Subscribe & stay up-to-date with ASF
It’s the final stretch of salmon angling season in many regions. With a few weeks to go, anglers are welcoming cooler nights and hoping for rain.
This week’s Rivernotes delivers lots of content. From Quebec, we get more statistics from the Grand Cascapédia and fishing success in Ungava. In Newfoundland and Labrador, it’s down to the very last days of regular salmon angling, with select rivers staying open a few more weeks. The ASF team in Maine is busting more dams to create fish passage and will also be at a cool event at Patagonia in Freeport. Angling remains slow in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, but some anglers are still hooking up—including with an incredible 28-pounder on the Miramichi.
Please get out there and squeeze in a little more time on the river this year! And let us know what you see.
Opportunity alert: are you interested in being Rivernotes editor for the 2025 season? As this year’s editor moves on to different responsibilities, the role will open up for next year. It’s a fun way to have your finger on the pulse of the salmon world and have your voice heard as well! Check out our request for proposals and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. The deadline to apply is November 15th.
Next week, Rivernotes will go live on Friday, instead of the usual Thursday publication.
Charles Cusson, Quebec Program Director, reports on angling conditions, July counts from the Cascapédia, as well as some good fishing in the Ungava region. See English text below. Charles writes:
“Les nuits plus fraiches étant la norme à ce stade de la saison contribueront à améliorer la situation du saumon, mais une autre fin de tempête tropicale provenant du golfe du Mexique ou au large de la Floride améliorerait grandement la situation. Pour l’instant, l’ouragan « Francine » d’après son tracé actuel, n’a pas l’intention de se rendre sur la côte Est-du-Québec et les maritimes pour donner un coup de pouce à nos rivières.
Cette semaine, la Société Sipuminu a publié ses statistiques du mois de juillet : « Le mois de juillet n’a pas été une bonne période et comme la saison dernière, nous observons une baisse d’abondance de madeleineaux et cette année les 2 ans de mer également », a déclaré Darlene Sexton. Cependant, les conditions de l’eau ont été très bonnes pour le décompte. 43 madeleineaux et 1 816 saumons ont été dénombrés pour un total de 1 859. 7 ombles de fontaine, 6 Truites Arc-en-ciel et 179 Bar Rayés furent également observés. Le décompte de mi-saison n’a pu être effectué en 2023 en raison des débits trop élevés.
Les rapports des rivières de l’Ungava semblent positifs. Pierre Vézina, saumonier de la région de Montréal, partage le fait que son groupe sur la rivière aux Feuilles la semaine dernière a eu un voyage fructueux malgré des conditions de vent difficiles. « Pendant 5 jours de pêche, notre groupe a relâché 40 saumons (sans compter ceux que nous avons perdus) le plus gros étant estimés à 22 lb et le reste en moyenne étant entre 10 et 12 lb. Les madeleineaux que nous avons pêchés étaient pesants ».
Si vous fréquentez nos rivières d’ici la fin de la saison au 30 septembre, veuillez svp nous partager vos succès, notamment avec des photos.
Tight Lines !”
“Cooler nights being the norm at this point in the season will help improve angling, but another tail end of a tropical storm originating from the Gulf of Mexico or off the coast of Florida would greatly improve the situation. For the moment, Hurricane “Francine”, according to its current track, does not intend to travel to the East Coast of Quebec and the Maritimes to give a boost to our rivers.
This week, the Sipuminu Society published its statistics for the month of July. “The month of July was not a good one, and like last season, we observed a drop in abundance of grilse and, this year, 2 sea winter fish as well,” said Darlene Sexton. However, the water conditions were very good for the in-river count. 43 grilse and 1,816 salmon were counted for a total of 1,859. 7 brook trout, 6 rainbow trout and 179 striped bass were also observed. The mid-season count could not be carried out in 2023 due to excessively high flow rates.
Reports from the Ungava rivers are positive. Pierre Vézina, Montreal area angler shared that his group last week on the Leaf River had particularly good angling despite having to deal with challenging wind conditions. “Over 5 days of angling, the group landed and released 40 salmon (plus all the ones we lost) with the biggest estimated at 22 lbs and the rest being in the 10-12 lb range. The grilse we landed were of the large and heavy variety.”
If you visit our rivers between now and the season end of September 30th, please share your successes with us, particularly with photos.
Tight lines!”
ASF’s Andrew Clarke squeezed in a last-minute trip to the Grand Cascapédia over the weekend. He writes:
“It was tough conditions with low water and wind, but we saw fish. More rain is needed to move fish around and hopefully bring more into the river. I saw a few fishers around, with spotty reports of fish being caught, however lots of fishing left until the end of September with the hope of more water.”
Kim Thompson, Newfoundland and Labrador Program Director, reminds readers that angling season is soon drawing to a close in the region. She also recently learned about the history of the Gander River boat and visited the Samonier Nature Park. Kim writes:
“The salmon angling season in Labrador closes on Sunday, September 15th, with fall catch and release angling in Newfoundland permitted on the Lower Humber River, Gander River, and Lower Exploits Rivers until October 7, 2024. This is a good time to take a few moments to remind ourselves and other anglers about handling fish with the utmost care. Visit Keep Fish Wet to learn more about using best practices to increase survival rates of fish.
There is always something to learn when in the company of elders and this is especially true when provided the good fortune to meet with Calvin Francis, Chief of Gander Bay Indian Band Council and Qalipu First Nation Councillor. It is a true pleasure and privilege to listen to Calvin’s remarkable experiences, stories, and knowledge about wild Atlantic salmon and angling in the Gander Bay area. Thank you, Calvin, for your time, unlimited energy, passion, and commitment.
My colleague Kris Hunter and I had the opportunity to drop into Salmonier Nature Park, a centre for environmental education, wildlife rehabilitation, research and environmental monitoring operated by the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture, Wildlife Division to talk all things wild Atlantic salmon with Michael Blackwood, Park Interpretation Technician. Salmonier Nature Park is located on Salmonier Line (Route 90) off the TCH on the Avalon Peninsula and provides experiences to encourage a better understanding of and contribute to a sustainable future for people, wildlife, and the environment on which they depend. The Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture, and the Friends of Salmonier Nature Park also offer an off-site outdoor education skills program for women entitled ‘Becoming an Outdoors Woman’ that was held this past weekend in Lewisporte with a fly-tying workshop offered by Paul White.”
As always, the ASF team in Maine is hard at work restoring passage for migratory fish species. Vice-President of U.S. Operations John Burrows reports on a recent project on the Sabbattus River. He writes:
“ASF recently completed the removal of the Mill Remnants Dam on the Sabattus River, which is the largest tributary of the Androscoggin River downstream of the Cities of Lewiston and Auburn. This is the third dam removal on the Sabattus over the last four years.
“The Sabattus is one of a handful of waters where the State of Maine began to actively restore alewives back in the early 1980’s following construction of the first fishway at the Brunswick Dam on the Androscoggin. Due to the lack of fish passage at all of the dams on the Sabattus and two other mainstem hydroelectric dams, the Maine Department of Marine Resources has been trucking alewives from Brunswick to Sabattus Pond since 1983.
There are three more dam removal and fish passage projects slated for the Sabattus in the next three years that are being led by the Maine Department of Marine Resources and Maine Rivers.
Once these projects are completed, alewives, American shad, American eel, and Atlantic salmon will have access to 2,429 acres of lake habitat and 75 miles of stream habitat in the Sabattus. The alewife population is expected to grow from approximately 100,000 fish to nearly 1,000,000 within a decade.
Maine Department of Marine Resources, Acadia Civil Works, Linkel Construction, Wyman & Simpson, Town of Sabattus, Maine Rivers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and NOAA Fisheries were key partners in the Mill Remnants Project. The project was largely funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”
On September 18, Ambassadors from Rivers for Change will be at the Patagonia outlet store in Freeport to speak about their epic ‘Source to Sea’ paddle on the Kennebec in July. ASF is a non-profit partner and will have a table at the event. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn more about this important conservation awareness project! More information (and RSVP) for “A Paddle Expedition Through Maine: Uniting the Sandy and Kennebec from Source to Sea” is available here.
Andy Goode, ASF’s Vice-President of U.S. Development, was recently on the Miramichi. He reports:
“The water was very low, so we were using size eight flies and long leaders. The river has since received an inch of rain over the weekend so anglers are hoping some fresh fall fish will come into the river. The water temperatures on the river have cooled down the past several weeks and should be fine the rest of the season. The big fall hookbill landed by ASF (U.S.) Director Kit Barrow (pictured below) was the biggest fish taken at Black Brook so far this season.”
ASF (U.S.) Director Andy Dumaine was on the Margaree River last week. He reports very low water and poor fishing conditions. Still, he had a terrific time with guide Robert Chiasson. Andy writes:
“I have been rotating my growing collection of rods, including several vintage bamboo rods, with each fly change, and learning about this beautiful place, which is new to me.”
