Michael Grenier, 76, of Lyman has been fishing in the Moosehead region most of his life.
But he never caught a landlocked salmon as big as the one he reeled in a few days ago.
The fish weighed nearly 5 pounds and was 25 inches long, with a girth of 12 ½ inches.
Grenier was fishing with Al Rockwell, who owns Reel Moosehead Guide Service, one morning, trolling streamer flies when the big fish struck. He worked the fish for about 10 minutes, fighting to keep the rod as straight up as possible, keeping tension on the line so the fish wouldn’t spit out the hook.
“I was afraid I would lose him,” he said.
The male salmon broke the water surface five times before Grenier got it near the boat, only to have the fish take off away from the boat three times before Rockwell could get it in the net.
Grenier said he normally practices catch and release, but this fish was a beauty and he had just the right place for it on the wall of his man cave.
“I had a hard time to make up my mind to keep it or throw it back,” he said. “But it was a nice male with nice colors and a gorgeous hook jaw.”
It was also the biggest salmon Rockwell had caught this year off his guide service boat.
Rockwell carefully wrapped the fish in a wet towel until they docked the boat, then scrounged a piece of a 2-by-4 near the dock. He laid the fish flat on the board, then rewrapped it in a wet towel to keep it in good condition until Grenier could get it to his taxidermist, Pete Sterling Taxidermy in East Waterboro.
Grenier already had a 20-inch salmon there being mounted. He canceled work on that one in favor of his new prize to add to his collection of taxidermied animals.
His wife Bridget said she is fine with his taxidermy collection because now he has a man cave that can accommodate them. She doesn’t fish or hunt, but is glad her husband can get out.
Grenier, who retired from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard but works part-time for CACI as a Navy contractor for the shipyard, said he and his wife really like the Moosehead area and he has stayed at various sporting camps there over the years — some of which don’t exist anymore.
He found Reel Moosehead Guide Service last year and was impressed with how well Rockwell knew the lake, so he hired him this year too.
This was Grenier’s last fishing trip for a while.
“I’m running out of room in my man cave,” he said.
