Alright guys tell me, what is truly the bigest steelhead ever caught, that was recorded. I always here these storys about 50 to 54 pounders, then I turn right around and look on the record fish books and see that the largest steelhead ever caught was 34 pounds. could this be old info.

I'd be willing to bet that somewhere, sometime, someone has landed fish that would crush the world record. They just keep it under wraps because all it would take is a world record to really cause an uproar in pressure on a river.

It's kinda like Santa Claus. Do you really want to know the truth?

In the last issue of STS, Bill Herzog claims that it is realistic for steelhead to reach 60 lbs in the Babine River.

I am not 100% sure but I believe the world record line caught steelhead was something like 42.6 lbs..Just a guess

42 is right it was long ago record set by a little kid forget where but it was in the salt

Wasn't it Alaska, I want to say Bell Island? And yes, it was in the salt, they thought it was a salmon.

That 42 pound fish was caught in Alaska by a kid salmon fishing. It was 6 or 7 years old and lacked sex organs so it couldn't spawn. Just swam around and got fat. I've fished up north for the past 3 years and know of a few big fish caught by the commercial boats. One of the owners of a tender (off load) boat said he had a 50 lb steelhead pass through a few years back. I couldn't verify this or anything but it sounds perfectly possible.

ive heard lots of stories, but the biggest one i have seen in person is 42 pounds. ( caught in a net) most fishermen are great liars( myself included ), and all those 50 inch fish you hear about are probably around 45 . i did see a fish yesterday in the river that would have exceeded 40 pounds.( no lie! i chased it around for five minutes before it could find a hiding place.) i just had a 37 pounder mounted today. check out my quinalt post.

Just so I would have some idea of what I would be looking for, what would the the length and girth be on a steelhead that would weigh 50 lbs?

BigShark,
For a 50lb behemoth it would be around 50" long with a 28" grith (50.5lbs from the formula).

a fifty pounder would be 50 inches and 28" girth. i'm sure fish exist that big, but it would be tough to get them

I laid a tape on the rug and placed a coin at the 50 inch mark. Then I made a loop with the tape that was 28 inches around and flattened it a little. I conclude that such a fish would look more like a torpedo than steelhead. If such fish exist, why would they be so hard to take?

the record is 42 pounds 2 ounces taken off bell island alaska by a kid. the reason it would be hard, is because most people use 10 lb. test line while fishing for steelhead. the first thing that fish does will be to head for either the ocean, or a sunken root wad. it would be easy to do it in the salt water, but not so easy to do in the fresh water. its hard enough catching a 30 pounder, imagine catching a 50 pounder.

Everything posted on "the fish" is true, 42 pounds, 2 ounces, and had damage to it's sex organs, so was unable to reproduce, what a shame. Here is a link to a pick and young David White is in the background. I remember reading about the fish in a magazine article about a year and a half ago, anyone else read this article?

http://www.finefishing.com/1saltfish/records/rainbow.htm

that may be the USA record, but i saw a picture of the Canada record that was sport caught in 1980'S by a woman on the skeena river near Terrace BC. i am also aware of a rumored 60 lb steelhead that was caught in the test nets last year. I know that sounds out of order but it's not. when i was there two years ago in july i touched and watched fed fishery guy weigh a 105.75lb king(spring). that's a fish.

Haverod, I read probably the same article about 2 yrs. ago, if I remember right, they didn't know it was a steelhead till they got to the dock and a fisheries biologists told them what they had, I still have a hard time believing an 8 year old kid didn't have any help with that fish.
I've fished Bell Is. (for salmon), there aren't many prettier places to catch a fish.

lady's fish in canada weighed 42.? lbs(steelhead)

Hey kids-

There was a steelhead landed this November on the Babine River in BC that that taped 55 inches and estimated near the mid Fifty pound mark. Released, of course, with photos and the owner of Norlakes Lodge, Pierce Clegg, was there and helped measure the fish. The river is capable of producing steelhead pusing sixty pounds. And caught on a fly!!!

Put away those boondogging rods, boys...

Bill.

I think there are many steelies, especially in BC on the Babine, Kispiox, Thompson, and even in AK and WA, (like on the Quinault), that are over the record breaking mark. I am just glad that we never find this out. Why? Because as we all know, a fish that big is ultimately a native and for the fisherman (or lack thereof) to kill that fish and take it to get certified would be very disappointing. So, let's say Joe the fisherman went to the Babine and got one that was a mid 40 pounder and knew it was a record from the length and girth, how is this fish registered without killing it? I would hope that this day and age, there is a way without killing such a marvelous fish?

Has anytone found the article on the David White caught steelie?

igfa does allow catch and release records. a certified scale is needed , pictures and preferably a witness. i bought a scale and had it certified for my babine trip next year.