“Yeeeah!”

John again, from his seat in the front of the drift boat.  I turned just as a good fish somersaulted out of the river, John fighting to retrieve line so the fish could not throw the tiny fly on the next leap.

“Woohoo” shouted John as the landlocked salmon cartwheeled, splashing water as it turned toward a deep pool.  Now John was rubbing my nose in it.  It was a fine July day for a trip down the East Branch of the Kennebec River out of Moosehead Lake, and John was out-fishing me.  I whined that he had the best seat in the boat, with all the dumb fish off the bow.

After a good tussle the salmon finally turned on its side and John edged it to the side of the boat.  Our guide Michael netted the fish before John could do something silly.  It was a beauty, probably 19 inches long with a belly that showed the fish was eating well.  If landlocked salmon have big egos, I could forgive them.  It must be gratifying to have anglers from all over the world traveling to Maine to fish for you, if you ignore the risk of being caught and slapped in a frying pan or smoker.  Out of more than 20 species of game fish in Maine, in 1969 the landlocked salmon was selected as the official state fish.

The term “landlocked” relates to a long-held belief that this salmon was forced into a life cycle limited to fresh water, as opposed to the Atlantic salmon whose life cycle is spent in both salt and fresh water with migrations that may exceed 100 miles.  The theory was that 14,000 years ago the receding glacier transformed several Maine waterways, damming rivers with moraine deposits and trapping ocean-going Atlantic salmon.  Given the genetic similarity between the two fish, the theory seemed logical.

Recent studies challenge that theory with evidence that small groups of Atlantic salmon simply stopped migrating to sea, remaining in the waters of their birth, and slowly evolving away from their now close cousins.  The lakes where the landlocked salmon originated all offered access to the ocean before dams were built by European settlers.  I’ve read that in some fisheries as many as five percent of Atlantic salmon fail to migrate; perhaps they are directionally challenged!

Taxonomically the two fish are nearly identical, so they are differentiated by scientific names that reflect their habitat and behavior.   Atlantic salmon are called Salmo salar, while landlocked salmon are designated as a subspecies, Salmo salar sebago.  The original home waters of the landlocked salmon were in four Maine watersheds – the West Grand, Sebec, Green and Sebago Lake systems.  Anyone who has fished for the two salmon will testify that they are close in appearance and power, and they certainly live up to the Latin name “salar” or “leaper.”  Some people still refer to the landlocked salmon as the Sebago salmon, or use the French-Canadian word, quananiche.

It is important to note that native landlocked salmon still migrate in late autumn, but their journeys are generally short, as they move to suitable gravel beds in lake inlets and outlets.  The female produces up to 700 eggs for each pound of her weight, and she must prepare a spawning bed (known as a “redd”) by fanning her tail over small stones in moving water.   Unlike Pacific salmon that die after spawning, landlocks may live to spawn again in a year or two.  The process of spawning, especially if long migrations are involved, is a huge energy drain so it takes time for the fish to recover.

Because of stocking programs launched in 1868, today you can find self-sustaining populations of landlocked salmon in nearly 60 Maine lakes, with ongoing stocking in 130 other lakes.  Landlocks have been documented in an additional 100 lakes, probably a result of past stocking efforts, both official and bootlegged.  When you add in landlocked populations in over 50 rivers totaling more than 300 miles you have a world-class fishery that brings a great deal of economic benefit to Maine from tourism.

Native stocks of landlocked salmon exist in Canada and Scandinavia, so our fish were not the only ones to cease their seaward migrations.  Because of the fish’s reputation among sportsmen, it has been transplanted all over the world including to a few mountain lakes in Patagonia.  The average fish caught in Maine is around 16 inches long and one-and-one-half pounds, with occasional trophies up to seven pounds.  The record fish from Labrador was nearly eight pounds on a fly rod, and a monster caught in a Swedish lake topped 23 pounds.

Landlocked salmon are beautiful creatures, sleek in shape and silvery in color.  The upper back is darker than the flanks and belly, with small black marks above the midline.  The tail has a considerable fork to it.  In advance of spawning season mature males become darker in color and develop a noticeably hooked lower jaw, known as a “kype.”  Starting life as a tiny egg covered with several inches of gravel, salmon hatch in the spring and spend the first two or three years of their lives in sheltered spots in rivers.  Young fish display vertical marks separated by red dots on their sides known as “parr marks,” but the marks fade as the fish moves to a lake for the next couple years, now known as a “smolt.”  The fish becomes sexually mature at four to five years old and their average life span is six to seven years.  The oldest fish on record in Maine was 13 years old.

The health and productivity of landlocked salmon in Maine are linked to the population of rainbow smelts.  When small, the salmon feed actively on invertebrates, transitioning to a diet primarily of smelts, minnows, sticklebacks and perch once the salmon reaches one foot in length.  In watersheds with healthy smelt numbers, landlocked salmon may thrive as long as they do not face heavy competition for their prey, especially from larger fish like the togue (also known as lake trout).  Water quality is also key for salmon, with pollution from farms, highways, sewage systems and acid rain to be considered.

When environmental conditions are right, this salmon is durable, fast growing and long lived.  We are blessed with many lakes that are deep, well oxygenated by rivers and cool in summer (no higher than 75⁰F).  The landlocked can be grown well in hatcheries and can be caught using a variety of fishing techniques throughout the year.  The fish is known to feed actively, making it easier to catch than fish that are finicky about foods or the time of day for seeking a meal.  Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is now encouraging fishermen to keep a couple landlocked salmon for the dinner table since some waters have become over-populated, depleting food species and depressing salmon growth rates.

John, being a “catch and release” kind of fisherman, eased his trophy back in the river after I took a few photos in case John’s memory of the fish proved faulty.  Michael, not just a fine guide, is also a talented artist and promised a wall mount for John, hand-painted over carved wood.  The piece now graces John’s office and is handsome indeed.  I don’t want to grouse here but when I compare the wall mount to the fish in the photos, it looks like Michael may have been overly generous in a few of his measurements!

If you like Ed Robinson’s writing, check out his two Nature Notes books! Click here for more information.