60lbs King Salmon. Possibility or Days of the Past?

King Salmon are one of the most popular salmon on earth.  Those die hard King anglers would crave at landing a monster exceeding 60lbs.  Whoever where on earth do these 60lbs exist?  The Kenai River in Alaska is always at the top of the list when monster kings are discussed.  The Kenai is a glacially fed 85 mile long river which has 2 runs of Kings.  The first run starts in Mid May and lasts through June.  The second run starts toward the end of June, lasting through July.  The second run normally produces the largest Kings.  In 1985, Less Anderson landed a monster 96.4lbs King which is the official IGFA all tackle record.  However, the king population is on the downturn on the Kenai. Smaller kings in drastically reduced numbers have been the norm for the past few years.  Often the escapement does not meet up to DNR criteria, so the Kenai is shutdown.  Saltwater fishing in Deep Creek, Alaska which is located on the East shore of Cook Inlet is another option but then again the size and numbers are down in recent years.  British Columbia and the USA West Coast such as the Columbia River off good King fishing but not many exceeding 50lbs.  In the late 1960;s Dr. Howard Tanner was one of the main players responsible for introducing salmon into the Great Lakes.  Howard experiment to raise Triploid salmon which would grow huge failed, so now catching a King exceeding 30lbs will put you in the newspapers.  In the mid 70;s King eggs were transplanted into some rivers of Southern Chile for the purpose of commerial ranching.  However, the enterprise failed, but the Kings survived. Rivers like the Petrohue in Chile offer a decent shot at kings over 60lbs and a few each year slightly over 70lbs.  So for the meantime, 60s kings might be a thing of the past.  Sure wish I would have fished the Kenai years ago when I first visited Alaska as a 60lbs replica could be hanging on my wall replacing the 44lbs which I caught on the Alagnak River!

TANZANIA TIGERFISH

There is an excellent article written by Mr. Matt Harris in the July/August/September 2016 edition of the International Angler.  The article " One of the world's most exciting and undiscovered fly fisheries" discusses the fantastic monster tigerfish of the Mneyra and Ruhudji Rivers in Tanzania.  Harris discusses the Hydrocynus tanzaniae, tanzania tigerfish, which was identified in 1986 as a seperate species.  These tigers are much bigger than the common Zambezi tigerfish.  A few years ago, along with a few friends, I was able to cast a line into these rivers.  I was not disappointed as numerous tigerfish in the "teens" we landed and everyone in the group landed at least 1 tiger tipping the scales at 20lbs.  Fly fishermen would really enjoy battling with these monsters.  The trips are split into 2 sessions, a few days at the Mneyra Camp and the remaining time spent at the Ruhudji camp.  Numerous hippos and crocs were seen each day.  Each in the group also had the opportunity to view a few elephants during the stay.  However, the wildlife was nearly as abundant as seen on my trip for Nile Perch at Murchison Falls, Uganda.  Join the IGFA to get a great magazine as the International Angler and keep up on fishing news worldwide!

Venice, LA redfish update

Avid redfish anglers, Gary Clark, Jeff Stagg, and David Fields recently spent 3 days fishing with Capt. Keith Kennedy out of Venice, LA for monster redfish.  Dr. Clark reports on day 1 the fishing was absolutely crazy with over 50 trophy reds over 20 lbs being landed with the largest going over 31 lbs.  Some weather moved in the following 2 days but the guys still managed to catch more trophies including a monster tipping the scales at 36 lbs.  The top lures were the saltwater fluke Boom-r-Ang in FoxieFreddie coloration and large Bomber mud minnows in black/chartreuse tail.  Due to recent last minute cancellations, Capt, Keith has some openings during this prime time bull red season.  Keith provides everything from housing, all meals, fishing equipment, and even your license.  Give him a call at 504-908-3108 to have a fishing experience of your lifetime!

ALASKA PENINSULA/ PUMICE CREEK LODGE

The start of the Alaskan fishing season has finally begun.  After a long winter gorging themselves out at sea, millions of salmon will start their spawning run back into the freshwater runs from where they were born.  On the Alaska Peninsula thousands of king salmon will migrate first followed by sockeye, chums, pinks and finally silvers.  Pumice Creek Lodge owned and operated by Gary LaRose has long been know as the best lodge on the remote Peninsula.  Here you will not catch the giant kings found on the Kenai, but you have a chance at a king around 50lbs.  The season really picks up by the end of June on the Cinder River.  By the beginning of July, numerous kings can also be found on the King Salmon River.  LaRose makes sure clients can be fishing on the best locations each day.  My favorite time on the Peninsula is the fall season where millions of monster silver salmon enter the rivers.  The Peninsula has some of the largest silvers available in the state or anywhere else on earth.  Catches of over 100 silver in a day are not out of the questions with a few possibly exceeding the magical 20lbs.  I have fished the Peninsula for over 27 years and my best day was an arm wrcnching 144 silvers.  Arctic char are in full spawn colorations during the fall season.  These are perhaps the most beautiful freshwater fish on earth and are very easy to catch with some day practically a bite per cast.  I highly recommend if you have plans to head to Alaska this year, to contact Gary LaRose at akpen@aol.com or check out www.garylarose.com and you definately will have the fishing experience of your lifetime!

ALASKA HALIBUT DERBIES

The month of May opens the beginning of some of the best halibut fishing out of the towns of Seward, Homer, and Valez in Alaska.  I have fished out of all 3 of these fabulous destinations numerous times.  My largest halibut to date was a massive 300lbs caught out of Valdez.  We also caught a 298lbs and 8 more over 150lbs which made for great eating to say the least!  Each of these towns have so called Halibut Derby's where you win large amounts of money for the largest halibut of the season plus weekly and tagged fish prizes.   Homer starts their derby on May 15 ending Sept 15.  The JackPot Halibut Derby pays $10,000  + $0.50 tickets sold to the largest halibut entered.  To enter you need to buy a derby ticket for $10.  The derby in Valdez starts May 21 ending Sept 4.  Top prize is $15,000 for 1st prize, $5.000 for 2nd prize, and $2,000 for 3rd prize.  So far a monster 253 lbs halibut caught by David Jamison is leading.  In Seward the derby only last the month of June.  So far the leader is a halibut weighing 179.8lbs.  Halibut can exceed weights of 400lbs if your lucky.  So make sure to buy a derby ticket on your next visit to Alaska in a chance to win thousands!

Stick Marsh largemouth bass update

Friends Gary Clark and Jeff Stagg recently had a great angling experience with Capt. Hugh Crumpler fishing for largemouth bass on Central Florida's Stick Marsh.  Stick Marsh was created in 1987 and immediately became a go to destination for the avid bass angler.  It is a 6500 acre reservoir located near Fellsmere, FL.  Gary and Jeff experienced days of 50+ bass with an occasional trophy.  The current bite is redhot on artifical lures.  Capt. Crumpler has years of experience fishing the Marsh and knows what to use and when to go.  He can be contacted at 321-626-6174 or check out his website at
www.hugh-crumpler.com.

RAPALA LURES

In my previous blog, I mentioned some Rapala lures such as the Magnum 40 and the Super Shad Rap Magnum which I have not seen in the USA.  I contacted friend, Tom Ashby, who owns the American Legacy Fishing Company.  Tom contacted his Rapala USA representative to inquire about these sought lures.  In short, Tom finds out that Rapala is organized into different and separate companies by various locations throughout the world, and unfortunately, they do not share products.  So it looks like the Mag 40s, the Mag 30 in the UV colorations, the Super Shad Rap Magnum, and others great rapala lures will not be available ti ne unless I can find them on ebay.  Knowing this, on my next overseas adventure I plan on stocking up on these impossible to get great lures by Rapala.