New Brunswick fishing ??

[ROOK]

Greetings, road trip to N.B. first 2 weeks of Sept. Know that to fish salmon in the Miramichi you need a guide ( thinking of doing this for a day). Am wondering what other chances I can have on my own to fish out there, maybe for smallies in rivers or lakes ??? Will be in the southwest areas of the province. Will see if there is some sort of forums for fishing in N.B. as well... all input greatly appreciated !!!!!!!! Rook

[Gregoire]

There is a great musky fishery developing on the St. John River. If you make it close to to the bottom of the river there is also a striper run up there, not sure on the time of year.

[Old Ironmaker]

I visited family who have a vacation spot there on a long weekend about 10 years back. None of the folks I went with fished but a neighbour of theirs did. We struck up a conversation and he lent me a rod and reel and we walked to a spot not far from the cottage. We caught Smallies with anything we threw until I was tired of casting. The place is loaded with Smallmouth. No trophy fish but plenty of them. Good luck and have fun.

[Garnet]

I caught mackerel off the Pugwash pier last year, high tide and you use those 3 hooks with feathers and a egg sinker on bottom. Just a fresh water 6-6 stick worked best. There's a camera on the pier you can watch to see if anybody is fishing.

 

The Mirmachi has a big Stripe bass run it might be over now.

[craigdritchie]

Salmon fishing is interesting if you just want to get a feel for it and have the experience of having done it. But don't expect to go there and actually hook one. It's fly fishing only, and it's generally big water (a lot of fishing is from anchored boats). When it's really on, highly experienced guides on very good water (read $$$$) might see 2 or even 3 fish hooked in a week. Many people go and fish for a week without seeing a single fish,much less hooking one. Atlantic salmon fishing in the Maritimes is a lot of things, but it is not a numbers game.

 

The Miramichi River is not really in the southwest part of the province, it's more to the northeast, so from Saint John you'll be a couple hours' drive to where most of the salmon fishing takes place. Many of the rivers in the southwest are closed to fishing altogether because of extremely low salmon populations. They're kind of like the Atlantic runs here in Ontario, in that they count the fish on one hand. Sad, but that's just the way it is.

 

If you just want to stick a hook into something, then go fish for smallmouth. The Saint John River anywhere around Mactaquac is pretty much infested with them. Most will run 1 to 2 pounds, some will go 3 pounds or so, 4 is a really big fish. But you'll hook a ton of them, and early September is prime time. Fish them the same as you would here - topwaters, Husky Jerks, jigs. There are a few guys who guide in that area, so a Google search and you should find what you need.

 

Early September is a bit late in the year for stripers, but it's been a warm dry summer in the east so you could still find a couple hanging around. The population is recovering after years of collapse, so most fish only run 5 to 8 pounds. Still, they fight like crazy. Live bait works best (worm on the bottom, same as you would fish for walleye), or try large white jigs. It's not really sophisticated fishing. They like to come into river mouths, so key on those spots and fish when the tide is moving. It doesn't matter if it's moving in or out, just so long as you have current. Tide tables will be available everywhere, or just Google search. You can catch a lot of other species in the salt, by the way, mainly flounder and other bottom fish. It can be a lot of fun.

 

Feel free to PM if you want more info.