I just learned that Atlantic salmon return to the Ocean after spawning and can return to the river to spawn again although less then half make it back.

I did not know any salmon could return, pretty cool huh

LT,

That's because Atlantic salmon are more closely related - physically but not phylogenetically - to steelhead trout than to Pacific salmon. Another way of looking at it, an east coast friend thought it strange that Pacific salmon all die after spawning since Atlantic salmon do not.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Salmo

Do you think that run on the Green will become a full blown run?

i caught one on the green ten years ago.

Living in New England just about my whole life is where I started fishing for Atlantics on the Merrimack and the Connectuit river out there. They are decent fish and the fight resembles the fight of a steelhead. The biggest one that I ever caught wqas 14lbs and the guy said that is an awesome size fish. It is fly fishing only for them. They release the fish out there as Broodstock they dont release them as smolt. There is a lot of Bass and Pickerol and nice size Browns and they would just go crazy on the river eating the smolt. But yes the Atlantics do go up and down like the steelhead and fishing for them is like fishing for steelies also. They also are in the rivers just about all the time not like our salmon runs out here where they run all at one time they are always running through the rivers.

Fish On
Kevin

Do they aggressive biters?

The farther up the river the more they are. they are like steelhead they dont stop eating when they run up. You where only allowed five a year and it is like $15 for a ticket. THey are good eating also. Not like the rumors you here they are nasty remember the ones you get out here are farm raised.
But to get back on your question lead they are extremely aggressive. We landed 8 in one day. We dont get a huge run like the kings or cohos. It would be decent to see 1 or possibly 2 fish a day. We would go for walleye on the connectuit and we would catch the atlabtics they will basicly hit anything. Flies though we use about 1 1/2 inch streamers. The rainbow colors work really good also.
I love the fishing out there but I love it more out here.
We get Stripers in the river around summer time and we boat on a bad day around 30 to 40 fish with very few keepers. Keeper have to be like 34 to 38 inches I do believe. We also get Sea-Run Browns out there also. But I will really miss the salmon fishing out here incredibly but I will be backin 3 years you guys better save some damn fish for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dang! I'd like to play one of those Atlantics!

It's been a decade or more but when I was stationed in Groton, Ct. it was illegal to retain atlantic salmon at least in the salt.

First time I ever saw a Spey rod used was for Atlantics on the rivers of Eastern Canada.

grew up in upstate NY and caught many atlantics, they are very aggressive. When I lived there we could keep them and they are great table fare.In most parts of the country, if it lists salmon on the menu, without stating chinook, or whatever, it is probably an atlantic.............Fishy.

I caught an Atlantic last year in the upper Green. Wasn't sure what it was at first, so I took a picture and let it go. Should have lumped it. It was the only fish that wanted my eggs that day.

Hey flogger,

The atlantic that you caught was he very acrobatic. That is one thing I do remember about them they are as bit as an acrobat as the summer-runs.

Flogger, you missed a great eating fish!

LT,

No, I don’t think Atlantic salmon will establish natural, self-sustaining runs around here, although it remains a slight possibility. Atlantics caught in local rivers are escapees from net pen fish farms. They have spawned in several rivers, and juvenile Atlantics have even been found rearing. But there is more to a successful life cycle than that, and so far, the species has not been able to complete the circuit in the Pacific.

Atlantics are about as aggressive as steelhead when it comes to hitting bait and lures. They bite best at optimum water temperatures and flows. Cold and warm water and very low flows are the worst time to fish for Atlantics.

Sthd dreaming,

The strategies of releasing fry, smolt, and captive broodstock have all been tried in various eastern U.S. rivers in an attempt to restore Atlantic salmon. Like steelhead, they return at different seasons and sizes, depending on the river and region of the Atlantic. Atlantics larger than 50 pounds return to some of Norway’s most famous rivers. Grilse, which we call jacks, are common to some of the rivers of Quebec and Labrador. The earliest returning Atlantics used to enter English and Scottish rivers in February. June through September is when most Atlantics enter their home rivers, but they come in as late as November, which is also the peak spawning month in most regions. Sport-caught Atlantic salmon are very acrobatic because most of them are caught in the summer during prime water conditions, like summer steelhead.

Restoring Atlantics to the Connecticut will be a miracle, although one worth persuing in my opinion. There is a lot of good tributary habitat in that large river system, but the presence of so many predator species like smallmouth bass and stripers might make it impossible unless the timing of juvenile migrations doesn’t synch with the predators’ active periods.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Thanks Salmo

Yeah it must be September or whenever the Kings make it up there but fishing for summers up in the GR Gorge when the flow is around 150 cfs you can see them hanging in some odd water. They don't seem to behave anything like our salmon. I've seen them holding close to the surface in absolutely still, gin clear water with the hot summer sun and had thought they were just jacks. None of them were very big or very pretty. It wasn't until I saw one caught and it had the classic three spot markings on the gill plate that I later realized identified it as an atlantic. The one I saw caught was actually holding in a small ripple where a side channell dumped back into the main flow. All the other ones were pretty much lockjawed.