Season opens with river full of memories

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Nearly seven years after the Penobscot River was closed to Atlantic salmon fishing, anglers were invited back to their old, familiar pools on Friday for the opening day of an experimental fishing season.

And even those who decided to forego fishing found that there are certain things a few years away will never change.

Just ask Claude Westfall.

Westfall hasn’t bought a salmon license yet, but he spent a few enjoyable hours on the water on Friday morning, manning the motor and watching Gayland Hachey fish, before adjourning to the Veazie Salmon Club to compare notes with longtime fishing buddies.

The fish weren’t cooperating – as of noontime, anecdotal reports indicated that a lone salmon had been observed by one angler, and none had been hooked and released – but that didn’t seem to make much difference.

Westfall, a retired University of Maine professor who now spends much of his time in Texas and summers back here in Maine, knew what was coming … and coming … and coming.

Westfall is a veteran of the salmon club verbal wars, and stood back, smiling, as his pals took turns ribbing him about his driving skills, about lessons he’d surely learned in Texas, and about where he’d chosen to park his boat trailer.

“I enjoyed [it],” Westfall said, undoubtedly talking about his morning on the water and not the good-natured barrage of insults that seemed to keep heading his way despite his constant grin. “I told some fellas I talked with yesterday, just to get out here, I enjoy it. And if you happen to catch a salmon, it’s a bonus.”

Friday itself was a bonus to many.

Even if the season was scheduled for a 30-day span during the fall, instead of during the spring. Even if the river could be shut down to fishing at any time, if Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission staffers decide the continuation of fishing could hurt the resource. Even if the heaviest runs of fish are in the river.

“There might be 10, 12 fish around here,” Westfall said. “There’ll be somebody catching fish.”

For many, this opening day was a celebration of tradition, even though this year’s opener didn’t take place during the traditional spring time frame cherished by salmon anglers.

And as the sport’s traditions were discussed, so, too, were those accomplished anglers who practiced their craft years ago.

“Did you know Bob Enos?” Westfall asked, before the assembled anglers took turns telling their favorite Enos stories.

A few of those tales were fit to be printed in a family newspaper. Many were not.

But all of them illustrated the close bond Atlantic salmon fishermen feel for each other.

Enos, according to Hachey and Westfall, was a strong, loyal, considerate man. And he loved to fish, traveling from his home in Massachusetts to Bangor each spring, parking his van in Hachey’s driveway each night and sleeping in it, then rising early to fish the next morning.

For weeks at a time, Enos would perform the ritual. And most times, he made sure Hachey never even knew he was there.

Well, almost.

“He used to put the van in neutral and push it out of the yard before he started it so he wouldn’t wake me up,” Hachey said with a chuckle. “He was that considerate.”

Enos also had a flair for showing off his skills in front of other anglers, and Westfall said he’d never seen another fisherman with Enos’ skill at catching Atlantic salmon on a dry fly.

There were frequent tuna fishing excursions out of Gloucester, Mass., of course. And there were salmon tales that needed to be told, played out on rivers like the Margaree … and the Penobscot.

After more than an hour of storytelling, Enos seemed bigger than life, and his fishing exploits made the traditional salmon lodge transition from impressive … to incredible … to simply legendary.

Westfall finally extricated himself from the group and began walking across the salmon club’s lawn, heading toward the water.

“Have you seen the plaque?” he asked, leading the way.

Down toward Guerin Pool we walked, stopping just before the lawn ended. Westfall proudly, solemnly, pointed at a rock, and at the plaque he and club members had affixed to it.

Bob Enos died in 1996. He was a sportsman, and a steward of the resource and a friend.

But he surely hasn’t been forgotten. Neither has Jean Guerin. Nor Walter Dickson. Nor any of the many other longtime salmon anglers who never lived long enough to see their beloved river reopened.

“Here it is,” Westfall said, pausing in front of the plaque.

He waited. Opened his mouth. Stopped. Tried to speak again. Then turned away, fighting his emotions.

“I’m sorry,” he said, softly.

As anglers made their way through the rotation pools on the Penobscot on Friday, and as they waited for their chance, there was plenty of time to think about more pressing matters than fish and fishing.

All of the anglers present, it seemed, knew many who would have loved to have been there … and weren’t.

“We are just so fortunate to have a fishery here in our backyard,” Westfall said. “Now there’s so many people who [didn’t fish and] look back and say, ‘Gee, I wish I came up here and joined some of you guys [during the ’70s and ’80s].”

And so many people who aren’t with us any longer that will be remembered for doing their own small parts to make sure there is, once again, something to join.

Live release tips

If you’re planning on fishing for Atlantic salmon in the Penobscot this fall, you’re required to release any fish you catch without removing it from the water.

The folks at the Atlantic Federation are serious about live release and sent along a tip sheet in conjunction with the Penobscot River’s experimental season that anglers may find helpful.

Here’s what the ASF had to say:

. The proper equipment can aid in live release. On the Penobscot, flies must have barbless hooks or hooks that have had their barbs pinched down. The ASF says barbless hooks reduce wounds to all fish, especially juveniles, increasing their rate of survival. To de-barb your hooks, just pinch them down with a pair of pliers.

. Remove hooks carefully. In quiet water, the ASF says to bring the salmon quickly within reach and, without squeezing the fish, remove the hook carefully with pliers or your thumb and forefinger. If a net must be used, it should be cotton and knotless, according to the ASF. If the fish is deeply hooked, cut the leader near the fly and release the fish.

. Don’t exhaust the fish. The ASF warns that fighting a fish to severe exhaustion reduces its odds of surviving. Play the fish sensibly and keep it underwater, supporting the salmon in a natural position facing the current and handling it as little as possible.

. Conditions may dictate the proper times to fish. According to the ASF, wild Atlantic salmon have a much better chance of survival when caught and released during ideal conditions. High temperatures and low water levels are particularly stressful to the fish. Responsible anglers stop fishing in those conditions.

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