Tyler,

We were fishing the kelp rafts in open water for yellowtail using live sardines with no weight. I spooled out a lot of line and it tightened up hard. I set the hook thinking it was a yellowtail, but it was just dead weight. Turns out the sardine must have swam right next to the thing and got loose, and I ended up hooking the sunfish right below the jaw. It fought like a bag of cement, and we motored right up to it on the surface and cut the leader.

I released 3 tule's in the 30-35 pound range this year at B10. Tules aren't worth eating.

After they closed the chinook season, we were releasing 2-4 nice URB's a day, despite the fact we weren't targeting them. Its okay though because they could swim upstream into commercial and tribal nets. That was fun(not). My largest URB was about 25#'s.

In August I caught a 19lb. buck silver 10 miles off Westport. Had to release it because it was a nat. I didn't mind to much cause it was an ugly hook nose w/ lots of color. Didn't know salmon could change before entering the river.

The one that hurt hit me last week. In November I caught a chrome bright hen King on the Hump where you can't retain Kings. She didn't have a hooked nose at all, a perfect beak. The guy fishing next to me said it weighed 40+ lbs. I think it was at least 35lbs. This guy hadn't taken home a fish yet and I could see the tears welling up in his eyes when he slipped it back in the river for me. What makes it hurt is last week I was talking to a friend who belongs to a local fishing club told me that a kid that I know, but wouldn't disclose his name, was hired by the hatchery to club all the Kings in Stevens Creek because there was to many. The only thing that eases the pain of that info is hopefully it went past Stevens Creek and on up the river.

I let a 45# Springer go this year (White Spring)...the guys beside me were in shock. I still have no idea what I would have done with 45#'s a white Spring meat.

4Salt,

If your heading up this way this year to fish Winters Steelies rip me an email.

Will do Matt.

Yeah, I got that same look too a couple of times.

BH (before Herschel) we fished the Sammamish alot. We had gotten blown off the Sky and stopped in at 80 acres. My fishing buddy sneeks up and looks and sees one surface right in front of us. I had a brand new Leo's jig and chuck it in the slough and said "where wuzzee?" "right SLAM there". There is a bike/jogging path and the bridge right where we were. By the time we got the fish to the bank both sides of the river and the bridge were full of gawkers. As it was closed for native fish we unhooked him, kissed him on the head and let him go. I wish I had at least known to measure the fish and no camera either.

750 lb. (est.) Manta-Ray, hooked or foul hooked him in the mouth while pitching live bait to a couple of striped marlin out of cobo in Dec. If you think halibut can pull hard, think again!!

[ 01-11-2002: Message edited by: chrome/22 ]

Do unintentional releases count?

we were trolling for silvers in seiku in the early 90's when kings were keepers, I hooked a king first thing in the a.m. fought it for 25 minutes, as we went to net it right at the boat the hooks popped out, it was 40lbs plus, the worst part about it was my friend stood and watched as it lay on the surface for 4-5 seconds not knowing it was free, the net was still in his hands!