100 KENDALL: NEW ENGLAND SALMONS. 



'It is good fishing from the shore or from boats anchored in the river. It is quite rough 

 water and the current is changing, continually forming new eddies. The most of the 

 salmon are caught from boats anchored in the river. A majority of the fish are not caught 

 by casting as in other pools. Here the angler sits in his boat and lets out his line and 

 guides his fly over any spot below him he desires. The current and eddies do the rest — 

 giving the fly just the right motion. The first thing the angler knows he has a sahnon — 

 usually unexpectedly. 



'The first salmon caught in this pool was caught by Mr. Fred Ayer of Bangor, who 

 was an expert in that Une. It was always thought the Penobscot salmon would not 

 touch the fly until he solved the problem and showed that they were no different from 

 their relatives in other waters. 



'I think there are as many salmon come into the river now as there did when I first 

 knew of it in 1872. I understand the catch last year was fully equal to former years. 

 I have no doubt this is due to the splendid work of Hon. Chas. G. Atkins, Superintendent 

 of the U. S. Fish Hatchery at E. Orland, who has been planting thousands of fingerling 

 salmon in the headwaters of the Penobscot River every year for some time. Were it 

 not for this, I sincerely beUeve there would be but very few, if any, in the Penobscot 

 today. 



'The fishing at the pool commences very early — as soon as the ice leaves the river 

 and even before the fisherman down river get their weirs up. I have known of one being 

 caught in the open water below the dam before the ice was out below. 



'The first fishing I ever did there for salmon was with my old comrade Mr. Stillwell. 

 I think it must have been early in the 80's.' 



The record for the 1908 season was very poor at the Bangor Pool, only 39 fish being 

 taken. The last fish was caught June 12, whereas the fishing usually continues until 

 July, and sometimes into that month. C. S. Bachelder was high line for the season 

 with eight fish, with Charles E. Bissell close behind in a record of six. 



1926. 



A gap of 17 years occurs in the records at hand. The more or less regular sources of 

 information, one after another, dropped out of existence or for some reason or other 

 failed to report the events at Bangor pool. Doubtless local newspapers and occasionally 

 some others carried notes of the result of fishing there but they escaped our notice for 

 it was impossible to scan them all. However, on June 24, 1926, a 22-pound and a 17- 

 pound salmon were reported caught in the afternoon of June 23. A report on July 3 

 gave the glad and surprising information that 'all records had been broken this year at 

 the pool, the catch to date on the fly being close to 150 fish. The best previous year in 

 the history of the pool was 1912, when the catch for the season was 160. The season 

 was yet young and it was expected that before it ended the record of 1921 would be 

 doubled. Chief Warden Tom SulUvan, who had been in charge of this pool for a long 

 time said that not in his 30 years of service had the Penobscot been so full of salmon. 



