We fished the Grays River (lower Columbia) every fall in the 70's and 80's. The first two fish in the hatchery one year were both over 70 lbs. The next year my dad lost one after an hour and a half fight. The next day an elderly local caught one that weighed 72 lbs., in the same spot with my dads maxima leader, hook and green yarn in its mouth. That same year I caught my personal best, 46 lbs. The eggs filled 3 large peanut butter cans. Those were the days.
I caught a 22 pounder at the barge hole in Anderson on the Sac River about 1988 near battlecreek. I was 14 and had a cast on my arm. First time ever salmon fishing, nobody else caught anything all day around us. Caught him on a flatfish lure. Later that night I caught a cold.
I have been fishing for King Salmon on the Marin Coast since 1983. My early adventures were mostly made on local charter boats. In 1985 I caught the largest Salmon I had ever seen while fishing on the Salty Lady charter boat with the legendary charter captain Roger Thomas. At the time I thought that using light tackle was key to catching salmon. I was using a small Penn reel lined with 15 pound test and Ande 15 pound leader. I was using an anchovy harnessed by Roger's deckhand set at 25 feet on the starboard side of the Salty Lady 5 stations from the bow. After nearly 30 minutes I landed my "almost" Tyee with the help of Roger and his competent deckhand. I was so stoked and I still remember that August afternoon. In 1997 I purchased a 25 foot Skipjack Sportcruiser. From April until November of 1997 I logged 850 hours fishing for salmon. We caught many large fish and I tried many variations of harnessing anchovies, herring, and sardines to various sizes of cable hooks. In 2002 I had a crew of 3 including my girlfriend at the time and I was trolling the eat side of the pinnacles of Duxbury reef . The water was only 40 feet deep and when the drag on her reel started pulling out I suspected the rig had hooked the bottom. Soon after the fish began to make runs that were very impressive. 30 minutes later the fish was still fighting as I circled the fish. My girlfriend was exhausted at this point and could not lift the rod enough to bring the fish close enough to the boat for me to put the net under the fish and purse the net. I advised she go to the opposite side of the boat and reel and lift as much as she could while my buddy held her from falling down. I managed to but the beast into the net and securely purse the net. With the help of my friend David we brought the 51 inch bright chrome Buck over the rail in near darkness. This was the largest King Salmon ever landed on the FISHTALES. Our season is expected to be closed until July 1 this year. I am still hoping to catch one this large sometime before I cannot fish any more. FWIW I caught a 70 pound "White King" when I was a deckhand on aSitka commercial troll boat in 1993. The beast had limited market value so the captain decided we should have it smoked . It was incredibly delicious. The heat smoked "kipper smoked" was great. The cold smoked "Lox" was incredible.
I have lived on and guided from my drift boat on the Kenai River since 1985. I stopped guiding in 1998 but continued to fish it to 2006. The decline of the Kenai King Salmon in size and numbers breaks my heart. The burning of coal has killed off the zooplankton in the ocean. The base line NOAA Zooplankton level taken in 1980 has decreased by 83 % as of 2014. Currently, NOAA has told me that level is now down by 92%. That means there is 92% less food stock in the Pacific Ocean now than was there in 1980. The early king run back in 1986 to 1990 averaged 27,000 escapement compared to 2050 this year 2022. Last year we has a late run of less than 12000 fish when the late run averaged 90,000 back in the 1980's. The size of the kings in the late run now average 25-30 lbs. Back in the 1980's the average late run king averaged 58-72 lbs.. Back in 1993, I had an 86 year old man fight a king that several guides estimated to be 130 plus pounds. LENGHT WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 60 INCHES. FISH EVENTUALLY WAS FREED AFTER RUNNING UNDER A TREE ON THE RIVER BOTTOM IN BEAVER CREEK HOLE. FISH HOOKED AT 5:30PM AND LOST AT 2:30 AM SOME EIGHT HOURS LATER. IT WAS NOT UNCOMMON TO HAVE 4 CLIENTS ALL CATCH A KING AND ALL WERE OVER 70 LBS... THE GENETIC STOCK IS STIIL PURE BUT WE SHOULD SHUT THE RIVER DOWN UNTIL OCEAN CONDITIONS FOR FOOD IMPROVE AND WE STOP BURNING FOSSIL FUELS. SO2, CO2 AND NO ALL ARE ACIDIC AND THEY KILL ZOOPLANKTON. That may be the only was to save this run for our grand kids...
Hey Joe, just a question for you. Sockeye are krill feeders, how is it that the Bristol Bay Sockeye were at record numbers this year? It takes a shit ton of plankton to grow that many Sockeye to adulthood. Sockeye returns in BC were way past forecast in just about all cases this year as well. What do you make of that? I'm intrigued by your commentary because I haven't heard that explanation before. Cheers from Vancouver Island. :)
Sockete are both Zooplankton and well as Phytoplantkon..Zooplankton are animal and phytoplankton are vegetative...Here is no loss of phytoplankton. Zooplankton have crashed... Also, the Berring is still cooler than the Gulf of Alaska and holds Sockeye better. Unfortunately, there time will come....@@allancrow134
My dad caught an 80 pounder in the kenia at Harry"s hole. We released it on june 30. Could have kept it the next day back on the 90s. Nowadays I csnt help but think I might catch a grandson. Makes me cry every drift in front of Ruebens place
I personally saw Less Andersons fish in the back of his truck in Soldotna at my mom's restaurant Sals Diner. I ask Less whether he'd had it weighed. He said not yet. Wow, I knew it was losing water weight. Beautiful fish. TK
At one time there were millions of king salmon that were 5 6 ft long some even bigger but the commercial Gill nets for set to catch those big fish in a small King Salmon swim through the Nets and went up River and that became the norm and all the big ones got caught in the Nets and a small ones swam through and bread and lay their eggs and so that's why our King Salmon or now three feet long maybe two feet long because of the commercial Nest determine the size of the fish that travels through the net
The Kenai River king will be a distant memory if something doesn’t change...now. Catch and release is not even good enough. Complete ban on the species is the only way; for at least 5 years. Escapement numbers at 6 and 8 thousand is a pathetic joke compared to the 50-100 thousand in yesteryears. I’ve fished the Kenai silver and red runs for the last 40 years. I know what I’m talking about. I love catching kings as much as anyone. But, I have refused to apply for my king tag for the last 10 years in hopes that the run will bounce back. It isn’t. It’s dwindling rapidly. At this rate, it will be extinct in no time. This is not an attack on you. It is a desperate plea to save the run for future generations and the health and wellness of the Kenai. Thank you to anyone who made it through this post. Please comment whether you agree wi me or otherwise. A discussion is a healthy start to solving the King crisis of the Kenai River. Much love, and fish on!
Great video young man ! I have been fishing the Sac as we call it and the American ,feather and delta for over 35 yrs and the biggest salmon i ever caught was on the Feather below shanghai bend on a glow in the dark gitzit on a jighead it was 52lbs and change and a chromer on a 7ft shamano rod abu real with 20lb line ... great video thanks
Thank you! Wow 52 pounds! Years ago I had a client hook a big dark one of that exact same weight in the Fridge Hole above Gridley on a diver and bait..it had 5 broken off flosser leaders in it and we just happened to somehow get our rig tangled in the one in the tail. Somehow we landed it and it was almost a fistfight when I told the guy he couldn’t keep it (since the fish didn’t bite our gear).
I worked for F&W a couple seasons on the Okanogan River in Washington state. There were some nice Chinook salmon in our river, but nothing like what’s in this video. Thanks for posting.
I met the guy that holds the Worlds record King Salmon in Kenai, Alaska about 15 years ago. He lived in Kenai or Soldotna or near by. My Father and myself fished (late May, early June, the Bigger fish are in the River in July) with his best friend who guides and has a lodge on the Kenai River. The fish was like 98 pounds or such? But what people don't know is that after the guy caught the fish he threw it in the back of his pick-up truck and drove around town showing off his "BIG" fish for 3 hours before someone says, "Hay, you might want to weigh that King Salmon, it's pretty BIG. (This guy had been born and raised on the Kenai River and had caught hundreds of BIG Kings) So 3 hours after he killed the fish and it laid in the back of his truck for nearly 3 hours he finally took it to the Post Office to get weighed and it was the new World record King Salmon. 98 pounds or such? The Alaska DNR after they confirmed the weight as a new World record said that if he would have weighed it right after he killed it the King Salmon would've been closer to 110 pounds !!! No Shit...True story!!
My pb is 41 lb. in 1972 at at 13 yrs. old on the mouth of the Columbia. It took 45 minutes to bring it in. Every time you got it close to the boat it would dive. Finally netted it on the third try. Hard to find the big ones anymore. Nice video
Great video. There appears to be some disagreement about the largest Chinook ever caught. Some sources say it was the 126-pound fish caught in a fish trap in Alaska, other sources say it was a 126-pound fish caught by commercial fishing in Rivers Inlet, BC. Regardless, just a great video. 👍
Glad you included the Patagonia Chinook. It's insane what's going on down there. That all started with 20,000 Cowlitz River(lower Columbia) hatchery smolts....so much for hatchery fish being useless. I have a photo(1928) in a frame on my boat of a >125 lb Chinook that was caught in a fish trap in Juan de Fuca Strait near Sooke BC which would have certainly made your list. That fish could have been an Elwah or Fraser. I also recently saw a photo of 101 lb Chinook caught(and released) by a sports fisherman in Rivers Inlet BC in August of this year. Somewhere there is an old picture of a 150 lb Chinook that was taken at one of the old Rivers Inlet canneries. In that pic, the fish is hanging from a piece of timber held up between the shoulders of two cannery workers. That's the biggest one I've ever seen in a photo but unfortunately, I don't have a copy of it. Awesome vid. Thanks.
Sterlheader all my life.... I landed a fresh 47 lb king on a fly rod with a spinning reel taped to it....yeah...8lb mono...the fish was make bright silver...worthy mention! My Son and co-worker were fishing with me .. Feather River Nor.Cal ...86lb is the record here... I Know the gentleman that caught it... Anyway...I've seen and fought some spectacular tail walking Giants.... There's a picture of a Rainbow Trout that weighed in at 56 lbs... Recipe for Steelhead...cut cold fish into 5/8" steaks whip up Real butter cube add minced fresh garlic 1-2 cloves One spoon Basil Two spoons parsley mix ingredients and spread onto fish ... Oven at Broil... before placing fish into broiler drizzle with your favorite honey ( add crushed pecans if you like) place fish close to broiler flame 4 inches is good... check fish at 7 minutes if the steaks start to butterfly off the bone it's done... BBQ too but butter flares up bad! Enjoy! Eric Underwood Class of 81 Downey High school CA
@@jamescoleakaericunderwood2503 Hey Eric, nice recipe, I'll have to try that. I'm 60 years old and live on Vancouver Island and have been an avid recreational and commercial fisherman my entire adult life. I love Steelhead fishing on the Island's rivers, 21lbs being my biggest. The last several years have seen very poor returns due to the seal and sea lion predation. I once played a Steelhead on the Cowichan River that I know was over 30 lbs for about 45 mins before it spooled me as it left the pool on a mad dash downstream. It jumped over a dozen times, a few times right in front of me. :) I also spent 10 seasons(every August from 1995 to 2005) capturing the Chinook hatchery broodstock(by angling) for the Kilbella and Chuckwalla Rivers in Rivers Inlet BC, 76 lbs being my biggest. One season my friend caught one over 90lbs so I can relate to your epic battle with a 50 lb Chinook on the Feather River. :) Rivers Inlet BC has some of the largest Chinook salmon on the planet including fish over 100 lbs(Google it). Cheers from Vancouver Island my friend.
@@allancrow134 ✌️ It's even good cold! Funny I never aquired a taste for em till I was in my late 40s! I serve it with homemade scalloped potatoes and asparagus...ice cream afterwards! As good as it gets! Enjoy TTYL
@@allancrow134 shoot me an email and I'll show you some pics of a Terrazzo Mosaic Salmon I just finished...while you're at it send me a pic of that 125 lb I read the story but never seen the picture...I'd appreciate it...my art came out awesome ...the Salmon is made up of 80 individual panels...done in Pacific Northwest Style it's a 4 foot oval with red imperial granite in the field with green serpentine rock in black epoxy.
When I was 13 years old in 1976 I caught a king salmon in a gill net on the HOHRIVER in Washington state on the Olympic Penninsula and a seal got to him and ate the body off and the only thing left was the salmons head , and that thing was so big it wouldn't even fit in a 5 gallon bucket , because I gave it to a ww1 war veteran named herbie fisher and he told me that it was the biggest king salmon fish head he'd ever seen and he fought in world War 1 , unbelievable!!!!
Now days a big king weighs in the area of 25-30 pounds. My biggest was a white king from the Chilliwack River in BC weighing 65 pounds. I got a nice picture of it and gave it to an old couple who hadn’t landed any fish. I’m not big on white meat kings so it was easy for me to give away and the old couple were delighted. It took me about 45 minutes to land the fish and was the thrill of my life. I’m glad I didn’t loose it because at 76 years old and the dwindling stock of big fish the opportunity for me to ever catch another big fish are nil. But who knows. And that’s what fishing is all about. A bigger one might be swimming around out there right now.
I used to live in Washington st in the 90s and my pb king was just shy of 40 lbs it was released i went back out the next day and got spooled by an absolute monster i couldn't do anything with that fish as soon as it hit it took of down river like it had a rocket strapped to its back. Gotta love bank fishing the river lol
@@fishwithjd i have no clue that one that went almost 40 sure gave me one hell of a run. I was more upset at the thought of all that line being left in the river then I was at losing such a big fish
When I was a kid in the Mat-su valley on the Susitna drainage I remember one night fishing started at midnight for a weekend fishery, and we caught one king after another mostly on fly, and we pulled 2 50+ lbs, and the smallest around 35lbs. Sadly I have been back there with my own childeren and have never done as well as we did when I was young. Most of the Susitna drainage has been closed to Kings for several years, my childeren only have my stories which to them are hard to believe.
It would be nice if hydro electric dams could be reduced or eliminated so that REAL runs could spawn in the upper reaches of the Columbia..I get the point that Grand Coulee can't be managed by "big-uns" but the more habitat for laying the eggs the bigger the runs can become..That would go a long way towards recovering the species
Jeez man, What a amazing video JD. Ridiculous the size of those fish. Biggest salmon i have ever seen personally was with guide John Klar and a buddy of mine Dale Hoagland. I was a young , probably 12-14 years old teen and fishing was and still is, EVERYTHING. Dale my buddy was friends with John from some years back and i guess John had a open day of fishing so Dale (family friend) convinced the parents to let me play hooky. Anyway we were on the Smith and were fishing down in the tide water. It was one of the most epic days of my young fishing life, even though it was a zoo, pretty much boat sitting on top of boat. Everyone knew everyone, Man talk was happening and everyone was catching fish. I hooked plenty of fish that day, but none were monsters. And most of the fish were starting to color up but they were plentiful. All morning John was talking about the tide that happened that previous night thought it would bring in a new batch of fish well was he ever right, About midday Dale's bobber drained and it was on, instantly came out of the water after the hookset and i swear it was the brightest fish i had ever laid my eyes upon. Especially after seeing 50 fish that morning by us and others that had been in the river for a bit. Anyways he landed that fish and it was a 42lb Chrome Hen, Unfortunately she was so intrigued and couldn't resist the mans Roe Cure and the Sand Shrimp that she swallowed both hooks into her gullet, Looking back now especially wish we could of let her go. But sometimes that just isnt in the cards, When that fish hit the deck next to the other couple fish we had which were idk 12-20lbs it was ridiculous. The shoulders and Girth was amazing. One of my favorite stories and as you can tell once i start talking fishing, i can ramble. Anyways thanks for always sharing your experinces and your knowledge JD. Hope to be able to meet you someday,
I caught a 55+# King from the bank on the Klutina River in Alaska in 1990 that I still have hanging on my office wall and lingering in my dreams. I have spent well over a quarter of a million dollars since that time trying to catch another one like that. Helped my wife catch a 50#er, helped my son land and release an estimated 68# and my friends son an estimated #75# king (both released), all on the Kenai but have not had the repeat pleasure of another “fish fight of a lifetime” myself. Got a few years left and will be chasing kings until the day I die. Nothing else compares.
Dude I saw those huge ones in cottonwood creek in like 2002? Or something I was like 13. We were jumping off the trussel in cottonwood creek in the summer, and I think we went there a couple times later, and they were swimming east in a huge like line. Like thousands. They were longer than me, like logs
Yeah that was a wonderland of salmon & steelhead back in the day. My buddy also got shot by some quail hunters while fishing there too years ago. They didn’t see him,..Lu kilt he had thick waders on but still had a lot of welts
@fishwithjd Old timers would tell me about back in the day. Way before the diversion dam was constructed, they would catch river monsters sturgeon, upwards of 400lbs in "Sophie's hole"
@@fishwithjd That 126 was mounted on the wall at Ben Paris restraunt in downtown Seattle. It long gone now but I remember seeing it on the wall at the bottom of that stairwell.
You can cross off the Kenai. About 20 years ago the monster strain of Kenai kings started plummeting in numbers. The AK Board of Fisheries was made up mostly of fishing guides who didn’t want to cut off their income so they did… nothing. Now those kings are gone and no one has seen one in many years. Currently, the AK Board of Fisheries is doing the same thing with the normal king population in the Kenai and those will probably be gone in a few years, too.
I'd like to find out what the biggest salmon record would be on the Skagit River in Washington state? It's my favorite river to fish for salmon. And the Springers are running in it right now. So far I've landed 2 around the 20 pound range but I've seen a few in there recently that gotta be closer to the 30 pound range?!
I live in Vancouver. It’s sad to think that a couple hundred years ago we would have had one of if not the best salmon runs in the world with the rivers around here. Honestly if I hooked a big chinook I’d probably cut the line if it was a barbless hook rather than stress it out and maybe kill it.
Here's how I've been reviving big Steelhead for 49 years....never drag a fish ashore... I run a stringer in from under the Gill careful not to construct a Gill...up close to jaw and use a simple slip knot with a loop...tie the fish off head upstream on a branch whatever is available after 20 minutes walk over to the fish insert SHARP knife into loop hole and cut fish free...they dart off nice and fresh able to outsmart an otter!
This video was awesome thanks for sharing. I moved to Washington state in mid 89s I was in the military and living here since boy has fishing declined I remember going to fish river down south by the Columbia River and Olympic peninsula where there used to be some nice big salmon my personal best is 591/2 in a tributary of the Columbia river it’s well now river a lot of people fish it and it’s pretty dismal now it’s like that thru the whole Washington state someone needs to step up and say enough is enough no netting the rivers no commercial fishing in the puget Sound if they don’t react fast there ain’t going to be any salmon left for any grandkids growing up now
I used to love king fishing in Montana Creek near Talkeetna, AK as a kid. By my early 20’s the numbers had dropped significantly and it wasn’t worth going anymore. You used to see them swimming in schools and people were catching them left and right. I caught my first ever king in one cast after getting to the creek. Year after year I would see the hot fishing spot shrink smaller and smaller until there was only one person hooking most of the kings and hogging the spot all night. The number shrunk so much that they closed the creek to king fishing all together. I dont know if it ever opened back up since then.
I live to fish kings on Lake Michigan we don’t see fish that size but 20-30lbs are definitely a possibility every trip. Don’t need a big operation to do it I just run a 18’ Lund tyee
I live in Alaska and fish for kings in May and June. These fish that are removed from the water -- gills out of water -- such as the first photo of the large (but not trophy) heavily blushed king caught in the Kenai River -- is a violation of ADFG regs which prohibit their removal out of water for ego pics such as this because it drastically increases mortality and these fish thus do not live to spawn. It is good you named the guide service which engages in these practices that help destroy our kings fishery
For a Rod and reel fisherman these giant Chinook Kings are truly the stuff dreams are made of. We have a nice population of land locked, Stocked Chinooks here in the mountains in a deep very cold lake and every year we go and try to catch one trolling. I've had 3 hooked that were bigger than my equipment could handle that got off and have landed a pair of nice healthy Chinooks that went into the 15 lb range that were in EXCELLENT HEALTH that we released. My Great Uncle From Northern California who used to fish all up the coast and British Columbia every year told me his secret and I've used it every year right after ice out, I can't count the people who want to know our secret or who sit on the bank with high powered spotting Scopes to observe what exactly we do that they don't but we're on to them and are super careful to not give our secret away. Funny thing is.....if they knew what we do that is the actual "Secret" most of them would either laugh themselves silly or die on the spot of a heart attack....it's so far outside of the box it's hilarious to us. But it works like magic every spring till the water columns warm and the big Chinooks go deep (mid to late June) I know for fact there are 60+ pound Chins in this lake cause I've seen them accidentally caught about once a year....and I know I've had at least 3 that big or bigger on that overpowered my equipment.....not anymore though I inherited all my Great Uncle's tackle and Rod & Reels so now here in a week or 2 the wife and I will be on the lake everyday it's safe to be out until June because there is a state record fish with my name on it that when caught will be measured, it's weight recorded and photos taken before it goes right back into the lake. It's the top fish on my bucket list
Yes a very large part, along with poor water management out of Shasta lake and many other factors, various parts of the government agencies control poorly.
Caught 5 over 50 at the mouth of Rivers inlet in 2006. Released all but one. I still remember exactly where each fish was caught. One took near an hour to land . Took me around the boat at lease ten times trying to break the line in the motor . All on my boat. Later years caught a 58 out of Sitka which would have won Sitka yearly contest. Released that one.
When I was 15 I went to Alaska to to gill net salmon. We pulled in a 98 lb king out if the cook inlet near the Kasilof biggest dang fish I ever saw. The fish was tangled by skin on the bottom jaw and was laying in the net exhausted.
Some people might call this a big fish story but in the basement of my great grandparents house there is a picture taken too long ago to be photoshopped of my great grandfather standing next to a 6 foot salmon the story goes that he caught it on a lake in Alaska in rowboat and was pulled around the lake for 2 hours until the fish was to wornout to fight back
It's a shame the state of Alaska mis-managed the Kenai river fishery. Same goes for greedy fisherman, anyone with common sense could see that keeping all those kings over 20 years wasn't sustainable. They need a lottery to limit out of state fisherman like hunting tags to limit angling pressure. Was great this year with no tourists due to covid on the Kenai.
Wish I still had pics of my 50+ lb King I caught on Klamath River. Hard drive crashed and lost everything. I’m 5’5 and this thing was damn near the same length, holding it up and it was about from my chin to the ground. This was back in 2009. No more fish like that anymore.
this past year in Rivers Inlet there was a king salmon caught the weight 106 pounds, is there any bigger than that? Oh, there was one at 126, and half pounds too
@@fishwithjd You may be right all the boats I decked on are gone only the tails remain. There are nice springs in those water. I'm looking for story's from those who have been there and done that who would like the opportunity to have their experience documented in my upcoming book. I wish my brain had retained all the info from back then, There is only so much room on the hard drive.
FYI i live near the elwah river in port angeles and there was huge kings in the river afters the dams had been built all the way up to when they were removed. I believe the biologists found large king schools in upper parts of river were aldwell used to be 2 years after they removed dams. They are still there!
Sadly i agree i think there are almost no 100lbr genetics anywhere but i know there are still some 40-70lbs left in elwah and Fraser rivers. We fish for kings in port angeles straights and we got a 73lbr in 2016 and released it so there is as least one swimming around out there. We get 40s pretty regularly but they are always native
I have never caught a really big salmon even if i have been fishing salmon for 49 years now. I started as a 7 year old and my largest so far is still only 54.6 lb and i live in norway so it wasnt even a king. Just a reg Atlantic but i am hoping maybe one day i will get one of the last really big Atlantics that are maybe 80 or even 80+ but i am getting older and those fish more and more rare so the chance is slim to none.
Thanks! But you’ve got it backwards with Chinook. Every one of the fish in the video were bucks. Some species like striped bass, for example, the biggest fish are almost always females but it’s the other way around with salmonids.
For anyone interested in the Columbia River about the dams the river had a natural dam where the bridge of the gods is now it blocked the river for over 200 years which formed a giant lake that reached clear to Idaho and one day that natural damn cut loose that is not a ride I would want to go on in a canoe or anything for that matter
My biggest king was 46 pounds we didn’t get it mounted tho we ate to think that’s are river in taholah use have kings up to 90 to 60 pound salmon average like I wasn’t alive during that time but my grandpa told me story’s of all the salmon people caught in the river during 2020 I lost a monster king I thought it was a snag it broke of my 35 pound line plus my braided line broke with it I’m 13 I caught my king when I was 11 super fun fight I hope I could have a chance to catch another one
Battle Creek off of Deschutes in Anderson? California? Hahaha right on, like cottonwood, umm like going to the river by the railroad tracks in cottonwood CA, by the post office, and down, and like going to Anderson
Les caught his in may. But late June July is best. First run is No bait or scent. Second run starts July and is sometimes open for bait. All depends on the sonar and how many return.
I have personally seen two of the old one the original King Salmon that were 6 ft long when I was 16 on the Wenatchee River Spillway on the other side of Stevens Pass there's a fish ladder and the small salmon go up the fish ladder for the ones that try to jump up the spillway fall short Saw 6 foot King clear the spillway and land in the vertical water coming over stuck in a vertical water in his way up straight up falling water and swam up over the spillway straight up over the top it was powerful and Majestic to see if fish swimming straight up the falls the last one I saw was on the Columbia River I thought I had a sturgeon because it made no runs and stayed at the bottom until I got it to the boat and we made eye contact and boom an explosion he was gone I'm glad he got away I would have let him go anyway just because there's not very many old ones left from the old gene pool he looked like 5 ft long coffee table with a head and tail on it
@@jayrandall7643 I have only ever cought grillis on the River Roy in the republic of Ireland for me 7lb on the fly rod and that was my dream achieved. I love fishing in Ireland but hearing your account of those old fish give me such respect for the waters the lie in and you for the manner you speak of them. I only dream us such fish lol and I frequently do 🤣 I dream of Montana trout fishing...I dream of Canada....I dream of Patagonia and even salmon fishing in Russia....just dreams but your words are inspiring. Thank you. Go raibh maith agat.
I live in Oregon it's so sad what happened the salmon and steelhead fishing. If they ever make a time machine I want to go back and fish the columbia let's say in the year 1776.
We fished the Grays River (lower Columbia) every fall in the 70's and 80's. The first two fish in the hatchery one year were both over 70 lbs. The next year my dad lost one after an hour and a half fight. The next day an elderly local caught one that weighed 72 lbs., in the same spot with my dads maxima leader, hook and green yarn in its mouth. That same year I caught my personal best, 46 lbs. The eggs filled 3 large peanut butter cans. Those were the days.
Yes those were indeed the days!
I caught a 22 pounder at the barge hole in Anderson on the Sac River about 1988 near battlecreek. I was 14 and had a cast on my arm. First time ever salmon fishing, nobody else caught anything all day around us. Caught him on a flatfish lure. Later that night I caught a cold.
@@nickfuller20 that’s a great spot!
I have been fishing for King Salmon on the Marin Coast since 1983. My early adventures were mostly made on local charter boats. In 1985 I caught the largest Salmon I had ever seen while fishing on the Salty Lady charter boat with the legendary charter captain Roger Thomas. At the time I thought that using light tackle was key to catching salmon. I was using a small Penn reel lined with 15 pound test and Ande 15 pound leader. I was using an anchovy harnessed by Roger's deckhand set at 25 feet on the starboard side of the Salty Lady 5 stations from the bow. After nearly 30 minutes I landed my "almost" Tyee with the help of Roger and his competent deckhand. I was so stoked and I still remember that August afternoon. In 1997 I purchased a 25 foot Skipjack Sportcruiser. From April until November of 1997 I logged 850 hours fishing for salmon. We caught many large fish and I tried many variations of harnessing anchovies, herring, and sardines to various sizes of cable hooks. In 2002 I had a crew of 3 including my girlfriend at the time and I was trolling the eat side of the pinnacles of Duxbury reef . The water was only 40 feet deep and when the drag on her reel started pulling out I suspected the rig had hooked the bottom. Soon after the fish began to make runs that were very impressive. 30 minutes later the fish was still fighting as I circled the fish. My girlfriend was exhausted at this point and could not lift the rod enough to bring the fish close enough to the boat for me to put the net under the fish and purse the net. I advised she go to the opposite side of the boat and reel and lift as much as she could while my buddy held her from falling down. I managed to but the beast into the net and securely purse the net. With the help of my friend David we brought the 51 inch bright chrome Buck over the rail in near darkness. This was the largest King Salmon ever landed on the FISHTALES. Our season is expected to be closed until July 1 this year. I am still hoping to catch one this large sometime before I cannot fish any more. FWIW I caught a 70 pound "White King" when I was a deckhand on aSitka commercial troll boat in 1993. The beast had limited market value so the captain decided we should have it smoked . It was incredibly delicious. The heat smoked "kipper smoked" was great. The cold smoked "Lox" was incredible.
Thanks for sharing! Good stuff!
I have lived on and guided from my drift boat on the Kenai River since 1985. I stopped guiding in 1998 but continued to fish it to 2006. The decline of the Kenai King Salmon in size and numbers breaks my heart. The burning of coal has killed off the zooplankton in the ocean. The base line NOAA Zooplankton level taken in 1980 has decreased by 83 % as of 2014. Currently, NOAA has told me that level is now down by 92%. That means there is 92% less food stock in the Pacific Ocean now than was there in 1980. The early king run back in 1986 to 1990 averaged 27,000 escapement compared to 2050 this year 2022. Last year we has a late run of less than 12000 fish when the late run averaged 90,000 back in the 1980's. The size of the kings in the late run now average 25-30 lbs. Back in the 1980's the average late run king averaged 58-72 lbs.. Back in 1993, I had an 86 year old man fight a king that several guides estimated to be 130 plus pounds. LENGHT WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 60 INCHES. FISH EVENTUALLY WAS FREED AFTER RUNNING UNDER A TREE ON THE RIVER BOTTOM IN BEAVER CREEK HOLE. FISH HOOKED AT 5:30PM AND LOST AT 2:30 AM SOME EIGHT HOURS LATER. IT WAS NOT UNCOMMON TO HAVE 4 CLIENTS ALL CATCH A KING AND ALL WERE OVER 70 LBS... THE GENETIC STOCK IS STIIL PURE BUT WE SHOULD SHUT THE RIVER DOWN UNTIL OCEAN CONDITIONS FOR FOOD IMPROVE AND WE STOP BURNING FOSSIL FUELS. SO2, CO2 AND NO ALL ARE ACIDIC AND THEY KILL ZOOPLANKTON. That may be the only was to save this run for our grand kids...
So tragic! We are seeing the same thing over on the Togiak as well.
Hey Joe, just a question for you. Sockeye are krill feeders, how is it that the Bristol Bay Sockeye were at record numbers this year? It takes a shit ton of plankton to grow that many Sockeye to adulthood. Sockeye returns in BC were way past forecast in just about all cases this year as well. What do you make of that? I'm intrigued by your commentary because I haven't heard that explanation before. Cheers from Vancouver Island. :)
Sockete are both Zooplankton and well as Phytoplantkon..Zooplankton are animal and phytoplankton are vegetative...Here is no loss of phytoplankton. Zooplankton have crashed... Also, the Berring is still cooler than the Gulf of Alaska and holds Sockeye better. Unfortunately, there time will come....@@allancrow134
That big guy in the first one he's been a guide for many many years I've seen him on TV 25 years ago
Hooking a king ruins fishing for a bit, because it's such a good fight everything else seems mehhh.
Yeah that’s for sure!
Truer words were never spoken.
My dad caught an 80 pounder in the kenia at Harry"s hole. We released it on june 30. Could have kept it the next day back on the 90s. Nowadays I csnt help but think I might catch a grandson. Makes me cry every drift in front of Ruebens place
Wow special memories!!
Wow!! Thanks for sharing that was fun to watch.
I personally saw Less Andersons fish in the back of his truck in Soldotna at my mom's restaurant Sals Diner. I ask Less whether he'd had it weighed. He said not yet. Wow, I knew it was losing water weight. Beautiful fish. TK
That's so cool. Almost like laying eyes on the holy grail!!
At one time there were millions of king salmon that were 5 6 ft long some even bigger but the commercial Gill nets for set to catch those big fish in a small King Salmon swim through the Nets and went up River and that became the norm and all the big ones got caught in the Nets and a small ones swam through and bread and lay their eggs and so that's why our King Salmon or now three feet long maybe two feet long because of the commercial Nest determine the size of the fish that travels through the net
My biggest salmon was 55 lbs caught at the outlet in oroville
JD got your book. Thank you great information on that subject of steelhead. Thanks again my friend.
Thank you!!
The Kenai River king will be a distant memory if something doesn’t change...now. Catch and release is not even good enough. Complete ban on the species is the only way; for at least 5 years. Escapement numbers at 6 and 8 thousand is a pathetic joke compared to the 50-100 thousand in yesteryears. I’ve fished the Kenai silver and red runs for the last 40 years. I know what I’m talking about. I love catching kings as much as anyone. But, I have refused to apply for my king tag for the last 10 years in hopes that the run will bounce back. It isn’t. It’s dwindling rapidly. At this rate, it will be extinct in no time. This is not an attack on you. It is a desperate plea to save the run for future generations and the health and wellness of the Kenai. Thank you to anyone who made it through this post. Please comment whether you agree wi me or otherwise. A discussion is a healthy start to solving the King crisis of the Kenai River. Much love, and fish on!
I know what you are saying! It’s happening all over. A fishing ban may help in the short term but what’s the answer for the long run?
Need to ban fishing for 2 years and then only one fish @fishwithjd
Great video young man ! I have been fishing the Sac as we call it and the American ,feather and delta for over 35 yrs and the biggest salmon i ever caught was on the Feather below shanghai bend on a glow in the dark gitzit on a jighead it was 52lbs and change and a chromer on a 7ft shamano rod abu real with 20lb line ... great video thanks
Thank you! Wow 52 pounds! Years ago I had a client hook a big dark one of that exact same weight in the Fridge Hole above Gridley on a diver and bait..it had 5 broken off flosser leaders in it and we just happened to somehow get our rig tangled in the one in the tail. Somehow we landed it and it was almost a fistfight when I told the guy he couldn’t keep it (since the fish didn’t bite our gear).
I worked for F&W a couple seasons on the Okanogan River in Washington state. There were some nice Chinook salmon in our river, but nothing like what’s in this video. Thanks for posting.
I bet there were in Lewis & Clark’s day!!
Very nice to see them big boys! Thank you sir.👍
Gets your heart rate up a bit, eh? :)
I met the guy that holds the Worlds record King Salmon in Kenai, Alaska about 15 years ago. He lived in Kenai or Soldotna or near by. My Father and myself fished (late May, early June, the Bigger fish are in the River in July) with his best friend who guides and has a lodge on the Kenai River. The fish was like 98 pounds or such? But what people don't know is that after the guy caught the fish he threw it in the back of his pick-up truck and drove around town showing off his "BIG" fish for 3 hours before someone says, "Hay, you might want to weigh that King Salmon, it's pretty BIG. (This guy had been born and raised on the Kenai River and had caught hundreds of BIG Kings) So 3 hours after he killed the fish and it laid in the back of his truck for nearly 3 hours he finally took it to the Post Office to get weighed and it was the new World record King Salmon. 98 pounds or such? The Alaska DNR after they confirmed the weight as a new World record said that if he would have weighed it right after he killed it the King Salmon would've been closer to 110 pounds !!! No Shit...True story!!
Very cool!
Hopefully he had it on ice lol
My pb is 41 lb. in 1972 at at 13 yrs. old on the mouth of the Columbia. It took 45 minutes to bring it in. Every time you got it close to the boat it would dive. Finally netted it on the third try. Hard to find the big ones anymore. Nice video
Great fish! Great story!
Great video. There appears to be some disagreement about the largest Chinook ever caught. Some sources say it was the 126-pound fish caught in a fish trap in Alaska, other sources say it was a 126-pound fish caught by commercial fishing in Rivers Inlet, BC.
Regardless, just a great video. 👍
yeah I can’t seem to get to the bottom of that one either. Thanks for checking in.
Thanks for sharing JD ! 🎣⚾️
One day when I move to Sacramento, we are going fishing together. 😁 This was amazing!
Sounds good!
Mindblowing
Right?
Glad you included the Patagonia Chinook. It's insane what's going on down there. That all started with 20,000 Cowlitz River(lower Columbia) hatchery smolts....so much for hatchery fish being useless. I have a photo(1928) in a frame on my boat of a >125 lb Chinook that was caught in a fish trap in Juan de Fuca Strait near Sooke BC which would have certainly made your list. That fish could have been an Elwah or Fraser. I also recently saw a photo of 101 lb Chinook caught(and released) by a sports fisherman in Rivers Inlet BC in August of this year. Somewhere there is an old picture of a 150 lb Chinook that was taken at one of the old Rivers Inlet canneries. In that pic, the fish is hanging from a piece of timber held up between the shoulders of two cannery workers. That's the biggest one I've ever seen in a photo but unfortunately, I don't have a copy of it. Awesome vid. Thanks.
That’s cool. I wish I could see those photos I don’t think they’re on google ;(
Sterlheader all my life.... I landed a fresh 47 lb king on a fly rod with a spinning reel taped to it....yeah...8lb mono...the fish was make bright silver...worthy mention! My Son and co-worker were fishing with me .. Feather River Nor.Cal ...86lb is the record here... I Know the gentleman that caught it...
Anyway...I've seen and fought some spectacular tail walking Giants....
There's a picture of a Rainbow Trout that weighed in at 56 lbs...
Recipe for Steelhead...cut cold fish into 5/8" steaks whip up Real butter cube add minced fresh garlic 1-2 cloves One spoon Basil Two spoons parsley mix ingredients and spread onto fish ...
Oven at Broil... before placing fish into broiler drizzle with your favorite honey ( add crushed pecans if you like) place fish close to broiler flame 4 inches is good... check fish at 7 minutes if the steaks start to butterfly off the bone it's done...
BBQ too but butter flares up bad! Enjoy!
Eric Underwood Class of 81 Downey High school CA
@@jamescoleakaericunderwood2503 Hey Eric, nice recipe, I'll have to try that. I'm 60 years old and live on Vancouver Island and have been an avid recreational and commercial fisherman my entire adult life. I love Steelhead fishing on the Island's rivers, 21lbs being my biggest. The last several years have seen very poor returns due to the seal and sea lion predation. I once played a Steelhead on the Cowichan River that I know was over 30 lbs for about 45 mins before it spooled me as it left the pool on a mad dash downstream. It jumped over a dozen times, a few times right in front of me. :) I also spent 10 seasons(every August from 1995 to 2005) capturing the Chinook hatchery broodstock(by angling) for the Kilbella and Chuckwalla Rivers in Rivers Inlet BC, 76 lbs being my biggest. One season my friend caught one over 90lbs so I can relate to your epic battle with a 50 lb Chinook on the Feather River. :) Rivers Inlet BC has some of the largest Chinook salmon on the planet including fish over 100 lbs(Google it). Cheers from Vancouver Island my friend.
@@allancrow134 ✌️
It's even good cold!
Funny I never aquired a taste for em till I was in my late 40s!
I serve it with homemade scalloped potatoes and asparagus...ice cream afterwards! As good as it gets! Enjoy TTYL
@@allancrow134 shoot me an email and I'll show you some pics of a Terrazzo Mosaic Salmon I just finished...while you're at it send me a pic of that 125 lb I read the story but never seen the picture...I'd appreciate it...my art came out awesome ...the Salmon is made up of 80 individual panels...done in Pacific Northwest Style it's a 4 foot oval with red imperial granite in the field with green serpentine rock in black epoxy.
This is my first year salmon fishing in the Sacramento river. Super late in the season hooked up to a 30 pounder. What a fight it was.
That's great! In what turned out to be one of the bleakest years ever for Sac kings, you got a trophy!!
1949 Petersburg, Alaska there was a 126# king caught in a fish trap
When I was 13 years old in 1976 I caught a king salmon in a gill net on the HOHRIVER in Washington state on the Olympic Penninsula and a seal got to him and ate the body off and the only thing left was the salmons head , and that thing was so big it wouldn't even fit in a 5 gallon bucket , because I gave it to a ww1 war veteran named herbie fisher and he told me that it was the biggest king salmon fish head he'd ever seen and he fought in world War 1 , unbelievable!!!!
Awesome. loved seeing that big girl from the Yuba.
Michael Hooper Yeah that was a great fish!
these fish make the 22 lb 38" king i just caught look like a guppy, and she gave me a fight ill never forget. I can only imagine.
Now days a big king weighs in the area of 25-30 pounds. My biggest was a white king from the Chilliwack River in BC weighing 65 pounds. I got a nice picture of it and gave it to an old couple who hadn’t landed any fish. I’m not big on white meat kings so it was easy for me to give away and the old couple were delighted. It took me about 45 minutes to land the fish and was the thrill of my life. I’m glad I didn’t loose it because at 76 years old and the dwindling stock of big fish the opportunity for me to ever catch another big fish are nil. But who knows. And that’s what fishing is all about. A bigger one might be swimming around out there right now.
First off, that was cool that you made that couple’s day! I agree, big kings are 30 pounds or smaller now and it’s so sad.
I used to live in Washington st in the 90s and my pb king was just shy of 40 lbs it was released i went back out the next day and got spooled by an absolute monster i couldn't do anything with that fish as soon as it hit it took of down river like it had a rocket strapped to its back. Gotta love bank fishing the river lol
Wonder how big the one you lost was??
@@fishwithjd i have no clue that one that went almost 40 sure gave me one hell of a run. I was more upset at the thought of all that line being left in the river then I was at losing such a big fish
When I was a kid in the Mat-su valley on the Susitna drainage I remember one night fishing started at midnight for a weekend fishery, and we caught one king after another mostly on fly, and we pulled 2 50+ lbs, and the smallest around 35lbs. Sadly I have been back there with my own childeren and have never done as well as we did when I was young. Most of the Susitna drainage has been closed to Kings for several years, my childeren only have my stories which to them are hard to believe.
Seems like that story is plying out everywhere. 😥
It would be nice if hydro electric dams could be reduced or eliminated so that REAL runs could spawn in the upper reaches of the Columbia..I get the point that Grand Coulee can't be managed by "big-uns" but the more habitat for laying the eggs the bigger the runs can become..That would go a long way towards recovering the species
For sure!!!
Some awesome video! Thanks so much for making it!
Thanks for watching!
omg that fist one is super big wowowow
Yeah they all get me fired up too! 😀
Number 10 had to be let go. I am glad they did
Me too!
Jeez man, What a amazing video JD. Ridiculous the size of those fish. Biggest salmon i have ever seen personally was with guide John Klar and a buddy of mine Dale Hoagland. I was a young , probably 12-14 years old teen and fishing was and still is, EVERYTHING. Dale my buddy was friends with John from some years back and i guess John had a open day of fishing so Dale (family friend) convinced the parents to let me play hooky. Anyway we were on the Smith and were fishing down in the tide water. It was one of the most epic days of my young fishing life, even though it was a zoo, pretty much boat sitting on top of boat. Everyone knew everyone, Man talk was happening and everyone was catching fish. I hooked plenty of fish that day, but none were monsters. And most of the fish were starting to color up but they were plentiful. All morning John was talking about the tide that happened that previous night thought it would bring in a new batch of fish well was he ever right, About midday Dale's bobber drained and it was on, instantly came out of the water after the hookset and i swear it was the brightest fish i had ever laid my eyes upon. Especially after seeing 50 fish that morning by us and others that had been in the river for a bit. Anyways he landed that fish and it was a 42lb Chrome Hen, Unfortunately she was so intrigued and couldn't resist the mans Roe Cure and the Sand Shrimp that she swallowed both hooks into her gullet, Looking back now especially wish we could of let her go. But sometimes that just isnt in the cards, When that fish hit the deck next to the other couple fish we had which were idk 12-20lbs it was ridiculous. The shoulders and Girth was amazing. One of my favorite stories and as you can tell once i start talking fishing, i can ramble. Anyways thanks for always sharing your experinces and your knowledge JD. Hope to be able to meet you someday,
What a memory!!!!
The king salmon of New Zealand King Salmon have Salmon that go 130+. They are out of this world big !
Wow really? I’ll have to do some more research because I’ve never heard of em getting big there.
I caught a 55+# King from the bank on the Klutina River in Alaska in 1990 that I still have hanging on my office wall and lingering in my dreams. I have spent well over a quarter of a million dollars since that time trying to catch another one like that. Helped my wife catch a 50#er, helped my son land and release an estimated 68# and my friends son an estimated #75# king (both released), all on the Kenai but have not had the repeat pleasure of another “fish fight of a lifetime” myself. Got a few years left and will be chasing kings until the day I die. Nothing else compares.
Excellent video , put together well with good info!
Wow! I ended the show. We actually caught that on a hoochie!
Right? Pretty cool eh? It was a spinner with a hoochie so we were both right!
Dude I saw those huge ones in cottonwood creek in like 2002? Or something I was like 13. We were jumping off the trussel in cottonwood creek in the summer, and I think we went there a couple times later, and they were swimming east in a huge like line. Like thousands. They were longer than me, like logs
So cool! Too bad those are all pretty much gone now.
It’s good to put the historic photos in here. People don’t realize how overfished and degraded fisheries are compared to pre industrial times.
Good point! Kids these days just think the poor runs are normal
Raspberry Riffel! On the Sacramento. Caught some riverhoggs myself there. No where near record sized, but 50lb plus(always let the big ones go)
Yeah that was a wonderland of salmon & steelhead back in the day. My buddy also got shot by some quail hunters while fishing there too years ago. They didn’t see him,..Lu kilt he had thick waders on but still had a lot of welts
@fishwithjd Old timers would tell me about back in the day. Way before the diversion dam was constructed, they would catch river monsters sturgeon, upwards of 400lbs in "Sophie's hole"
@@davidsimmons1105 wow!
Nice gish
love the Kenai, in 1977 anchored in the middle of the river, watched school of kings 50-70-lb's porpus up the river
I live in prince Rupert I've heard lots of stories of 130 plus pound springs caught in Gillett throughout B.C
Yeah I have heard of a 126 lber caught commercially too so I don’t doubt it!
@@fishwithjd That 126 was mounted on the wall at Ben Paris restraunt in downtown Seattle. It long gone now but I remember seeing it on the wall at the bottom of that stairwell.
Spring?
You can cross off the Kenai. About 20 years ago the monster strain of Kenai kings started plummeting in numbers. The AK Board of Fisheries was made up mostly of fishing guides who didn’t want to cut off their income so they did… nothing. Now those kings are gone and no one has seen one in many years.
Currently, the AK Board of Fisheries is doing the same thing with the normal king population in the Kenai and those will probably be gone in a few years, too.
Yeah its a tragic tale for sure :(
I'd like to find out what the biggest salmon record would be on the Skagit River in Washington state? It's my favorite river to fish for salmon. And the Springers are running in it right now. So far I've landed 2 around the 20 pound range but I've seen a few in there recently that gotta be closer to the 30 pound range?!
Yeah I bet the Skagit’s record is a big one from back in the day. That’s an amazing river system!
I live in Vancouver. It’s sad to think that a couple hundred years ago we would have had one of if not the best salmon runs in the world with the rivers around here. Honestly if I hooked a big chinook I’d probably cut the line if it was a barbless hook rather than stress it out and maybe kill it.
Here's how I've been reviving big Steelhead for 49 years....never drag a fish ashore... I run a stringer in from under the Gill careful not to construct a Gill...up close to jaw and use a simple slip knot with a loop...tie the fish off head upstream on a branch whatever is available after 20 minutes walk over to the fish insert SHARP knife into loop hole and cut fish free...they dart off nice and fresh able to outsmart an otter!
This video was awesome thanks for sharing. I moved to Washington state in mid 89s I was in the military and living here since boy has fishing declined I remember going to fish river down south by the Columbia River and Olympic peninsula where there used to be some nice big salmon my personal best is 591/2 in a tributary of the Columbia river it’s well now river a lot of people fish it and it’s pretty dismal now it’s like that thru the whole Washington state someone needs to step up and say enough is enough no netting the rivers no commercial fishing in the puget Sound if they don’t react fast there ain’t going to be any salmon left for any grandkids growing up now
Thanks! Yeah so sad what our rivers have become!
I used to love king fishing in Montana Creek near Talkeetna, AK as a kid. By my early 20’s the numbers had dropped significantly and it wasn’t worth going anymore. You used to see them swimming in schools and people were catching them left and right. I caught my first ever king in one cast after getting to the creek. Year after year I would see the hot fishing spot shrink smaller and smaller until there was only one person hooking most of the kings and hogging the spot all night. The number shrunk so much that they closed the creek to king fishing all together. I dont know if it ever opened back up since then.
Went to Willow Creek or down to the Little Susitna near Burma Landing. First time I caught a 45 pounder. Lost some monsters.
Amazing
I hope they aren't all gone!!
I live to fish kings on Lake Michigan we don’t see fish that size but 20-30lbs are definitely a possibility every trip. Don’t need a big operation to do it I just run a 18’ Lund tyee
Twenty to 30 pounders are nice fish!!
I grew up doing that out of Chicago.... awesome fun
I live in Alaska and fish for kings in May and June. These fish that are removed from the water -- gills out of water -- such as the first photo of the large (but not trophy) heavily blushed king caught in the Kenai River -- is a violation of ADFG regs which prohibit their removal out of water for ego pics such as this because it drastically increases mortality and these fish thus do not live to spawn. It is good you named the guide service which engages in these practices that help destroy our kings fishery
Always believe! There’s gotta be a few special 100+ lb monsters still lurking. :)
True!
there is a 97lb king caught in Kodiak ,AK that is mounted at the airport terminal
Cool! I’ve been to Kodiak a couple times and totally missed that. I’ll be on the lookout next time for sure!
Fantastic that so many release the giants to continue their genetics. Big fish make big fish.
Nice looking smilies !
For a Rod and reel fisherman these giant Chinook Kings are truly the stuff dreams are made of.
We have a nice population of land locked, Stocked Chinooks here in the mountains in a deep very cold lake and every year we go and try to catch one trolling. I've had 3 hooked that were bigger than my equipment could handle that got off and have landed a pair of nice healthy Chinooks that went into the 15 lb range that were in EXCELLENT HEALTH that we released. My Great Uncle From Northern California who used to fish all up the coast and British Columbia every year told me his secret and I've used it every year right after ice out, I can't count the people who want to know our secret or who sit on the bank with high powered spotting Scopes to observe what exactly we do that they don't but we're on to them and are super careful to not give our secret away. Funny thing is.....if they knew what we do that is the actual "Secret" most of them would either laugh themselves silly or die on the spot of a heart attack....it's so far outside of the box it's hilarious to us. But it works like magic every spring till the water columns warm and the big Chinooks go deep (mid to late June)
I know for fact there are 60+ pound Chins in this lake cause I've seen them accidentally caught about once a year....and I know I've had at least 3 that big or bigger on that overpowered my equipment.....not anymore though I inherited all my Great Uncle's tackle and Rod & Reels so now here in a week or 2 the wife and I will be on the lake everyday it's safe to be out until June because there is a state record fish with my name on it that when caught will be measured, it's weight recorded and photos taken before it goes right back into the lake. It's the top fish on my bucket list
Wow that sounds really cool. I really want to know where you are talking about but Not gonna ask you in public!
@@fishwithjd
And there is no way on this earth I would tell in public either!
Yes the damns are removed on the Sacramento, now there's no salmon because the stripers can get all the way up to the spawning grounds
The only dam removed on the Sac was Red Bluff and yes stripers can get further up but the are only a small part of the problem.
Yes a very large part, along with poor water management out of Shasta lake and many other factors, various parts of the government agencies control poorly.
Now i want to move to Chili... My pb in Michigan is 38.5 on a 9wt rod 8lb leader.. Released it , jammed right up river...
Nice fish!
Sactown baby!
In 1983 I hooked a 83 pound king while working on a small commercial vessel off the mouth of the Columbia. It was incredible!
Wow that's a beast!
During covid just a few years ago a woman caught a 105 pounder at Rivers Inlet.
Yep that’s correct! I did a vid on that one too: ruclips.net/video/3-5L-D56dow/видео.htmlsi=79HPQ6fe8q6B4Fd9
Caught 5 over 50 at the mouth of Rivers inlet in 2006. Released all but one. I still remember exactly where each fish was caught. One took near an hour to land . Took me around the boat at lease ten times trying to break the line in the motor .
All on my boat.
Later years caught a 58 out of Sitka which would have won Sitka yearly contest. Released that one.
@@patrickwelch1010 wow that’s awesome and so cool you released em too!
When I was 15 I went to Alaska to to gill net salmon. We pulled in a 98 lb king out if the cook inlet near the Kasilof biggest dang fish I ever saw. The fish was tangled by skin on the bottom jaw and was laying in the net exhausted.
Wow!!!!!
Biggest King I caught was 42 lbs Lower Niagara river gorge. A male. Fished from the shore. 14lb line. over 20 minutes to land it.
Monster!!!
Some people might call this a big fish story but in the basement of my great grandparents house there is a picture taken too long ago to be photoshopped of my great grandfather standing next to a 6 foot salmon the story goes that he caught it on a lake in Alaska in rowboat and was pulled around the lake for 2 hours until the fish was to wornout to fight back
That’s so cool!!
You ever hear about the 34lb coho they caught in fish trap on clackamas river ? Fish and game let it go upstream to spawn since it was a native.
No but what a hog!!!!
It's a shame the state of Alaska mis-managed the Kenai river fishery. Same goes for greedy fisherman, anyone with common sense could see that keeping all those kings over 20 years wasn't sustainable. They need a lottery to limit out of state fisherman like hunting tags to limit angling pressure. Was great this year with no tourists due to covid on the Kenai.
A shame indeed! Those magical beasts should be better protected!
Wouldn't it be better to limit the commercial fishing in the inlet instead of the public and charter companies?
Remember when the feather river had big salmon 😭 and ALOTS OF SALMON?
Boy I sure do and it makes me sick to think about what has happened to that fishery!
Wish I still had pics of my 50+ lb King I caught on Klamath River. Hard drive crashed and lost everything. I’m 5’5 and this thing was damn near the same length, holding it up and it was about from my chin to the ground. This was back in 2009. No more fish like that anymore.
Great fish! Yeah the Klamath used to have monsters like that. Now, you’re lucky to get an 18 pounder.
@@fishwithjd right!
My great grandma caught a 55 pounder in rivers inlet
That's a great fish!
One hanging in back eddy pub in Terreace b.c. Its 98.5 lbs out of the skeena
WOW!!
this past year in Rivers Inlet there was a king salmon caught the weight 106 pounds, is there any bigger than that? Oh, there was one at 126, and half pounds too
WOW!
Awesome!
We caught a giant one last year no weight
Was 41 inches long with a girth of 22
awesome!!
Some are really big on pics. But I get every year a few over 25 lbs... a casual thing...
Nothing wrong with that!!!
I got a big one on the Rogue River a few years ago 63 plus pounds wish I could put a pic here
Holy smokes...fish of a lifetime!!!
Here thinking my 24 pounder out of port Washington harbor on Lake Michigan was big.
Hey, don't throw shade on a 24 pounder! That's still a great fish! Congrats!
West Coast QCI big kings in those waters.
Yeah didn’t the natives take all that back? I’m not sure there are any operations out there anymore but o could be totally wrong
@@fishwithjd You may be right all the boats I decked on are gone only the tails remain.
There are nice springs in those water.
I'm looking for story's from those who have been there and done that who would like the opportunity to have their experience documented in my upcoming book.
I wish my brain had retained all the info from back then, There is only so much room on the hard drive.
FYI i live near the elwah river in port angeles and there was huge kings in the river afters the dams had been built all the way up to when they were removed. I believe the biologists found large king schools in upper parts of river were aldwell used to be 2 years after they removed dams. They are still there!
That’s one of the great river restoration stories. Sadly the 100 pound genetics are probably gone.
Sadly i agree i think there are almost no 100lbr genetics anywhere but i know there are still some 40-70lbs left in elwah and Fraser rivers. We fish for kings in port angeles straights and we got a 73lbr in 2016 and released it so there is as least one swimming around out there. We get 40s pretty regularly but they are always native
@@johnlabbe4865 that’s awesome you guys released that monster!!
I have never caught a really big salmon even if i have been fishing salmon for 49 years now. I started as a 7 year old and my largest so far is still only 54.6 lb and i live in norway so it wasnt even a king. Just a reg Atlantic but i am hoping maybe one day i will get one of the last really big Atlantics that are maybe 80 or even 80+ but i am getting older and those fish more and more rare so the chance is slim to none.
Wow nothing wrong with a 50+ pound Atlantic!!!
@@fishwithjdNothing wrong but also nothing special in my opinion, Need the 60 mark before it's an eyeopener atleast for me.
My biggest was 38lbs. at Nimbus dam. I have seen a guy with a 55lb at Nimbus
Hawgs for sure!
He was bank fishing. Les Anderson's king
Really? I have never heard that. Interesting.
Have you fished for any in Washington?
Nice video! FYI almost all of those large Chinooks are females. Males don't usually get that big.
Thanks! But you’ve got it backwards with Chinook. Every one of the fish in the video were bucks. Some species like striped bass, for example, the biggest fish are almost always females but it’s the other way around with salmonids.
For anyone interested in the Columbia River about the dams the river had a natural dam where the bridge of the gods is now it blocked the river for over 200 years which formed a giant lake that reached clear to Idaho and one day that natural damn cut loose that is not a ride I would want to go on in a canoe or anything for that matter
My biggest king was 46 pounds we didn’t get it mounted tho we ate to think that’s are river in taholah use have kings up to 90 to 60 pound salmon average like I wasn’t alive during that time but my grandpa told me story’s of all the salmon people caught in the river during 2020 I lost a monster king I thought it was a snag it broke of my 35 pound line plus my braided line broke with it I’m 13 I caught my king when I was 11 super fun fight I hope I could have a chance to catch another one
I hope you do too, bud!
they may come back yet .you proved that point in your video when you showed the one found in the Sacramento river
Ah good point!
Those are massive salmons
Battle Creek off of Deschutes in Anderson? California? Hahaha right on, like cottonwood, umm like going to the river by the railroad tracks in cottonwood CA, by the post office, and down, and like going to Anderson
Yep that’s the one
54.5 is my biggest. 24.2 is my biggest coho. I'm an ex pro guide West Coast
Good ones!
How is a 98 pound salmon caught on a freaking fly rod that’s insane
JD, when is the best time to try Kenai?
July is best for kings
@@fishwithjd thanks!
Les caught his in may. But late June July is best. First run is No bait or scent. Second run starts July and is sometimes open for bait. All depends on the sonar and how many return.
"Even if I caught this guy he would have schooled me in a 100 different ways" you and me both 😀
Yep!
I have personally seen two of the old one the original King Salmon that were 6 ft long when I was 16 on the Wenatchee River Spillway on the other side of Stevens Pass there's a fish ladder and the small salmon go up the fish ladder for the ones that try to jump up the spillway fall short Saw 6 foot King clear the spillway and land in the vertical water coming over stuck in a vertical water in his way up straight up falling water and swam up over the spillway straight up over the top it was powerful and Majestic to see if fish swimming straight up the falls the last one I saw was on the Columbia River I thought I had a sturgeon because it made no runs and stayed at the bottom until I got it to the boat and we made eye contact and boom an explosion he was gone I'm glad he got away I would have let him go anyway just because there's not very many old ones left from the old gene pool he looked like 5 ft long coffee table with a head and tail on it
@@jayrandall7643 I have only ever cought grillis on the River Roy in the republic of Ireland for me 7lb on the fly rod and that was my dream achieved. I love fishing in Ireland but hearing your account of those old fish give me such respect for the waters the lie in and you for the manner you speak of them. I only dream us such fish lol and I frequently do 🤣 I dream of Montana trout fishing...I dream of Canada....I dream of Patagonia and even salmon fishing in Russia....just dreams but your words are inspiring. Thank you. Go raibh maith agat.
@@jayrandall7643 WOW! Too bad those guys are all but gone now. :(
I live in Oregon it's so sad what happened the salmon and steelhead fishing. If they ever make a time machine I want to go back and fish the columbia let's say in the year 1776.
Fr
Oh yeah! I've always said my next business venture is going to be called "Driftboat Time Machine!"
That’s what we get with all these damn Dams we got up here, among other factors. Dams are reducing the survival rate to the point of extinction.
9:10..sooo those guys are holding them up with 1 hand or🤷🏾♂️?
The South American guides are letting dudes floss spawning kings off of redds.
Yeah I’ve seen the pix. Sucks
Your fish was more than my sister
Hahahaha
The biggest I had ever cought was 21 pounds. Klamath River.
That’s a good one on the Klamath these days!0
the largest King caught on line still remains 97 (?) lbs. There have been Kings >100 lbs in nets. Then, you can talk Taimen...