Doug and I had an incredible fall fishing session at this pool – We showed up, made one pass through the pool, he landed a monster salmon, I landed a grilse and I broke off another monster – all in the first pass among a number of other fishermen. I was hoping for a second chance at the monster that broke me off but it was not meant to be. I did see a couple fish porpoise but there was to be no love for the Canary. Midway through my first pass Doug showed up and we chatted about what to do and he said casting at the next pool up would be a whole lot easier – he also uses a spey rod but  only uses it overhead so he needs a lot of room for his back cast. I was happy he showed up as I was seriously considering finishing my season for good after that first pass …

We arrived at salmon brook to find a few fellows having a midday snack in the parking area. They were nice enough lads, and we had a great discussion about live release and conservation… Our chat got onto the striped bass and grey seal situation and it was agreed that something needed to be done. These gentlemen had caught striped bass as high up the Southwest Miramichi as Blissfield. We each shared our favorite preparation methods for bass … I’ll leave it at that…

(remember the red leafed tree mentioned in part 1?)

So down to the river we raced - I gave Doug a freshly tied marabou pattern and I opted to skip the Canary this time and tied on the Showgirl to see if I could pull out a Hail Mary on my last pass of the season. The Cains was also full of yellow and red leaves but clear. Doug went down through first and his plan was to just go down about 50 yards from the mouth of the brook and call it quits before hitting another pool. My plan was to make this pass then head out as I wanted to be home by suppertime. We each made our way down through, I was tucked up quite close to him for the amount of line we were throwing because there was quite a queue growing on shore. A longer cast means our swings also take longer and I was trying to observe the step-cast-step etiquette necessary in crowded public pools. To keep the conga line moving at the expected pace I had to start stripping in about ¾’s through the swing which was ok with me as my fly would be over the sweet spot before then anyways ;-) Doug finished his abbreviated pass and stepped out and went up to the queue area. When he was walking by he said ‘Some quite, eh?’ to which I agreed and said back to him ‘I only have a dozen more casts and I’m done as well’. So I continued to work down through and I was really starting to get a feeling back for my Skagit line which I had only put back on earlier that morning as I knew we would be fishing ‘river right’ in heavy wind. For me this means double spey and that line punches through wind like nobody’s business. I was down to about 3 steps remaining when I felt the BIG PULL again and saw a tremendous splash in front of me followed quickly by a “RIGHT ON HOWIE!!” from Doug who had witnessed the whole thing! I lifted up and started to fight this beautiful but dark hen fish. I was in a daze almost like it was the first fish I had ever hooked and didn’t know what I was doing... I think it was more the shock of what had just happened – I mean these last minute, pull a rabbit out of your hat moments never happen to fellas like me?! Anyways, once Doug got down by my side and calmed me down it all started coming back and we worked on getting her in. It took a few attempts to tail her but no harm was done. She remained in the water for all but 5 seconds to snap a few pictures. We fumbled the hand off so I only managed a few pictures of Doug holding her. The exact same thing happened to us but in reverse last year on his much bigger salmon I mentioned in part 1. A fumbled hand off and the only pics that were taken were with me holding his fish. I can’t say it bothers me because it’s nice to see a fish that fought so hard take off so quickly with so much vigor. I guess that’s the advantage of lots of cold water – a condition that was rare in 2012.

Thanks Doug, it was a great day on the river!

Pool closures on/around the Miramichi river...

I have to say it's a relief to hear about this especially after the report I received about some jigging/foul hooking going on at the Salmon Brook pool on the Cains. When people cast #4 doubles upstream in slow and low water at the mouth of a cold water brook, what else could it be?

Thanks DFO!

SALMON FISHERY ON THE MIRAMICHI

Moncton – July 20, 2012 - Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) today announces that the following salmon fishing pools will be closed to fishing, for cause of high water temperature and low water levels, starting Monday, July 23, 2012:

• Confluence of Salmon Brook and Cains River, and the waters of Salmon Brook upstream from its confluence with the Cains River to South Cains River Road;
• Confluence of Otter Brook and Cains River;
• Confluence of Sutherland Brook and Northwest Miramichi River, and Sutherland Brook upstream to the highway 420;
• Confluence of Butty's Brook and Renous River, and the waters of Butty’s Brook from its confluence with the Renous river to South Renous Road;
• Waters of the Southwest Miramichi River in Quarryville, 300 m upstream and 300 downstream of the Quarryville Bridge, including Indian Town Brook from its confluence with the Southwest Miramichi River, upstream to Highway 108 bridge;
• Confluence of Wilson Brook and Southwest Miramichi River, including the waters of Wilson Brook upstream 100 meters of its mouth;
• Waters of the Southwest Miramichi River surrounding the pump house located at N 46.86483, W 65.67698 (WGS 84);
• Confluence of Gray Rapids Brook and Southwest Miramichi River, and the waters of Gray Rapids upstream from its confluence with the Southwest Miramichi River to Route 118;
• Confluence of Morse Brook and Southwest Miramichi River, and the waters of Morse Brook upstream from its confluence with the Southwest Miramichi River to Howard Road;
• Confluence of Black Brook and Southwest Miramichi River, and the waters of Black Brook upstream from its confluence with the Southwest Miramichi River to South Cains River Road;
• Confluence of Donnelly Brook and Southwest Miramichi River, and the waters of Donnelly Brook upstream from its confluence with the Southwest Miramichi River to the South Road Bridge;
• Confluence of Betts Mills Brook and Southwest Miramichi River, and the waters of Betts Mills Brook upstream from its confluence with the Southwest Miramichi River to Highway # 8;
• Confluence of Porcupine Brook and Southwest Miramichi River, and the waters of Porcupine Brook upstream from its confluence with the Southwest Miramichi River to Story Town Road;
• Confluence of Big Hole Brook and Southwest Miramichi River;
• Confluence of Mill Brook and Southwest Miramichi River.

Please refer to Gulf Variation Order 2012-054 for further details. The Fishery Closures / Variation Orders Registry is available online at:
http://www2.glf.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fam-gpa/cp/ord/index-e.php


For more information please contact your local DFO office.

May long weekend at the Den

Dad, Ethan, Brad and our very special friend and moose hunting guide Tom Lindsay headed up to the camp on Friday for a weekend of fishing, boating and canoeing.

Tom checking out the scenery.

Brad playing a few tunes..

Somehow a hatchet just makes things sound better!

Obligatory campfire

After a few refreshments and many laughs we headed to bed as Saturday was to be a full day of boating for Dad, Tom & Ethan and a canoe run for Brad and I.

I've been wanting to do a run down the Cains for a long time as each time i've fished it I've been awestruck by it's meandering beauty... this river truly is a jewel of New Brunswick.

Our plan was to put in at Buttermilk and fish our way down to the Den - I estimated 18km as the river flows for the run.

Our first stop for a stretch and a quick fish:

This video is a bit long, nothing really exciting happens but I was just learning how to operate Brad's GoPro... what a great rig they are! Now that I've figured out how to swicth it to HD I'll be sure to have some cool videos from the 2012 fishing season.

On down the river we go

Mouth of the Cains where it meets the Main Southwest Miramichi river.

The old home pool area

The trip summary - not bad on my estimate. I was really surprised how quickly it went - with good water like we had I wouldn't hesitate to put in much higher.

A final thought on Shale Gas and Hydraulic Fracking - let's hope the market remains flooded with natural gas and keeps the price of shale gas low so it doesn't get developed!

It was a great weekend with warm temps, lots of sun and tons of bugs. The company was second to none and we all had a great time with lots of laughs. Fishing was definitely in the in between stages on the Cains and the Main Southwest but I heard good things were starting to happen in the tidal areas and on the Northwest. I even heard of a few brights being hooked. Another week or so and those rumours will be a reality, no doubt! We managed a couple trout, a bunch of fiddleheads and memories and pictures we'll have for a lifetime. I can't wait to get back up there!

Buttermilk to the Wulff Den = 18.8 km

What a beautiful day on the water!

Paddling the Cains

The mouth where the Cains and main southwest miramichi meet