"The resulting collective community efforts to protect, restore and enhance both fish habitat and angler access have proven successful," he said. "We have visitors from all over the world stop by to see Les' fish," said Tami Murray, executive director of the center. Harry Stoner of Stockton broke the nearly three-year-old salmon record by.2 pounds with this 6.2 pound catch on February 28, 2010. He enjoyed the quiet of the river. So, based on this, it's very likely that the chinook that Les caught was bound to spawn in the Killey River.". And sure enough it was," Clara said. In Les' day, returning fish were slightly older. (Retired Record) 11 lb. - Mark Berndt, We spent a day with Kenai Outfitters and boated 2 Kings over 40 lbs. The fish was more than four pounds heavier than the existing record one caught by hook and line, a 93-pound king caught in June 1977 in Southeast Alaska by Howard Rider of Juneau. Since 2003, Fish and Game has, by regulation, required all kings more than 55 inches to be sealed within three days of harvest. That right time wasn't just early in the year. Anderson’s king salmon weighed in at 97 pounds, four ounces — a rod-and-reel world record that still stands. Everyone interviewed for this story agreed it's possible. "The Kenai River is known for having some of the largest chinook salmon in the world," Pawluk said. Joseph Robertia is a freelance writer living in Kasilof with his wife, Colleen, and their daughter, Lynx. Sharon Leon, Les' stepdaughter, shared similar sentiments: "He was never braggadocios or ever brought it up. Clara said that whenever her husband was asked if he thought anyone would ever trump his fish, he'd share his simple credo: Joseph Robertia is a freelance writer living in Kasilof with his wife, Colleen, and daughter, Lynx. In addition to a taxidermy mount of his record-breaking fish in the Sports Hall of Fame at the Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage, another resides in the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center. There's also a chainsaw carving of him out front. The king measured 58 1/4 inches long, 37 1/4 inches around. King salmon can spend anywhere from one to six years in the ocean feeding before returning to their natal streams to spawn, and his was believed to have been 4 or 5 years old. Les' world record is for a king caught using a rod and reel, but the largest Alaska king caught by any means was a whopping 126-pounder captured in a commercial fish trap near Petersburg in 1949. Soaking a Spin-N-Glo lure with eggs near Honeymoon Cove, Mile 13 of the river, Les heard the familiar whine of his reel letting out line. The Kenai River in Alaska has pumped out more monster Chinook than anywhere. While in Soldotna, we went fishing on the Kasilof River with Kenai Outfitters, It was truly one of the most memorable experiences during our vacation in Alaska. "Finally, they had to beach the boat to haul the fish out of the water," she said. He didn't know it when he picked up the rod but Les was about to have the fight of his life. Soldotna Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center. This is by far the best fishing guide service I have ever used..... - Mark Berndt, ....The accomodations are great and Kenai Outfitters works hard to provide the very best fishing experience. Why isn't completely clear, but it is believed to be related to less-favorable marine conditions. "In general, fishing regulations for chinook salmon on the Kenai River in 1987 were more liberal than they are now. Les passed away in 2003, but his fame persists. The declining age of returning salmon in recent years may help explain why fewer big fish are found. Potential Record…Released!. Les was 68 years old when he caught that king, and while it brought him many years of celebrity in fishing circles, his family said the fame never went to his head. Last year alone, we had people from 54 countries — from Australia to Ecuador — take pictures with Les.". "In recent years we've had some great research done on Kenai chinook that we can draw some probable assumptions about Les' big king," Pawluk said. © 2020 Anchorage Daily News. "Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing it is not the fish they are after.". Could another fish be out there big enough to break Les' record? Pawluk said other whoppers have been caught — including some 80- and 90-plus-pounders — between 1987 and 2003, when the sealing regulations began. n/a: Joe Williams: Nightcrawler: Salmon River, … Chinook may spend one to eight years in the ocean (averaging from three to four years) before returning to their home rivers to spawn. There were two other large salmon caught on the same day. Bait and multiple hooks were allowed from beginning to end of both early and late-run fisheries, where now it's single-hook no bait in the early run and single-hook bait allowed in the late run. CDFW is temporarily closing its high public use areas, including visitor centers and license … There was no 'slot limit' in the early run … where now we have no retention of chinook between 42-55 inches. The river had been running low that year. The fish was more than four pounds heavier than the existing record one caught by hook and line, a 93-pound king caught in June 1977 in Southeast Alaska by Howard Rider of Juneau. On July 15, 2009, angler Joel Atchison caught this massive … "They take pictures with the fish and the carving of Les that sits outside our door. - Colorado Springs, CO. Kenai Outfitters have terrific fishing guides with tremendous river fishing knowledge, excellent drift boat skills, and the patience to teach us the intricacies of King salmon fishing. Les' record still stands, and it has secured him a place in the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame. Only 32 kings in 12 years were big enough to seal — just one in the last eight seasons. 11 oz. He never bragged about it," Clara said. We have been fishing with Kenai Outfitters since 2006. "He drove around with it for a few hours before someone said, 'You know, that could be a new record.' "Had someone filmed it, we could have called it 'How not to catch a salmon,'" joked Clara, explaining that nearly everything that could go wrong, did. - Bob Sanders, Aberdeen, SD. The largest fish brought in to Fish and Game since 2003 was a blushed male, measuring 57 inches and weighing 86.6 pounds, caught at Airplane Hole (river Mile 14.5) on July 26, 2006. "Les loved to fish, but that's not the same as a love of big fish. The Story of the World Record King Salmon. That brick red, 55¼-inch male weighing 71.1 pounds was caught across from RW's Fish and Big Eddy Resort on July 16, 2009. Box 3494, Soldotna, Alaska 99669  |  fish@kenaioutfitters.com  |  (907) 394-4968 King Salmon: 97 lbs 4 oz 1985 Kenai River Lester Anderson Chum Salmon: 32 lbs 1985 Camano Point Fredrick Thynes Coho Salmon: 26 lbs 1976 Icy Strait Andrew Robbins Cutthroat Trout: 8 lbs 6 oz 1977 Wilson Lake Robert Denison But anglers hoping for the king of kings will face challenges Anderson never encountered, according to Pawluk. We returned the next summer with friends.... - Bob Sanders, Aberdeen, SD, ....and we all landed beautiful Kings; one topping 50 lbs. All rights reserved. Sometimes too much attention can be negative, but Ricky Gease, executive director of the Kenai Sportfishing Association, said he thinks the community responded well to the uptick of anglers. Among them: • Bank closures to protect spawning and riparian habitat; • Establishing 50-foot riparian protection zones; • Culverts that follow conservation-based standards; • Construction of light-penetrating walkways that allow vegetation to grow beneath; • Using cutting-edge ARIS sonar technology to count the king salmon that make it upstream. The remainder spawn in Funny River, with no main-stem spawners ever being tagged in May. Some of it has provided insights into the big fish. Still, genetics plays a role in the big-fish equation, affecting not only the age of maturity but the average size of various rivers' stocks.

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