SUN JOURNAL • March 13, 2021
There is one angling odyssey that is above all others. That is hooking, playing and landing an 18-pound fresh-from-the-sea Atlantic salmon. Those days are largely gone, probably never to return within my longevity window. The Atlantic salmon is now a Federally protected species. But for the young angler there is some hope. My prayer is for the succeeding generation, that you one day get to enjoy an Atlantic salmon dancing on the terminal end of your 10-weight Sage fly rod. A coalition has undertaken a novel approach to rearing adult Atlantic salmon and introducing them to the East Branch of the Penobscot River. Approximately 5,000 adult fish will be transported to tributaries and the mainstem of the East Branch of the Penobscot River in the fall of 2021 or 2022, where they will find suitable habitat to naturally spawn. This will result in more spawning adults than have been present in the Penobscot River for decades. ~ V. Paul Reynolds