Penobscot spring salmon season set

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Come May 1, there will be a buzz of excitement along the shores of the Penobscot River that hasn’t existed in nearly a decade.

After a unanimous decision by the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission on Thursday, a spring season is a reality.

The Penobscot – along with the rest of the state’s salmon rivers – was closed to fishing for the species in 1999. Only the Penobscot has been reopened since, for monthlong fall seasons in 2006 and 2007.

Very few fish are in the river during the fall months – less than a half dozen were caught during the two combined years of fall fishing – and many veteran anglers lobbied hard for a more traditional spring season.

The water would be cooler, the anglers argued, which would lead to less stress on hooked fish. In addition, fishermen would have a better chance of catching a fish because there would be more available to be caught.

The ASC looked hard at risk assessment data, held public hearings, and eventually decided to move forward with a one-month season this year.

The season will begin May 1 and end on the last day of the month. All fishing will be catch-and-release, and the season would end whenever 50 fish have been caught and released, no matter how early in May that was.

Patrick Keliher, the executive director of the ASC, said the commissioners – George LaPointe, commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources, Roland “Dan” Martin, commissioner of the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, and Dick Ruhlin, representing the public at large, showed faith in present restoration efforts as they unanimously agreed to reopen the river during May.

“The commissioners believe that the work that the state is doing to restore salmon far outweighs the very small amount of risk that will be placed on recovery by allowing a spring fishery,” Keliher said on Friday.

Keliher said that giving fisheries managers the flexibility to react to any situation that may arise was an important consideration.

“I think the key here is that – and the commissioners explained this to me after the meeting – we make sure as [we] develop the plan to monitor the fishery that we have an agreement in place that if any noticeable impacts are seen, we can respond on a moment’s notice, and if need be, shut down the entire fishery.”

Abnormally high water temperatures for May is just one of the situations that could prompt the closure of the season.

During the fall season, a benchmark level for water temperature was set, and when the water was warmer than the benchmark, biologists changed green “open” flags at local salmon clubs to red “closed” flags to let anglers know they weren’t allowed to fish.

Lou Horvath, an angler from Holden who now serves as president of the Penobscot Salmon Club, and has served as the president of all three local clubs at one point or another, was at the ASC meeting for the vote.

“I’m very happy, of course,” said Horvath, who has long advocated reopening the Penobscot to salmon anglers.

“I had a feeling [the season] was going [to be approved],” Horvath said. “I had a feeling it would fly.”

Horvath is already busy working on plans for the Penobscot Salmon Club’s annual breakfast, which has felt more like a memorial service than a celebration in the years the river has been closed.

This year’s breakfast will be held May 3, and though anglers won’t be allowed to fish the pools in front of the Penobscot club, they will be likely dispersing to Eddington and Veazie after their meal.

Horvath, at long last, will be among them.

“I’ll be out, probably at Eddington, wetting a line,” he said.

While the spring season is a go, there is a bit more to consider.

Some anglers and conservationists say the federal government may take steps to close the Penobscot on its own, and federal agencies have been keeping close tabs on the ASC’s actions as it was opened, first during the fall, and now during the spring.

“We have no way of knowing what the federal agencies will be doing,” said Keliher, who said the ASC wrote a letter to two federal agencies after the vote to let them know what Maine had planned.

For now, all you have to know is this: There will be salmon anglers on the Penobscot come May.

If, that is, we ever get rid of all the snow and runoff.

“We may be lucky if we can even stand in the water this May,” Keliher said, perhaps only half-joking.

Bass class on tap

I received a phone call from Ken Hoehlein of Trenton earlier this week to remind me about the bass-fishing class he’ll be teaching for Bangor Adult Education in the coming weeks.

The class starts March 13, and runs for six weeks.

Hoehlein, an avid tournament bass fisherman, will teach his students all about his chosen sport, and anyone who enjoys spending a day on the water targeting the feisty species would be well-served by signing up.

Hoehlein said there are still about 10 openings in the class. For more information, call 992-5523.

BOW announces schedule

For the past several years, Maine women have had the opportunity to learn more about outdoor activities through the Becoming an Outdoor Woman program.

This year will be no different, as the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife has unveiled a busy BOW schedule.

BOW offers programs that are targeted toward women age 18 or older who are interested in learning a variety of outdoor skills.

Among this year’s offerings:

. Snowshoeing workshop, March 15 in West Gardiner.

. Trapshooting clinic, May 5 in Scarborough.

. Turkey-hunting clinic, April 5 in Phippsburg.

. Ropes course, May 24 offered by the Southern Maine Guide Service.

. Swiftwater canoeing, June 7 by the Southern Maine Guide Service.

. Intro to sea kayaking, June 21 in Brunswick.

. Whitewater kayaking, July 12-13 by Southern Maine Guide Service.

. Sunset and moonlight paddle, Aug. 15 at Sebasco Estates.

. Introductory skills weekend, Sept. 19-21, at Camp Caribou in Winslow.

For more information, contact Emily Jones at 287-8069 or emily.jones@maine.gov. You can visit the BOW Web site at www.mainebow.com.

jholyoke@bangordailynews.net

990-8214