Why would we do this?
Why put up a site with so much useful information for a NB Salmon angler?
First off I want to say that all the information contained in this site is free and we are not looking to make one red cent off of any of it. It all started in earnest about a year ago when I got interested in fishing for Atlantic Salmon, but the roots go back much further. I am originally from NB and grew up there fishing for brookies. When I bought my first boat I took up fishing for Landlock Salmon. I found them so much fun to catch and so exhilarating when they jump a half a dozen times before they come to hand. Well it was a natural extension to move on to the sea run variety. And since I was already into tying my own streamers for Landlocks I started tying Salmon flies.
Every one I asked about fishing the salmon rivers in NB said the same thing, “ Oh they’re all private water”, or “every where you go you’ll have to pay”. Well this is very discouraging to say the least for someone who is not only trying to get into a new sport but also having to find out where you allowed to fish and where your not. I want to state my opinion on ownership of waterways. It is my firm belief that any navigable waterway should be public domain, but unfortunately in NB this is not the case. The only benefit that I can see to this system is to limit the number of anglers to certain stretches of water. But any way the intent of this piece is not to debate riparian rights. So in my search for where I was allowed to fish I have had to send out a lot of emails and really pound the pavement to get all the info I wanted. A very helpful angler from Doaktown not only got a half dozen of his old DNRE maps photocopied for me he also invited me to fish on his leased section of the Main Southwest. And for that I owe him a debt of gratitude.
At first I was trying to get information out of DNRE and emailed a few people there. The official line was “ contact the Forest Service Office that is closest to where you intend to fish” So I did that only to be told that they didn’t have any more information on the location of Public Water in there area than did the main office in Fredericton. HMMMM sounds a little fishy to me, excuse the pun. Also the Fisheries Officer told me that it was not his jurisdiction anyway. He told me that if someone wanted to run you off of a section of river that they claimed as their own then they’d have to call the RCMP because it was a trespassing issue.
So I quickly found out that the best way to obtain copies of the old DNRE Maps was to contact other anglers who had them in their possession and work out a trade. Well I’ve managed to get my hands on most of them, except the one for the Sevogle river which I am still looking for and am starting to think that maybe there never was a map put out for that river. It is my intent to help out new anglers and maybe even get a few converts, and to save them having to go through as much work as I did to get into this noble sport.
I invite comments about this site or the above piece.
W.H. Gass