"George Adams" wrote in message
ups.com...

On Feb 17, 1:20 pm, daytripper wrote:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/mai.../17/no_spring_...

I have never fished for atlantics, but I was always under the
impression they began ascending the rivers in late summer, spawned in
the fall, wintered over in the rivers, and dropped back to the ocean
in the spring. When spring fishing was restricted, it was because the
salmon were generally in a weakened condition after the rigors of
spawning. I have heard spring salmon referred to as "black salmon" or
"kelts". Either I've got it backwards or boston.com does.

Although it did not specify the month of Penobscot's
spring run, this AP story (from the Bangor Daily News)
makes it plain these are salmon newly arrived from the
ocean. The story omitted that for a century or so it was
traditional for the first salmon of the year to be presented
to the president of the USA. This ended only when the
fish vanished (see Butler & Taylor, Penobscot River Renaissance:
Restoring America's Premier Atlantic Salmon Fishery, 1992.)

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)