Outdoors
The BDN outdoors section brings readers into the woods, waters and wild places of Maine. It features stories on hunting, fishing, wildlife, conservation and recreation, told by people who live these experiences. This section emphasizes hands-on knowledge, field reports, issues, trends and the traditions that define life outside in Maine. Read more Outdoors stories here.
Oct. 7, 1980, on Maine’s Sheepscot River, not far from tidal water, Portland artist and angler Howard Clifford is fly fishing the Larabee Pool. He is working his hand-tied nymph through the current in hopes of the ultimate hookup: a fresh-run Atlantic salmon dancing at the end of the line and all the adrenaline-rushing, heart-throbbing thrill for which the pursuit is famous and so coveted by the most dedicated fly fishermen.
Then it happens.
“Fish on!” he, or perhaps a streamside gawker, hollers for all to hear.
Today, almost 46 years later, we do not know every detail that followed. But those of us fortunate enough to have experienced Atlantic salmon fishing in its heyday can imagine the scene, especially given the sheer heft of Clifford’s catch. It was a fantasy fish in every sense of the term.
Clifford’s salmon was 43 inches long, had a 19-inch girth and tipped the scales at 28 pounds, 1 ounce. It was a U.S. record Atlantic salmon caught in U.S. waters then, and it remains the record today.
There is more to this story, thanks to some stalwart detective work by Maine marine scientist Paul Christman, who has spent much of his career studying and managing fisheries in the Sheepscot River watershed for the Maine Department of Marine Resources.
According to Christman’s sleuthing, L.L.Bean paid to have the record fish mounted by well-known taxidermist and artist the late David Footer. Clifford agreed to let Bean’s display the fish for five years before it was returned to him.
Christman’s curiosity inspired him to learn more, even when the trail went cold.
He knew that Clifford lived and painted in the Portland area when he caught the record salmon in 1980. After much inquiry, Christman eventually located a deceased Howard Clifford from Southampton, New York. Was this the same man whose catch on a crisp October day in Maine made history?
Not that long ago, no doubt feeling a little excited, Christman got Linda Clifford on the phone in Southampton.
As luck and perseverance would have it, Christman’s detective work brought him to the end of the trail. Linda Clifford was the wife of the late Howard Clifford and, yes, she had the fish.
Serendipity was in the mix.
Christman located the mount in 2025 and picked it up in New York on April 13, 2026, returning the historic fish to Maine.
“My husband wanted the state of Maine to have the mounted fish,” she told Christman. “Your timing could not be better.”
The marine scientist now has possession of the Clifford salmon. It needs some tweaking by a taxidermist, but Christman plans to display the impressive mount for a time before donating it to the Maine State Museum, where it can be enjoyed for years to come. The restoration timeline has not yet been determined, though the fish could potentially go on display at the museum in the summer of 2027.
Which goes to show that when you cast your fly upon the waters, you never know whether it will be a slow day or one of those extraordinary moments when angling history is made.
