Spring Fishing for Miramichi Striped Bass
The Miramichi River is an undisputed world class Atlantic salmon river. But in recent years, another fish species has gained significant attention - striped bass. While a traditional part of the river’s ecosystem, their numbers have grown dramatically particularly during the spawning season in early spring. In recent years, recreational fishing for Miramichi striped bass has grown significantly.
The Miramichi watershed is subdivided into three draining basins - the Northwest, Southwest, and Estuary basins. Although striped based can be found in all three basins, the Northwest is the predominant spawning area for striped bass and that is wherewe limited our fishing.
The Northwest Branch of the Miramichi River has been identified as a primary spawning location for the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence striped bass polulation. During a relatively short spring migration and spawning period, hundreds of thousands of striped bass move up the river tidal waters and possibly beyond. The increase in spawner abundance causes concern about their impact as predators of salmon fry while at the same time, attracting attention of anglers looking at them as a strong, aggressive fish target.
Canadian DFO Estimates of Northwest Miramichi Spawning Striped Bass
This past week was striped bass week for us; four and a bit days of fly fishing for bass. The Miramichi river is relatively shallow in the upper tidal zone where we fished. Tidal range during the time we were there was as much as 1.6m (5ft) per day. The two images illustrate the extent of the tidal range with just the tops of the rocks exposed early in the tidal outflow compared to their exposure at low tide. This influenced both the presence of fish as well as the ease of casting from nearshore.
As part of its management strategy the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) manages striped bass harvest on the Miramichi utilizing a slot size 50-65 cm (approximately 20-25.5 inches), 4 fish per day, 4 fish possession strategy for recreational fishing. Our approach is largely catch and release but we did retain a few fish for dinner.
DFO has the ability to control fishing activity during peak spawning periods, including full closure of the fishery for up to 10 days. In fact closure was announced our first full day on the water. Fortunately it was for a portion of the river way that did not include the fly fishing only section that became the focus of our attention (obviously).
A male striped bass within the Miramichi possession slot limit
We arrived late Monday afternoon. Since it was a nice evening, after dinner we headed out to a shore access location not far from where we were staying. The real fishing began the next day and we were able to fish four full days before heading home on Saturday.
For most of our time we had warm, sunny to cloudy weather conditions (this has not been the case in some of our previous trips). A front passed through the area Wednesday evening that seemed to disrupt fishing on Thursday which was a generally slower day. Friday, the sunny weather returned. Fishing the same general area but this time from a boat, we were able to move around in search of fish concentrations. This proved successful particularly on the falling tide through the afternoon. While numbers of fish were not as high as earlier in the week, we were consistently catching larger fish.
With the exception of one day when we fished from a boat, we fished from selected shore locations. It would have been possible to fish the river downstream of the spawning closure area but we chose to spend our time fishing upstream in the fly fishing only section of the river, mostly because indications were there were plenty of fish still in the area plus accessibility from shore was easier.
Timing and location were influenced by access as well as tide conditions. Overall fishing was steady as there were large numbers of fish throughout the river. As pods of fish moved through the river there were bursts of high energy activity coinciding with aggressive spawning activity visible at the surface with pods of fish churning the water as they drift downstream. During this events there seem to be larger numbers of hungry fish as well. One afternoon three of us were fighting fish at the same time and we had multiple doubles. This lasted for a couple hours.
There are a number of ways to approach the fishing but after a bit of experimentation, I used an 8wt rod. I have used a 7wt in the past but the flies we used can be heavy and the fish are aggressive when hooked so the extra beef was useful during the course of a full day of fishing. After some experimentation I settled on a floating line with an intermediate sink tip followed by 5-6 feet of tippet material. For most of the time I used 14lb tippet. The fish didn’t seem leader shy in the least.
For the most part I used an assortment of streamers and clouser minnows during the week. Larger sizes seem better but they are the ones that provide the reminder you have been casting for hours. Various flat wing streamers are popular, particularly sand eel variations. Darker variations (black and white) worked well, fished closer to the bottom. Larger baitfish patterns were fun when the aggressive feeding started. On those occasions, the fish would attack the streamer closer to the surface. I had some baitfish patterns tied by a friend, Evan Gillis for our trip last year and they came in handy this year too. Wish I had brought more!
Fishing for striped bass on the Miramichi River is popular for several reasons:
The river has a large population of striped bass, especially during their seasonal migrations, making it a productive fishing spot,
Striped bass are large and strong, providing a challenging fishing experience due to their vigorous fight when hooked, and
Access is good. There are many entry points along the Miramichi River, making it easy to find a good fishing spot whether you prefer fishing from shore, a boat, or by wading.
I have had the opportunity to fish the river on several occasions and hope to do it again.
A healthy striped bass
Watching a couple fishermen as we scope out a spot for next day’s fishing
