I found this on the web...it's a big ugly salmon
90 Pound Glacier King Salmon Landed in Argentina - Flylords Mag
CB
90 Pound Glacier King Salmon Landed in Argentina - Flylords Mag
CB
90 Salmon on the fly
- Thread starter cb3fish
- Start date
Those are truly huge salmon. The largest I've ever seen in person was 65 pound and that fish was passed through a weir un-weighed. The staff, one of who has been counting and sampling kings for 22 years helped make the estimate of size and I do not question his call. It was noticeably larger than any fish I've ever seen in fresh water.
Years ago before the decline I killed a 44 and weighed many other fish in the high 30's and low 40's range and by doing that you get a very good feel for size of these fish. I like to think that until you've held and weighed a good number of them it is very hard to estimate size and weight. The largest I ever caught on a fly had to be estimated and released because the fishing was C&R and there was no messing around with caught fish. Best I can say was that it was considerably larger than any other I had caught ever. It was fully turned so had been in the river for at least 4 weeks. I never saw it prior to getting hooked up to it and the business of landing it was arduous. It was large enough that it didn't splash and fight against the hook like normal salmon. In fact it just seemed to do whatever it wanted and what it wanted was to swim downriver. By the time I got it (barely) into my rather huge salmon net I was hundreds of yards downstream from my boat. I was alone and have only very poor photos.
The whole fish would not fit into the frame of the lens, it was definitely larger than anything I had caught. For size reference that hand, the one clutching the caudal bone... the hand is very large, like basketball palming large and I could not hold the tail area with one hand.
My thoughts on truly huge salmon? I would rather catch King salmon in the range of 25 to 30 pounds any time. At that size they are a substantial task to land quickly and in most cases are larger than anything most people ever caught before. Once thay get to the 40 pound mark or beyond that size they are more like reeling in a very heavy wet log that can decide to swim away from you whenever they want to.
My last observation on catching larger Kings would be; what would you rather do, catch 10 fish 25 to 30 pounds over a period of time or catch one fish that eats up half an hour of your fishing time while you try to drag it in? It has taken a few experiences with big ones for me to make a determination but once the jury was in I found that the more manageable sizes are more fun for me.
The day I caught that big red fish I was amazed and thankful that my rod did not break in half. The amount of bend and strain on the rod while trying to drag him (it was a male) into a soft water eddy was more than I've ever put on a 2 hand rod...…
Years ago before the decline I killed a 44 and weighed many other fish in the high 30's and low 40's range and by doing that you get a very good feel for size of these fish. I like to think that until you've held and weighed a good number of them it is very hard to estimate size and weight. The largest I ever caught on a fly had to be estimated and released because the fishing was C&R and there was no messing around with caught fish. Best I can say was that it was considerably larger than any other I had caught ever. It was fully turned so had been in the river for at least 4 weeks. I never saw it prior to getting hooked up to it and the business of landing it was arduous. It was large enough that it didn't splash and fight against the hook like normal salmon. In fact it just seemed to do whatever it wanted and what it wanted was to swim downriver. By the time I got it (barely) into my rather huge salmon net I was hundreds of yards downstream from my boat. I was alone and have only very poor photos.
The whole fish would not fit into the frame of the lens, it was definitely larger than anything I had caught. For size reference that hand, the one clutching the caudal bone... the hand is very large, like basketball palming large and I could not hold the tail area with one hand.
My thoughts on truly huge salmon? I would rather catch King salmon in the range of 25 to 30 pounds any time. At that size they are a substantial task to land quickly and in most cases are larger than anything most people ever caught before. Once thay get to the 40 pound mark or beyond that size they are more like reeling in a very heavy wet log that can decide to swim away from you whenever they want to.
My last observation on catching larger Kings would be; what would you rather do, catch 10 fish 25 to 30 pounds over a period of time or catch one fish that eats up half an hour of your fishing time while you try to drag it in? It has taken a few experiences with big ones for me to make a determination but once the jury was in I found that the more manageable sizes are more fun for me.
The day I caught that big red fish I was amazed and thankful that my rod did not break in half. The amount of bend and strain on the rod while trying to drag him (it was a male) into a soft water eddy was more than I've ever put on a 2 hand rod...…
Ard,
My buddy caught the largest king Salmon ever on a fly rod--it was 73 pounds and is the current World record, I think they gave him 71.5. On the Rogue river, It used to have giant Salmon. I have never landed a salmon over 48 pounds, how ever on a good day I did land 3 over 40 on my 9 wt Sage with 10 # Max....and remember these fish we catch are SILVER right out of the sea. Not the old dark dog looking things.
CB
My buddy caught the largest king Salmon ever on a fly rod--it was 73 pounds and is the current World record, I think they gave him 71.5. On the Rogue river, It used to have giant Salmon. I have never landed a salmon over 48 pounds, how ever on a good day I did land 3 over 40 on my 9 wt Sage with 10 # Max....and remember these fish we catch are SILVER right out of the sea. Not the old dark dog looking things.
CB
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Flytie,
First off I don't know the real truth about this fish. I have heard stories that this fish had spawned and was dying and the guy snagged it. When these big old bucks about to die, I don't think they can even close there mouth all the way, due to the growth of their mouth and I don't believe they would eat a fly. Again, I just posted the picture. If it was a legal catch it would be the largest King Salmon ever caught on a fly rod- I don't have a dog in that fight and actually don't care CB
First off I don't know the real truth about this fish. I have heard stories that this fish had spawned and was dying and the guy snagged it. When these big old bucks about to die, I don't think they can even close there mouth all the way, due to the growth of their mouth and I don't believe they would eat a fly. Again, I just posted the picture. If it was a legal catch it would be the largest King Salmon ever caught on a fly rod- I don't have a dog in that fight and actually don't care CB
mcnerney
Administrator
When I lived in Alaska, I remember a guy landing a 97 lb King Salmon on the Kenai river, I think his name was Les Anderson. I assume it was with gear not with fly fishing gear, but it was touted as a world record. As I recall it took him several hours to land that fish, the boat he was in ran out of fuel so he had to get in a second boat.
I have hooked into King Salmon while wading on the Kenai, but I quickly learned that it was best to point the rod at the fish and break off before you lost all the line. Once the run down river it is virtually impossible to stop a big fish of that size without the help of aa boat.
Les Anderson’s World Record King Salmon - Alaska Sports Hall Of Fame
I have hooked into King Salmon while wading on the Kenai, but I quickly learned that it was best to point the rod at the fish and break off before you lost all the line. Once the run down river it is virtually impossible to stop a big fish of that size without the help of aa boat.
Les Anderson’s World Record King Salmon - Alaska Sports Hall Of Fame
Larry,
It seems I remember that story from about 30 years ago. If I remember right he had a hell of a time with that fish.
I have found that with most big fishing fighting skills you always want to use angles to fight the big boys.
CB
It seems I remember that story from about 30 years ago. If I remember right he had a hell of a time with that fish.
I have found that with most big fishing fighting skills you always want to use angles to fight the big boys.
CB
Meadowlark
Well-known member
I know some guys that fish Chile for Kings and they are also huge there. Lack of fishing pressure both commercial and sport is probably a big factor. These are the same genetic strain as the Alaskan King Salmon...in fact they came from the Alaskan King salmon spawn. One day maybe I'll get there.
weiliwen
Well-known member
I caught a 60-lb chinook in the Nehalem River many years ago, on a spinner. It was only the 3rd largest caught that season on that river.
It was a big hen and like all hens (at least in the Nehalem System), she went straight down and looked for a snag. Bucks tended to head for the next county just under the surface. No evidence that this is common for all Chinook, but it was considered "local knowledge" by the locals around then.
It was a big hen and like all hens (at least in the Nehalem System), she went straight down and looked for a snag. Bucks tended to head for the next county just under the surface. No evidence that this is common for all Chinook, but it was considered "local knowledge" by the locals around then.