Just got a call from Corey letting me know that a friend of ours landed an 89.25 lb. king in the the lower Kenai this morning.

I haven't seen the fish yet, but I'll try to get some pix to share with everyone ASAP ...

Like I've always described the Kenai ... it's kinda like going to Vegas and trying to win the jackpot, some one just did

TELL US MORE! TELL US MORE!

SHOW IT TO US!! SHOW IT TO US!!

DITTO DITTO

Like many people who have never been to Alaska, I've labored under the mistaken conclusion that fish in the 70+ pound range were common.

What would you say the average size salmon is in those rivers?

Here it is:

www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/072202/fis_0722020005.shtml

They don't make'em much bigger than this.

I don't think that is the fish. I believe that
this fisherman did not even have a guide.

Jacob F
I don't know what the average fish weight would be but I would bet it is a lot less than what most readers would think. I have seen a lot of 30-40 lb fish and I don't think the bait shop at the south end of the bridge would take pictures of 55-60 lb fish if they were that common. You ask a good question about the average weight. Hope someone has an answer. What you might also find interesting is that a lot of people have to spend several days on the river to catch one king on the Kenia. That makes the Kasilof river a better deal to a lot of folks. No matter how one goes about it, I will tell you its my opinion there is no other experience on earth that is as good for a salmon fisher than an Alaska trip.
P.S.
These are not the same fish. The fellow that caught this one is from Idaho and is an adult.

Last time I heard, the average fish on the Kenai was in the low 20's. Alaska fish and game says it takes the average angler on the Kenai 31 hours to catch one. Guided anglers fair much better. That big fish is awesome if you catch it. I would rather catch numbers. IMHO the Kenai King run is overrated. I know there are others that will disagree but those folks make their living on the Kenai or are after that fish to put on the wall. Just my .02 cents.

I'm not positive but I think The average king in s.e. Ak is around 22 lbs. Not sure what it is in the Cook inlet area but I would guess it isn't much more then that.
Other then the Kenai itself, a 50 lbs. king is considered a trophy fish in Ak. it takes a 75 lbs. to make trophy status on the Kenai.

Kasilof second-run fish average about 25-28 lbs. Kenai fish average about 35-38. The Kenai is not a numbers show ... it's about putting hours in for a big one. Overrated? In many respects, yes ... but for those that want to put in the time for a possible monster, it's still pretty much the place to be. It's not my cup of tea personally, but to each his own.

Here are some pix of the fish. I was hoping to get some better ones of it ... but I figured I wouldn't make you all wait too long.

This isn't Fred, but the fella that Fred works for with it:



Corey wasn't going to attempt to hold it with non-fishing clothes on, but she'll sit on a plastic bag on the ice next to it



And you might want to think twice about going swimming



Not the world's prettiest fish, but certainly one of the biggest!

What ever the brand of landing net was used I want one. Who makes a net that will hold such a fish? How would you feel if a well intended fishing buddy knocked one off like this?

Actually Bigshark, pretty good. That big ole' tomato isn't the best eater around, so I imagine it's going on someone's wall. It's a shame really, with the numbers of the true giants going down every year, a good pic or 2 alongside the boat, and a replica mount would suffice for me. There was a thread a few weeks back about letting the really big fish go to make more really big fish. I guess this philosophy will probably never catch on for the Kenai.

i am not sure id want that nasty looking thing on my wall..

yuck

4Salt

I understand. The gene pool is key to the future of these hugh fish. But let me share a reason to not put him back. Could he tell for sure the fish was under 100 lbs? What is a 100lb King worth in todays advertizing market? Years ago I had a guide tell me it could be a million dollars to the fisher that brings it in. I repeated that statement to an ad-exec a couple of years ago who laughed and said a certain Japanese Reel
Mfg that his company has for a client would pay more than that EVERY YEAR for the rights if caught with their gear. Then the line mfg etc. Endorsements,Endorsements like Tiger Woods. Now if he had a way of knowing the fish was under 100, I can understand sending him on his way. It may be I could use the money more than others.

Shark,

I understand your reasoning as well. Here's one for you though. How many 80 - 99 lb'ers have to die to insure that someone makes a whole lotta money from endorsements and advertising?

Salt
Too many that is for sure. I wonder how many are caught each year? I don't know. How many are screened by the sonar? A couple of hundred? Maybe the ADFW wants us to think there are more than what are really there. Again, I don't know. It would not surprise me to see an oversize rule go into effect someday. If one of these fish is taken
legally, and is bad in color, I'll bet you that it will be painted a lot closer to chrome than what it really was. Madison Ave never has had any ethics in the past, I doubt they ever will. But, thats just my opinion and I'm nobody.

What a fish!!! Yes, I would be tempted to keep a giant like that if I caught it. Now, as long as it is legal to keep it, why bash the guy??? I agree about the gene pool theory, but I'm not a genetic specialist (far from it, I'm a contractor), but I know that jacks are just as important as big fish in the whole realm of biology (from what I learned in Fish 101 @ the UW). Now, I'd like to think that AK F&G is really watching their prized/world famous Kenai run and they don't want to destroy it, therefore it appears OK to harvest the occasional giant fish. Would BOB keep this fish? Also, to all who wanted it released, if you hunt, do you only shoot the smallest-youngest deer/elk that you see? Genetics are relative to all species. I don't have all the answers (I just think I do) Food for thought.

Snit,

I wasn't bashing anybody for keeping the fish, just expressing my personal opinion on keeping those DARK, giant fish out of the Kenai.

Let me ask you this, WHY would you keep that fish?

1 - Because it's a macho thing? (Man vs. Nature)

2 - Because you're going to eat it? (Hey it'll smoke up fine huh)

3 - Because it'll look great hanging on the wall?

Like you said, it's perfectly legal to keep those giant kings from the Kenai, and if you chose to do so, then hey, it's your right. I'm not raggin' on you at all, just wondering.

Oh, and why do we always look to kill the biggest deer or elk? The medium sized ones are better eaters anyway, just like fish. I guess it's just one of the great mysteries of the universe...

4Salt, I would have to go with #2. (I would maybe have it mounted if $$$ were no object, but I would still eat it) I've never caught a HUGE king like this one, nor eaten one, but I've seen the flesh out of 2 very large Kenai Kings, and it looked AWESOME! If I was going to spend big bucks (travel,guide, etc) for my shot at one large King, then I would like to eat it, allowing that it wasn't covered in sores and rotting flesh like the spawners grow. Now, you probably know alot more about these "smokers" than I, but my cousin is a guide on the Kenai, and he says that these fish taste great, and that looks CAN be decieving. I've been told that the commercial fishermen catch these fish in the salt colored up also??? Regarding fish "color", I've been catching Columbia Summer Kings for the last two weeks, and alot of "westside" fisherman would be turned off by these "tarnished" fish (not red like the Big King being discussed), but the flesh is just AWESOME!!! So, to each his own. PS, I've eaten B&C Mule Deer and Whitetail Deer as well as giant halibut and lings, and I can't seem to notice the difference between young and old animals. I believe that the meat flavor is a direct result of the cleaning/handling/packaging and the ability to cook large (thick) pieces correctly, or maybe my tatsebuds are retarded?