Doug's Email

“Doug... Always enjoy reading your report.. thanks.. I have attached a poem written by my sister in NS.

Lenora Stelle is an accomplished poet and playwright and although not into fly fishing, was compelled to write this for me after hearing my fishing tales.. You may wish to consider sharing this with your readers sometime. Again, thanks for the report. 

Dale Oderkirk, Sussex, NB...

Intellect vs Instinct
Of course there is the challenge,
man’s perfectdesire; intellect verses instinct,
the awkward and the elegant
But there is envy in it too,
weighted with rubbers and time,
man is clumsy here,
out of his element in the rushing river,
struggling for balance,
wrestling the mystery.
But the fish not aware of limitations,
oblivious to time and equilibrium is somehow aware of death,
as if he has smelled already the campfire,
as if he can taste cast iron,
and with one perfect enviable gesture,
turns the tide on man’s desire.

… Lenora Steele


Hi Doug. Just a little story thought might strike you as funny. I had my oldest son Stephen Miller / Syd Matchett’s grandson out for a fish this morning. On our second trip through the pool out of no where came a fawn on a wild tear as if something was chasing it. When it came into our view I spoke up quite loud thinking the deer would stop, but to my surprise the deer got to the bank of the river and leaped into the water no more than 20 feet in front of us.  I told Stephen to pull his line back as if he were to cast but let it land in the water behind him. Didn't think 8 pound test line would hold an animal of that size.  I have had deer come out close to me before but never did I have one jump in the river in front of me before. Thought maybe this would stir the fish up but not today.

We did see a salmon and a couple of grilse splash but no luck today.  Enjoy

…Greg Miller

 
Doug, Last Saturday when the first real abundance of fish hit the main S/W I watched a fairly good fisherman in the next pool upriver from us hook and play a 20 to 24 lb salmon. He was wading without a net so it took some time for his wife to get a net to him. As the fish got netted the photos began. That fish was out of the water between the net and both holding the fish for photos for at least 4 to 5 minutes. When finally released the watching  of the fish began for another 5 minutes as it struggled to get back to swim away.

Next morning on our shore at breakfast we watched 3 gulls and an eagle fight over something under our river bank. When I went down to see their breakfast it was a large salmon upside down, dead and partly torn apart by the birds.

I don’t know if it was the same fish but someone killed 50 to 100,000 eggs in this hen fish. Is it possible for you to emphasize to your many and wonderful readers the importance of releasing these fish quickly and efficiently to avoid this kind of disaster.

We in the MSA and ASF are doing everything possible to keep the Miramichi system sustainable and allow the fish to return as large adult fish. We are seeing the first glimmer of hope this year and last. Let’s not get careless, and start being responsible conservationists. I want my grandson to enjoy what I have experienced and even better. Thank you for your indulgence and keep up the great work on the newsletter.