A Tale of Two Rivers

I first fished the Margaree River for Atlantic salmon in 1975. This wonderful river’s sport fishery had declined to an annual catch of about 100 “fall fish”, salmon that enter the river to spawn in autumn.

Shortly thereafter a program was undertaken to restore the fishery. In recent years salmon enter the Margaree as early as June and the annual angling catch has been as high as 2500.The salmon angling season is June 1- Oct 31, five months. The river now attracts anglers from all over the world, supporting this small watershed community.

I first fished the St. Mary’s River for Atlantic salmon in 1975. The season was May 1 – Sept 7, beginning with large 3-sea-year salmon, then 8-12 lb salmon in June, followed by runs of grilse all summer. Annual angling catches reached 2500 in the mid-1980s. As many as 500 anglers fished the St. Mary’s River each day, including anglers from all over the world, making a significant contribution to the economy and culture of this small watershed community. Elderly anglers were respected for their knowledge and skill, and each evening the “old-timers” gathered at the Waternish Bridge Pool to enjoy fishing and to socialize.

In recent years the St, Mary’s River’s salmon season has been reduced to six weeks in duration, catch-and-release only. First Nations fishers have agreed to no allotment of salmon due to declining salmon numbers. The sport fishery has lost much of its economic, social and cultural benefit to the watershed community. There is no salmon season on the West Branch this year due to low DFO assessments in 2007, and one rarely encounters an elderly or youthful angler on the river.

It seems to me that we should consider restoring the St. Mary’s River fishery, starting with an examination of the Margaree River’s highly successful program. What do you think?

Atlantic Salmon Wet Flies

In the 1960s and 70s a wet fly called Ingall’s Butterfly was the most popular Miramichi River wet salmon fly. It was a new design, with a divided wing made from white goat hair, making it highly visible and giving the fly a pulsating, lifelike action. Since then it has been widely used on the St. Mary’s and other Nova Scotia Rivers. Many variations of the fly have been successful. This is the original pattern:

Butterfly

Hook –             Wet fly hook such as Mustad 3399A or Tiemco TMC7999 in sizes 2 - 12

Thread –           Black

Tag -                 Fine flat silver tinsel, 2 - 3 turns

Tail -                 Red hackle fibres

Body –              Peacock herl

Wing -               Divided wing of white goat body hair.

Hackle -            Brown cock neck or saddle hackle – 1 wrap behind the wings, 2 wraps in front.

Head -               Black thread finished with 2 coats of glossy head cement

Variations include addition of bright fluorescent butts and alternate wing materials such as calf body, or calf tail dyed various colours.