Rivernotes
Rivernotes July 23, 2026
Phil Monahan
July 23, 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 some great river reports, photos of beautiful salmon, and lots of conservation-project updates.
Charles Gaines (1942-2026)
We start off with some sad news, as well-known author, angler, and adventurer Charles Gaines passed away on Tuesday. A longtime supporter of ASF, Gaines was elected to the National Council in 2007, served as a Director from 2009-2011, and then remained on the National Council from 2012 until this year.
Many anglers know Gaines through his books and magazine articles—especially Atlantic Salmon Treasury: 75th Anniversary Edition and Leaper: The Wonderful World of Atlantic Salmon Fishing—but his remarkable life encompassed so much more. The Summer 2025 edition of the Atlantic Salmon Journal featured a profile of Gaines (“The Most Interesting Angler in the World”) by his nephew, Monte Burke, which is well worth your time. The Autumn issue of ASJ will contain more on Gaines's incredible life and legacy.
Salmon Fishing to Close on Several Rivers in Central Norway
Last week, citing low numbers of salmon returning to the Trøndelag and Nordmøre regions, the Norwegian Environment Agency announced that the Gaula, Orkla, and Verdalselva will be closed to fishing from August 1st.
"These three rivers are among the watercourses where it has been shown in retrospect that there has not been a harvestable surplus in the last two years, and where there appears to be too few salmon in the spawning grounds this year as well.
Without a harvestable surplus, fishing should not be allowed, and the very serious situation in these rivers actually indicates that fishing should have been stopped before August 1st."
(Click the link below and use your browser's "Translate" function.)
Angling Reports
A Miramichi Double
Reader Nick Whitters sent along an encouraging angling report from the Main Southwest Miramichi from July 19th:
"Fishing public water in the Blissfield area, Gracein Payne hooked her first-ever large salmon about five minutes into her first pass. After playing the fish for more than 10 minutes, she landed a beautiful salmon of approximately 15 pounds. The fish was bright and full of spunk."
"Two passes later, in the same spot, she tightened up again and brought another dandy salmon of about 10 pounds to hand. After just an hour and a half of fishing, she had reached her two-salmon limit!
With cold water pools re-opened and a good dump of rain over the weekend, angling conditions are certainly trending in the right direction!"
Gander Grilse
At last fall's Toronto Benfactor Dinner, ASF Director Susan McArthur was the successful bidder for two rods at Gander River Lodge generously donated by Matt Romkey. The river was cold, the water was coming down, and salmon were moving everywhere! Susan lost some big ones and landed a couple of fresh grilse.
Big Fish, Big Numbers North of the Arctic Circle
U.S. Chair Emeritus Chris Buckley sent in a report from a bucket-list river in northern Scandinavia:
"Perhaps the world's most famous—indeed, legendary—Atlantic salmon river is the Alta River in Norway. Its salmon are the largest in the world, with fish over 50 pounds taken every year. Only fly fishing is allowed after Midsummer Day in June, and international anglers are allowed to fish the river in the last week of June and the first two weeks of July. There are never more than 10 rods on the water at any one time during these weeks."
"This year, international anglers caught between 50 and 60 multi-sea-winter salmon in each of these weeks. The largest was 46 pounds, while 42- and 44-pound fish were also caught, as were many others over 30 pounds. Almost all salmon caught were released.
Northern Norway experienced heavy and prolonged periods of rain during this period, and the Alta ran very high. The water was literally in the bushes, and it was a challenge to fight fish in the heavy current and to find places to land them. However, the Alta runs clear even when it is high, and as the water warmed a little, the fish became aggressive. My impression is that the Alta run this year will be sizable, helped by the curtailment of netting in estuaries west of the Tana River (including the Alta's estuary) in an effort to bring the Tana's run back from a steep decline.
The Alta is very well managed by Alta Laksefiskeri Interessentskap (ALI), the syndicate of farm families that have pooled their riparian rights. ALI celebrated its 300th anniversary last year, making it more than 50 years older than the United States."
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador Program Director Kim Thompson shares fishing reports from across the province and highlights a homegrown business making a splash with anglers.
With the provincial fire ban lifted as of July 18, water levels dropping across central and western Newfoundland, and salmon returns showing encouraging signs, it appears that the peak of the angling season has arrived.
According to the Atlantic Salmon Fence and Fishway Counts released by DFO through July 19, salmon returns are looking more promising, a trend reflected in this week's reports from anglers across the province.
From Tony Chubbs of the Labrador Hunting and Fishing Association:
"Very early spring here in Goose, with normal spring water levels. A cool start to the summer with frequent rain, so water levels on the Kenamu River are still moderately high. I have inquired, but no one has cast a line yet this season. There's a good indication of lots of salmon in Lake Melville, though. I talked to two sport fishermen yesterday on the way to Eagle River Devil's Gap, and there's a good run of grilse there now."
Gord Follett reports from the Exploits River:
"Fishing is fairly good in the Bishop's Falls section, with several anglers releasing grilse, including one fish in the 70 cm range. Water levels are still on the high side."
Meanwhile, Paul M. White reports mixed results from southern Labrador and the Northern Peninsula:
"The Pinware River is in trouble. It is not what it used to be. At one time, you could hook at least one fish every day from June 15 to September 15, but not anymore. Many people experienced poor fishing on the Pinware during prime time, the first three weeks of July. The fish are not going in earlier, due to the spring thaw not leaving the river until the end of May, as always. Many anglers will not be back, as it is a physically demanding river to navigate, and this is now the fourth consecutive year that fishing has been spotty overall.
The Forteau River, however, along with the major rivers on the Great Northern Peninsula—Main Brook, Castors, Big East, Torrent, and River of Ponds—have all produced excellent fishing over the past month. Lots of cold water and frisky salmon action, especially on the Torrent and Main Brook.
Currently on the River of Ponds, fish are not taking the fly particularly well, due to the persistent northeast wind and resulting barometric pressure fluctuations. When this wind goes southwest in the next week, look out! It should make for excellent fishing from the headwaters right through to the saltwater.”
Made in Newfoundland and Labrador
Born and raised in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Isaac Batten and Rowan Meaney founded Seam Fishing in 2025 based on a lifelong passion for angling, a long childhood friendship and a belief that if something is broken, you should fix it.
Their story begins four years ago during an Atlantic-salmon fishing trip on the Great Northern Peninsula. On the final evening of the trip, after three days without seeing a single fish, Isaac finally hooked into a salmon. After a lengthy battle, all eyes were on Rowan to land the fish.
Instead, Rowan managed to knock the hook right out of its mouth with the net. Off swam the salmon—with no pictures, no videos, and zero proof of their one fish!
While that heartbreak wasn't the sole inspiration behind Seam Fishing, it certainly provided a compelling reason to design a better landing net. (Click here to watch a recent NTV profile of the pair and their business.)
Today, their aptly named "Dory" and "Punt" nets are designed and built in Newfoundland and Labrador for anglers who want quality equipment made close to home. Thanks, guys, for creating a high-quality product made right here!
New Brunswick
New Brunswick Program Director David Roth features on-the-ground work on the Kouchibouguac River and shares a great report from the Main Southwest Miramichi.
This week, I had the opportunity to visit one of ASF's 2026 Headwaters program funding recipients, the Greater Kouchibouguac Watershed Association (GKWA), following an invitation from Executive Director Mike Rushton.
I always enjoy visiting Mike and his crew. They are constantly working on practical, on-the-ground restoration projects, and it is inspiring to see the progress they have made while hearing about the work still to come.
One of the highlights of the visit was returning to one of the very first field sites I visited after joining ASF as New Brunswick Program Director in 2024. The site is the former Kouchibouguac Dam, where the ongoing dam-removal project continues to restore the river's natural connectivity. During my first visit, Mike and I discovered an illegal gill net set at the base of the dam, where the small openings beneath the structure had created an artificial bottleneck that made it easy to intercept fish as they entered the river. Once the dam is fully removed, the river will once again flow freely, restoring natural processes and improving habitat connectivity for fish and countless other aquatic species both upstream and downstream.
While we visited several restoration projects throughout the watershed, one site in particular stood out. The West Russell Brook restoration project, which has received support through ASF's Headwaters program, will reconnect an additional 6.4 kilometers of habitat in this tributary of the Kouchibouguac River.
Photos: David Roth
The site also serves as a striking example of the long-term consequences of an undersized culvert. After the culvert failed, large amounts of the road fill were washed downstream and deposited throughout the channel. As shown in the photos above, water now disappears beneath this deposited material during parts of the year, creating a complete barrier to fish passage. Restoring this crossing will once again provide fish with access to valuable upstream habitat while improving the stream's natural function for years to come.
Country Haven guide Axel Lerche sent in a couple photos and a very positive report from the Miramichi:
"Fishing has improved significantly throughout the lower sections of the Main Southwest Miramichi. A strong run of fresh grilse has been moving in, and certain pools on the MSW Miramichi are now holding both large salmon and grilse. Most of these fish appear to be fresh from the tide, creating excellent fishing opportunities."
"Several anglers enjoyed outstanding success over the past week, with Country Haven guests reaching their daily limit. These encouraging results align with the increasing numbers of Atlantic salmon being recorded in the DFO trap net on the tidal waters of the MSW Miramichi, pointing to a strong and promising summer run.
Things look much better than a few weeks ago. . . ."
Maine
The team from ASF Maine is working diligently with partners to improve fish passage in the Penobscot watershed.
Project Manager Cat Morse and Josie Cornell, this year's Jed Wright Fellow, were on site at Stinking Brook in Brownville, Maine, this week in preparation for construction of a new bridge to replace a failed culvert and allow for better fish passage. Construction should be completed in a few weeks.
Photos: Cat Morse
Together with Maine Department of Marine Resources, the group electrofished the site and evacuated a couple dozen smolt, two nice parr, a couple brook trout, and other minnows from the project site. It is encouraging to see juvenile salmon thriving in these cold, headwater streams just off the mainstem of the Pleasant River, where redds are routinely documented. With the completion of the Stinking Brook crossing replacement, these fish will have access to even more headwaters habitat.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia Program Director Matt Russell provides an update on some cool drone work on the Margaree.
The Margaree has been in a good state so far this season. Thanks to nighttime temperatures regularly dropping well below 20 degrees and the occasional cool day, water temperatures have remained low. Due to a lack of heavy rain, this last week saw water levels dropping, but with any luck that is set to change. Water levels will hopefully be on the rise soon, as all forecasts are calling for heavy rain across Nova Scotia in the second half of this week. If the forecasts are right, we should be in for a great weekend of angling in the Highlands!
ASF staff from our Wild Salmon Watersheds, research, and regional programs teams have been busy this week in the Margaree. With assistance from the Margaree Salmon Association, we are conducting drone flights of much of the river, mapping priority salmon habitat and geological conditions. For more information regarding this work please see the Wild Salmon Watersheds update in next week's Rivernotes.
Québec
La directrice de programme pour le Québec, Caroline Côté, dresse le portrait d’une femme passionnée par la pêche à la mouche et la photographie des habitats du saumon atlantique. Elle fait également le point sur d’importants travaux de remplacement de ponceaux sur la rivière Petite Cascapédia.
Reconnection de près de 20 km d’habitat aquatique
L’un des prochains projets financés par le programme Headwaters de l'Atlantic Salmon Federation est maintenant en cours sur un affluent de la Petite Cascapédia.
Après plusieurs années d'inventaires réalisés par l'Association des gestionnaires des habitats aquatiques de la rivière Matapédia et du lac Matapédia (AGHAMW), le Conseil de l'eau Gaspésie Sud (CEGS), les Gardiens du territoire et leurs partenaires, les travaux passent maintenant de la planification à l'action.
La correction de deux ponceaux sous-dimensionnés (voir la photo ci-dessous) permettra de rétablir la libre circulation des poissons et de redonner accès à près de 20 kilomètres d'habitats en amont pour le saumon atlantique, l'omble de fontaine, l'anguille d'Amérique et d'autres espèces migratrices.
Le temps de regarder
Dans sa jeunesse, les saumons faisaient partie du paysage gaspésien en général, mais pas vraiment du quotidien de Nicole Boutin. Les meilleurs secteurs appartenaient encore aux clubs. Plus tard, elle aimait entendre son beau-frère et ses frères raconter leurs histoires de pêche chaque printemps. À l'automne, les cannes cédaient naturellement la place aux carabines.
« Je ne pensais pas vraiment que c'était pour moi. »
À l'approche de la retraite, Nicole et son conjoint, Claudel Francoeur, se sont lancés un nouveau projet. Claudel retrouvait une passion qu'il avait mise de côté. Nicole, elle, découvrait enfin le saumon.
Elle a suivi des cours, appris le Spey à deux mains et rencontré une communauté de pêcheurs toujours prête à partager un conseil ou une mouche.
Aujourd'hui, ils parcourent les rivières gaspésiennes. Mais ils ne passent pas toute leur journée à lancer.
« On ne pêche pas tout le temps. On prend le temps de regarder. »
Photos : Nicole Boutin & Claudel Francoeur
Photographes depuis bien avant de devenir pêcheurs de saumon, ils profitent des moments plus calmes pour marcher les berges, attendre la lumière du matin, photographier la brume, les papillons, les traces d'orignal ou les agates polies par le courant.
Au fil des saisons, Nicole a aussi vu les habitudes changer. Les combats sont plus courts. Les filets à mailles sans nœuds ont remplacé les anciens modèles. Les photos se prennent maintenant avec le saumon dans l'eau.
Nicole et Claudel participent aux rencontres de leurs ZEC et prennent le temps de ramasser les déchets qu'ils croisent.
En 2024, au Longue Pool de la Grande-Rivière, ils ont filmé un bar rayé nageant tranquillement parmi un groupe de saumons de l'Atlantique, adoptant presque le même comportement qu'eux dans la fosse.
Et demain matin? Ils seront de retour sur une rivière gaspésienne, curieux de voir ce que celle-ci leur réserve.
Québec (English)
Québec Program Director Caroline Côté profiles a woman who loves fly fishing and photographing Atlantic salmon habitat, plus details on important culvert work on the Petite Cascapédia River.
Taking the Time to Look
Growing up in Gaspésie, Atlantic salmon were always part of Nicole Boutin's landscape, but not really part of her everyday life. The best water still belonged to the clubs. Later on, she loved listening to her brothers and brother-in-law tell stories about their spring salmon trips. By fall, fly rods naturally gave way to hunting season.
"I never really thought it was for me."
As retirement approached, Nicole and her husband, Claudel Francoeur, took on a new project. Claudel was returning to a passion he had set aside, and Nicole was finally discovering Atlantic salmon fishing for herself.
She took casting courses, learned two-handed Spey casting, and found a community of anglers always willing to share advice or a fly. These days, they fish many of Gaspesie's salmon rivers.
Over the years, Nicole has watched salmon fishing evolve. Fights are shorter. Knotless nets have become the standard. Salmon stay in the water for photos. Nicole and Claudel also take part in meetings of their local ZECs.
"We don't fish all the time. We take time to look."
Long before they became salmon anglers, they were passionate photographers. Between runs through a pool, they walk the riverbanks, wait for the morning light, and photograph mist, butterflies, moose tracks, agates, and whatever else the river decides to show them. (See the slideshow above.)
In 2024, at Longue Pool on the Grande-Rivière, they filmed a striped bass quietly holding among a group of Atlantic salmon, behaving much like the salmon in the pool.
Reconnecting Nearly 20 km of Habitat
One of the next projects funded through the Atlantic Salmon Federation's Headwaters Program is now underway on a tributary of the Petite Cascapédia River.
Following several years of habitat inventories and assessments by the Association des gestionnaires des habitats aquatiques de la rivière Matapédia et du lac Matapédia (AGHAMW), the Conseil de l'eau Gaspésie Sud (CEGS), Indigenous Guardians, and project partners, restoration work is now moving from planning to action. Correcting two undersized, perched culverts (see photo above) will restore fish passage and reopen nearly 20 kilometres of upstream habitat for Atlantic salmon, brook trout, American eel, and other native migratory fish.
Wild Salmon Watersheds
Jordan Condon, ASF Wild Salmon Watersheds Science Coordinator, details an electrofishing project on the Margaree, along with partners from the MSA.
ASF Aquatic technician Kate Gingles and I spent last week assisting the Margaree Salmon Association (MSA) with electrofishing surveys throughout the watershed. We covered seven sites, including several index sites that were resurveyed as part of our ongoing monitoring efforts.
Water conditions on the Margaree were much more favourable this year compared to the previous two years. Regular rainfall and cooler nighttime temperatures helped maintain ideal water temperatures between 12 and 16°C, creating excellent conditions for our surveys. While the data will be compiled once all identified sites have been surveyed this field season, the preliminary results were encouraging. Despite suspected lower adult returns last year, there was still evidence of successful spawning throughout the watershed, and juvenile densities were positive.
On paper, electrofishing may seem like a straightforward task, but it involves long days of carrying equipment, setting up barrier nets, and working with a dedicated team. As always, it was an enjoyable experience working alongside the MSA crew.
Research and Environment
ASF's Research team highlights an important new study of striped bass in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
New Partnership Study on Striped Bass
The Gulf of St. Lawrence is a biodiversity hotspot, home to commercial species and to two iconic recreational fish: Atlantic salmon and striped bass.
Striped bass once spawned in three Canadian rivers. Only two populations remain, and the southern Gulf group spawns in the Miramichi, arriving each spring in huge numbers, timed with the salmon, gaspereau, and smelt runs. Although striped bass and salmon have shared these rivers for millennia, recent changes in striped bass abundance have raised important questions about predator-prey relationships and how the ecosystem is changing. Researchers are working to better understand these interactions and what they may mean for salmon.
With support from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, this year Prof. Robert Lennox of Dalhousie University started a three-year project to track striped bass in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Using acoustic tags to track striped-bass movement and behaviour, they are planning an effort at a scale that has been rarely attempted to rapidly advance our understanding of striped-bass ecology in our rivers. Partners across Atlantic Canada—Gespe'gewa'gi Institute of Natural Understanding (GINU), Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq (CMM), Mi’kmaq Confederacy of PEI (MCPEI), Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources (UINR), Souris and Area Branch of the PEI Wildlife Federation (SAB), Greater Kouchibouguac Watershed Association (GKWA), and the Margaree Salmon Association (MSA)—have joined the effort. Catching and tagging striped bass and deploying acoustic receivers allow us to listen for the tagged bass in rivers, estuaries, and throughout the Gulf. The effort is also supported by the Atlantic Salmon Federation, the Nova Scotia Salmon Association (NSSA), and fishers throughout Atlantic Canada. The specific questions driving this project include:
1. How much do striped bass move from river to river?
2. How long do striped bass remain in rivers and estuaries throughout the year?
3. How often do striped bass move from feeding areas to spawning grounds?
4. How much do striped bass overlap with other migratory fishes in different river systems?
Captured fish carry a small yellow tag with a six-year battery life. If you catch one and harvest it, please let us know. If you release it, a photo of the tag helps us trace where that fish has been. If you find a tag, please contact Robert Lennox (Robert.Lennox@Dal.Ca).
ASF research is partnering on this work by keeping our receivers in the river later and sitting at the coordination table. This project will provide information that will help shape how we manage both species together. Data will flow through the network of partners, and we'll be watching closely for what it tells us about species interactions, how the interactions are evolving, and what could be done to inform salmon recovery.
