Last month I had the opportunity to travel to Miramichi, New Brunswick, to experience striped bass fishing on the Miramichi River, as well as spectate the 10th Annual Miramichi Striper Cup, one of the largest tournaments in Canada. A huge thank you to the City of Miramichi for partnering with me on this memorable, bucket-list adventure! This was my second ever trip to New Brunswick, and Eric’s first visit. It was an exciting experience for both of us!
The Miramichi River
The City of Miramichi is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River, where it flows into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, along the shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. Striped bass migrate into the Miramichi River system to spawn each spring, but in years past, their population dropped to critically low levels. As a result of effective management and fisheries closures, the population has significantly recovered, providing angling opportunities as well as economic benefits to the region. According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), “the Northwest Miramichi River is the only location with successful spawning on a regular basis in the southern Gulf.” Learn more about striped bass in the Miramichi River.
Our Striped Bass Fishing Adventure
Photos: Snapshots of our catches during an outing with Jeff Wilson.
This trip had been in the works for quite some time, so I was especially looking forward to my first time targeting striped bass on the Miramichi River! Ahead of the tournament, Eric and I had the opportunity to get out on the water with Jeff Wilson, the founder and co-host of the Miramichi Striper Cup. We jumped aboard Jeff’s boat, covered a lot of water, casting and dragging big flukes and paddle tail swimbaits in depths ranging from 2 to over 20 feet of water. Jeff described the massive schools of striped bass to us, which he said sometimes numbered into the thousands! Once we located big schools of stripers, the action was nonstop with back-to-back catches, double-headers, and even triple-headers! It was absolute chaos! It was an incredible experience getting out on the water with Jeff, learning about this unique fishery, and getting to catch some of these beautiful striped bass.
Check out all the fishing action in my latest video:
The Miramichi Striper Cup
Photos: Anglers gather at the pre-tournament meeting to review event rules and participate in giveaways.
I’ve been hearing about the Miramichi Striper Cup for years, as anglers from across Canada and even the U.S. travel to take part in this huge catch-and-release tournament. It was a real treat to get to check it out in person as well as meet and chat with so many anglers. I also had the opportunity to spend time at the Garmin booth and help hand out prizes, including a variety of fishfinders, provided by Garmin, a tournament sponsor (and one of my partners).
This year’s event featured 217 teams, each with up to 4 anglers of all ages. While cash and prizes were awarded to the top finishers, the main focus was on fun for everyone. Most prizes, including a boat, motor & trailer package were given away through random draws. In total, more than $100,000 in prizes were awarded. Most prizes were distributed during the pre-tournament meeting, while cash awards for the top teams, the boat draw, and additional giveaways took place after the tournament wrapped up.
Photo: Teams lining the docks during the weigh-in at Ritchie Wharf Park.
Eric and I spent both days of the tournament at the weigh-in site. Each morning, we had the opportunity to hop aboard the blast-off boat, and I even got to fire the flare gun to officially help launch the 217 boats (released in multiple heats) as they headed out to fish. It was quite a sight to see boats of all types and sizes taking off across the river. We were also on hand during the weigh-ins each day getting to see all the fish brought in, with teams permitted to bring in two striped bass per day. The tournament operates under a special license that allows anglers to bring in fish outside of the slot size. The Striped Bass Research Team was present throughout the event to ensure the fish were handled properly and returned to the water quickly, all while collecting valuable data for their studies. Despite the cool and rainy conditions, the weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the anglers one bit.
Photos: Teams displaying their catches at the weigh-in.
Photo: The winners of the event, Team Zale Outdoors, brought in a total of 57.02 pounds.
Congratulations to all the teams who did well in this event! The tournament results are available on the Striper Cup website.
A huge thank you to the City of Miramichi for hosting us, and to Jeff Wilson and the entire Miramichi Striper Cup team for sharing this amazing experience with us! I can’t wait to return to Miramichi and hope to take part in this event in the future!
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