Conventional wisdom holds that landlocked salmon are descendants of some Atlantic salmon that were trapped by geological upheaval about 10,000 years ago. That event stranded them from going to sea, so they just carried on with what water they had. Fish nerds call them “glaciomarine relicts.”
However, the newer, enlightened thinking is that perhaps some of the fish just didn’t want to bother to run to the sea. Rather than follow the crowd, these mavericks said, “Forget that, I am good here. Lots of smelts to eat and no giant sharks or other sea critters trying to eat me. Besides, all that swimming is just exhausting.”
No matter, landlocked salmon are a northeastern fish and there is no destination with more mystique and allure than Grand Lake Stream, Maine. No matter if you troll the area’s lakes or cast a fly in Grand Lake Stream itself, the landlocked salmon draws fishermen from all over the world.
Although scientifically the same, landlocks are different fish than Atlantic salmon, and it’s different fishing. I remember one buddy coming back from a week-long trip and saying, “It was the best Atlantic salmon trip ever. I almost caught a fish this time.” I have fished for
