Top salmon honor goes to Warren

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Each year, conservation groups all over the world meet and give credit to individuals who have provided much-needed support over the years, and who have shown their commitment to a given organization.

Most of those groups send out press releases, and outdoor writers scan the pages to see if there’s any way to “localize” the national (or international) story.

One such release arrived at the BDN this week. It turned out that localizing the New Brunswick Salmon Council’s announcement of its Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Wild Atlantic Salmon Conservation was a pretty simple task.

This year’s Lieutenant Governor’s Award is being presented to Richard J. Warren, the publisher of this newspaper.

While many in the Bangor area associate the Warren name with the Bangor Daily News, those who know our publisher best realize that he’s a man of varied interests with a long record of community service.

One of Warren’s passions, those friends and acquaintances will tell you, is fishing for Atlantic salmon.

That commitment to the conservation of the species was cited in the announcement of the award, the New Brunswick Salmon Council’s most prestigious honor.

“Rick Warren is generous with his time and resources to conserve and restore wild Atlantic salmon throughout their North American range,” said NBSC President Bill Ensor. “He has an especially strong commitment to the Upsalquitch River in northern New Brunswick, where he owns two camps and employs 14 people during the angling season.”

I’ve been fortunate enough to visit both of Warren’s salmon camps – Millbrook Farm and MacLennan Lodge – and have begun to discover the allure that Atlantic salmon fishing has for so many.

Upon learning of the award, Warren told the NBSC about his roots in salmon fishing and conservation.

“I first fished for Atlantic salmon about 30 years ago when I returned to Maine to live,” Warren said. “My appreciation for the salmon and their environment and the people and the traditions of the sport grew quickly. I endeavor to promote live-release angling as one way for anglers to contribute to future runs. The practice is here to stay.”

The week that was

For those who think hunting bear over bait is a foolproof, automatic technique that gives unfair advantage to the man in the trees stand, I’ve got a short tale to tell.

For six days last week I sat in trees, over active baits, in one of the state’s hotbeds for bear hunting: Allagash.

And for six days last week, despite sitting as still as humanly possible (even going as far as to not scratch things that itched, and to not stretch muscles that ached) I saw nothing.

Well, let me rephrase that.

I saw plenty … but not what you’d think.

I watched red squirrels wrestle. I saw chipmunks scurry. I watched as a monstrous rabbit spent an afternoon hopping purposefully in and out of my bait barrel (becoming, I figured, even more massive after each trip to his personal buffet). I ducked as a couple of Canada jays, also known as gorbys, rocketed away from the barrel and headed right for my tree.

But I saw no bears. Anywhere.

I sat in two stands over that six-day span. Both were over baits that were being visited … except when I was nearby.

When it was hot, I hunted. When it was windy, I hunted. And when we received four inches of rain Wednesday afternoon, I was there, sitting (foolishly?) in my tree, hoping for just an hour of respite that the bears would, surely, finally, take full advantage of.

After all, hunting bears over bait is easy. Right? It’s unfair. Right?

That’s what some would have you believe.

But there were many hunters in the Maine woods last week, like me, who know different.

And they’ve likely still got the sore posteriors to prove it.

Blame it on the weather

When the remnants of Hurricane Katrina rolled through Aroostook County last Wednesday, the torrential rain and high winds put a damper on bear hunting at many camps.

A day later, as the weather cleared and sunny skies reappeared, hunters who had hunkered down during the storm were eager to get back in their stands, where (they were sure) hungry bears would eagerly come to the baits.

It didn’t work out that way.

Most of the hunters at Kelly Camps in Allagash spent a few uneventful hours sitting in trees, waiting for the feeding frenzy that never came.

Afterward, over a hot meal at Two Rivers Lunch, hunters tossed around different theories for the lack of bear sightings.

Pennsylvanian Jim Snyder, who has been hunting with the Kellys for 13 years and has earned a reputation as one of the camp’s most humorous guests, said he had it all figured out.

“It’s the bear-metric pressure,” he told a table full of pals. “It’s just all wrong.”

All puns aside, Snyder may well have been right … although none of his fellow hunters would have given him the satisfaction of telling him so.

Fall fishing nearly here

When the weather gets hot and water temperatures rise, most anglers who target trout and salmon turn their attention to other matters.

Some pack their tackle away and wait until spring, while others simply wait until fall, when the fishing improves and the traffic on local lakes and rivers dwindles.

According to Dan Legere of the Maine Guide Fly Shop in Greenville, it’s not too early to start planning your next fishing trip.

In a fishing report Legere e-mailed me on Aug. 29, he said fishing conditions were bound to improve for those willing to head afield in September.

“Good fall fishing depends on good water flows to draw fish to the rivers for the spawning run,” Legere wrote. “Increased water flow and decreased water temperatures is the ticket to good fall fishing. That being said, I have nothing but good news for you fall fishing enthusiasts. Recent conversations with those who have the say in these matters revealed there is water to give.

“Starting after Labor Day weekend, the East Outlet [of the Kennebec River] should see flows around 1,700 to 1,800 [cubic feet per second], a nice increase over the 900 to 1,200 cfs now flowing.

“The Roach River will also see a substantial increase from the present 60 cfs to 150-180 cfs, then another increase to [about] 250 cfs mid-month. Seboomook Dam will go from around 500 cfs to over 1,000 cfs.

“What does all this mean? The fall run of landlocked salmon and brookies will start and all these rivers should have fish in them within a few days after the releases start.”

If you’re a fall angler, take note. And if you’ve always considered fishing a “spring thing,” this might be the year to treat yourself to an autumn expedition to one of our state’s many trout or salmon rivers.

John Holyoke can be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214 or 1-800-310-8600.