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Atlantic Salmon Video

When Jeremy phoned and told me we had the opportunity to pursue the “king of game fish” on the Miramichi River in New Brunswick it seemed as if the world stopped for a moment. Not only would we be fly fishing for Atlantic Salmon, we would be doing it on the “mother of all salmon rivers” a river that hosts the largest runs of Atlantic Salmon in the world, with an annual return estimated at 50,000 fish. Base camp would be Wilson’s Sporting Camps, a lodge that is steeped in tradition and has been operating for nearly a century and a half. Our host, Keith Wilson is a fourth generation owner operator who has an intimate knowledge of the camp’s six miles of private water. Immediately upon arrival we took our first glimpse of the river and the two 28’ handmade cedar canoes that would be our ride for a few days. You could literally feel that this place was different than any other angling destination we had previously been to. We stood speechless on the riverbank it was totally surreal. The following morning Keith gave us a tour of the buildings, a great historical perspective of the camp and the anglers who have found respite there over the past 150 years. With all of the technological advances in fly fishing it was refreshing to be somewhere that so little has changed. The fish occupy the same runs they have since the beginning of time, the flies we swung were virtually the same patterns that were fished in the 1800’s and we felt a little out of place with our double handed rods, large arbor reels and synthetic clothing. We hooked well over forty fish during our five sessions on everything from the Green Machine to Bombers, the largest ones reminded me of Tarpon as they ran deep into our backing, leaping violently, shaking their heads and tail-walking across the expansive spring fed pools. One of the highlights

of this trip was Ernie, a third generation guide who has been guiding sports at Wilson’s for 33 years. You could tell he was tough as nails and probably scooped more Atlantic salmon into a net than anyone that had ever worked that river. Jeremy asked him “what is one tip you could give me about Atlantic Salmon fishing”? We were waiting for the wisdom to pour from this old sage, then Ernie paused briefly and in his Canadian accent exclaimed “keep your fly in the water” We all looked at each other and began to laugh, you can’t argue with that advice. I’ll never forget the hospitality of the Wilson family or Bonnie’s five star cuisine. I remember looking at an atlas years ago and tracing the line that represented the Miramichi with my finger, knowing that someday I would cast a fly into this fabled river, I just didn’t think it would happen this soon.