PEI has five Salmon rivers, the Mill, Trout, Dunk, West and the Morell with both Summer and Fall runs of Atlantic Salmon. The Morell hosts the largest run and has been my "home river" for many years,, it is also the river i guide the most and know it well. Atlantic Salmon generally start entering the Morell in early June and the run peaks around the first week of July. This summer run is comprised of a first wave of large MSW fish followed closely by the main Grilse run. This run will start to slow down in mid to late July and very few fish will ascend from then on. These fish will remain in holding pools but the majority will ascend to leards Pond where they mill about until spawning urges send them in search of natal spawning beds higher up. The wild fish will start to move in around mid-September and will continue throughout until Halloween night,, which is the close of the Salmon season on the Morell as well as the other four rivers mentioned above. These fall fish are almost entirely made up of repeat spawners and are extremely powerful! My largest Morell fish to date happened along on October 1 of last year and was a monstrous 41" cock fish. This signaled the start of last years fall run as these fish were not in the middle pools on Sept 30. Speckled and Rainbow trout also inhabit our waterways and make excellent quarry. The largest Speckled Trout to "officially" be caught was by Preston Campbell on the West River and weighed over 9lbs. Every season fish in the 5-8lb range are landed. My largest Atlantic Salmon on the West River came on October 30, 1998 and was 42" long and weighed an estimated 24lbs. The Morell River is our finest Salmon river and the run of 2003 was believed to be between 1500 and 2000 Grilse and MSW Salmon. This was a "banner" year , however the average run is about 500-800 Salmon and grilse. These numbers have declined the last two fishing seasons over disputes with Gov't over money for the Cardigan fish hatchery. It is tentatively resolved. As was the case most everywhere last year, our summer run came up short for reasons we are not yet certain of. Most East Coast rivers reported similar happenings. **As of 2007 the retention on Grilse is now down to two tags.** Great news!!! The Dunk River will be open to catch and release angling after a short moratorium due to a severe pesticide related fish kill. The valleyfield while not mentioned above has historically provided salmon angling as well. The Valleyfield was nearly wiped out after its own pesticide related fish kill. We are happy to report that fish counts are very encouraging and catches have been improving steadily.
There you have it, BIG trout, Big Atlantic Salmon and a beautiful province! Call today to book your time to Fly Fish The Island.
We here at FFTI support catch and release for Atlantic Salmon. Releasing these magnificent fish to fight and spawn another day is perhaps the greatest thrill of all. Contact: Dwayne Miller Email: flyfish@pei.sympatico.ca Tel: (902) 628-6175 Cel: 626-8215