SALMON AND TROUT FISHING IN CANADA 



enabled me to save both fish and tackle, for, from the moment that he felt 

 the hook, he never paused in his mad rush till he had led us a chase of 

 over half a mile. 



The limitations of space prevent me from describing a number of other 

 experiences with Canadian salmon, and some of the big catches of the 

 far-famed Restigouche; a two-hour fight with a big foul-hooked fish; and 

 the sport of some of the Cascapedia fishermen in killing heavy fish by 

 moonlight on a large Silver Doctor or Silver Gray, the size of an enormous 

 grasshopper. 



Some of the New Brunswick salmon rivers, like those of Quebec, are 

 worthy of a chapter to themselves. The Restigouche Salmon Club pays the 

 government of that province over 1 1 ,000 dollars [£2,200] a year for portions 

 of the fishing on the New Brunswick side of the Restigouche River, and some 

 of the pools included in these leases are amongst the finest in America. The 

 Miramichi, the Tobique and the Nepisiguit are all magnificent salmon 

 streams, though the fish in the last-mentioned, which flows into the Bale 

 des Chaleurs at Bathurst, are not particularly large. The scenery is superb, 

 and the character of the different falls, below which the best of the fishing 

 is usually to be had, gives considerable life to the sport. A good deal of 

 the fishing in both the Miramichi and the Nepisiguit is under lease from 

 the government, but there is also considerable open fishing, and some to 

 be had from the owners, for portions of the season. Much of the fishing 

 in the south-west branch of the Miramichi is free, and information regard- 

 ing it can be had from the fishery department at Fredericton, N.B. Mr 

 John Mowatt, of Campbellton, owns certain salmon pools on the Resti- 

 gouche, which he leases to anglers by the day. Some of the fish taken 

 here are quite large. Fair salmon fishing can also be had by visiting 

 anglers on the Charlo River, which is easily reached from Campbellton. 

 The fishing in the Nepisiguit can be had on application to either Mr 

 Gilbert or Mr Henry Bishop, of Bathurst, N.B. The open salmon fishing in 

 the Labrador rivers in the province of Quebec has already been men- 

 tioned. The proprietor of Murphy's hotel at Gasp6 Basin, in the same 

 province, has also good salmon fishing for his guests in both the St John 

 and the York rivers. 



When salmon pools are too far away and the necessary leisure to reach 

 and fully enjoy them is wanting, I find the best substitute for salmon 

 fishing when I have set up my trout rod by the roaring rapids of the Grand 

 Discharge of Lake St John, and dropped my cast of flies upon the oily, 



z 169 



