Country Haven Lodge Early Season Report

Fresh fish started to trickle in at the beginning of June and is slowly picking up with reports from around the river that things are off to a good start! Country Haven Miramichi’s first salmon of the summer season started this week with guests Max and Alan from England who managed to land a bright salmon on the first day of their trip! It was 11 years since Alan had last visited the Miramichi, and by complete coincidence, it was also 11 years since Ariel & Shy from New Jersey were here too and Ariel also managed to hook a beautiful bright salmon on the first day of her trip, our second of the season! Needless to say, there were plenty of smiles on their faces after landing a beautiful bright Atlantic Salmon! Alan and Max also managed to land a couple more bright beauties and also had a few that got away!

News from other anglers on the river was that they were having luck landing salmon below the Doaktown area and in Quarryville in the tidal water! As more anglers return to member clubs and outfitters and with more locals getting back on the river each day, we hope that there will be an uptick in the number of salmon being hooked and landed throughout the system!

In addition to salmon, anglers have also been hooking a decent number of brook trout in the main river in recent days which one can only hope is an indication that their population is rebounding after a significant decline in recent years. Perhaps with the cold weather snaps this spring, more were simply able to get by the large striped bass population whose predatory feeding seems to slow somewhat in colder weather.

With ideal conditions thus far in June, the 2023 summer Atlantic Salmon run seems like it has started off on the right foot. Syd Matchett, owner of Trout Brook Fly Shop, said that this past week has been good with news regarding decent numbers of salmon being landed on the Norwest Miramichi. The Northwest historically always fishes earlier than the Southwest so hopefully this bodes well for a good season ahead. With weather forecasts calling for cooler weather and light rain, the next few weeks on the Miramichi look promising for our early season anglers!

As the season kicks into high gear, please do check out our terrific local fly shops including Trout Brook Fly Shop, Curtis Miramichi Outfitters and W. W. Doaks … get geared up and head out to the river to enjoy some fly fishing and a chance to hook a fish of a lifetime! Here’s to a great summer season for all of our fly shops and fellow outfitters alike!