You have to see it to believe it, but California Department of Fish and Game biologists think they have come across perhaps the biggest Chinook salmon ever to live in California waters.
During a routine survey of salmon in lower Battle Creek near Red Bluff, biologists came across a Chinook salmon that had died of natural causes. But this one literally stopped them in their tracks. Measuring 51 inches long, scientists believe when alive, this fish may have weighed more than 90 pounds. That would make is the largest Chinook ever recorded in California. The runner up weighed a slim 88 pounds, and was found in the Sacramento River.
"I have counted tens of thousands of salmon during my career and this is the biggest I have ever seen", said Doug Killam DFG Associate Fisheries Biologist.
Pacific Chinook salmon die after spawning, so the state says these surveys are very important to determine the number of salmon returning to spawn in specific areas. These monitoring surveys provide vital information on the number of salmon returning to specific areas, baseline information for establishing sport and recreational fishing seasons.
He may be big, but he ain't pretty. Still to get a good close look at this monster, click here.
