Sad News for the Little Sackville River

 Funny weather this time of year. On October 31st I was fishing in the sun and by Nov 6th we had our first snow.
Today, Nov 11th, I was wearing a light jacket to walk to the Remembrance Day ceremonies at the little park down the street.
It is sunny and warm with no trace of snow.


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Towering over the waterfront for the last few days is this deep sea oil rig waiting to be towed out around Sable Island or across to the North Sea I suppose. It is an impressive sight and unbelievably huge.




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Here is a shot of the waterfront to show what a nice day it was for a walk.






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Here is some sad news. After years of effort and countless volunteer hours the work of the Sackville Rivers Association may have been undone by vandals.


Someone cut the feed line from an outdoor, furnace-oil tank and the oil drained out of the tank into the ground, through a storm drain to the Little Sackville River.



This is when the salmon are in the river to spawn ! Some will likely turn away from entering the river, others may have already built their redds and nests but the furnace-oil must be deadly for any eggs already laid. Who knows what damage has really been done?

Here is the press release:

Sackville Rivers Association Press Release
Media Advisory - For Immediate Release:
Oil Spill on the Little Sackville River
November 9, 2009
The Sackville Rivers Association (SRA) would like to highlight the
environmental damage that may have happened due to the oil spill into
the Little Sackville River.
Our organization has for over twenty years done our best to protect the
Little Sackville River and improve the Atlantic salmon and Brook trout
habitat in the watershed. It is important to understand that the impact
of this oil can have far reaching affects.
"This couldn't have happened at a worse time. It is this time of year
that Atlantic salmon spawn, and this spill may have a major impact on
the population. Many of the adult Atlantic salmon have come back to the
river and their eggs especially will be extremely sensitive to this oil.
This has been a rough year for Atlantic salmon populations around the
province, and the Sackville River no longer has a dedicated stocking
program, so this may really hurt the sustainability of our Atlantic
salmon and Brook trout runs. Our Atlantic salmon population is the main
run in Halifax Harbour"
Walter N. Regan
President SRA
This oil may have far reaching affects on the river. In addition to
stressing Atlantic salmon and Brook trout populations there are many
other concerns: pressuring other fish species, including the American
eel a species of special concern, killing aquatic plants and insects as
well as other river animals including ducks, frogs and turtles. The oil
may also soak into the river soil remaining as a problem long after the
initial spill.
The SRA hopes that we will be able to work with the community to manage
this terrible accident and help ensure it does not happen again.
For additional information, or to schedule an interview, please contact:
Sackville Rivers Association
45 Connolly Road, Room 206 P-902-865-9238
Sackville, N.S. C-902-476-6276
B4E 2Z6 F-902-864-3564
email: sackvillerivers@ns.sympatic.ca

Nova Scotia Fall Salmon Season Ends

The fall salmon season is over.

It ended on Halloween day. All told the season was great, lots of big fish hooked in the rivers draining into the Northumberland Strait and Gulf of St. Lawrence.
My season was not great in terms of fish landed but was superb in terms of feeling great and being able to spend a couple of days bumming around the river. Water temperature was 4 degrees.

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Last year this time I was wondering if I would ever again enjoy the pleasures of a frosty October morning on the water.



Next year I will spread my days over several weeks in October rather than putting all my hopes into the last week of October. It is salmon fishing after all and we all know that the fish were filling the river the week before we were there.







Here are a few photos of my trip last week with Aaron and another day I slipped off alone.









No fish, but a great couple of days nonetheless.
Who said something like, most of us fish our whole lives without ever realizing it is not the fish we are pursuing?