SCARBOROUGH – This is a real fish story, but unlike the usual tale, it’s about the one that didn’t get away.

Korean War veteran Kenneth Dyer Jr. has always loved to fish. Whether it was trout on Sebago Lake, mackerel on the Saco River or halibut 20 miles out to sea, Dyer had hauled them all. As an avid fisherman, the first day of fishing season was always a particularly big deal. In fact, Dyer says, he hadn’t missed a single one in more than 60 years.

“I really don’t know how old I was when I got my first license,” he said last week from his wheelchair at the Maine Veterans Home in Scarborough. “I just know I got one as soon as I got old enough to do it. I remember that first one cost me 25 cents.”

The 80-year-old Dyer, a Waterboro native, saw that streak in peril as April 1 approached. Realizing what was at stake for Dyer, emotionally as well as statistically, the home’s residential scheduler, Susan Cole, leapt into action. With help from Bayley’s Camping Resort in Scarborough and co-worker Julie DiMatteo, she made sure Dyer kept his opening-day date, arranging for the campground to open so he could cast a line. As luck would have it, he reeled in a largemouth bass weighing 6 pounds.

It was just what Dyer needed four weeks after moving to the home: a day outside engaged in one of his favorite hobbies. He had developed something of an independent streak during his 80 years as he traveled the nation to ply his trade as a well driller, first in places as far flung as Texas and Montana, then closer to home for his own company. And so, it may not be surprising to learn he was starting to feel a little confined.

Staff quickly noticed the change in his demeanor.

“I had heard through the grapevine that he was a little depressed, being here for one thing, and then because he thought he was going to miss the first day of fishing season for another,” said Cole. “He was a little down in the dumps.”

Dyer got an almost instant antidote to any bad feelings soon after casting his line in the water.

“Oh, my God, it was instantaneous,” said Cole. “He caught it almost immediately and brought it in himself. It wasn’t until the very end that I gave a little bit of help. And huge? That thing must have weighed 8 pounds.”

“Oh, I’d say he was quite a bit bigger than that, maybe 10 pounds at least,” said Dyer. “He was certainly heavy. I knew it’d be Christmas before I got him in.”

“We’ve got some big boys in there now,” said Gaelan Bayley on Monday, with a laugh.

Bayley said the 1.5-acre bass pound is stocked every month through the season with up to 200 fish and, although that season normally does not begin until the final Friday in April, he’s not surprised his father, Tom Bayley, agreed to open early.

“He always likes to say that, because they’ve done so much for us, whenever he gets a chance to give back, he does. That’s one of his biggest things,” said Bayley.

“Tom and his wife are just beautiful, beautiful people,” said Cole. “There was no hesitation, no questions asked. He never even gave it a second thought.

“In fact, he even said, ‘I’ll supply the bait.’ He was just so gracious,” said Cole.

After swapping out the small hooks on poles belonging to the veterans home with sturdier ones of his own, appropriate for the task at hand, the elder Bayley baited the first few, and helped with the initial castings.

“What I liked most was that he interacted with us,” said DiMatteo. “He didn’t just leave a bucket and say, ‘Have fun.’ He made us feel welcome. He made Mr. Dyer feel special, I think.”

Although Dyer says it’s generally the “peace and quiet” of fishing that he enjoys, he got a kick out of watching DiMatteo try and bait the hook, while he and Cole swapped “war stories” of their legendary fishing adventures, both true and embellished.

“I was the helping one, she was the squealy one,” joked Cole, referring to DiMatteo’s attempts to grab and hook a shiner.

“Of course, it’s always nice to be around pretty girls,” said Dyer. “And she gave it quite a go. She was all game, I’ll tell you that.”

“The whole time I was learning and trying to remember what to do,” said DiMatteo. “We laughed until my cheeks hurt.”

“Really, it was just nice to be one-on-one with these guys,” said Cole, noting that one other resident joined the expedition, as well. “The residents, they’re so interesting, with all the things they’ve done in their lifetimes.”

“My generation, it’s not something we do that often, to just go out to go fishing without any cell phones or computers, to just have plain conversation on a nice day,” said DiMatteo. “It was just a good experience and it is interesting to hear their stories, because it makes me want to grab my friends and go out and do things like that, too.”

“It was just a really, really nice day,” said Cole. “We can’t thank Bayley’s enough for making it happen.”

“I thanked him at the time,” said Dyer. “It was very fun. It’s a beautiful place, too. But I thank these girls, as well.

“I do have to say, it picked up my spirits quite a bit,” said Dyer. “Everyone in here has been real, real good to me. But I’m a home person. I’m an outdoor person. Why, I’d like to have a nickel for every rabbit I ever shot.”

But that, says Cole, is a story for another opening day.

Kenneth Dyer Jr., a resident of the Maine Veterans Home in Scarborough, with the largemouth bass he caught April 1 at Bayley’s Camping Resort. Although not yet open for the season, campground owner Tom Bayley allowed Dyer entry so he could keep his streak alive of never missing opening day of fishing season. Courtesy photo