MADAWASKA – The front of a friend’s shirt seen on the weekend proclaimed that “Fisherman are born honest,” and the back of the shirt said: “Get over it.”

Fish tales persist (and grow depending on the fisherman). Lately there have been stories of some very large landlocked salmon – in the 10- to 12-pound class – coming out of Long Lake.

Scott Picard of Madawaska landed a 30-inch, 11.24-pounder on July 24, and last winter Keith Ouellette of Caribou brought in a 12.78-pounder through the ice at the lake bounded by Madawaska, St. Agatha and Sinclair.

Those are big fish all right, but they pale in comparison to Lucien Cyr’s lunker, which tipped the scales at 19 pounds, 2 ounces.

If Cyr were alive today, he’d tell you so, too. The former public works superintendent at Madawaska died in April 2004.

On June 14, 1941, Cyr caught the landlocked salmon that measured 35 3/4 inches long. (One report puts the fish at 21 pounds, 4 ounces and 43 inches long.)

The story of Cyr’s salmon lives on in the minds of many in Madawaska, in the annals of this newspaper through stories written by Bangor Daily News outdoors writer Bud Leavitt, and in a June 9, 1990, story about the fisherman written by this reporter.

Cyr was 19 when he and his brother Octave were fishing for supper at a lumber camp where they worked. They were part of a lumberjack crew working on the east shore of the lake.

When he told his story in 1990, Cyr remembered the calm evening when he had already caught several fish. He had no fishing pole, instead he was using a fishing line wrapped around a notched shingle. He was trolling with a 1 1/2-inch white pearl wobbler with a red dot.

Octave did not have a fishing license and was just along for the ride. At about 8 p.m. when they were talking of returning to shore, he felt a heavy tug on his line, gave a big yank and the fight was on.

He said he fought the fish for 45 minutes before bringing it alongside the boat. He said their eyes opened wide in disbelief the first time they saw the fish break water.

“It was huge,” he said.

Despite his young age, Cyr used 10 years of fishing wisdom and the strength of his young body to bring in his catch of a lifetime. Although Cyr never made it to the record books, he was made a member of “The One that Didn’t Get Away Club.”

Instead of making it to the dinner table, Cyr’s fish was mounted and found a permanent home on the living room wall. He never failed to tell his story to whoever would listen.

Today, the fish graces a wall in his son David Cyr’s home in St. David Village at Madawaska.

“Oh, yes,” Lucien Cyr told Leavitt when asked if he remembered the details. “I remember every last detail.

“I was trolling in my boat off Mud Cove [when] I saw a big fish rise to the surface straight ahead of my boat.

“When I got to the place where I saw the fish come to the top, I looked back and saw it coming for my wobbler. It struck and I hit back. I had him on and the fun began.”

He was using a net that had been outside a few years, and the broken handle had been replaced with a broomstick handle.

When he was interviewed in early 1990, he said he was planning to spend the 50th anniversary of the catch fishing on Long Lake. He did.

His record still stands.