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Some of our rivers are roaring so loudly this time of year that you can barely hear the person beside you speaking. Many of the iconic rocks and ledges that mark our favorite spots are completely submerged in violent, cold, white water.
Underneath all of it, wild salmon parr, smolt, and kelt are ready for spring. The weather is warming. New food sources are hatching. Waterways are opening. And soon everything (and everyone) will be on the move again.
It’s the first issue of Rivernotes 2025! After several “fool’s springs,” it’s safe to dream again. Anglers everywhere are planning their trips and hoping for strong salmon runs this season
Those lucky enough to be on the Miramichi River are enjoying the kelt fishery, which opened on Tuesday. Andrew Clarke, ASF’s Campaign Director, lives along the Miramichi in Boiestown. He was hearing from people on the river for opening day.
“I think there are some people that are kind of optimistic after yesterday’s opening day,” he said. “Some people got a fair amount of fish.”
Country Haven, on the lower Miramichi, reported a very strong opening day of spring salmon fishing.
For the rest of us, we’re just watching the rivers closely, and marveling at the rivers’ power to move massive amounts of ice.
ASF’s Tom Cheney, Director of Marketing and last year’s Rivernotes editor, was impressed with the changes along the Nashwaak River.
“We had an ice dam that went, and the river came up probably 6 feet in about 20 minutes,” he said. “I still have chunks of ice the size of small cars.”
We received a photo from the Restigouche where Luc Croussette passed an estimated 16-ft wall of ice along the river (see image below).
In this issue of Rivernotes, we have reports urging readers to review any updated regulations in their area, and to do their part to control invasive species in our waters. We have updates from Maine and Newfoundland on some infrastructure projects that will be seeing their first season this year, and some info on the upcoming fieldwork planned with ASF and its partners. But first, we look back on last year’s salmon season.
To kick off the season, we have a special contribution from ASF’s Nathan Wilbur, who addresses last year’s concerning returns in the Gulf region and how ASF is responding. Nathan writes:
“The 2024 season was disappointing across much of salmon country. While Atlantic salmon returns to North America have shown a generally stable or slightly increasing trend since the early 1990s, last year was tough. Labrador saw encouraging returns, but many other regions—particularly rivers flowing into the Gulf of St. Lawrence from eastern New Brunswick, northern Nova Scotia, Quebec, and western Newfoundland—experienced especially low grilse returns for a second consecutive year.
Compounding the problem were unusually prolonged low water conditions in many rivers, extending well into the spawning season. In a typical year, fall rains would raise river levels, allowing salmon to reach prime spawning habitats like headwater feeder streams. That didn’t happen in 2024 across much of eastern Canada and Maine.
Climate-driven changes in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and North Atlantic such as shifts in ocean temperature, reduced zooplankton productivity, lower energy density in capelin, and altered predator-prey dynamics are all impacting salmon survival at sea.
While two years of poor grilse returns don’t constitute a trend, ASF and our partners are treating the situation with urgency. We’ve been working closely with regional councils to investigate causes and explore potential solutions. Notably, the FQSA brought ASF and other experts together with the Quebec government to review the science and consider targeted interventions in the Gulf region.
In freshwater, we are working diligently to increase freshwater productivity—improving connectivity and safeguarding cold-water sources—to help buffer against climate impacts and ensure more healthy wild smolt make it to the ocean.”
In this report from New Brunswick, David Roth urges readers to keep informed and up-to-date on regulations and practices, and to mitigate invasive species.
With the opening of the Atlantic salmon fishing season for spring kelt on April 15th, local anglers and guests are once again enjoying time on rivers across the province. While the Miramichi was ice-free for opening day, sections of the Restigouche River remain covered in ice
As with every new season, it’s a good idea to review the updated fishing regulations to stay informed about any changes in your area. In particular, anglers should be aware of the growing threat posed by invasive zebra mussels. Boaters coming from the Wolastoq (Saint John) River system are urged to take extra precautions to help prevent the spread of this highly invasive species within the province.
ASF also reminds the fishing community that if a smallmouth bass is caught in the Miramichi River that it is mandatory to keep the fish, note the location and inform DFO about the catch (1-866-759-6600).
At the start of every season, it’s also worth looking back at the province’s catch and effort reports from the previous year. Despite generally unfavourable fishing conditions in 2024, last year’s Crown Reserve reports show that those who were in the right place at the right time still enjoyed very successful days on the water.
The results from the first-round draw for the 2025 Crown Reserve season clearly reflect the high anticipation among anglers, with most stretches already fully booked for the most favourable dates.
More details on the latest fishing regulations, catch reports, and measures to prevent the spread of zebra mussels are available here:
NB’s Fish 2025-2016 – Fishing Regulations Summary
Government of Canada’s 2025 Gulf Region Recreational Fisheries Notice
Catch and Effort – Yearly fishing statistics for individual Crown Reserve angling stretches”
We received two great submissions for the first issue of Rivernotes. We welcome stories and photos from your time on the water all season long.
“Another spring is upon us: longer daylight hours as well as typical off-again-on-again Newfoundland and Labrador spring weather—warm temperatures one day and back to weather warnings with snowfall the next. By all accounts snowfall amounts this winter have been low, making for drier than normal spring runoff into rivers and brooks. The Environment Canada weather station at Terra Nova National Park reported a historical record high temperature of 18.5C for April 13th. For the sake of wild Atlantic salmon let’s hope the remainder of spring brings rain and cool temperatures.
DFO reminds anglers that April 15th is the closure of the winter trout angling season for Zone 1 (Insular Newfoundland). Angling for trout in tidal waters is still permitted outside DFO caution signs. However, the daily bag limit applies. If you would like to have all “Notices to Anglers” for recreational fisheries including notices for the Atlantic salmon recreational fishery sent directly to you by email, please contact: miranda.pryor@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
DFO Inland Compliance and Resource Management Salmonid Workshops are being held over the next two weeks, starting this week for the Island in Gander and next week for Labrador in Happy-Valley Goose Bay. These workshops include presentations and updates from DFO Science and Fish and Fish Habitat protection branches. They also provide the opportunity for community stewardship groups, anglers and eNGO’s to network and share information about wild Atlantic salmon in their respective regions.
This will be the first operating season for the fishway on the Lomond River, as construction of the replacement fishway was completed late last season. Lomond River is a scheduled Atlantic salmon river located approximately 10 km west of Wiltondale and 2 km south of the Gros Morne National Park boundary. The new fishway consists of 25 pools and extends an overall travel distance of approximately 75 m.”
“Our Wild Salmon Watersheds program is getting ready for another field season, with preparations well underway by ASF and our WSW partners for deployment of smolt wheels to assess the total productivity of rivers. Last year, with the help from funding from DFO Aquatic Ecosystems Restoration Fund, Camp Fire Conservation Fund, FCAS, NSSA and others, we expanded our WSW field work with various river surveys, electrofishing and 2 smolt wheels. This year we are adding a third smolt wheel to the program, partnering with the Cheticamp River Salmon Association, deploying a wheel for the first time on the Cheticamp River in Cape Breton Highlands National Park. This is in addition to the smolt wheels that we will again be deploying on the Terra Nova River, NL (near the old mill) with FABEC and the Nepisiguit River, NB (near the Pumphouse) with NSA and Pabineau First Nation. We will also be adding more surveys later this year. Conditions are looking good at the moment, which bodes well for a great field season.
As we prepare for field season and start to get out of the office more, I am excited to be getting back into the field again. As a field biologist at heart, it rejuvenates me to get out on the river and figure out what is happening with our salmon and our rivers. Expanding our work to new places and in new ways is thrilling. This year, as part of our field work, we will also be looking at ways to increase our connection with locals and visitors to these rivers, sharing what we are doing and what we are learning. So, if you happen to be in the area, feel free to please stop by and chat with us. Also, keep an eye out for engagement activities and events.”
Nova Scotia Program Director Deirdre Green reports:
“The salmon community has experienced a profound loss with the passing of William “Bill” Carpan, also known as ‘Stillwater Slim.’ We referred to him as a ‘gentle giant,’ not simply because of his towering physical stature and limitless talents but his generous, warm nature. Bill was a true friend, mentor and advocate for Atlantic salmon and the St. Mary’s River. He will be greatly missed.
In 2025 Cape Breton Island received record snowfalls. Margaree Salmon Association director Greg Lovely comments, ‘Even with the rain and the occasional warm day, there is still lots of snow in the Cape Breton Highlands and even in the Margaree Valley. This should help with water levels and water temps this season.’
Deirdre continues:
“On mainland Nova Scotia, Habitat Biologist Charles Macinnis notes: ‘The positive news was that we didn’t have a big winter flood and some solid late moisture in late March and April. This week, trout fry have hatched out in the springs around our farm and I expect salmon will be a bit early as well.’
Like many affiliates, the St. Mary’s River Association (SMRA) is preparing for a busy field season. On the west branch between Harrison’s Pool and the Waternish Bridge, SMRA will tackle their largest habitat restoration project for the 2025 season. SMRA President Scott Beaver shares: It will be the first time our instream work will be completed in such a public location. There is significant material that has accumulated in this section of the river from poor conditions above. And while we have done significant habitat work to address the flow issues above this site, it is now time to tackle this run. Harrison’s is one of our important cold-water refuges and to ensure it remains, we will deepen and narrow the channel flowing into this pool with rock structures. We look forward to sharing more about this exciting project as it progresses.
In collaboration with the Antigonish Rivers Association (ARA) and Hooké we are excited to invite you to an inspiring evening at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish. Please be sure to purchase your tickets today as seats are limited. We look forward to seeing you on May 14th.”
Jeff Reardon, a Project Manager with ASF in Maine, provides a project update now that the snow has melted:
“With most of the snow melted, we got our first look at Henry Mitchell Brook in Temple, Maine, where ASF and partners restored an undersized, perched, and failing culvert on a town road. The old structure was a 9’ wide and 6’ tall metal culvert with no substrate that was perched more than a foot above the plunge pool on the downstream side. To make matters worse, during low flows all the stream’s flow was leaking under the culvert. This seepage was undermining the culvert and threatened to undermine the road during a large flood in December 2023.
Work to replace the culvert before it failed began years ago with discussions with the town Temple, funding from NOAA Fisheries through federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and review of the proposed replacement with partners at NOAA, US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Maine Departments of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and Bureau of Sea-Run Fisheries. Construction of the replacement, a 19’ wide by 8’ tall box culvert embedded with stream gravel, cobble, and boulders to simulate the size and slope and substrate of the upstream and downstream sections. Design and construction at the site were complicated by the stream’s steep slope, requiring six boulder weirs inside the culvert to maintain stream stability and fish passage.
Our first look at the culvert without ice shows what we were hoping for—an impassable culvert with no aquatic habitat replaced with a series of six pools and riffles. Our contractor observed brook trout swimming upstream through the site in late October, so the fish like it too!”
