From fishing derbies to fly casting: helping get youth fishing!

The Cheticamp River Salmon Association is happy to continue to support youth angling and create opportunities for young people to fish. This year, the Association once again held its spring fishing derby, as well as its annual fly casting workshops for local students.

The fishing derby, held on Sunday, June 8th, at Petit Lac in Grand Etang, was one of many similar events that took place across the province as part of Nova Scotia’s sportfishing weekend. Twice a year (spring and winter), the province holds sportfishing weekends as a way to encourage more people to try the sport by allowing Nova Scotians and visitors to fish without a general license.

As part of the derby at Petit Lac, the Cheticamp River Salmon Association awarded prizes for the largest trout caught by an angler under 16. Luke Aucoin (age 5) took first place with his impressive 3 pound catch. Not far behind, Clemont Poirier’s 2 pound 14.9 ounce trout narrowly edged out Chris Poirier’s 2 pound 14.7 ounce fish for second place.  Local businesses generously donated prizes to award the young anglers for their top catches.

Luke Aucoin with his first place trout.

On Tuesday, June 10th, Master Fly Casting Instructor Lewis Hinks and John Hart, former President of the Margaree Salmon Association, helped Grade 8 students from Cheticamp learn how to fly cast. The students learned how to tie basic knots, practiced dry casting, and eventually got to try their hands at hooking a fish. 

Lewis Hinks helping students perfect their casts.

John Hart demonstrates how to tie basic knots.

Despite the fact that the trout weren't cooperative - only one student successfully landed a catch - the students learned a lot, had fun trying out a new sport outdoors, and will hopefully try fly casting again in the future!

Public meeting - Tuesday, April 8

Join us for a meeting on Tuesday, April 8th to discuss our recently completed project funded by Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation (ECBC), as well as some of our plans for 2014. We will be meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Le Petit Chady in downtown Cheticamp. Tea, coffee, and light snacks will be available. Everyone is welcome so, if you're interested in hearing about what we've been up to, and what we're planning, come join us! 

Plans are underway for a busy 2014 field season

The Cheticamp River Salmon Association is in the process of drafting plans and submitting funding applications for its 2014 field season. In addition to its regular habitat restoration program on Aucoin Brook and other smallish brooks around Cheticamp, the Association has also set its sights much bigger for this year: the Cheticamp River!

The Cheticamp River has one of only two healthy spring salmon runs left in Nova Scotia (the other is North River, Victoria Co). The Association has long recognized the importance of work on the Cheticamp River, however, given that it flows almost entirely through Cape Breton Highlands National Park, working on the Cheticamp River can be logistically difficult. Fortunately, Cape Breton National Park has agreed to partner with the Association in order to jointly tackle some of the problems that Atlantic salmon face during their spring migration.

Although there are a number of issues worth addressing on the Cheticamp River, the CRSA is hoping to work with the Park to improve fish passage on the lower river in a section where the main channel has become severely over-widened. Although we are tempted to share more information at this time, given that this exciting new project is funding-dependent (we are keeping our fingers crossed), we will share additional details if the Association is given the green light. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, below is a picture of part of the over-widened lower Cheticamp River (directly above the Cabot Trail bridge).

Photo credit: Archie Doucette, Cape Breton Highlands National Park

Behold, the bridge!

A set of poorly placed culverts on Aucoin Brook has been bothering the Cheticamp River Salmon Association for years. In 2008, the culverts were assessed by Parks Canada staff, and the findings were not good: the positioning and size of the culverts created barriers to fish passage. During periods of low flow, the height of the culverts created an obstacle to migrating fish, and during periods of high flow, the velocity of the water through the culverts also posed problems for fish attempting to move upstream. The trouble with the culverts did not stop there, however. For example, the culverts caused sediment to back up and they were also prone to creating blockages of woody debris that have contributed to flooding over the roadway. So, the culverts had to go.

This year, the Cheticamp River Salmon Association was finally able to obtain the funding necessary to complete this important project. Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation covered the majority of the costs, with the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation and Nova Scotia Salmon Association's Adopt-a-Stream program providing important contributions as well. Local volunteers, including Michel Aucoin and Ernie Ball, were also integral to the success of this project.

The pictures below document some of the important stages of the project, led by Darrell Taylor and Laurie Cranton of MAC Cran Ltd.  

'Tis the season for turkeys, and trout!

It is the time of year for making plans for Thanksgiving meals and for taking advantage of opportunities to get out in nature and enjoy the colourful leaves. Fall is also time for more trout stocking (the Cheticamp River Salmon Association is involved with both spring and fall stocking). 

Joel helping to transport the fish off the truck.

Yesterday, members of the Cheticamp River Salmon Association were at bodies of water between St. Joseph Du Moine and the boundary of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, releasing thousands of healthy young sea trout. 

Special thanks to Association volunteer Joel Camus, for helping to release the fish, as well as coordinate the stocking.  

Lenny and Joel taking a load of trout down to Grand Lac.

In they go! Joel releasing trout into Aucoin Brook.

Week 6: August 5th - 9th

Week 6: August 5th – 9th was a not-so-great week for the Chéticamp River salmon association. Because of the Natal Day holiday on Monday, and heavy rainfall Monday night, which resulted in high water levels Tuesday, both days were spent indoors catching up on office work. Wednesday morning, the group was shocked to see the damage on Aucoin’s Brook done by the heavy Monday night rainfall: the river banks overflowed, resulting in water flowing through the forest, digger logs were ripped out of the river, bank logs and cribs were destroyed, but most shockingly, the river took a new course just above the area of heavy sediment build up, leaving the original channel for the forest, and reconnecting to the original channel just above the culvert bridge. The group spent all day Wednesday, as well as Thursday morning, assessing the damage, and coming up with a plan of action. Amy, from Adopt-a-Stream, as well as Charlie and Danielle from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, were contacted, and it was decided that nothing would be done downstream from where the brook leaves the original channel until the water levels dropped and the area was surveyed. Thursday afternoon the group worked with Albert Deveau to removed digger logs that were severely damaged and cleaning up debris on Aucoin’s brook. The group spent Friday morning assessing the damage on Fiset brook near Le Platin. It was discovered that there are some serious problems on Fiset brook that need immediate attention, but have been put on the back burner because of the priority work on Aucoin’s. The group spent Friday afternoon on Aucoin’s brook removing blockages as a result of the “great flood”.

Week 7: August 12th - 16th

Week 7: August 12th – 16th. With the summer quickly coming to an end, the Chéticamp River Salmon Association is very busy finishing up this year’s work. Monday, the group worked towards getting Aucoin’s brook back into a single channel along sections of the brook where several channels had been formed as a result of the flood. The group finished the afternoon with the filling of several hundred sandbags that would be used to redirect the brook’s current during the installation of the new bridge on Aucoin’s brook. Tuesday morning the group continued work on Aucoin’s getting the brook into a single channel. Half the group then worked with Danielle from DFO on surveying the section of the Chéticamp River just above the park bridge, while the other half of the group returned to Aucoin’s brook with Charlie, also from DFO, to decide whether or not to return the brook into the original channel or to let it follow its new path. Finally, the group finished the day off with more sandbags. Wednesday, the group was glad to welcome Tylor Harris as the newest member of the CRSA work crew. The group started the day by reinforcing a section of the road used to access the river that had been damaged during the flood. With the help of chainsaw operator Albert Deveau, the group then cut, prepared and transported lumber for 2 digger logs, as well as two 2 reflectors to the sections of the river where they would be installed. The installation of one of these digger logs was started, but not completed. Thursday, the CRSA yet again welcomed another worker: Rachelle Aucoin was with us for the day. The group started the day off by saving fish that had been trapped in puddles as a result of the flood. The group then finished the installation of the first digger log, finished a second one, and dragged a log that had previously been cut to its installation location. Friday, with the help of chainsaw operator Albert Deveau, the group cleared debris upstream from the guardrail bridge up to the falls and removed a large crib that had been severely damaged during the flood.

Week 8: August 19th - 23rd

Week 8: August 19th – 23rd was an extremely productive week for the Chéticamp River Salmon Association. Monday and Tuesday the group worked on clearing debris and blockages, and getting the new channel on Aucoin’s brook into a stable channel. Wednesday, the group spent the day finishing up work on the brush mats near the section of Aucoin’s brook that passes near the Gypsum Mines trail. A second layer of brush was installed on 3 of 4 brush mats that were previously installed and a 5th brush mat was put in. Amy from Adopt-a-Steam also visited to inspect the work over the summer. Thursday the group finished up several odd jobs on Aucoin’s brook. Three reflectors were installed, maintenance was done on one digger log and a second digger log was installed. Friday, with the help of Albert Deveau, the group continued clearing debris from the new channel on Aucoin’s brook. Because of rainy conditions in the afternoon the group finished the week with an afternoon of office work.

Week 5: July 29th - August 2nd

Jeremy Camus installs a bank log on Aucoin's brook.

Week 5: July 29th – August 2nd was another great week for the Chéticamp River Salmon Association. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the group worked on the demolition of an old crib on Aucoin’s brook, and replaced it with a series of much smaller bank logs. The group emptied the old crib of rocks, removed the water resistant carpet, built bank logs behind the existing structure, filled most of the new structure with rocks, and finally, with the help of chainsaw operator Albert Deveau, removed the old structure.  Thursday, members of the group continued work on the crib project and finished up some odd jobs on Aucoin’s brook. The central section of the new bank log was secured in place with nails and filled with rocks. The group then travelled upstream doing maintenance on over a dozen digger logs (removal of large rocks from pools, construction of reflectors, ramp maintenance, etc.), and removed several blockages. Friday, members of the group removed two digger logs on Aucoin’s brook that were no longer doing their jobs. Rocks were removed from beneath the logs, and the logs were cut into small sections and removed from the brook. In the afternoon the group removed pieces of rebar and large nails from sections of the old dismantled crib.

The finished product! 

Week 4: July 22nd - 26th

Kyle Lefort installs a bank log to protect an eroding bank on Aucoin's brook.

Week 4: July 22nd – July 26th was a very productive week for the Chéticamp River Salmon Association. Monday, the group, with the help of chainsaw operator Albert Deveau, continued work on the crib, installed a bank protector, prepped a second bank protector for installation, and cut lumber for work on a second crib in need of maintenance all in the area of heavy sediment buildup on Aucoin’s brook. Tuesday, the group continued work on the brush mat project on Aucoin’s brook in the area surrounding the gypsum mines trail. The third brush mat, which was started with Katherine from Adopt-a-Stream, was finished, and a fourth just upstream was also completed. Wednesday morning, the group laid hay in the ditches of a dirt road that had been ditched into a section of the gypsum mines brook. Because of the steep walls of the ditch, no vegetation was growing and the bank was eroding and flowing into the brook. By covering the walls of the ditch with hay, we were encouraging the growth of vegetation that would solve the problem. Wednesday afternoon, after some major problems with the jeep, the group returned to Aucoin’s brook to finish the installation of the second bank log that was prepped on Monday. Because of poor weather conditions Thursday and Friday, the group spent their time indoors, catching up on office work (blogging, data analysis, etc.) and discussing what would be taking place in the next few weeks. The jeep was also pulled from the woods and fixed.

Kyle Lefort works on a crib on Aucoin's brook.

Week 3: July 15th - 19th

Member of the Chéticamp River Salmon Association restoration team: Jeremy Camus (left), Kyle Lefort (centre) and Antoine Aucoin (right) take apart a blockage on Aucoin's brook. 

Week 3: July 15th – July 19th was an eventful week for the Chéticamp River Salmon Association. Monday, the group travelled to a third beaver dam on Aucoin’s brook that had to be removed, only to find that the beaver had started to rebuild the dams removed last week. It was decided that we would have the beavers trapped before continuing work on the dams. The group then travelled to the section of heavy sediment buildup along Aucoin’s brook where they worked to redirect the flow of water into a single channel and reinforce the brook’s banks. Tuesday, the group, with the help of chainsaw operator Albert Deveau, cleared two partial blockages upstream from the area of heavy sediment buildup on Aucoin’s Brook. The group then started maintenance work on a crib just downstream from the partial blockages where sediment buildup has caused the brook water level to rise. The crib had to be built higher to accommodate this increased water level. Wednesday, with the help of Katherine from Adopt-a-Stream, the group learned how to installed brush mats, which are structures that help reduce silt levels in the water; the group finished the installation of two brush mats and started work on a third. These structures will have a major impact on the condition of the river in sections of Aucoin’s Brook near the gypsum mines trail. Because of the rainy conditions Thursday morning, the group stayed indoors and caught up on office work (creation of a CRSA Facebook page, blogging, data analysis, etc). Thursday afternoon, the group, with the help of Albert Deveau, continued work on the crib just downstream from the partial blockages where sediment buildup has caused the brook water level to rise. Logs were cut to length to add to the crib and were set in place for drilling. Friday the group continued work on the crib on Aucoin’s Brook. The rocks and carpet inside the crib were removed, and reinstalled in a more effective manner. The maintenance work on the crib has greatly decreased the volume of water getting through the structure and is having a positive impact on the brook.

Kyle Lefort (left) and Antoine Aucoin (right) tie down a brush mat on Aucoin's Brook. 

Week 2: July 8th - 11th

Kyle Lefort (left) and Jeremy Camus (right) standing behind a beaver dam on Aucoin's brook.

Week 2: July 8th – July 11th was yet another busy week for the Chéticamp River Salmon Association. Monday, the group did a quick session of tree identification for data collection purposes regarding the riparian zone and then started work in Aucoin’s brook, roughly 1km upstream from where the brook crosses the gypsum mines trail. The group worked on the removal of one partial blockage, and two of three beaver dams present in that section of the brook (the third dam will be removed early next week). The group was yet again up bright and early Tuesday morning to travel to Port Hastings to take an Emergency First Aid and AED training course with a representative from Saint John Ambulance. Wednesday was an extremely busy day for the Chéticamp River Salmon Association as the group did monitoring work on upper sections of Aucoin’s brook. With the help of Scott Aucoin, the group scaled several waterfalls in an attempt to locate the source of sediment, which has built up in lower sections of the brook - the source was not found. Thursday morning, part of the group cleaned debris blocking a culvert bridge, exposed and restored digger logs that had been buried by excess sediment and redirected channels that had gone astray due to the buildup of sediment in sections of Aucoin’s brook. The group then spent the afternoon on dry land catching up on office work (inventory, blogging, website construction/maintenance, etc.), and changed a tire on the “Salmon Mobile”, which had gone flat that morning.

Members of the Cheticamp River Salmon Association restoration team: Antoine Aucoin (left), Kyle Lefort (centre), and Jeremy Camus (right), while removing a beaver dam on Aucoin's brook.

Members of the Cheticamp River Salmon Association restoration team: Jillian Baker (left), biologist, Antoine Aucoin (centre), and Kyle Lefort (right) stop for a picture while doing monitoring/surveying work on Aucoin's Brook.

Week 1: July 2nd - 5th

From left to right: CRSA President & avid fisherman 

René Aucoin, Antoine Aucoin, Jeremy Camus and Kyle Lefort fishing on the Chéticamp river.

Week 1: July 2nd – July 5th was a very exciting first week for the Chéticamp River Salmon Association as they welcomed three new summer students. The group spent Tuesday as an orientation day; several projects that would be taking place during the summer were introduced and the summer students learned the basics of salmon habitat restoration and monitoring. The group also started a NSCSA safety course. Wednesday, the group travelled to Chance Pool, along the salmon pool trail, to see and even try some salmon fishing first hand. In the afternoon the group completed their NSCSA safety course and continued to discuss and learn methods and techniques related to the installation and maintenance of structures involved in the projects taking place during the summer. Thursday, the group travelled to Mabou to take part in a training session put on by Adopt-a-Stream. They spent the morning learning about the theory of habitat restoration and how to properly install structures such as digger logs, cribs and reflectors, and in the afternoon, the group travelled to a stream just outside Mabou and got hands-on digger log installation experience. Friday morning, the group travelled to the Margaree Hatchery where they investigated habitat restoration techniques and learned about salmon reproduction and the salmon’s life cycle.

Kyle Lefort works on a digger log while at a river restoration workshop in Mabou. 

Antoine Aucoin works on a digger log while at a river restoration workshop in Mabou. 

Fun with fly casting

Grade 8 students at École NDA in Cheticamp were treated to an afternoon of fly casting on Tuesday, June 4th with Master Fly Casting Instructor, Lewis Hinks. The Cheticamp River Salmon Association has been organizing student fly casting workshops with Lewis, who also works with the Atlantic Salmon Federation, for the past few years. 

Although rain was in the forecast, it held off, and nine students ended up participating in this year's workshop, along with their teacher, Perry Muise (who happens to be a very talented angler himself!). John Hart, president of the Margaree Salmon Association, helped Lewis lead the workshop. In addition, a couple of dedicated volunteers with the Association were also present to help instruct the students.

After learning how to tie knots and cast, the students were given rods and spent the rest of the workshop putting their new skills to practice. And, the instruction must have been good, because before long, students were catching some really nice fish!

The Cheticamp River Salmon Association will look forward to putting on another workshop next year. There is also talk of a pre-workshop classroom visit to have students make their own flies. We will keep you posted! 

A successful fishing derby

The Cheticamp River Salmon Association held its annual trout fishing derby on Sunday, June 2nd at Petit Lac (Delaney Lake) in Grand Etang. Anglers of all ages came out for what turned out to be a beautiful day, and a very successful derby.

By 6 am, when the derby opened, enthusiastic anglers had already gathered at Petit Lac. Some fished along the banks, some in boats, and others cast standing up to their chests in the water. ​Regardless of their techniques, the anglers were soon catching trout of all sizes.

For youth up to sixteen years old, the Cheticamp River Salmon Association also ran a largest trout competition, and local businesses chipped in with donations of prizes. The Association was happy to announce that Colton Chiasson won the competition, with his 2 pound, 6.4 ounce brook trout. Dawson Burns was the runner-up, with a brook trout that was only slightly smaller (2 pounds, 6 ounces). Rounding out the winners was Emily LeBlanc, with her 16 inch rainbow trout.

​Next year, the Association hopes to expand its derby and largest trout competition to include additional age categories, including an adult division. We will look forward to building on the success of this year's event, and bringing you an even bigger derby next year!

The trout are in!

Last Wednesday, I joined members of the Cheticamp River Salmon Association to assist with their annual spring trout stocking program. Speckled (or brook) trout were delivered to the area from the Fraser's Mills Hatchery, and are now swimming in some of our local waterways. In addition to Association volunteers, Grade nine students from École NDA also helped with the stocking. This was a great opportunity to increase awareness of the stocking program among local students, and also a chance for students to get their feet wet (literally, in some cases) and help release the young trout. 

The following lakes and river were part of the spring stocking program:  

L'étang à Johnny à Eusèbe à Petit-Étang, l'étang des pompiers à Belle Marche, le Petit Lac des Delaney à Saint-Joseph-du-Moine, le Grand Lac à Saint-Joseph-du-Moine, le lac à John à Saint-Joseph-du-Moine and Aucoin brook.

On behalf of the Association, happy fishing!

What do Alexander Keith and salmon have in common?

I have heard about work driving people to drink, but I never would have imagined when I signed on for another year with the Cheticamp River salmon Association that I'd be spending so much time, so quickly, in the NSLC! Lucky for me, it wasn't stress that drove me to spend all of last Saturday in Cheticamp's NSLC and Tuesday in the Margaree Co-op. I was there to raise awareness of the NSLC's contributions to river restoration in Nova Scotia. The NSLC has a long-standing partnership with Adopt-a-Stream​, a program of the Nova Scotia Salmon Association, which provides funding and expertise to assist community-based watershed management and stream restoration projects. For the past several summers, Adopt-a-Stream has been the major funder of the Cheticamp River Salmon Association's work in the community (and it is an important source of funding this year as well). So, if anyone gives you a hard time this summer for drinking a cold one while you're mowing the lawn, you can just tell them that you're doing your part to make sure that Cheticamp's rivers stay healthy and provide the best possible habitat for Atlantic salmon and trout.

P.s. Between now and May 5th, the NSLC will be donating part of the profits of sales of certain products directly to Adopt a Stream. See in store for details. 

Website launch!

The Cheticamp River Salmon Association is excited to introduce its official website. The Association hopes to use this website as a space to report on its activities, announce upcoming events, share photos, and post news and research that may interest others who are passionate about Atlantic salmon.​