I won't be Dammed

I won’t be Dammed

Romaine River were Dam #1 will be built

Mankind is a strange species, throughout history he has shown major flaws in his lack of memory, history as shown us many time before the danger of hydro electric dams to migratory fish and again we forget the great consequence these concrete walls will make in our quest to save the mighty Atlantic salmon. Are memory is quite short indeed when we take a closer look in our past disasters on rivers like the Saint John (NB), Tobique (NB), Jacque Cartier (QC) and Bestiamites (QC) rivers just to name a few.

Mactaquaq dam St John River NB

The Quebec government is planning a big bold economic development called Plan Nord (North Plan); it all seemed like a good plan with economic stimulation and major construction projects in mining, hydro electric, new roads development and so on. But soon the big picture was out and it became evident that some pretty important rivers like the Moisie, Godbout, Saint Jean, Romaine, Petit Mecatina, Pentecôte, Sheldrake and Franquelin rivers would be all affected in some way or the other. These salmon rivers are all precious to our collectivity some are way more important for salmon stocks than other but all of these rivers are still in some way important to the Atlantic salmon survival.

Here we go again

The Moisie is it again being compromised ? some of you may remember the struggle that the Moisie protectors had to endure in the 90 from the plan diversion of the Carheil and Pekan rivers into the Sainte Marguerite River system, Hydro Quebec was fishing for more water to help them out in having more water to produce more electricity. The intense work of the Sept-Iles citizens and APRM stopped this proposed project dead in its tracks. Again the Quebec government announce it will create another 440 MW on the the SM3 Hydro Electric projects that are already built and in production. I wonder how they will do this without diverting any river in the Saint Marguerite system. Yes they are planning to increase by 33 % the MW production on the SM3 system. Another huge threat for the Mighty Moisie is the proposed mining development at lake Kachiwiss and nor any mining project but the mining of URANIUM yes radioactive uranium. Before Christmas the local association called SISUR (Sept Iles Sans Uranium = Sept Iles Without Uranium) made a demonstration to the Quebec population by dumping a natural red dye in the a brook located on the lake Kashiwiss system and within an hour the red tainted water was flowing in the Moisie River.

The Godbout River territory is also another river with great claims of Uranium and the Ashini claims are located near a lake that empties in the Godbout River.

Another river that could be in danger in having it’s water diverted is the Saint Jean located a few km from the Romaine river project that is already in construction since winter 2009/2010. Again you guessed it more water for the Romaine projects, what will happen once the Romaine Hydro Complex is finished and the water level are to low they will need additional water sources and the questionable James Bay methods will surely come in motion and try to divert the precious water from nearby rivers.

 

14 Arpents Falls Pentecôte River (proposed area for the Pentecôte project)

The Pentecôte river is located just a couple of km from my house this river is also in the aim of hydro electric dam promoters, Even after voting against the project and implementing new catch and release rules on this river this winter to make it illegal to call a large salmon on the Pentecôte. Even after all the work we had to endure in protecting this great river and it’s salmon from a potential catastrophe we have the local native band looking to still go forward against the local population and went forward in proposing a 10 MW project in Hydro Quebec small hydro electric dam program (150 MW) We are now waiting if the Pentecôte river will be one of the chosen projects, Hydro Québec had entries for 356 MW of projects and will choose a total of 150 MW from those proposed projects in June.

Another picture of the Pentecôte River 14 Arpents Falls

The Sheldrake and Franquelin rivers are already doomed and they will be dammed, on the Franquelin they began construction this winter and the Sheldrake river works will start this coming summer. The locals wanted the projects and the low salmon counts in these 2 rivers were so low that the government accepted those projects immediately. A positive note on the Sheldrake is the FQSA have interrupted the project and are asking the promoter to build facilities to help bring the salmon upriver above the hydro project and help this species in colonizing the river and its new available system.

We have to make sure that those proposed project are stopped and that the one that are accepted are fully studied to help out the salmon in colonizing extra habitat above the dams and impassable natural barriers. 

Wild Salmon are SACRED we need to take a stand now !

Jocelin LeBlanc

NEW DEEP IN BACKING FLY TYING PRO STAFF

I want to take this moment to introduce our latest Pro Staff Fly Tyer Marc Madore, we are very happy to have Marc in our DIB family, Marc will be an important asset in making our free fly tying video section a success, his expertise and knowleddge in tying atlantic salmon flies will help many of you in perfecting their fly tying techniques.

Welcome Marc

Deep In Backing Pro Staff Fly Tyer

Marc Madore

Blackville, New Brunswick
madore12@nb.sympatico.ca
Marc Madore Facebook Page

Marc is a well known figure in Eastern Canada & Quebec Fly fishing communities. A full time river guide on Quebec North Shore Region, an fly fishing instructor 

Drainage/Rivers: The Miramichi river & Margeree River

Marc maintains he is responsible for popularizing the Chenille Bugs in the Miramichi system. This was not an easy task, but he finally got an authority on flies for the Miramichi to admit that they fish well; however, the same person refuses to stock the Chenille Bugs because they are not tied with original material. “There are problems in tying the Chenille Bugs. The main ones are that you have to double the bodies and tie in the hackle by the butt rather than the tip, or the hackle can break”, says Marc. “I’ve done a lot of study on the Atlantic salmon. I am totally focused on it and I gave up all other fishing so I can fish only Atlantic salmon. I gave it all up so I can learn what makes the salmon tick. One of the things I learned is that, contrary to popular belief, the Atlantic salmon eats bugs when it enters the fresh water rivers”, says Marc.

According to Marc we are fishing flies that are way to big. The smaller the fly the more fish he gets. There are reasons for this. Marc believes that flies should have a lot more action to them than the flies we produced up to 1996. The whole world of fly tying can be regenerated if we wanted it to. If we take a look at the history of some of the older flies, and who tied them and where they were fished, we could get some of it back. If we look at the “Jock Scott” and the other very classic flies for example. Where were they made and where were they fished? They were fished over thousands of fish, but the Gillies at the time could not fish, nor afford to fish these places. Those flies were designed for fishing under adverse conditions.

Marc’s favorite feather wing fly is the Canadian Black Dose while his favorite hair wing flies have to be a green butt “Black Bear” and a slightly modified “Undertaker”.

“Canadian Black Dose” tied by R. Marc Madore

 

Marc feels that it is just as much of an art to tie the fully dressed feather pattern flies by using substitute material. It doesn’t cost an arm, or a leg, for material and the substitute material can look just as beautiful. Marc has been teaching a lot of people the art of fly tying and when he sends his students away at the end of the course he tells them to go and practice what they were taught. Many of his students have come back and told him that when they converted the technique and precision he taught them to tie the feather wing flies into tying their hair wings they now tie a hair wing fly that is twice the fly they tied previously.

Robert Marc Madore April 2005

In the early 1980’s Marc tied a fly that he was very proud of, so he took it to show Cliff Brown, an older and experienced fly Tyer in Oromocto, New Brunswick. Cliff examined the fly carefully and said, “Marc, it’s a good fly, but remember one thing. Continue tying flies as you are, but keep that fly and in five years take another look at it.” Marc did as he was told and in 1985 when he looked at the fly again it was totally different. After he started tying the feather wing patterns in 1981, his hair wing flies improved tremendously because of the precision and techniques he had to master in order to tie quality feather wing flies.

It is not easy for a guy like Marc Madore to name his favorite flies. It’s like asking a parent who their favorite child is. You couldn’t help but to love them all. However, in being forced to choose his favorites Marc selects the following:

Favorite Tying and Fishing Hair Wings
Canadian Black Dose
Thunder & Lightning (Conversion)
Green Butt “Black Bear”
Undertaker (Modified)

Favorite Classic Patterns
Mar Lodge
Jock Scott (Loved because it is so complex to be tied properly)
Green Highlander
Dusty Miller

“Picasse” tied by Marc Madore

In 1996 he caught his largest Atlantic salmon at the Blackville Pool beside Doctor’s Island.  The magnificent fish, which weighed in at 28 pounds, was caught on a fly called “Picasse” tied on a #4 hook.

Favorite Origination

A modified version of a “Carter’s Bug”, which Jerome Molloy and Bryant Freeman (Eskape Anglers) got him interested in tying. It’s not an attractive looking fly, but fishes well.

Marc, who is also a registered New Brunswick Guide, takes great pride in helping guests who come to the Miramichi to capture the elusive Atlantic salmon. He is committed to protecting the integrity of the guide and can be very vocal if he feels that guides are not living up to the expectations of what they are required to do to insure that their guests are properly cared for. Over the years he has met a lot of guides, some good, some not so good. There are the ones who will say, “This is the only way we do it”, even if they are wrong. Marc is the kind of guy that believes in what is right and he is the first to tell them that this is not the way we do it. It has to be done right, or don’t do it at all.

The Savieur for the fall fishing designed in 2009

Jocelin & Sonie

Very important petition on the future of Wild Salmon

I received this important email from my dear friend Paul C Marriner this morning asking me to pass along this pettition. Thanks PAul to letting us know what's going on with the Aquaculture farm and the damage they cause to our fishery.

Hello Friends of Wild Salmon:

Aquaculture is doing great damage to wild salmon stocks on both coasts of Canada.  Please sign the petition at www.salmonaresacred.org  It is a BC initiative but applies equally to the Atlantic -  just look at the loss of our Inner Bay of Fundy salmon.

Every person who cares about wild salmon needs to stand up and becomes visible to Ottawa. This is not about getting rid of aquaculture; this is about bringing the fish farming companies into compliance with the laws every other fishery in Canada respects.

Salmon farms were exempted from the fishing regulations of Canada in 1993 and the companies, many of them from Norway where great damage has already been inflicted on the wild fish, are lobbying our Members of Parliament to continue these exemptions when they become federally regulated in December. If they succeed we can give up; they will once again be outside the law.  For more information see http://alexandramorton.typepad.com/

 We cannot possibly manage Canada’s wild fish sustainably, if one group is allowed unlimited by-catch of wild herring, wild salmon, cod and other species in their nets.  We cannot have one set of rules that says no fishing with bright lights and then allow fish farms on every major migration route to use these lights, attracting thousands of wild fish to their farms.  Highly mechanized fish farms will never replace the wild salmon jobs in fishing and tourism.

Thank you!

Graham

Jocelin LeBlanc & Sonie Poulin

RIVIERE VERTE NYMPHE FOR TROUT Deep In Backing Free Fly Tying Video Tutorials

Deep In Backing Free Fly Tying Video Tutorials

LES VIDÉO MONTAGES  Deep In Backing

RIVIÈRE VERTE NYMPH

In this section you will find the RIVIÈRE VERTE a fly patterns used by our Deep In Backing (DIB) staff for trout.

Dans cette section vous trouverez les mouches populaire que le personnel de Deep In Backing (DIB) utilise lors de leur sortie

March 15 2010 New Free Fly Tying Video

15 Mars 2010 Nouveau Vidéo Montage Gratuits

The Riviere Verte is a cross between a Muddler minnow and a hares ear nymph. It was first tied for a river that flows in Northern New Brunswick. This river is and important tributary of the Saint John river and it hold brook trout of impressive size. This fly was conceive in the early 90 when Jocelin noticed that trout would refuse muddler minnows and when the fly got old and all chewed up trout would take the fly readily . So that night he conceived the original fly. Since then it has proven itself all throughout Eastern Canada. It has caught many trout in the 5 to 7 pounds range and many atlantic salmon on the North Shore

La Rivière Verte est un mélange d'une muddler minnow et la nymphe hares ear, cette mouche fut conçue pour capturer la truite moucheté dans une rivière au Nord du Nouveau Brunswick, cette rivière est un tributaire important du fleuve Saint Jean qui contiens des truite mouchetées de belle taille. Cette mouche fut conçue par Jocelin LeBlanc dans le début des années 90, il adapta ce patron pour satisfaire les habitudes des truite mouchetées de refuser des muddler neuve et de préféré des muddler plus amocher. Depuis cette mouche a sus capturer déforme quantité de truite moucheté partout dans l'est du Canada et a réussis a leurrer plusieurs truite de belle taille et plusieurs saumon atlantiques sur la Côte Nord (Québec).

You can use this player if your experiencing problems you can also download this video with this link. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Vous pouvez visionner le vidéo montage, si vous éprouver des dificulté de connexion vous pouvez télécharger le vidéo via ce lien. CLIQUEZ ICI POUR TÉLÉCHARGER

New Free Fly Tying Video, Rivière Verte Nymph, Deep In Backing from Jocelin LeBlanc on Vimeo.

Jocelin & Sonie

New Free Deep In Backing Fly Tying Video (Tutorial) Sparkle Whore Streamer

Deep In Backing Free Fly Tying Video Tutorials
Deep In Backing Vidéo Montages Gratuits
 March 10 2010 New Free Fly Tying Video

10 mars 2010 Nouveau Vidéo Montages Gratuits

Sparkle Whore Streamer

Streamer Sparkle Whore

In this video you will find the Sparkle Whore a Jocelin LeBlanc original pattern, a fly inspired from the Sparkled Smelt and Montreal Whore,the Sparkled Whore has a pearl crystal chenille body while the Montreal Whore has a orange yarn body. The 2 flies married together creates the Sparkle Whore

I have caught more sea run brook trout and brook trout on this fly than any other fly put together


Dans ce vidéo montage vous allez trouver la Sparkle Whore original de Jocelin LeBlanc, cette mouche est concu a partir de deux streamer différent soit la Sparkled Smelt et la Montréal Whore, la sprkled smelt a le corps faite de cristal chenille perler et la Montréal Whore est concu avec de la laine orange.

J'ai capturé plus de truite de mer anadrome avec cette mouche que n'importe qu'elle autre mouche

You can use this player if your experiencing problems you can also download this video with this link. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Vous pouvez visionner le vidéo montage, si vous éprouver des dificulté de connexion vous pouvez télécharger le vidéo via ce lien. CLIQUEZ ICI POUR TÉLÉCHARGER

New Free Fly Tying Video Sparkle Whore Free Fly Tying Video DEEP IN BACKING from Jocelin LeBlanc on Vimeo.

Jocelin & Sonie