ATLANTIC SALMON FISHING BACKGROUND

I love Atlantic salmon fishing. I was introduced to the sport when my Father purchased in 1952 a small lodge on the Southwest Miramachi River called the We-Lovitt-Lodge at Carrols Crossing near Doaktown, New Brunswick. The caretaker of the lodge was Merle Lyons. Merle loved to fish and tied his own flies. I fished with my Father, Merle, my Uncle John Bartlett, and his son Nathaniel. Uncle John and Merle passed away and I was more interested in a business career. My Father sold the lodge in 1964 because it was not used.

This was a wonderful period where we flogged the water, caught a few salmon, had favorite fly patterns to which we were ever faithful. The truth is we didn't even know what we didn't know. Nevertheless we had a lot of fun. Happily, during this period the fish were not always aware of our deficiencies and we still caught some Atlantic salmon.

In 1998 I retired and made my first trip to the George River and stayed at the George River Lodge. I have been a regular customer for one or two weeks every year to the present. Atlantic salmon fishing on the George River, or any other Atlantic salmon River for that matter, is a challenge. So I started a log documenting such things as: time of day, weather, amount of light, fly pattern and size, water and air temperatures, and the number of fish raised, hooked, and landed.

In 2001 I began an Atlantic salmon relationship with the Matapedia River which continues to the present. I stay at the Hotel Motel Restigouche where the cuisine and accommodations are excellent. The Matapedia River is a South running river and has helped confirm strategies developed on the George.