Our Maine Heritage: Opening day of fishing season, 1958

On Wednesday, some of us April Fools went fishing … just like our brethren have been doing for generations.

Four members of the Penobscot Salmon Club check over a box of flies at their clubhouse. Members gathered yesterday for their traditional opening-day breakfast. Left to right are: Adolf Fischer, Guy Carroll, Donald McGary and Dr. Frank Gilley.  BANGOR DAILY NEWS FILE PHOTO BY CARROLL HALL

Four members of the Penobscot Salmon Club check over a box of flies at their clubhouse. Members gathered yesterday for their traditional opening-day breakfast. Left to right are: Adolf Fischer, Guy Carroll, Donald McGary and Dr. Frank Gilley. BANGOR DAILY NEWS FILE PHOTO BY CARROLL HALL

It was, after all, the traditional opening day of open-water fishing season, and after a being cooped up all winter, even a chilly day of fishing was better than none.

Back in 1958 — in a photo that appeared in our pages on April 1 — a group of avid salmon fishermen were shown  celebrating the day at the venerable Penobscot Salmon Club.

What flies were they looking at? How did they make out that opening day? How would they react now, with the Penobscot River and the rest of Maine’s rivers closed to Atlantic salmon fishing?

And to current members of the still-active Penobscot Salmon Club: See any familiar faces? Feel free to share your own photos of classic salmon-fishing scenes by sending them to me here: jholyoke@bangordailynews.com

 

 

John Holyoke

About John Holyoke

John Holyoke has been enjoying himself in Maine's great outdoors since he was a kid. Today, he's the Outdoors editor for the BDN, a job that allows him to meet up with Maine outdoors enthusiasts in their natural habitat. The stories he gathers provide fodder for his columns, and this blog.