Russia’s Ponoi River might be the last, best place on earth to catch wild Atlantic salmon on the fly in appreciable numbers. And the river’s fish are incredibly resilient, largely due to the fact that their habitat is largely intact. The river is home to three runs of salmon (hence the title of the video trailer below) that make for great fishing almost all year long.
Here in the U.S., the vast majority of our native Atlantic salmon are gone, and the fish that remain are, kindly put, “on the ropes.” But TU has worked hard with our conservation partners to improve the fish’s outlook in American rivers. For example, we worked hard with our partners to remove two dams and bypass a third on Maine’s Penobscot River to reopen spawning habitat lost to salmon and other ocean-going fish. Other more modest efforts continue, but the outlook for American Atlantic salmon is still pretty bleak.
But, if this is a bucket-list fish for you, the Ponoi is likely the best chance you’ve got to stick a few of these amazing fish. Enjoy the video.
— Chris Hunt