EAST ORLAND, Maine — If you’ve ever gone fishing, you likely have heard of Zebco fishing reels. The closed-face reels have been on the market for more than 70 years.
Zebco is short for Zero Hour Electric Bomb Company, which used explosives to conduct oil fracking to supply the U.S. military during World War II. When the war ended, the company transitioned to producing fishing reels.
Those are among the interesting stories you can learn about during a visit to the Atlantic Salmon Museum at the Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery and Fisheries Resource Center.
The hatchery, established in 1889 and operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is located on the shores of Alamoosook Lake. The facility produces Atlantic salmon as part of the conservation program designed to help restore the endangered sea-run fish to Maine rivers.
It’s also home to the Craig Brook Atlantic Salmon Museum, which features exhibits and artifacts chronicling the storied history of Atlantic salmon fishing, rod building, canoe construction and other angling dynamics.
Richard Jagels, an emeritus professor in forest biology at the University of Maine and a longtime angler, has spent the past several years acquiring and expanding the exhibit with a treasure trove of fishing-related items.
“When I retired and this needed someone to take charge, I jumped into it for something to do,” said Jagels, who had done previous museum work.
Jagels belongs to the Friends of Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery, a nonprofit group focused on highlighting awareness of the facility and Atlantic salmon resources through education, environmental programs and community outreach.
There’s a life-sized mural of Maine fishes as well as a growing assortment of museum offerings. Through the efforts of Jagels and the friends group, the museum has grown in the last six years from three wooden display cases to numerous presentations that highlight various elements of Maine’s recreational fishing traditions.
Jagels said one of the primary goals of the friends group is to introduce children to the rich and extensive history of Maine fisheries and angling, including but not limited to Atlantic salmon.
One exhibit shows the history of fishing reels across the world and in the United States. Wooden reels were replaced by nickel-silver and brass specimens, which eventually resembled the more modern styles.
“Interestingly, a lot of Maine fly fishermen and salmon fishermen in particular always bought British reels and rods,” Jagels said, noting that some of the early American reels were made by jewelers.
Bangor is featured in an exhibit on the emergence of the modern bamboo rod, first built by Hiram Leonard and then by his protege, Fred Thomas. Those rods set the standard for a century and are still in limited production.
“Leonard was the first to make large numbers of rods,” Jagels said. “He had a special beveling machine. It was kept in a secret room.”
Canoes have a prominent place in the Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery’s Atlantic Salmon Museum. On display is an all-original A.E. Gerrish rowing canoe, known as a “pea pod,” a wood and canvas craft built in Bangor in the late 1800s.
The Old Town and White companies followed with their own canoes, which also achieved notoriety for their craftsmanship and versatility.
A canoe in the style of Norwegian boat builder Karl Anderson, whose craft has a flatter bottom but is wider, is displayed as well. It was the choice of many Atlantic salmon anglers and guides for use in rivers.
It was Anderson who in 1912 established the tradition of sending the first Atlantic salmon caught in the Penobscot River each year to the White House. The gesture ended when the fish were placed on the Endangered Species List.
The museum also pays tribute to influential anglers, artists, crafts people and conservationists. That includes a recreation of the office used by fisheries biologist Charles Atkins, the first fisheries manager at the Craig Brook hatchery.
One notable angler whose contributions are on display is the late artist and rod maker Arthur Taylor, whose work focused on fishing and anglers.
“He was not only an artist, but did a lot of work to support the Atlantic Salmon Federation,” Jagels said while showing off several prints and artifacts provided by the Taylor family.
There are examples of fish taxidermy and posters explaining important facts about fish found in Maine rivers. Depictions of initiatives designed to protect the state’s fisheries adorn the walls.
Among the jewels of the collections are examples of the Stan Bogdan Reel, on loan from the American Museum of Fly Fishing in Vermont. The New Hampshire man carved the one-piece fishing reels, known for being crafted out of a solid piece of aluminum.
There is also a display featuring the books and drawings of the late Tom Hennessey, a longtime Bangor Daily News columnist, artist and angler.
“Don’t lift the bow and half the canoe out of the water to beach it until your partner’s out of the stern seat,” one of Hennessey’s sayings reads.
In a relatively small space in the visitor center, Jagels and the folks at the Friends of the Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery have put together a significant collection of fishing artifacts that help put Maine’s recreational fishing heritage into clearer focus.
The hatchery is gearing up for an open house on Sunday, during which the staff and volunteers will offer guided tours, fly-casting events and fly-tying instruction.
The event runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will included tours (10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.) along with fly-casting sessions (11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.). Fly-tying classes will be available throughout the open house.
The hatchery properties on Alamoosook Lake and Craig Pond also include hiking and walking trails, a public beach and boat launches.
More information can be found on the Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery page or the Friends of Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery website.
