Penobscot River Salmon: Beating the Odds

“In a tradition dating back to William Howard Taft’s presidency nearly a century ago, the first fish taken from the Bangor Salmon Pool each spring was delivered to the White House. Over the years, dam construction, pollution and fishing took their toll. As the number of salmon counted at the Veazie Dam fell from about 3,100 in 1990 to 535 a decade later, the fishery adopted a catch-and-release rule before closing altogether in 1999.” Jerry Harkavy of the Associated Press writes about the history behind the closing and recent re-opening of Maine’s Penobscot River Atlantic salmon fishery to fly fishing.