I spent the last 2 days driving from Toronto to New Brunswick and am finally settling into my Priceville office – cleverly disguised as my deck which has beautiful views of the Miramichi River valley.
The trip down here usually takes only one (very long) day of driving but this time I had the misfortune of getting caught in a late spring snow storm that forced me to overnight in Quebec. I slept in the next morning thinking I didn’t need to push it – only to realize I was near enough to Quebec City to get caught in the morning rush hour… Oh well.

Coming back to the Miramichi River is a trip I always look forward to regardless of whether it is during the fishing season or not. I have to admit that when I drive down there is something about crossing the Ontario/Quebec border that stirs my mind, but crossing the Quebec/New Brunswick border stirs my soul. As many of you know, my family’s roots are here and I own a small home overlooking the Miramichi valley which is on land that has been in my family since 1803. Although I am from North Bay in Northern Ontario I have always had a greater sense of ‘coming home’ when I have headed down east – and this trip is no different.

The first thing I do when I cross the border into New Brunswick is turn my watch ahead an hour because it is of course a different time zone. In my haste to get here this time I forgot to reset my watch and when I finally arrived at Iolaire – my home in Priceville that I inherited from the uncle whose name I carry – the weather cleared and the sun warmed the porch enough to allow me to sit outside. I sat down with a cup of tea, went on-line – and realized I had lost that valuable hour of work. I grumbled to myself for a moment as I reset my watch and as I did so, looked out over the river and thought to myself, “I just lost an hour, but every time I come here likely adds another year to my life…” The sense of history and tradition that permeate this valley and the people who live here are good for the soul – even moreso if you are lucky enough to fly fish.

If you have not visited the Miramichi River I highly recommend it – especially if you’re a work knob like me…

http://www.wilsonscamps.nb.ca/

For those who prefer to target more popular destinations, this post will not be of interest. However, if you are looking for new water to fish read on…

All but ignored by the greater angling community, Southwestern Ontario’s Nith River has its headwaters west of Conestogo Lake and runs through predominantly agricultural land to eventually empty into the Grand River in Paris Ontario. Largely a warm water fishery, the Nith has Smallmouth Bass, Pike, Rainbow Trout, Walleye, Brown Trout and Carp and some excellent pools that will give anglers an enjoyable day of fishing.

Although much of the Nith River flows through private lands, there are access points off Regional Side Roads with a number of pools nearby that are usually overlooked by the fly fishing community because of the proximity of Whiteman’s Creek. Please note that permission is required to enter private lands so if you are exploring the Nith River please help make the greater fishing community look good by only treading on land that you have been granted permission to access.

For details on the Nith River and other tributaries of the Grand River including flow, temperature and barometric pressure please go to http://www.grandriver.ca/index/document.cfm?Sec=2&Sub1=0&sub2=0

Whiteman’s Creek flows into the Grand River between Paris and Brantford through the 266 acre Apps Mill Nature Center property and it has a well-earned reputation as a high quality trout stream where you will find Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout and Brook Trout. One of the nicer things about this destination for fly fishers in the Greater Toronto Area is that it is only a 1 hour drive from Toronto via Highway 403.

Special regulations apply in portions of this stream where anglers must only use barbless hooks and there is a minimum size limit of 50 cm for all trout species. Fish Sanctuary regulations also apply to portions of this river. (Check Provincial Fishing Regulations for details and note that WILSON’S has a hatch chart for Whiteman’s Creek on the Hatch Chart section of our blog).

For more information on this destination please see http://www.grandriver.ca/index/document.cfm?Sec=3&Sub1=15&sub2=0

This is one of the access points on the upper reaches of the Eromosa River and I have to admit that when I saw it the first thing that came to mind was, “I gotta come back here to spend some time sooner rather than later.”

If you have a pontoon boat or canoe and an itch to do some exploring for Brook Trout you may want to consider putting the Upper Eromosa on your list of rivers to visit.

Nuff said.

I was out exploring some new water to fly fish on the Eromosa River yesterday and when I got up this morning to head to work I realized that I need a bit of water myself.

Man oh man.

Anyone have some soap and a bucket ?