Cast While They’re Running; Shoot While They’re Flying

And old saying we hear a lot in New Brunswick is “Make hay while the sun shines.” With such a range of climate – from summer heat to iced-over in winter – the Maritimes of Canada know how important it is to take advantage of optimum conditions.

Nothing could be more reflective of this than our just-concluded autumn season. While the lodge is now safely battened-down for winter, just weeks ago it was brimming with activity and already we’re planning for its triumphant opening in April.

September started us off with Al and Melissa Romans visiting from Tennessee. The Romans visited quite a bit of Eastern Canada, and actually found their way to New Brunswick via the train from Montreal. The water level was ideal during their stay, allowing them to fish home pool with great success each day.

We also entertained guests from Massachusetts, and even one from Japan!

The river had found its comfortable low fill and fishing was just getting ideal for the end of the season when Hurricane Kyle threw a wrench in things with days of torrential rain. Fortunately we were equipped with Spey rods, which originated in Scotland and are designed to have no back-cast. This is ideal for fishing from the banks, which our guests were eager to do, even though it was a bit soggy. In fact, a guest who visits from the United Kingdom debuted his Spey rod four years ago, proving once again that if you want to spot a trend, just look to the heart of the source … after all, Atlantic salmon fishing originated in Scotland.

October ushered in the peak of the wing shooting season, which is a popular activity alongside the fall run of salmon. Since the river was still high, a father/son group from Ohio sent to us from Frontiers Travel spent quite a bit of time hunting the elusive woodcock and grouse over pointers with our guide Jerry. Fortunately they had quite a bit of success in the woods, but one stood out on the river: Bryan landed a Cains river salmon on his 4 weight rod, the result of hard work and practice on his casting.

Katherine Hughes has returned to Alabama for the winter season, and in addition to making preparations for the Miramichi Black Rapids 2009 season, is helping out at sister-lodge Westervelt Lodge in Aliceville, Alabama. Look for Katherine at the Somerset Fly Fishing Show January 23-25, 2009, in Somerset, New Jersey, email, or call her at 205.562.5388.

Fall Arrives, And So Do The Salmon!

When we look across the river and see the leaves changing from their healthy summer green to vivid shades of red, orange, and yellow, we know fall has arrived. We welcome the clean, crisp air and know the river will soon be full of salmon and eagerly anticipate the challenge of the fall run.

Fly patterns are similar to the foliage colors we enjoy here in New Brunswick: orange, red and different shades of brown. (Get your #8- 10 Bombers and Shrimp patterns ready when you come to see us in the fall!)

If you’ve fished with us previously, you know we have some of the best low water pools on the Miramichi River. September traditionally produces our largest salmon of the season. In fact, over the past three years the Miramichi Black Rapids Lodge record Atlantic salmon has been landed in September. And it could be you this year!

Check out last year’s winner, Paul Smith, here, and if you’re up for the challenge of beating that record, give us a call. We have some space available and are ready to share the glory of the New Brunswick fall with you.

Increase In Numbers Gives Hope To All

Inspired art etchings over 20,000 years ago?
An international symbol representing “wild?”
Mentioned in the Magna Carta?

The answer is “yes,” and our friends at the Miramichi Salmon Association explain how few fish have attracted as much attention throughout the ages as the Atlantic salmon.
We all know Atlantic salmon numbers have been down for the past few years, but this year salmon and grilse returns are catching up quickly with the final numbers of last year’s total return.

If you are an avid Atlantic salmon angler this is the year to experience the “Salmo salar.” Miramichi Black Rapids Lodge is very excited about the fall run of salmon, and we want you to experience this invigorating angling opportunity.

Conveniently located on the banks of the Miramichi River in New Brunswick, anglers visiting Miramichi Black Rapids Lodge can literally wake up, strap on their waders and begin fishing. The lodge offers private bedrooms with private baths, incredible meals and professional guides. We have received a four star rating from the Canadian grading authority.

ASF Auction Winners

Bill Donald of Chatam, New Brunswick, used the private fishing waters auction item he won at the 2008 Atlantic Salmon Museum’s Spring Salmon Fling fundraising dinner on August 16 at Miramich Black Rapids Lodge.

MBR donated two rods over one day, fully-guided fishing trip on our private pools on the Miramichi River. Bill brought his friend, 2007 winner Bill MacKinnon, of Doaktown as his guest.
The morning of the 16th was one of the coolest we’ve had since the spring, and there was lots of fog on the river. While the water is higher than typical August levels, the salmon were still jumping. Daryll Curtis guided both men all day, and the weather turned out perfect as the day progressed.

”The fishing could not have been any better than it was today,” said Daryll, when they returned to the lodge for dinner that evening. They experienced the joy of salmon rolling all around them and spent the evening sharing fish tales with big smiles on their faces.

Limited space is still available for the legendary Atlantic salmon fall run on the Miramichi River. The Miramichi Black Rapids Lodge is well regarded as the finest low water salmon pools on the southwest Miramichi River. Fishing conditions for the 2008 season have been exceptional, and the fall run is setting up to be one that Atlantic salmon anglers will not want to miss.

For more information contact Westervelt Sporting Lodges 800-281-7991, or visit us on the web at www.miramichiblackrapids.com.

The Long Kiss Goodbye

From packing the same exact lunch for over fifty years to only using a black bear green butt fly, Atlantic salmon anglers have many traditions.

Paul Smith was fishing the home pool at Miramichi Black Rapids Lodge pretty hard last September. At about 8:40 a.m., he hooked a salmon and using his Hardy Swift 8 weight, 10-foot fly rod, Hardy Sirrus #3 salmon reel, and his trusty green machine fly. He landed the fish after a fifteen minute fight, aided by the excellent coaching of his guides.

Paul has been fishing salmon since he was a young boy, and it is his special tradition to kiss any salmon he hooks before he releases it.

Thanks for letting us share your tradition, Paul. And if you’ve got a special tradition of your own you’d like to share, send it our way!

Pool Etiquette

Picking the perfect fly, casting the perfect cast, and laying out the perfect amount of line is all part of the perfect process if you’re hoping to land a sacred Atlantic salmon.

And if you want to land a large Atlantic salmon, you also have to know how to work a pool properly. When fishing in a group, pool rotation is very important.

The Margaree Salmon Association makes the following pool etiquette recommendations:

When it becomes your turn, you will start at the upstream end of the group of anglers, and follow the group through the pool. While moving through the pool, it is the usual practice to take 2 casts and then take a step downstream. Be careful not to move too far out into the pool near the fish.

This may cause the fish to move away or cause them to be less likely to take a fly.
A dry fly may be cast up or downstream depending on your preference of presentation. Wet flies are cast downstream and across the current, usually on a 45 degree angle. Casting wet flies upstream increases the risk of foul hooking fish and causing unnecessary damage to the fish.

Pool rotation can be summed up very simply: Take your turn, cast, and move. When you arrive at a pool, and other anglers are there ahead of you, it will be expected that you wait your turn before entering the pool. A waiting area is usually obvious where waiting anglers gather until it is their turn.

At Miramichi Black Rapids Lodge, our guides organize and maintain a low angler to pool ratio in our private fishing pools. If casting in a relaxed environment on the cool, quiet Miramichi River, with top-notch accommodations right at the bank, appeals to you, give us a call. We have spots available for the fall run and are happy to confirm your booking.

A big "Thank You"

On behalf of all the staff at Miramichi Black Rapids, we want to thank all of our anglers who have made the season a success so far.

At the end of June we watched the Miramichi river raise as high as 3 meters. We watched her peak on Canada Day, making it almost impossible to fish for a few days. Despite the bad news, the providence reports of salmon fishing look promising so we are hoping for the best.

On July 8th the river was just about down to a decent height for wading in the rapids and we are set up to land a whale of a salmon. The weather has been ideal for the last several days and each day it warms up a little bit more. There is a small breeze during the day but it slows down nicely in the early evening.

The river should be in great condition for those fishing the Miramichi Classic. Good Luck to all the anglers who will be participating.

“A reel expert can tackle anything. But can you tackle this?”

This old "fish saying"” really hit home when we had a father-son combo here recently from Kansas. Dakota, a thirteen year-old angler, accompanied his father to fly fish for the first time ever, and was able to get some action out of a Miramichi Atlantic salmon.

The father-son trip was an opportunity of a lifetime for both Dakota and his father. They started it off with an adventurous canoe trip down the Miramichi River from Blackville to the banks of the river in front of the lodge. They fished hard each day, with the best action on the last evening.



We are getting geared up for the second half of the Atlantic salmon season. The salmon are coming up each day, and the only way you will get one is to get your line in the water. You do not want to miss out on the experience of a lifetime…so pull out your black bear green butt and give us a call!

They Come From All Over

Where are they coming from, and what are they catching?


May was a fun month at Miramichi Black Rapids Lodge. The water continued to drop as things started to bud out in bright green foliage.

We really enjoyed our new guests this month, who visited us from all over North America.

Paul, from Massachusetts, has been fishing with us for several years now and enjoyed his four-day stay. He caught and released two excellent adult salmon.

Two brothers from Maine got their feet wet fishing for Atlantic salmon for the first time. We had a couple from west Alabama who stopped through on their tour of the Atlantic provinces to fish for Atlantic salmon at Miramichi Black Rapids Lodge. It was nothing like fishing for largemouth bass, to which they’re accustomed, though they each caught and released several adult salmon. Along with Alabama, Maine, and Massachusetts we had a young couple from Florida who were full of energy.



As May wrapped up another group of clients from Alabama had some great luck with the sea run trout and other species that make their home in the Miramichi River. Lo and behold, on their last day they had bright salmon sighting.

As the guide said "It nearly jumped in the boat with us."

A dream (finally) come true

"It was a place I had dreamed about, thought about, and always wanted to fish -- the fabled Miramichi in New Brunswick. This was the Atlantic salmon river, the river where my boyhood baseball idol Ted Williams fished. Holy water!"


Nick Mills finally had a chance to fish the Miramichi this month. Read about his experience: http://outdoors.mainetoday.com/fishing/virtualangler/

How did you do today?

"How did you do today?" seemed to be the theme for the third week of fishing at Miramichi Black Rapids Lodge. The competition was pretty tight between Anne and Buzz, who have been fishing together for salmon versus the annual Abbondonza party, who were driven by their 2008 tally board.

Anne caught and released at least four adult salmon weighing over 20 pounds during her five day spring fishing trip. Buzz finished up with a really nice 40 inch adult salmon which was caught and released with help from his guide Allison Kelly.

The Abbondonza party kept a running tally for their whole trip. It was down to the very last day who would come out on top. We will leave it to them who really won, but to us at Miramichi Black Rapids they all walked away successful!

Spring Season So Far

Welcome to our first blog post. Things here at Miramichi Black Rapids Lodge have certainly gotten off to a bang, despite not having Mother Nature's cooperation when the season officially opened on April 15 ... the river was iced until April 18th, and flooded for 3 days on April 28 due to rain and snow run-off. With that said, the fishing conditions the past 10 days have been excellent.

Our first group, Alan Casson and Yannick Cartier, arrived on April 28 and were able to fish 2 out of their 3 booked days, doing pretty well with 11 salmon and 3 grilse caught and released while being guided by Allison Kelly and Darryl Curtis.

The second group arrived from Maine after spending some time in travel turmoil, but their spirits were high. That's a good thing because their party, arranged by Normand Fournier, caught and released 37 fish – 19 of those were adult salmon. They also caught and released 14 brook trout.

Buzz and Anne arrived on May 4 for their annual spring fishing trip. They've caught several brook trout in the 3-4 lb. range, and landed four salmon (and lost a few more!). Anne hooked and released two adult salmon on May 6, and one of them weighed 28 lbs! Buzz caught two grilse and a 4.5 lb. brookie!


Why is the fishing good in June?

• First run in June 10th – end of June are usually bigger salmon.


• Fish caught in June have not been in the river long- very fresh and take the fly eagerly!


• Water is cooler and the fish take better.


• Great brook trout runs- with fish .5lb to 7 lbs


• Good weather, cool water( 50 -60 F) = Perfect conditions

* With the right fly and a little luck, you might also land a striped bass!

Now that the snow is almost out of the woods and things are starting to green up it is a great time to be outside and on the Miramichi River. The river is dropping, the fish are starting to cooperate, so why would you want to miss this beautiful time of year?