BIG Kenai king sealed today

[eyeFISH]

Just got an e-mail from ADFG that they sealed an 88# buck from the Kenai today. Stated dimensions were 58 x 35. I'll see if I can track down a pic. FYI, the world record measured 59 x 37.

[STRUTTIN-1]

I want some too!!!!!
We want pics.......!!!

[Pounddown]

now thats a pound-down....

[weekend warrior]

Eyefish, what do you mean by "sealed"? If this is a dumb questions I'm using the excuse that I'm new , if not then I was just curious . Cant wait to see pics.

[eyeFISH]

Sealed: authenticated, certified by ADFG. They take official weights and measures along with a scale and DNA sample to get a better handle on the life history of these special giants. By law, any Kenai king measuring 55" or more must be sealed within 3 days of capture.

[eyeFISH]

Here he is:

[Flying Roast Beef]

gross fish

[fishhog1]

eyefish, are those big Kenai kings good to eat when they turn red like that? I have seen much smaller kings that were red like the one pictured taken from the Kenai in photos over the years. I have always thought that they may return from the sea dark or turn quickly when they hit the fresh water? Maybe you could clear this up. Thanks in advance..... fh1

[Just Fish]

All I can say is wow Looks like your old pics of the june hogs from the past.To bad they that monster he could have put that gene pool back in the river for my grand kids :grin:

[boater]

gross fish

no kidding, it looks like its already been smoked

[SEAWEED PETE]

eyeFish will be able to clarify but a friend of mine who grew up in Alaska said they call those red ones " Leatherbacks ". He indicated they may have a little different life cycle than other Chinooks. He caught a 77 # that looks just like the one on this post and the meat was great.

[Thumper]

We kept a red Kenai 62-pounder several years ago and it tasted like crap. Sad to see them kill those biggies.

[The Overfishin Condition]

The Kenai fish do seem to turn faster than the fish around here. Out of 8 fish that we caught and kept when I went two years ago, only one was a true chromer, and there was one that was borderline chrome. They all cut red though, and only one had not so great flavor. I guess that's the one we gave away to friends. I definitely wouldn't have kept that one though, I would've liked to have left it in the gene pool, it wouldn't have tasted that great, and I could've gotten the $$$ towards a replica mount of a lifetime.

[WhiteSalmon]

Great fish but it looks gross. I thought the Kings I caught in the salt out of Nanilchik were much darker than Kings out of the salt down here. They were also very "ripe" as their eggs looked like they were fully developed. I told our guides that I thought they looked very dark, and was told they were Copper Kings,and were naturally darker. Anybody know if this is right, or was that a fish storey. We ate them, and they were OK, but I thought not as good as our chromers.

[reeldick]

The Kenai kings start to turn before hitting the river in many cases. Over the years we caught many that were chromers and many that were "Rose" colored. It is normal for some of them to start to turn color in salt water. We would regularly catch "Rose" kings in the salt in front of Deep Creek.
When I moved to Alaska the locals taught me that you keep the sockeyes and silvers for eating and send the king meat home to the lower forty-eight with the relatives.

[mandinga]

We kept a red Kenai 62-pounder several years ago and it tasted like crap. Sad to see them kill those biggies.

some people need to keep fish just because they are big. :whazzup:

[David Johnson]

gross fish


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

no kidding, it looks like its already been smoked

are those big Kenai kings good to eat when they turn red like that? I have seen much smaller kings that were red like the one pictured taken from the Kenai in photos over the years. I have always thought that they may return from the sea dark or turn quickly when they hit the fresh water? Maybe you could clear this up.

I think a lot of people from the lower 48 see these fish and are ignorant of what they are.

Many strains of Alaskan chinook come back with a red coloration. They already have it in the salt. They are not like a Tule.

Sure, they'll get dark but you can tell when one is a fresh red king and when one is a old, dark red king. Most the time the red kings have better meat than the bright ones.

And as far as the meat being bad, if a guy eats springers he'll be spoiled. I think a springer eats better than any Alaskan salmon, period.

It would be nice to release those big ones. Last year on Canada we released a king that taped out to be 67.5# It's good to know it was left in the gene pool.

On the Kenia there's that program to get a replica, that is way cool

[Fishin Magician]

I was going to reply but David couldnt have said it any better.....

[justcastn]

I woulda killed it,are you kidding me that's a pig!!

[eyeFISH]

Kenai kings come into the river mouth chrome bright, just like anywhere else. Yes, a number of them will start to mature out in Cook Inlet taking on a bit of a darker bronze or copper hue in July, but they don't come into the river THAT red.

It is far more likely that fish entered the river a couple weeks earlier, and it flushed in and out of tidewater. Radio tagging studies showed how some of these fish would go up as high as 19 miles before heading back downriver to mill about in tidewater for days to weeks before finally committing to definitive upstream passage to their spawning grounds.

That fish probably cut red.... red on the outside Kenai fish will cut red on the inside even after the scales have set in. For me, however, it's not the color that counts as much as it is the texture and oil content. You Oregon boys probably aren't used to just how red the Alaska fish cut... if they lose a bit of that red after a week or two in freshwater, you guys still think they cut great! Their flavor and "mouth appeal" has already changed for the worse, though.

I ate a CR springer that cut pale peach in April. My brother would have dismissed the pale color as a sign of "poor" quality (it took me by surprise as well) especially since we are used to seeing Kenai kings cut red as candy. My Kenai biases aside, that CR springer was the finest piece of salmon to EVER pass my lips... period.

[onebadfish]

that eyefish knows his stuff. an earlier post makes me wonder if it's realistic to compare a CR springer with a fresh sockeye for eating. gotta go fishing with eyefish some day.

[joemomma]

I woulda killed it too, thats the way they are!

[joemomma]

I woulda killed it too, thats the way they are!

[Mad Mikey]

Many strains of Alaskan chinook come back with a red coloration. They already have it in the salt. They are not like a Tule.

You got it Dave. When I worked in AK we caught many fish like that. As long as they were bucks they were fine. I've seen darker ones with nice red meat.

Salmon in AK are a whole different critter thsn the lower 48.

[blacktail519]

I'll Pass.........

[5 Salt]

I would have let it spawn to protech the few ramaining gaints of the gene pool. You can brag on a pic of that big fish without haveing to see it hit your freezer.

Take a hint from Eyefish's pic in his signature, revive them and send them back continue the last large chinook strain in the world.

[weekend warrior]

If that was caught with a guide I was wondering why they didn't let it go. I would assume that alot of the "locals" are part of the same program as Greg Bush(i think thats right), the one were they release those big guys and get fiberglass replicas which are alot better than skin mounts.

I know this is a dead horse but I hate seeing those big guys & girls bonked, if we keep killing em' how can they keep there fantastic genes going? It aint rocket science.

Nice fish though, fish of a lifetime for sure

Eyefish, thanks for clearing that up for me, I didn't know there was certain guidelines like that. I guess now I do, thanks for all the info you share.

[eyeFISH]

eyefish, are those big Kenai kings good to eat when they turn red like that? I have seen much smaller kings that were red like the one pictured taken from the Kenai in photos over the years. I have always thought that they may return from the sea dark or turn quickly when they hit the fresh water? Maybe you could clear this up. Thanks in advance..... fh1

If there's any doubt as to how these fish come in, here's a little pictorial essay:















People have gotten used to seeing so many pictures of big ripe red fire-engines that it creates the impression that is all the river has to offer. In my mind, there is no question that these fish deserve to spawn the next generation of Kenai HAWGS. The problem is that the masses want to kill one for the personal 8 x 10 hero-shot, the guide brochure/web-page, or the ultimate wall adornment. What all these people fail to see is that each of those things is possible WITHOUT having to kill the fish that each and every one of us would like to someday catch.

Just remember the more of 'em we release, the greater the chances that more of 'em will come back.... it's as simple as that. It's either do our part to allow these magnificent giants to perpetuate their genetic fitness, or continue the 30+ year legacy of selectively slaughtering the river's biggest and best broodstock. How easy is that?

[USCGBoating]

I am up in Anchorage after just coming back from the Kenai and read in the local paper that it only took 8 min. for the kid to land it. It had a hook and leader in its mouth and had apparently been played out by some unfortunate person who didn't check the leader for nicks and scrapes. There were a lot of bright fish being caught and this was not the only big fish landed last week. Another person tagged a 78 pounder. The majority of the fish I saw were in the low 40 to 50 lb range. Angler success is good. Reds are screeming into the river. It's the right time to be there!

[ohhhtobefishin]

I'm totally awestruck!

[eyeFISH]

I'm totally awestruck!

Yup! The Kenai is one awesome river.

I know that 88#-er was a fire-engine, but here's one more example that Kenai fish don't just "come in that way". Check out this 83# chromer caught three days ago (Tuesday July 19) by an RW client.



Sounds like the fish was bonked strictly for the meat.... here he is on the fillet table:



The article in the Clarion went on to say the angler was considering getting a fiberglass replica as an after-thought. Too bad nobody told him he could have gotten his trophy mount for free... sad to see that RW is still the rabid glory-seeking big-fish-killing SOB he's always been. Guess there are certain things in life you can always count on! :depressed: :whazzup: :depressed:

[clacksteel]

I'm just curious eyefish...how do you get your trophy mount for free? I know you mentioned some kind of a program, but do you have any info on how to get a hold of these people if we head to the Kenai?

[eyeFISH]

Here ya go, Young Gunner:

Release A Hawg

[Fishin Magician]

Here ya go, Young Gunner:

Release A Hawg

Thats a complete "NO-BRAINER".....What an outstanding program....

Doc....we need to stay in touch for a trip this fall....

John