I saw one in '02 in the salt that was without a doubt the biggest coho I've ever seen. I don't think it crested 30 but this was way off shore. They do have an amazing growth rate in that last year of life and this boy didn't have that hook of a fully mature male coho. Ofcourse in the ocean its a selective fishery and we could have netted it, but I know it was a coho with the adipose intact.
With all the feed off our coast recently and the fact that there will be no Pinks to compete with, that we should be optimistic to see more of these magnificant specimans in our waters in the new year. If I accually see one "that big" in WA again I would be pleasantly suprised. Will always wonder how big that fish would have been once it entered its River? Who knows, maybe it did end up in the Lewis, or...?
No Jpeg to share and my 35mm shots didn't turn out well, but the pics I have seen of it don't do it justice since it never was landed. And the fish seemed to be relatively unharmed.