It’s not often that I blog about another blog, but a recent post by a fellow guide/blogger caught my interest.
JD Richey, whose blog appears in Salmon, Trout, Steelheader, recently wrote about a world record king salmon that was caught and released in August at River’s Inlet, British Columbia. If you’re interested, the details of the catch can be found here.
The exact weight of the massive king salmon is not known, but it measured 55” long and the girth was 38”. If you apply the gold standard of fish weight estimation, length x girth x girth/750, the goliath weighed 105.9lbs.
They say records are meant to be broken, but since the angler released the fish, Les Anderson’s Kenai king salmon is still recognized as the official rod and reel world record. For those of you who don’t know about the record, Les’ fish was caught on May 17th, 1985, and it weighed 97.4lbs.
Fisherman who love the Kenai River often discuss the possibility of it producing another world record king salmon. I’m on the side that believes it still can. The massive Kenai king in the photo above was caught in a research net by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in 2016. Its weight was estimated at 91lbs.
However, I am a realist about the king salmon runs on the Kenai River. It’s hard not to notice that the average size and numbers have been declining over the years.
But, I do believe the genetics are still there. With the protective measures ADFG has adopted, and reading about a monster king salmon caught and released in British Columbia, I am encouraged and hopeful for the future.
Long live the kings!*
*Every angler can do their part by releasing the big girls and boys and selectively harvesting fish in abundance.
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