While showing another Atlantic Salmon fisherman a few spey casts and a giving a couple spey casting tips, Kenny Clark caught the first Maine sea run Atlantic Salmon of the Spring season. I thought his screen name ” Salmon Man” was a bit presumptuous but as usual he lived up to the name. Throughout many years, Kenny and I have been on numerous sea run Atlantic Salmon trips together and we usually do well in Canada. We also fish together in Maine for landlocked Atlantic Salmon, because both of us enjoy fishing for salmon in big river systems with double handed rods and swinging spey flies. Maine’s big and classic landlocked Salmon rivers such as the Dead River, Kennebec River and The West Branch of the Penobscott River offer great spey casting opportunities and very respectably sized landlocked Atlantic Salmon can be caught. In Maine, there have been many efforts by many groups of people to help make our sea run Atlantic Salmon fishery better. The Maine sea run Atlantic Salmon is certainly a highly prized, highly respected and highly protected species. So, this sea run fish caught by Kenny on the legendary Penobscot River in Bangor is a absolutely special event. This Spring season is an experimental one, just as the Fall season has been for the last two years. I like the fact that a Flies And Fins member and one of my closest friends caught the first Atlantic Salmon this Spring as this site endeavors to bring the best fly fishing stories, pictures and video from around the world. This fish just adds another dimension to a fish story that has been unfolding since the earliest days of Maine’s history. Kenny said the fish was 28 inches and healthy and had plenty of fight. Kenny is very low key and not someone who likes any notoriety but this story needed to be written.
Nice picture of Kenny and his spay rod, in fact thats the rod he caught the Atlantic Salmon on. Congrats Kenny on the first Salmon in the first Spring season in years. I will be up and take a shot at it this week.
Congrats Kenny. As you know Atlantic Salmon in Maine were once so plentiful farmers pitchforked them into wagons for garden fertilizer. Those days are long gone and only a very few will ever get to experience the thrill of catching an Atlantic Salmon on a Maine River. Glad to hear you didn’t follow the tradition of sending the first salmon of the season to the President. Hate to waste such a nice fish.
When I got the voicemail that said, “kenny caught the first Maine Atlantic Salmon” .. I was sincerely happier than if I had caught it. Throughout the 6 years or so that I have had the priveledge to call Maine my home and have been fly fishing and learning fly fishing in the amazing state of Maine, I often bump into Kenny on various Maine rivers. I always know its him because he is alone, sometiemes with his dog or greg (i prefer it when it’s the dog) just kidding greg:), standing knee deep in a big classic pool on some big river fishing the long rod and swinging spey flies. Kenny comes across as one of those very low key, down to earth guys that never talks about himself and he doesn’t need to because others do it for him. And, everyone that I have ever met that knows kenny speaks of him and his fly fishing with a high level of respect and regard. So anyway, Greg and Kenny .. I titled this article “A Presidential Catch … And Release ” .. because I think it is true that for many years the first Penobscot Atlantic Salmon caught every year was actually sent to the president of the united states .. clearly, this tradition is no longer in place … but, in this context, the first penobscott river atlantic salmon definately has meaning because of the first fish, the fact that kenny caught it and the fact that it was caught and released. Great work kenny … what fly did it take?
Congradulations Kenny. I know you are proud of that catch in your own private way. See you in Nova Scotia when you do the trek here.