Penobscot’s reopening a social event for anglers

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When the Penobscot River reopened to salmon fishing on Friday morning, Robin James was among the avid anglers who showed up to take part in the historic day.

For some, salmon fishing is a pastime. For others, it is a passion.

And for people like James, it’s simply a family tradition.

James’ father, Dick Ruhlin, is the chairman of the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission. And each of the six Ruhlin children grew up learning about the Penobscot River … and salmon.

“[The reopening of the river] really was a great moment,” James said on Saturday morning, as she took a break from flipping pancakes at the Eddington Salmon Club’s celebration breakfast.

“Growing up as kids, we were always taught the importance of the river and the legacy, just our heritage of what the Penobscot River has meant to the entire community, whether it’s fishing or surviving,” she said. “It’s just a relief to get back on the water, whether the fish were there or not.”

The fish were there. A few of them were, at least. Pat Keliher, the executive director of the ASC, said he had heard reports of a few fish roiling the surface, and of a couple being hooked by anglers.

Keliher said that even though the best fishing of the fall season hasn’t occurred yet, the anglers who showed up didn’t seem to mind much.

“[While walking along the river] I saw people who hadn’t seen each other in six or eight years, greeting each other like they were long-lost brothers,” Keliher said. “To me, as a fisheries manager, it was a great big side benefit. It was great to see it.”

Keliher said that since 1999, salmon enthusiasts have shared their camaraderie in a different way, but there’s no substitution for actually meeting up with a fishing buddy while preparing to fish.

“There is a big social aspect to this fishery that’s been lacking,” Keliher said. “These folks, a lot of them, see each other at the clubs, but it’s not the same as standing on the bank of this river.”

Andrew Goode, the vice-president of U.S. programs for the Atlantic Salmon Federation, said the anglers have formed a bond based on their passion for salmon fishing and conservation.

“The fishermen on this river have been the stewards of this river,” Goode said. “A lot of the improvements on the river are due to the fishermen. They helped defeat the rebuilding of the Bangor Dam, they helped defeat the Basin Mills Dam, they fought for cleaning up water quality. So the fishermen have really been the conservationists on this river.”

Goode said Saturday’s ceremonial breakfast signified something special to those anglers.

“The people are getting back their river is what today is,” Goode said. “It’s a little bit of a glimpse of what this river used to be, and what it could become.”

What it could become, thanks to the Penobscot River Restoration Project, is a major success story, Goode says.

If conservationists are able to raise the money needed to complete the project and remove dams on the Penobscot, the results could be staggering, he said.

“Right now we have 1,000 salmon [returning to the river]. Over time we’ll have 12,000 adult salmon, but add in the mix a million shad, striped bass, sturgeon and everything else. There will be a lot of great recreational fishing opportunities on this river down the road,” he said.

That kind of progress is still years off. But that won’t stop anglers like Robin James from enjoying themselves on the river.

It is, after all, in her blood.

“I have five brothers, and the year I was born – finally they got a girl – [my father] tied a fly [named] after me and he named it the Robin Delight,” James said.

James said she has hounded her father for years to tie the fly again, but he didn’t … until just before the Penobscot reopened.

The results weren’t exactly what James had hoped for.

“Finally he tied me this fly and I managed to lose it on the very end of my run through the pool [Friday],” she said.

James didn’t lose her fly to a salmon, unfortunately. She lost it to a tenacious Penobscot River rock.

Her father has assured her, however, that he’ll tie up a complete selection of Robin Delights in various sizes.

In the meantime, James is happy she’s getting the chance to fish the Penobscot again … whether the fish cooperate or not.

“We actually knew the conditions weren’t absolutely beautiful to be out there [on Friday], but it was nice to be catching rocks and snagging bushes and stumbling on the riverbank,” she said with a chuckle. “Just to be out there again.”

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