Another salmon fishing season is winding down, and we are left wondering what happened to our grilse this year.  It is a real let down after the phenomenal runs of grilse last year.  The large salmon held their own, which bodes well for future runs.   Reports from Ireland indicate that the July/August grilse runs were pretty scant as well.

Quebec

By September, water levels were low on Quebec rivers, and the overall runs were down due to low grilse numbers.  However, there was good fishing for the larger salmon throughout the season. It¡¯s frustrating though to see that anglers still kill far too many salmon on some Quebec rivers.

On the Matapedia to September 6th, 1,148 fish had been landed (112 released), compared to 1,468 in 2008 (with 224 released). 

By September 5th, 981 fish had passed through the counting facility of the Mitis (621 salmon and 360 grilse), compared to 442 salmon and 945 grilse last year.  A total of 247 fish had been landed (53 salmon released, 72 killed and 122 grilse killed).  Last year 54 salmon and 337 grilse were killed on this river, with no releases reported.

On the Grand Cascapedia, during the in-river count (August 15 – 17) on the river¡¯s main stem, 1,512 fish were observed (1,387 salmon and 125 grilse).  In August, a total of 251 fish were landed, including 54 grilse, (223 were released and 28 were killed).  This is a voluntary live release rate of 89%.  Last August, 220, including 75 grilse were landed (189 were released and 31 killed for a release rate of 86%).  Angling continues to be good with many 30 pound plus salmon being caught and released.  The feeling among anglers and guides on the river is that the agreement with the Gesgapegiag Band to lift their nets at the mouth of the river has really helped.

On the Gaspe, on the Bonaventure River, as of September 6th, 983 fish had been caught (696 released and 287 killed), compared to 1,466 last year (687 released; 779 killed). 

On the Sainte-Anne, a total of 288 fish had been caught (214 released, 74 killed), compared to 379 in 2008 (192 released, 187 killed).  On the St-Jean, as of August 25^th, 170 fish had been caught (124 salmon released; 46 grilse killed).  On the Dartmouth, by August 24^th, 162 fish had been caught, (95 salmon released, 24 grilse killed).  On both the Sainte-Anne and the Dartmouth, there are many more unreported releases.  On the York, by September 1st, 586 fish had been landed (106 salmon released, 312 salmon killed, and 168 grilse killed).

As of September 3rd, 1,712 fish had gone through the counting facility on the Matane River (1,137 salmon; 575 grilse), compared to 2,738 last year (998 salmon and 1,740 grilse)   Anglers had caught 424 fish (254 salmon; 170 grilse), with no reported releases.  Last year, 912 fish had been caught (234 salmon and 678 grilse).

The numbers of fish are down considerably from last year on the Sainte-Marguerite, Saguenay region.  To September 1st,  95 fish had been caught (83 salmon released, 12 grilse killed).  To the same date last year, 116 salmon had been caught and released and 74 grilse killed.

Nova Scotia

Anglers are awaiting the fall runs on the Cheticamp, Margaree and Northumberland Strait rivers.   Water levels are generally good after settling to decent levels following tropical storm Danny.   A few bright fall fish have been spotted on the Margaree, Northeast Branch.  Fish are being seen in some rivers along the Northumberland Strait and there are reports of a few fish being angled in the West River in Antigonish, but no substantial numbers as yet.

Counts of both grilse and salmon to counting facilities on the Sackville and LaHave rivers show lower runs compared to last year.

New Brunswick

The Main Southwest Miramichi River reached its lowest levels of the year in mid-late August.  Warm weather caused an increase in water temperatures, resulting in a slowing of angling success throughout the system.  The water levels are the lowest of the season and many anglers are waiting for another raise to bring in the fall run. 

The number of fresh fish entering the system has dropped off significantly since mid-August.  DFO counts for salmon and grilse barely registered a change between the middle and end of August.  Of the counts that are available, the trend is still showing a good run of big salmon to the Main Southwest but a dramatic decrease in the grilse run over previous years, particularly 2008. 

Overall angling is slow.  However, a happy 15-year-old is reported to have broken a camp record at Wilson's Sporting Camps when he hooked and released a 51" hen, estimated at 40 pounds - his first Atlantic salmon - on August 31. 

Conditions on the Northwest Miramichi River have improved significantly over the past week with water temperatures cooling and water levels remaining low but fishable.   According to the DFO web-site, the number of salmon and grilse entering the Northwest dropped off dramatically between August 15 and August 31.  It appears that the early run is fully in the system.  We are now awaiting the arrival of the fresh fall run.  Salmon returns are strong, but grilse are down significantly.

Very few new fish are moving into the system and despite improved angling conditions in the past week, the fish are not taking well.  Angling remains slow but this could quickly change depending on how September unfolds with the arrival of the fall runs.

The Nepisiguit River counting facility is showing lower runs of both salmon and grilse.  Angling has been slow.  Rain is needed to bring the river up and to kick-start the fall run. 

On the Restigouche, the water is clear, but relatively low compared to most of the summer.  Late August¡¯s warmer weather pushed water temperatures into the 70s F. Currently they are in the 55 - 60¢ªF range. Upriver  pools hold good numbers of fish, predominantly salmon, with a few fresh ones being seen.  Most are awaiting a bump in water levels to continue their journeys. 

According to DFO, 400 MSW salmon have been counted at the Upsalquitch Protection Barrier which is a significant increase over previous year averages dating back to the mid-late 90's.  This is good news for egg deposition potential this fall. The grilse count of 500 is roughly on-par with previous year averages back to 2000 with the exception of 2007, a poor grilse year on this system, and 2008, a banner year (nearly double the 2009 tally for the same timeframe).

Newfoundland and Labrador

All counting fences in Labrador are showing a decrease in runs from the previous 5-year average, which is most concerning considering that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans allows a mixed stock fishery off the Labrador coast that killed 36 tonnes of salmon (about 10,000) last year.

On the Island, 5 of 11 counting facilities showed an increase in runs from the previous five year average.  The Exploits and Campbellton rivers and Rocky Brook in central Newfoundland, showed healthy increases, as did Middle Brook and Rocky River.  Fishing has been good on central Newfoundland rivers although high water hampered fishing on the Exploits and main stem Gander at the end of the season.  The Exploits had a record-breaking run of 37,000 fish.

On the Northern Peninsula, anglers reported few fish in the lower section of the Torrent and Big East rivers, and decent angling on the upper reaches of these rivers.  DFO¡¯s report to August 30 indicated a decrease in the Torrent run to 3,416 this year from the previous 5-year average of 4,664

On the Humber River in western Newfoundland, heavy rain has made for very high water and poor angling.  The lower Humber remains open for a fall catch and release fishery until October 07.  There have been reports of several 20 – 25 pound fish being hooked here. 

On the Avalon Peninsula, the late season angling on the Salmonier and North Harbour rivers was better than usual for the time of year and there were still fish in many of the pools.

In Northern Labrador, Flowers River had great water levels and temperatures for several weeks and angling was good.  Many large salmon are being caught and released on a regular basis.  Jim Burton owner of the Flowers River Lodge, a member of ASF¡¯s Live Release Rewards and Recognition Program, attributes the increase of large fish to his insistence that anglers practice total live release. 

There was good fishing on the Eagle River, and slow fishing on the Pinware.

Best wishes for good fishing to everyone who has a late season trip to look forward to.

                                                                                    Bill Taylor