Miramichi River, Main Southwest River

While staying at Country Haven Lodge Henry and I were joined by James and Jonathan Paterson who drove up from New York to fish with us. James and Jonathan have fished all over the world with me, and I was looking forward to spending some time with them on the river bank,along with the harsh banter and ribbing that would take place as well! Jonathan had caught a lovely fish on arrival of about 22 lbs on a bomber, and risen another on the dry fly as well. James and Jonathan also chose to fish with their 14' 9# rods and actually found it remarkable easy to cast the bombers on them, so it just goes to show.

We left the lodge that morning by boat from directly in front of the lodge with Jeremy and Ken Vickers who would be our guides for the day. Jeremy and Ken are third generation guides on the river and have spent their whole lives fishing it, guiding on it, hunting on it and leading the life of a riverman. After a short run of maybe 15 minutes or so we arrived at Crawford pool, a lovely run that we would fish from both sides. On arrival fish were moving everywhere, and at one point I counted four jumping within 30 seconds. Needless to say that does not mean you are going to catch one, but it does mean there are fish in the pool in greater numbers meaning your chances of hooking a taking fish are very much increased. Today I followed the Patersons' example and fished with a two handed 14' 9# rod.

On the second run down James hooked a lively grilse of about 5 lbs that was particularly acrobatic on the dry fly, so honour was restored and Jonathan could not give him quite as much grief as before. Some fish had been jumping just above the rapids that we had been fishing below, and being the adventurous sort of character that I am.... ahem.... I decided to put a wet fly on and wade above and see what I could tempt. On the third cast I hooked a good fish that attacked the small green butt Black Bear as it came careering across the V of the pool above... but needless to say I failed to hang onto it. After the deep disappointment and the obvious vocal sympathies and abuse of those I were fishing with it was time to head back to the lodge for some fantastic home cooking.

Normally in the afternoon everyone takes a break, has a sleep or relaxes before going out again at about 4 pm. However all of us had developed a serious taste for the Canadian Coffee know as Tim Horton's. Henry had been mentally drinking their French Vanilla Cappuchino all morning, so as we were intending to visit the Miramichi Salmon Museum and Doak's Fishing Tackle in Doaktown we made a little expedition to appease the craving. I know it sounds daft, but it really is that good!

For the evening session we split up again, and Henry and I headed off to Shelley's pool with Jeremy. This time I insisted that Jeremy fish as well to increase our chances, and as anyone knows the best way to learn is to watch the guide fish his home water as they invariably catch something. This was to be no exception. Shelley's is a little further up river than Ted William's pool, but below the Orr pool. Having walked down the bank we were again greeted with a simply stunning piece of fly water. A lovely glassy stretch punctuated by some delicious looking riffles created by nicely space boulders producing some lovely lies. There was hardly a breath of wind and the evening was warm and calm. As I fished down Jeremy came in behind me and began fishing. He was throwing a long line at 45 degrees, but fishing with a small brown Bomber. The fly would fish for a couple of feet on the dead drift before he would pick it up, move down and recast all in the same movement. After no more than 10 casts there was a bulge out in the current, the rod shot up in the air as he struck, and the fish launched itself into the air. A lovely grilse of again about 5 lbs. He was quite dark and beginning to develop a kype, or "Hook Bill" as they call it over there.

I started fishing again, and fish were showing across the pool including a fish of 25 - 30lbs that tried to jump but could not lift its vast bulk out of the water and end up waking like a submarine. I persisted with the Bomber as I REALLY wanted to catch a fish on dry. It may not be as successful as wetfly, but it is incredibly exciting. Jeremy hooked another fish, a little large this time so I went down and played net man for him. At least Henry had something to take some piccies off as I was failing to produce the goods! Another fascinating day on this huge watershed, and time to head home for dinner. Barbecued steak tonight...

The Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada

The Miramichi is one of the largest Atlantic Salmon fishing systems in the world with huge numbers running the river. Henry and I left very early from Salmon Lodge on the Grand Cascepedia and drove the four hours south from Gaspe back down to Country Haven Lodge in New Brunswick. Country Haven is operated by Byron Coughlan and is located in Gray Rapids near Blackville on the South West Miramichi. From here his clients have access to huge areas of the Miramichi system. Much of the Miramichi is privately owned, and Byron owns 11 private pools, leases a few more and has access to some 25 in total throughout the system and on the tributaries. The main river itself although large is not daunting, and many of the tributaries such as the Cains, Renous, Little Southwest and Sevogle are a lovely size to fish. The Cains especially reminded me of some rivers I have fished in Scotland.

Although you can fish a standard 14' two handed rod and traditional methods the Miramichi is also world renown for dry fly fishing. It has the highest temperature of any Atlantic salmon river in the world and fish will regularly take in much higher water temperatures. This makes the fish very aggressive in hitting surface flies, and on the Miramichi the Bomber is king. Many of the locals fish with nothing else. They also tend to use a single handed rod, and this is certainly easier when dry fly fishing as it allows better line management and delicate presentation for fishing drys. The idea is to work down stream scatter casting as you go, and the key is to have no drag on the fly. This requires a lot of casting and at different lengths of line. Effectively the further you can cast the more water you can cover.

On arrival we were met by Byron Coughlan, the owner, and Axel Lerche. Axel emigrated from Germany and is one of the most enthusiastic fishermen I have had the privilege to work with. He is one of the directors of Salar enterprises, but more of that later. First, there was fishing to be done! We headed out immediately to a private pool called the Orr pool. Axel and I both fished for a few hours before lunch, and during this time Axel filled me in on some of the history of the surrounding area and the river itself. He also tutored me further on fishing the bomber on a larger river, and various tried and tested techniques that have proved successful here. The weather was bright, and even though we saw a number of fish nothing decided to latch on.

After lunch Axel had to head back to Bathurst for some meetings, so Henry and I fished with Pete Randall in the afternoon. Although Pete is semi retired now, it was a joy to fish with someone who has spent so much time on the river. Our destination, the fabled Ted William's Pool on the Main Southwest Miramichi. Ted William was a famous baseball player back in the day for the Boston Red Sox. Having fished the Miramichi he fell in love with it, bought a camp and spent many months fishing here. Pete Randall lives on the other side of the pool, so every morning he has his breakfast reading the water and watching the salmon as they moved on their journey up the system. To say he knew this pool well was an understatement...

The pool is idyllic, with lovely glassy water rolling over various large boulders creating obvious lies. I should clarify what these pools are like on the Miramichi, as many of them are sometimes 200 - 400 yards long, so there is plenty of fishing. To fish down it once takes at least an hour, so fishing down with a couple of patterns can take a big chunk of time, and a fish could hit at any time. The pool was positively boiling with salmon, and many were rolling and showing while I fished, constantly keeping me on edge. A fisherman on the other side hooked a lovely fish on a bomber, and I could see the take from where I had been sitting. Memorable.

I fished down with a bomber first, and had one roll on the fly but I was too late with the strike to set the hook properly. I then went down with a Green Machine (a very popular wet fly here) and lastly I fished down with a single wet fly called a Red Butt Black Bear on a size 8. As I drew down the last rock and was loosing the light completely the line stopped and slowly tightened. I lifted the rod and felt the thump, thump of a large salmon attached to me. My heart was in my mouth that finally I had hooked one, but before I had a chance to wind in the slack we parted company from one another. Arrrrgggggh! In retrospect I found out what I should have done was to strike the fish.... hard. In the slow water the take had been very light and I should have set the hook. Ah well, that's fishing! Time to head for home....

Fishing the Hitch

Again the morning greeted us with clear blue sky's and warmth of sun. A beautiful day, but perhaps not the best for salmon fishing. Our guide today was Bruno Lepage and he quickly took us off to our beat for the day, ASPB. After 15 minutes of bumping down the old logging roads the pool we would be starting with opened up below us. If someone had an opportunity to make a perfect salmon pool then this would have been it. From the neck to the tail the pool was about 300 yards in length, and again due to the crystal clear water many fish could be seen.

I fished down the pool and then up a number of times with the bomber, but failed to raise a fish. The blessing of fishing a river that is crystal clear is that you can see the fish you are covering. I have not discovered yet is if that is a blessing or a curse! As nothing had moved I switched to the two handed rod, a 13' 8# Hardy Angel and a Rio Power Spey line. Fly choice, time to use the hitched tube again....

The fly began to skate nicely across the ledges and almost immediately a fish moved up and hit it, but cam slightly short. I backed up a few yards, gave it a couple of minutes, and then put another relatively long cast. The fly popped up on the surface and came across like a little motor boat. There was a bulge and the line went tight, and as the salmon thrashed in the clear water it almost looked like it was floating in air.... and promptly came out of the water. The silver bar of maybe 10 pounds or so slewed across the pool before erupting into the air again... the line went slack, and fish and I parted company.... Henry gesticulated wildly at me and called me a muppet, being his usual supportive self.

As it was lunch time the trio moved up to another pool little higher up the beat. There was a covered picnic table on the bank, and Bruno began to lay out lunch. I have to say that lunch on the river at Camp Bonaventure is one of the best I have had. The guides lay out an incredible spread, and this plus a glass of wine has one feeling a little sleepy. However, there was work to be done. Unfortunately the wind got up in the afternoon making casting tricky, and the air temperature began to fall. The fish hugged the bottom, and very little action was seen in the afternoon. I raised one more fish on the bomber, but I failed to hook it and we headed home feeling a little battered and sore.

On arrival back at the lodge and having thanked Bruno we threw all the gear in the back of the truck and headed down the road as we were staying that night at Salmon Lodge on the Grand Cascapedia. Salmon Lodge is very different to Camp bonaventure as it is a one hundred year old lodge that overlooks the Grand Cascepedia River. The river itself is bigger than the Bonaventure, but not quite as clear. It has a slightly tea coloured tinge, but tends to have larger fish but maybe not quite as many. On arrival Henry and I were blown away with the view up the valley, and also the wonderful feel. It was somehow more intimate and full of old fishing memorabilia. Dinner was outstanding, and the staff could not have been kinder. Guest staying here fish both the Bonaventure and the Grand Cascepedia, and the beats are moved around. It is perfect for a smaller intact party or those who are looking for a lodge with tradition and character.

Atlantic salmon on the dry fly.

As usual the best laid plans always go aside, and a combination of jet lag and excitement found us both bouncing around at four in the morning thinking of the day ahead.... and then we found out that we had actually driven across a timeline last night and it was in fact three in the morning.. oh joy! Luckily we discovered how the coffee machine worked.

After a solid breakfast we headed out with our guide Jean-Marc Poirier. B3 beat was to be ours for the day. After a half an hour ride and a quick wander through the woods the sight that met us was stunning. The river winds its way through the trees and is absolutely crystal clear. What makes this river truly unique is the ability to catch Atlantic Salmon on dry fly. On inspection the first pool was holding somewhere in the region of 200 fish. How do I know? Because I could see each and every one of them... Jean-Marc explained the technique to me, and essentially we would be fishing dry flies, or giant Bombers to be exact, on the dead drift. My weapon of choice, an new Hardy Demon 9' 6# rod with matching demon reel and a floating line.. against fishing in the pool that were in excess of 30 lbs. This was going to be fun!

The early morning was a little grey and chilly, so the fish were hugging the bottom closely. I began at the bottom of the pool under Jean-Marc's tutelage, covering the area from in a small window in front of me directly across the stream. When Bomber fishing it is best not to cast directly upstream as you line too many fish, so the fly should land a foot in front of the fish. If there is no reaction after a couple of casts, then move up the pool slowly to the next. It took me a little while to master this as my immediate reaction was to start casting too far upstream.

I made one cast that alighted over the a pod of fish, and as usual I was thinking they would not react when suddenly a large fish of maybe mid twenties turned around and chased the bomber downstream trying to inhale the fly. A big swirl, a splash and no tightening as the fish had missed the fly.... or was that because I squealed like a girl and pulled the fly out of its mouth? Not sure, but it was incredibly exciting and the adrenalin was overcoming the sleep deprivation nicely!

I switched down a size from the small chicken on the end, and immediately a small grilse came and hit it like a rising trout on a chalkstream, and my first fishing on the Bonaventure river came to hand. Not a monster, but nevertheless a fish! I moved a few more fish but did not manage to hook any others, but by now the sun was breaking through the clouds and the air temperature was rising. I did try a down stream wet fly, but this was met with no reaction from the fish at all, and having seen the whole thing take place with a surface fly I really wanted to persist as it is breathtakingly exciting.

Jean-Marc produced the lunch cooler and as we sat eating hot chili cooked on the back while sipping a little red wine he explained further the theory behind their winning technique here. The pool must be fished systematically to find a fish that will rise. The size of fly is also important as the larger flies will often get them going to make them hit a smaller fly immediately afterwards. I fished the next pool down after lunch, and although again I had several fish come and look at the fly, one actually trying to eat it which I again with precise precision managed to extract the fly from its jaws at the right moment. Time flew by, and before I knew it tea time was approaching.

Our little group them moved down to a pool called Eleanor that due to it being a little way down the bank did not receive much pressure. Jean-Marc had been down earlier,and using his periscope had actually seen 20 or so fish in the pool. Very cool. The visual aspect of this fishing is staggering. First cast was met with a big swirl. Second cast saw a fish rise of the bottom and bulge under the fly. Third cast, a little further out, and I watched the fish move up in the water column, open its mouth, engulf the fly and descend as I set the hook. Trout fishing... for salmon!.... with a 6 weight. I nice little grilse of 5lbs or so. I immediately lost another at the hand.

As the sun came off the pool I switched to a hitched tube the skated nicely across the water. It was attacked immediately by a nice little salmon that gave me quite a battle on the 6 weight. The pool came alive, and nearly every cast was being met by some kind of reaction. The finale to the session was a large 20 - 30lb cock salmon that proceeded to attack the fly four times accompanied by ooohhss and aaahs from the bank. At this point I reeled up and we headed for home. I had experienced surface fishing for salmon like never before, and quite a baptism of fire. Can't wait for tomorrow!

Atlantic Salmon Fishing on Gaspé in Canada

Well, Henry Gilbey and I are once again on our autumn travels in an effort to find some new and exciting Atlantic salmon fishing for our clients. This seems to be becoming a regular event. After our trip to the Gaspé peninsular on the East Coast of Canada last year we had to return to experience more of this unique fishery. The allure of crystal clear rivers and large salmon has kept us going.

This year rather than fly through Montreal, wait for a while and then head up to Gaspé we took the new Canadian Affair flight that comes directly from Gatwick to Fredericton in New Brunswick via Halifax. The flight was really pretty good as it is six hours to Halifax and then a further thirty minutes on to Fredericton. The main reason for doing it this way is that after fishing on Gaspe we are moving on to the Miramichi in New Brunswick, so it made sense to be hire a car from there and do the long drive first.

A six hour drive moved us up along the Miramichi system, up to Bathurst and Campbellton, past the Restigouche river system and then up into Gaspé where immediately everything reverts back to French speaking. Henry and I just about managed to negotiate petrol and some directions with our school boy French. Finally we arrived at the Camp Bonaventure Lodge on the banks of the Bonaventure River. The lodge is relatively new, built in 1995 and very comfortable. After a brief orientation we hit the hay in an attempt to be fresh for the following day.