I have to say I never would have dreamed I would be one of the lucky 50 anglers who would be so fortunate to battle a Penobscot Atlantic Salmon this spring. After looking at the data and realizing on average 150 or so penobscot atlantics passthrough the Veazie fishway during this time of year, I came to the conclusion that it would be futile to expect to hook one. However like so many fly fishers before me, I decided to put some time in. Without a line in the water my chances areexactly zero. If I show up I have a shot, and with each pass my chances increase. Having tried my luck on the Margaree river in Nova Scotia last year, I knew my chances would be slim. When Joe, Bruce & I ventured out to the Margaree, with atruck full of whiskey and tall tales and we came home after three long days of fishing with a few more tales, bruised and battered after only having hooked one of fly fishings most coveted fish; the Atlantic Salmon. The Atlantic salmon is named thefish of 1,000 casts for a reason. The unluckiest of anglers call it the fish of 10,000 casts. I have gained a true respect for this species only through experience. Without a doubt Atlantic Salmon fishing will mentally wear you down to thepoint of near submission. It will cause you to question everything from the color and size of your fly to the color of the socks you were wearing the day before. There is the beauty in it. Because when you finally hook one of these fish, youforget it all. Aside from the few lucky anglers that hook their first Atlantic Salmon 10 casts into their first thousand, everyone who has pursued these worthy fish knows what it takes. Time, Patience, Persistence, Knowledge, Determination and alittle luck. Rewind, the phone call came from Joe, I called him back before I checked my voicemail and said; If you have a window they have been crushing atlantics up in Veazie. Joe replied hey lets give it a shot. That was all I needed and we planned toleave at 4am the next morning. We arrived at the river and promptly entered the rotation around 6am. The first fish of the day was hooked around 10am but lost. The second was hooked by Joe, a nice bright hen in the 12+ pound range. The third wascaught by a spey angler who snapped his rod during the battle with the estimated 15 pound salmon. It was a beautiful fish. The day dragged on as I watched almost every other angler in the pool hook fish. I tied on a Green Highlander andcontinued to fish gritting my teeth. Finally as I ended a swing through the run and turned to make another cast, Bang! I missed! Shaking, I made the exact cast I had made previously. As my fly entered the strike zone, Bang! He missed again! After seeing the second huge boil I began to question if I had lost my only shot. I immediately replaced the fly where the fish had struck and he nailed it a third time. This time the rod was bent to the cork. The Salmon jumped 4+ times as Ifinally brought her in. Joe was able to land her like a pro. Courtesy of an engineer who had happened to come down to see the battle I was able to get a photo. We snapped a few shots and released her to swim another day. It was an experience Iwon’t forget.
Luke. This is an amazing accomplishment. This fish, clearly, for you represents something significant .. but, it represents something very significant from a global conciousness perspective. In recent years, I have come to understand why the atlantic salmon is such a special species of fish. It is the species of fish that is so closely connected with the roots of fly fishing and fly tying. The species also is amazing, strictly from a life cycle perspective and the fact that its born in a tiny stream and ventures to the open covering massive amounts of water and returns to the stream to spawn and then repeats that cycle 3 or 4 times throughout its life time. (Don’t get me wrong, I am only coming to understanding the very basics .. and by no means to I even claim to understand the fish to the degree that many do. I am in the very early stages of understanding why they are held with such high regard.) Additionally, the uphill battle that these fish have fought throughout time is astounding. Humans have commercial fished them and dammed up their rivers and/or poluted their rivers to the degree that extinction could have been a real possibility. But, they hung on … and now that we are through with the heavy and virtually un restricted industrialization age and a bit more concious of our environments and not dumping pollutants into our fragile ecosystems and rather than building more dams we are taking them down … the atlantic salmon are making a come back in various regions of the world which they inhabit; that is truly surprising even the most cynical critics and ney sayers. The fish, in my opinion, represents so many things. It is a living piece of history who has captivated the minds and hearts of fly fishers since the earlest days. It is a fish that seems to be built for fly fishing and swinging flies. It is a fish who is responsible for most of the flies in the world … in the sense that any “new” fly has some form or tying characterstic that could be traced back to atlantic salmon patterns. It is a fish with a rich history of attracted some of the most famed fly fishers, fly fishing authors, presidents and so on and so forth. And, of course, these take swung flies and jump and fight like no other. And for all of the reasons and many many more, they are referred to as “The King Of Fish” … To see these fish continue to tell their story, because of the collective efforts and fundings from so many people, states, countries and organizations such as the ASF (atlantic salmon federations) is truly a testiment to what we, as people, can do and get done if we really want to. Ironically, in todays world with all of our commercial fishing technology, methodologies and capabilities it would be the easiest thing in the world to desimate this species and overfish them if we wanted to …. and its a very difficult thing to preserve them and ensure sustainability and actually better their position and numbers in this world. So, I too had the good fortune of being able to stand knee deep in the Penobscot river and swing flies and fish side by side with all of the old timers. And, the ability to do this .. with a reasonable expectations of catching an atlantic salmon in the United States was humbling and inspiring. The fact that you actualy caught one (and of course released it) is so great and so good for the overal cause (in my opinion) .. because it validates the fact that all of the efforts (seen and unseen) by so many people are not in vein. Congratulations luke. I think you are right; that is a fish that you will never forget. Hats off to you. Well done and thanks for sharing.
Luck comes in a lot of foums.
1 luck of the king to bite
2 luck of the fly color to work
3 luck of the rotation
4 luck of the river flow
5 luck of time
6 luck of the camera
we were lucky the engineers were survaying the river and happened to put this story into digitial memeroy…. Thanks for the call
Let’s keep fishing
Joe-m
Great story! I can relate as I just landed my first Atlantic a couple of weeks ago. It was an unreal experience. Congratulations on a great fish and thanks for sharing!
Luke,
This is a true success story on many different levels. It is so great to see that the “leaper” is making a come back in your home state and that the numbers of returning fish continue to increase! Great read, I hope to see you in the rotation this fall!
Atttttah Boy Raw Dog love to see the Silver. Congrats on the the fish of 10,000 Casts. Wish I could’ve been there with you boys. Maybe next season.
Although i have never had the chance to catch an atlantic salmon fresh from the sea, i have endured countless hours dreaming about it. I still can remember that first magazine article many years ago that told of this amazing fish that so many fly fisherman spent hours and hours pursuing just to get a take on a fly. Now that i am older(not old…yet!!) i am still dreaming about that epic battle between salmon and fly fisherman. I can only say that i hope one day to enjoy the moment as you have done, when that moment comes along. Well done!
I believe the fish counter at the Penobscott dam is over 2,000 and it looks like the Fall season should be good. It’s great to see fish and read stories about the King of fish being caught here in Maine. I saw several great shiny fish caught this Spring and hope to this Fall.
very cool! thanks for sharing
Luke, that is an amazing accomplishment. A dime bright atlantic salmon from Maine’s legendary salmon fishery. You are truely one of the few who have gotten it done! Great fish tale as well. I love the part about changing the socks!
Needless to say, I will be lurking along the banks of the Penobscot this fall season. I have been amazed in years past at how few people fish the Mighty Penobscot for atlantics since they reopened it. Get it while its white hot. No Crowds + Hot Chrome = crush. This wont last, enjoy it while you can.