Rivernotes, Uncategorized
Rivernotes July 16, 2026
Phil Monahan
July 16, 2026
Editor's Note
by Phil Monahan, ASF Managing Editor
Welcome to Rivernotes, our weekly roundup of Atlantic salmon news and information from Québec, Atlantic Canada, Maine, and more.
Reminder: The row of buttons you see above will help you find exactly what you're looking for. Simply click a button and be whisked directly to the section you want to read first.
This week, we have more river reports, including great photos, as well as conservation updates and news about river restrictions and closures due to high water temperatures and/or low water.
Escapee Effects on Wild Salmon
Providing further evidence of how salmon that escape from open net-pen operations threaten wild stocks, an article published yesterday by Oceanographic magazine describes a recent study that found more than one-third of wild Atlantic salmon in Irish rivers carry genetics from farmed fish:
“Ireland’s Atlantic salmon populations represent a unique and irreplaceable 15,000-year legacy from the last Ice Age,” said Professor Philip McGinnity of UCC, who led the research. “Any fundamental change to the genetic makeup of these populations could seriously hamper their capacity to evolve and adapt to future challenges, including those associated with global warming.”
A Blast from the Past
Outdoor Life recently posted a great 1965 story, “The Bulls of St. Mary’s,” by Ralph Tuttle. According to the subtitle, the St. Mary's was Tuttle's favorite river, and the St. Mary's River Association website features some information and photos that confirm this. Here's a snippet of the OL story to whet your appetite:
"Then on the twelfth cast, up he comes, splashes water over the fly, half drowning it, but not taking it. A misrise. I let the fly continue its partly submerged float before lifting it off the water. If I strike and rip the fly off the water when he hasn’t taken it, he may get scared and not show again. I false cast for about half a minute to dry the fly off, then I set it down above him again. His dorsal fin breaks the surface just after the fly goes past him. I lift it off the water, false cast half a dozen more times, then set it down again. He comes up in a slow roll, mouth open, and goes down—he and my pretty Cosseboom. I set the hook and feel solid resistance."
Angling Reports
A Week on the Grand Cascapédia
Christopher Minkoff, who serves on the organizing committee for the ASF Montréal Spring Banquet, shared a report from a trip to the Gaspé:
"I fished three days with friends from July 2-4, and we landed four fish in the hot and humid weather. On Saturday we had some rain, which made the main river rise 3 inches, and, as anticipated, it slowed the fishing."
"On July 4th, my good friend David joined me with his grandson, Noah, and my older son, Alexander. We had three terrific days of fishing, with cooler weather and ideal water levels. Noah caught and released his first large Atlantic salmon, which was a staggering 22 pounds."
"We had an amazing day in sector E1 of the Salmon Branch with our guide, Todd. We hooked into seven fish! In the Back Up Pool in the afternoon, David and I landed fish on dry flies, and Noah hooked into three fish within 15 minutes! It was a wonderful trip. We all can’t wait until next year!"
A Milestone
ASF U.S. director Tracey Clarke sent in a great photo of ASF member Louis Catalano with his first ever salmon, landed while fishing out of Two Brooks Camp on the Upsalquitch River in New Brunswick.
The Grand Tour
Artist and ASF U.S. director CD Clarke sent in a batch of wonderful photos and a brief report from a recent trip to several rivers:
“Tracey and I are back from a fantastic month in salmon country, where we fished the Bonaventure, Petite Cascapédia, Grand Cascapédia, York, Moisie, and Upsalquich. We brought back memories of great times fishing with friends, epic battles with salar and eight new paintings. The returns of salmon are definitely much stronger this year which is a sign of hope for everyone who loves wild Atlantic salmon.”
Check out the slideshow below.
Québec
Jordan Condon, coordonnateur scientifique des bassins versants du saumon sauvage à la FSA, raconte un superbe voyage sur la Matapédia, et Caroline Côté, directrice du programme Québec, met en lumière les travaux de restauration sur la Petit-Saguenay.
Trois jours sur la Matapédia
Par Jordan Condon
J'ai eu l'immense plaisir de pêcher le secteur public 3 de la Matapédia pendant trois jours avec mon bon ami Chad Sanderson. Le débit était élevé — autour de 75 m³/s — et certains pêcheurs disaient qu'il était près de deux fois plus haut qu'ils ne l'auraient souhaité. Pour notre part, nous avons vraiment apprécié pêcher dans ce genre d'eau.
Étant de l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard, et après les deux dernières saisons en Nouvelle-Écosse, c'était une bénédiction de pouvoir lancer des mouches à la Spey dans un débit aussi soutenu.
Le séjour avait bien commencé avec le grilse capturé par Chad le premier matin. Ensuite, l'action s'est faite plus discrète. Le deuxième jour, j'ai fait bouger — puis manqué — un beau poisson à Heppell, et pendant un moment, je me suis dit que ce serait probablement toute l'action du voyage.
Puis, lors du dernier passage du troisième jour, Chad a piqué un magnifique saumon à la queue d'une fosse. Le poisson a décidé que nous n'avions pas encore assez marché et nous a entraînés dans une belle course vers l'aval.
Après un superbe combat, Chad a finalement capturé le saumon avant de le remettre à l'eau.
J'étais vraiment heureux pour lui, même si cela voulait dire qu'il avait pris les deux poissons du voyage.
La prochaine fois, ce sera à mon tour d'en piquer un… et à Chad de courir derrière. Chacun son tour.
Petit-Saguenay : de la connaissance à la restaurationSur la rivière Petit-Saguenay, un projet financé par le programme Headwaters de l'Atlantic Salmon Federation en 2024-2025, sous l'impulsion de Charles Cusson et Nathan Wilbur, a permis d'identifier les priorités de restauration dans les secteurs amont du bassin versant.
Réalisé en collaboration avec l'Association de la rivière Petit-Saguenay, la Fédération québécoise pour le saumon atlantique (FQSA) et le ministère de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs (MELCCFP), le projet a permis de mieux documenter les habitats de fraie, les secteurs d'élevage des tacons ainsi que la connectivité des habitats. Les connaissances acquises ont directement orienté les travaux de restauration actuellement en cours (2026-2027) dans les secteurs amont touchés par les anciennes activités forestières et la drave, afin d'améliorer les habitats de fraie et de croissance des jeunes saumons.
« Avec nos partenaires, nous poursuivons nos efforts pour aider la rivière Petit-Saguenay à retrouver sa vigueur d'autrefois », souligne Bastien Gaudreault, directeur général de l'Association de la rivière Petit-Saguenay.
Pour Christophe Jourdain-Bonneau, biologiste à la FQSA, les prochaines étapes de restauration continuent d'être guidées par des besoins clairement documentés et des bases scientifiques solides.
Québec (English)
Jordan Condon, ASF Wild Salmon Watersheds Science Coordinator, details a great trip to the Matapédia, and Québec program director Caroline Côté highlights restoration work on the Petit-Saguenay.
Three Days on the Matapédia
By Jordan Condon
I had the absolute pleasure of fishing public sector 3 on the Matapédia for three days with my good friend Chad Sanderson. Water levels were high—around 75 m³/s—and some anglers were saying the water was twice as high as they would have liked, but we thoroughly enjoyed fishing that kind of water.
I'm from Prince Edward Island, and after the past two seasons in Nova Scotia, it felt like a blessing to swing flies with Spey rods in strong, healthy flow.
The trip started well, with Chad landing a grilse on the first morning. After that, things slowed down. On the second day, I moved—and missed—a nice fish at Heppell, and for a while it looked like that might be all the excitement we'd get.
Then, on the final pass of the third day, Chad hooked a beautiful salmon near the tail of a pool. (See the photo above.) The fish decided we hadn't walked enough and took us on a good run downstream. After a great fight, Chad brought the salmon to hand before we watched it swim away strong. I was happy for him, even if it meant he'd landed both fish of the trip.
Next time it'll be my turn to hook one—and Chad's turn to do the running. Fair's fair.
Petit-Saguenay: From Knowledge to Restoration
On the Petit-Saguenay River, work funded through the Atlantic Salmon Federation's Headwaters program in 2024–2025—under the leadership of Charles Cusson and Nathan Wilbur—helped identify restoration priorities in the upper watershed.
Working with the Petit-Saguenay River Association, the Fédération québécoise pour le saumon atlantique (FQSA) and Québec's Ministry of the Environment (MELCCFP), partners documented spawning habitat, juvenile rearing areas, and habitat connectivity. The knowledge gained has directly informed the restoration work now underway in upstream reaches affected by historic forestry activities and log driving, helping to improve spawning and juvenile salmon habitat.
"Working with our partners, we continue our efforts to help the Petit-Saguenay River regain its former strength," says Bastien Gaudreault, General Manager of the Petit-Saguenay River Association.
According to Christophe Jourdain-Bonneau, biologist with the FQSA, the next phase of restoration continues to be guided by documented habitat needs and sound science.
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador Program Director Kim Thompson describes the increased fire danger in Labrador, as well as some important new angling restrictions and river closures.
Thus far it has been another unpredictable summer season, with variable weather patterns. Due to consistent hot and dry weather, there are active wildfires in Labrador, while many regions of the island of Newfoundland are experiencing higher than normal precipitation, which—I am duly reminded by elder Calvin Francis—is certainly good for the salmon but challenging for anglers.
With 23 active wildfires and elevated Fire Weather Index ratings, a fire ban is in effect until July 17, 2026 for the entire province. Anglers who may be travelling through forest land on an all-terrain or motorized vehicle must have the vehicle fitted with a muffler and a screening or baffling device to prevent sparks or particles of burnt carbon from escaping. Vehicles must also be equipped with a fire extinguisher containing a minimum of 225 grams of ABC-class fire retardant.
For more information regarding the fire ban, contact your local Forest Management District Office. Violating a fire ban can result in minimum penalties of $50,000.
New Angling Restrictions
DFO advises anglers that—due to extremely high water temperatures and/or low water levels—some rivers in Salmon Fishing Areas 6, 7, and 9 will be restricted to morning angling only, effective one hour after sunset on July 14, 2026. (See the notice here.)
Morning angling is from one hour before sunrise to 10:00 a.m. each day, and angling is prohibited from 10:01 a.m. to one hour before sunrise on the following day.
In Salmon Fishing Area 9, the Salmonier River, including Back River below the falls, is closed to all angling until further notice.
Notices to Anglers are available online in the Fishery Notices section of the DFO Newfoundland and Labrador Region webpage. If you would like to have all Notices to Anglers sent to you directly by email, please contact: NLPRI@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
Carly McLennon, a recent graduate of the Fish and Wildlife Program at the College of the North Atlantic who now works for the Freshwater Alexander Bays Ecosystem Corporation (FABEC), makes the most of her time off on the rivers in central Newfoundland. Congratulations, Carly, on your graduation, and we are so grateful for all that you do on the Terra Nova River as part of the Wild Salmon Watersheds project.
New Brunswick
New Brunswick Program Director David Roth catches us up on some news from our tracking studies on the Northwest Miramichi and the partners who have been monitoring for returning fish from 2024 through 2026. We also have several catch reports from the Miramichi that we missed over the past few weeks, along with some of the latest successful outings.
After I submitted last week's Rivernotes, the good fishing continued. On the final day of our regular Crown Reserve trip, I was fortunate enough to land another salmon and a grilse during the morning session, reaching my daily catch limit. My angling partners also continued to enjoy success, and after I headed back home, reports of additional fish being caught kept coming in over the following days. It was particularly encouraging to see more grilse beginning to appear in the catch reports, as well.
Tracking Results
From the Miramichi, I received several interesting updates from our automatic Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) array, which has been monitoring returning adults from the fish we tagged as smolts. The monitoring is led by ASF in collaboration with the Canadian Rivers Institute at the University of New Brunswick, the Miramichi Salmon Association, and Anqotum Resource Management, and uses some equipment contributed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
First and foremost, the team is pleased to report that the array has been operating continuously without any downtime since it was installed on June 4. Since then, it has detected fish from both our 2024 and 2025 tagging efforts. In addition, we have received recapture reports from the commercial striped-bass fishery, where bycatch Atlantic salmon are being scanned for PIT tags to further increase our detection opportunities.
Unfortunately, the array has also detected PIT tags that were implanted in smolt during the 2026 season, but were returning upriver only weeks later. The most likely explanation is that these smolt were consumed by striped bass, with the PIT tags remaining in the predator's stomach and being detected as the bass migrated upstream. While disappointing, these observations are not new. Similar findings have been documented by our research team in previous studies using acoustic telemetry, and the PIT array appears to be telling the same story using a different tagging technology.
I want to end this week's notes with a beautiful fish from the end of June that I have not yet shared. It was caught on the Southwest Miramichi by wildlife cinematographer Nick Hawkins—a frequent ASF collaborator—during his annual salmon-fishing trip.
Maine
The team from ASF Maine shared an update on their ongoing work to identify thermal refuges for salmon.
Sometimes the fish tell you all you need to know. ASF Maine Project Manager Jeff Reardon and 2026 Jed Wright Fellow Josie Cornell were placing temperature data loggers this week at a site that was rumored to be a cold-water refuge pool for salmon in Maine’s Sandy River. As they were scouting for the best place to put the logger, two adult salmon slowly swam into view in the deepest part of the pool. As Jeff approached to take a temperature reading, the fish circled a bit, but pretty quickly returned to the same spot.
The water was about 6 feet deep. Fortunately Jeff is 6’3” and was just able to keep his head above water after he stripped down and waded in. The data logger was deployed by snorkel and will record water temps for the next year. It will soon be joined by about 25 more to document suspected cold-water refuge areas, collect background temps throughout the Sandy and mainstem Kennebec, and provide some baseline data on temperatures in the Kennebec prior to dam removals.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia Program Director Matt Russell says that so far the 2026 salmon season has been a big improvement over recent years, and the forecast for coming weeks is good. He also reminds anglers of a planned river closure.
So far, the 2026 salmon season has been a real improvement over the last two years. Water temperatures have remained rather cool, and water levels are consistently above that of the last two years. As a result, the Margaree River has been busy!
I was fortunate enough to spend last weekend on the Margaree pursuing salmon. While I was unable to land one, it was still a great trip and I was able to reconnect with so many friends on the water. The Nova Scotia salmon-angling community is a kind and close group, with its fair share of characters and local legends. It’s impossible to guarantee angling success anywhere—especially on the Margaree, as it is often considered a tough river to master—but one outcome I can guarantee from a salmon trip to the Margaree is that you will always leave the river with a couple new friends and few dozen more photos on your camera.
As for the forecast, things look pretty good over the next week. We are expecting to see a fair bit of rain, which is needed as water levels are getting a bit low, and some cooler temperatures, which will hopefully allow for a long and fruitful season.
As anglers spend more time on rivers, we ask that you do what you can to minimize impacts on salmon and stay as informed on local conditions as possible. I was very pleased to see how prevalent river thermometers have become on our rivers, just another way salmon anglers are demonstrating their commitments to conservation and following best catch-and-release practices.
River Closure Alert
A reminder to all anglers that as of the midnight on July 14, the North River is closed to all salmon angling until September 1, when it reopens to salmon angling downstream of the areas known as "the benches."
Wild Salmon Watersheds
Kris Hunter, Regional Director for Wild Salmon Watersheds, details a tagging project that aims to help us understand the unique behavior of salmon in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Last week, I was in Newfoundland and Labrador working with our Wild Salmon Watersheds partners Freshwater Alexander Bays Ecosystem Corporation (FABEC) to tag returning adults. The life cycle of salmon in Newfoundland and Labrador includes a somewhat unique aspect in that they will use lakes and ponds as habitat for holding, rearing, and possibly even for spawning. We wanted to investigate this further, so we could deteremine how important this habitat is to salmon. Knowing this would enable us to improve our productivity models to get a more accurate picture of what needs to be conserved, protected, and/or restored.
To figure this out, we went to Big Falls on the Terra Nova to collect some returning adults and fit them with acoustic tags. Acoustic receivers deployed in the lakes and ponds upstream will then detect these fish and help us figure what areas they are using and when. Tagging will continue throughout the summer and into the fall—depending, of course, on water temperature—but we got off to a great start last week, tagging 17 of the 50 or so adults we want to tag.
Research and Environment
ASF's Research team reminds everyone to be on the lookout for acoustic receivers that may have washed up on shore or gotten caught in gear. We also learn about efforts to study post-smolt as they travel through the Strait of Belle Isle.
Missing Receivers Alert
Each year, ASF research deploys acoustic receivers across key rivers, estuaries, and marine environments. These units listen for acoustically tagged Atlantic salmon as they migrate, detecting the unique code each tagged fish carries every time it swims past a receiver.
The data builds a map of movement: when fish leave freshwater, how long they linger in estuaries, which routes they take at sea. That map is what lets us pinpoint bottlenecks, identify high mortality in a specific reach, and target actions to where they can actually change survival.
Receivers sometimes wash up on shore or get caught in gear. If you find one, please contact Ellen Mansfield at emansfield@asf.ca. Every unit returned keeps precious data intact, and that data is what turns tracking into conservation action.
Chaque année, l’équipe de recherche d’ASF déploie des bornes acoustiques dans les principales rivières, estuaires et milieux marins. Ces appareils captent le passage des saumons atlantiques marqués acoustiquement, en détectant le code unique que chaque poisson porte à chaque fois qu'il passe à proximité.
Ces données permettent de dresser une carte des déplacements: quand les poissons quittent l'eau douce, combien de temps ils séjournent dans les estuaires, quelles routes ils empruntent en mer. Cette carte nous permet de cibler les goulots d'étranglement, les zones de forte mortalité, et de concentrer nos actions là où elles ont un réel impact sur la survie.
Il arrive que des bornes s'échouent sur la rive ou se retrouvent prises dans des engins de pêche ou autres. Si vous en trouvez un, contactez Ellen Mansfield at emansfield@asf.ca. Chaque appareil récupéré permet de préserver des données précieuses, et ce sont ces données qui transforment le suivi en actions de conservation.
Unravelling the Gulf of St. Lawrence Journey
Almost every post-smolt that crosses the Gulf of St Lawrence on its way to the open North Atlantic will pass through the Strait of Belle Isle receiver line. We have decades of data on this transition from river to ocean, but we have almost nothing on how the fish look, physiologically speaking, when they exit the Gulf.
Between July 1st and July 10th, ASF biologist Heather Perry and ASF data scientist Karl Phillips worked the Strait of Belle Isle, fishing to intercept wild post-smolts at ocean entry with special surface trawl nets. ASF and other organizations have tried capturing post-smolts in the Strait of Belle Isle before, with passive and active fishing methods, leveraging data collected over years of acoustic smolt tracking to hone our efforts to when smolts from the southern Gulf are predicted to pass the Strait.
Despite this information, catching post-smolts is not an easy task; it is looking for a small fish in the ocean, in an area where currents are challenging and the wind can be capricious. But we studied previous projects and improved every aspect we could.
They were in good hands with our boat captain, Chester Davis, and the crew he recruited—Jonathan Walsh and Carl Hederson—whose committed efforts facilitated smooth and safe operation of the nets and navigation of the conditions in the Strait. Still, the post-smolts evaded our net all five days that we towed across the Strait. We already know that this year’s smolt run was less than substantial, which may be traced back to poor adult returns in 2023, and we eagerly await this fall when acoustic receivers can be downloaded to confirm how our efforts aligned with the timing of smolt passage.
We will not be discouraged just yet by the hard chase, as we continue to identify feasible modifications with each attempt, and the potential information to be gained is invaluable. We hope next year will be more successful, as fish caught would allow us to measure or sample fork length, weight, gill tissue, blood, stomach contents, scales, otoliths, and gonads—which will be sent to partner labs for genetic, microbiome, fatty acid, stable isotope, and immunity analysis. This will the first physiological baseline ever established for wild post-smolts after their travel in the Gulf.
Here is why it matters for action, not just knowledge. The marine phase is where we lose the most fish and have the least ability to intervene. A baseline changes that.
Once we know what a healthy post-smolt looks like on entry, any future year that comes back showing poor condition, immune stress, or altered feeding tells us that the ocean is the problem before the river returns confirm it years later. That is the difference between reacting to and catching a warning signal early enough to act on it, in freshwater management, in marine policy, or in where we direct the next round of sampling.
A small, carefully authorized take now provides the information that protects the much larger number of fish still coming behind it. This is the ocean side of that chain, and we will continue to work hard on it. There has been a lot of learning this year, even if the smolt were not caught yet!
