This explosive striped bass fishery in the Miramichi and surrounding waters is a management success story that thus far has not succumbed to politics, unlike many of the U.S. striper fisheries. In the Canadian Maritimes, the Miramichi fishery is fed by stripers from the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The only other confirmed population in the Maritimes is in the Bay of Fundy. Evidence shows the two populations don’t mix and the fish do not migrate between these two areas. The Gulf of St. Lawrence fishery nearly came to its end in the 1990s due to overfishing. In 2000, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) shut down all forms of striped bass fishing. In 2013, limited First Nation fishing privilege, along with a severely limited recreational fishing, were restored. In 2014 the recreational fishery expanded and continues to improve. The bass rebound has reached numbers that continue to defy counting. Fish that overwinter in the big river are estimated at 100,000. They are joined by fresh spring runs that, beginning with April ice-out, build to 300,000 to 500,000, maybe more.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE BY JERRY GIBBS: https://ffimagazine.com/volume-3/issue-1/new-brunswick-the-best-striped-bass-fishing-on-the-east-coast