Alone On A Maine River, Fly-fishing Again

John Kirk rolled into the parking lot of Veazie Salmon Club on Saturday afternoon in a pickup truck full of fly rods — seven to be precise — and other assorted fishing gear, eager to see if he could catch an early arriving American shad. Not that the species of the fish really mattered, mind you. The fishing did. “Here goes day 52,” the Portland attorney said with a grin, explaining that since the first of the year, he has spent at least part of the day fishing exactly that many times. In the interest of full disclosure, I met Kirk over beers in a local bar several years ago, and we became friends.