River Report (August 04 – 11, 2013)

An underwater shot of an angler releasing an Atlantic salmon.
Our group of anglers from New Hampshire stayed on for the first half of the week. We were expecting Mr. Allwarden to join them but he had other obligations at home. They did a bit of fishing on their own on Sunday. In the morning Mr. McCartney and Mr. Phillips fished Roughwater and Mr. Roedel at McDonald. Fish were surfacing in Roughwater but not touching the fly. Mr. McCartney and Mr. Roedel went to McDonald later that afternoon. Mr. McCartney prefers a dry fly and was using the Aqua Blue Bomber when he hooked a twenty pound fish. Both anglers had a good time getting the fish to shore while just wearing running shoes.
We were very fortunate to receive rain showers on both Monday and Tuesday. The water level has been slowly rising from 53 ¼ inches on Monday to 56 ½ inches on Wednesday. The water temperature has also dropped slightly to 54 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mr. Bruce Patterson of Sunny Bank was invited by the group for breakfast and some fishing on Tuesday. Bruce started at the very top of the rapid in McDonald and covered the pool expertly with a number 8, Gourmet Special. A nice fourteen pound fish grabbed the fly and it was brought in for release. Mr. Phillips had fish come to the fly through the week but it was not until Tuesday morning that he actually kept a fish on. He and his guide, Gordon, were at Roughwater and tried many good flies, including a small Sunray Shadow and the Picasse. They decided to go with a larger number 4, double hook Sunray Shadow and immediately got a fourteen pound salmon. Mr. Phillips left after lunch on Tuesday to drive part of the way home. Mr. McCartney and Mr. Roedel departed on Wednesday morning at 4 o’clock.
The new team of anglers drove in on Wednesday evening in time for dinner. The day began on a good note on Thursday when Mr. Coulombe hooked his first salmon in Roughwater. He had it on for several minutes but it unfortunately came off. Meanwhile, Mr. Després was concentrating on Still Pool, which is holding a good number of fish. He is an experienced angler and soon had hooked a grilse on a Chocolate Humpback dry fly. After releasing it he changed to an Aqua Blue Bomber and got an eleven pound fish.
Although the latter part of the week was warmer, the water level is quite good and we are still receiving frequent showers. Mr. Zonda was at Roughwater on Thursday afternoon and hooked a nice fish on a number 4, Sunray Shadow. It fought incredibly but was brought in, measured and released. The salmon was 35 inches long and estimated to be seventeen pounds. Friday was a cloudy, humid day, with again a chance of showers for late in the day. Mr. Després was at McDonald with his guide, Lowell, and was fishing with the darker Blue Bomber. He soon had a nice fifteen pound salmon on and quickly reeled it in for release. The upriver beat has not been producing as well recently, but Mr. Coulombe managed to get a four pound grilse on Friday morning in Countess. It was taken on a number 6, single hook Undertaker. Mr. Després was very fortunate and got his second fish at Roughwater on Friday evening. It was a grilse and was taken on a single hook Silver Rat.
Saturday was a mixed bag of weather with dark clouds overhead and later in the morning the winds picked up considerably. With the change in the barometer and these stiff winds, nothing was caught during the day. Mr. Brisette, Mr. Després and Mr. Coulombe got up very early Sunday morning to give it a try but again very little response from the fish. After breakfast the three anglers finished packing and set off for the trip back home. 

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