Fed- up angler finds bigger fish to fry 'Little guy' eats By John S. Day Of the NEWS Staff Washington gridlock, which has been blamed for just about everything wrong in America, apparently sidetracked one of Maine's oldest political traditions. Scott Westfall, a West Brooksville carpenter who landed the presidential salmon last May 2, said Thursday he got tired of waiting for the Clinton White House to make up its mind whether to accept or reject the first Atlantic salmon caught in the Penobscot River. He ate the fish himself a few weeks ago. That action brought Westfall a rebuke from the head of the Atlantic Salmon Commission, who claimed that the angler had "destroyed" property donated to the state of Maine. With only a few bones left from the state's historic salmon, aides to President Clinton finally confirmed earlier this week that Vice President Gore would accept the Maine fish on Sept. 9. Unfortunately, that fish is just a warm gastric memory. Beginning® with President Howard Taft 81 years ago, the first At- presidential salmon lantic salmon taken each spring from the Penobscot River near Bangor has been given to the president at the White House. Although the tradition was suspended during the 1950s because of industrial pollution in the Penobscot, it resumed during President Ronald Reagan's administration after sewage treatment plants cleaned up the river. Although President Clinton campaigned on a promise to end Washington "gridlock," his own indecision, a comedy of errors and bad communications killed the 81- year-old tradition this year. After landing the 7-pound silver salmon in Guerin Pool on the Veazie side of the Penobscot May 2, Westfall deposited the fish in his freezer and waited months for White House aides to set up an appointment with Clinton. The trip to Washington would have made history. Westfall's father, Claude, landed the first Penobscot salmon in 1992 and presented it to George Bush at the former president's vacation retreat at Walker's Point in Kennebunkport. No father-and-son team had ever caught the presiSee TIRED on Page 3
