Stream Fishing Salmon and Trout Side by Side
A recent trout fishing trip turned into a salmon expedition, unbeknownst to us. Only in Maine, it seems, could this happen.
Post Comment|2 Liked It
Recently, a friend and I decided to wade a stream near my house, carrying only ultra-light poles and trout worms for bait. Our goal, a stringer of fresh brook trout for the frying pan.
We started out catching and landing a couple of smaller fish (6″-8″) even before we had reached what we anticipated as being the best fishing grounds on the stream. When we arrived, however, we were thrown a curveball which neither of us had experienced, of this magnitude,at least, in trout fishing.
As we came around the bend to this one stretch of water which runs waist deep for several hundred years, we began to cast, working holes, structure, the shore a few feet at a time, wading carefully, enjoying the environs, the smells, the atmosphere.
Wham! On an ultra light pole this fish feels like a beast. I set the hook, begin to work the fish slowly toward me. At first, it looks like a brook trout, but as it comes from the water I begin to realize, no, no. It is a small salmon, still retaining some of it’s spots in red, but a bit paler and with a fuller body when held in your hand.
I catch up to my friend, show him and make him aware that this is possible today and we continue on.
An hour, and fifteen salmon “parr” later, we are moving back upstream. On the way out we catch two keeper squaretails, one each, and encounter several other fishermen on the way.
As we near the truck a Game Warden approaches, compliments us nicely on our catch, and asks how the fishing was.
“Great.” I respond. “If you want to catch 9″ long salmon.”
After a brief discussion, I ask why there is nothing posted to educate folks on the difference. He explains that there was a very large spawn this year, that not so many lake fish usually end up in the stream, etc. And that they know they probably lose some. But then he points out that in the annual fishing laws book published by the state, there is a side by side illustration. (Problem is, unless you can hold them in your hands side by side, and you have experience with brook trout, you might not be able to see the difference.) This Warden was, by the way, a helpful, friendly and courteous gentleman, which has been my general experience with our Inland Fisheries Department employees.
Still, I have to believe, that it would be worth posting a handful of signs by the major footpaths on this precious little stream. I mean, how many places still remain where it’s possible to catch wild landlocked salmon on foot? I’m almost contemplating paying for it myself, just to raise awareness.
But, I’ve got to finish by saying, no matter what I am catching, just to stand in a stream like that on a hot summer day, with the water rushing between my legs, gargling it’s perfect song, is a reminder of why I live in this crazy-poor-pristine state. There is no place like it.
