Restigouche River

The Restigouche is big, clear salmon water, and its fish run large. From the meeting of the Kedgwick and the Little Main Restigouche it flows east through wooded hills to Matapédia, where the Matapédia comes in from Quebec, and on to the head of the bay at Campbellton. Below the Patapedia it is the line between New Brunswick and Quebec. It is a canoe river: anglers fish from long cedar canoes poled between pools, as they have for generations, and many stay in riverside camps.

Most of the main stem is private or leased water, held by camps, clubs and lodges, so a visiting angler books a lodge or an outfitter with water. The province's Crown Reserve stretches, among them Devil's Half Acre, Three Sisters and Red Bank, give residents more access. A non-resident fishes the main stem with a licensed guide. Spring kelts can be fished in May, and bright salmon from June 1 to September 30. The early fish in June are the big ones, the main run comes in July, and fish keep coming into September. Read the Rafting Ground gauge for the lower river and the Kedgwick gauge for the upper. Fresh fish move on a dropping river after rain.

Every salmon is released, on a barbless fly, two a day. Brook trout live throughout. DFO runs a warm-water protocol here, and in a hot summer it limits fishing hours or closes the river. Neither gauge reports water temperature, so check DFO's notices.