Margaree River

The Margaree is Cape Breton's salmon river and the main river still open to salmon angling in Nova Scotia. The Northeast Margaree comes down out of the highlands past Big Intervale, the Southwest Margaree drains Lake Ainslie, and the two meet at Margaree Forks to run down to the Gulf at Margaree Harbour. The valley is farm country, with roads up both branches and a long list of named pools.

The fall run is the reason most people come. Salmon and grilse enter in June and July in small numbers, but the bigger fish come in September and October, and the main river stays open to October 31. Fish move up on the fall rains and settle into the pools as the river drops. Read the Northeast Margaree gauge, which also reports water temperature, so this page shows where the river stands against DFO's warm-water line. In a hot summer DFO closes the river under its warm-water protocol, as it did in 2026, and reopens it when the water cools.

Every salmon is released, on a barbless fly, up to four a day. A non-resident needs only a Nova Scotia salmon licence, with no guide required. From June 1 the special trout water is fly only, with fishing allowed only between 6 am and 10 pm. Brook trout and sea-run brook trout are a fishery of their own in early summer. The Northeast Margaree above the Big Intervale bridges is closed all year.