88 lb spring

[capt. crunch]

I heard there was an 88 lb spring caught and released in Milbanke. Can anyone confirm this. If its true what a monster and good on them for releasing.

 

[crazycanuck]

Measured twice length and girth buddy works there it happened! Very happy it was released

 

[crazycanuck]

50" length 37" girth

 

[kingblazer84]

what a slab sounds like, 37" girth is giagantic lol

 

[Dbastock]

Anyone get any pictures of that thing??

 

[tincan]

Apparently there were no camera on board and the boat was too far from the pack / camera boat for pics. I'm sure some will say "pic or it didn't happen" but fishing is a gentleman's sport and I for one am very impressed that these guys let this HUGE specimen go. Even with pics there would no doubt be people who would call BS on the size so it's no win in some sense. In another sense it a total win-win. These guys caught the fish of a lifetime and then got to set it free to hopefully make it back to the Wannock (almost certainly from there) to spawn. So awesome that we still have a few fish of this size in our waters... let's do all we can make sure they are around for a long time to come.

Good on the guests/guide for the C&R of this fish. Hopefully it all went smoothly and the fish swam away strong. I can only imagine what a fish that size would feel like.... maybe some day

 

[Fishin'Zinn]

I can appreciate the fact they probably got it back in the water quickly, 88 lbs or not. Instead of potentially killing the fish waiting for a picture to be taken. Well done that is good news!

 

[Rockfish]

http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.c...012/08/20/monster-sized_833_pound_king_s.html

I imagine it looked something like this.

 

[ericl]

Fished Langara with West Coast Fishing Club this June. They highly encourage releasing anything over 30. You get a free Islander if you release a 50 or over. Sadly, they seem to hold the fish in their arms for a picture. This COULD cause problems; down in WA it is illegal to take a fish being released out of the water.

There is an alarming trend towards smaller Chinook. Used to be we caught 15-25 lb Columbia river fish at Ucluelet in May, with enough in the 30-40 range to keep you coming back year after year. Fish that we caught near-shore in August we assumed to be Robinson Creek fish were all over 25 lb. This seemed to change about 20 years ago. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Tightlines22]

I worked for Cassiar Packing on the Skeena in the 70's and saw numerous 70 plus pounders weighed in off the seiners in those days. Been a while since I've seen anything in that range.

 

[spoiler]

88lb spring

I worked for Cassiar Packing on the Skeena in the 70's and saw numerous 70 plus pounders weighed in off the seiners in those days. Been a while since I've seen anything in that range.

that fish was caught by a couple guided by a West Coast Resorts guide at Ivory Island.

 

[Finished Business]

Fished Langara with West Coast Fishing Club this June. They highly encourage releasing anything over 30. You get a free Islander if you release a 50 or over. Sadly, they seem to hold the fish in their arms for a picture. This COULD cause problems; down in WA it is illegal to take a fish being released out of the water.

This is fantastic news. (aside from the bear hug)
Coast wide, anglers should be encouraged to let the big fish go (30+). It is the best chance we can give them aside from not fishing all together (wont happen).

Bring your camera and FREE THE SLABS!

Kudos to West Coast Fishing Club. Hopefully many other lodges follow suit, along with the average angler...