Happy New Year!....

...and all the best for 2011 from Retirement Miramichi, on the beautiful east coast of New Brunswick.  We really got our initiation into winter last month, and we are now looking like a normal winter scene here, with about 12 inches of snow on the ground.  

Eva's House, courtesy of Evamaria Feistel, RMI tenant since 1999

Gotta love the mild temperatures this year, but the warmer temperatures are not doing much for the ice fishing. It's smelt season. and and the river isn't fully frozen at the head of the bay as yet.  Winter is a season to be enjoyed here in Miramichi; festivals and fish frys are eagerly awaited by young and old, and kicking things off after Christmas is the traditional "smelt fry".  


If you are new to "smelts", they are a Miramichi delicacy, a small fish, native to Atlantic Canada. They are a culinary delight to east coasters and a cultural phenomenon to the uninitiated!

Smelts fried in corn meal ~ yum!

They are fished through the ice and the largest maritime smelt fishery happens right here in Miramichi Bay. Miramichi smelts are some of the best, and every neighbourhood hosts its own version of the smelt fry, with food. fun and friendship happening at community centres  and restaurants during the early winter. 

Smelts are fished in Miramichi Bay and then sold by the pound along the highway and in commercial areas around the city. The "smelt fry" is often a day-long event complete with beer and music, and they're some good!