Is it just my imagination, or have the fall coho in the Neah/Sekiu area gotten bigger over the last few years?

Didn't the average size used to be around 4 pounds? What is it up to now?

The "upper end" used to be around 12 pounds, but lately doesn't a fish need to be around 16 pounds to raise an eyebrow!?

What do you pros think?

Hi
I would say most Salmon have been getting bigger over the last 4 or 5 years or so. I know the average weight for Kings on the Samish has increased. I remember 3 years ago or so when I first saw and heard of Coho in the high teens and low 20's being caught on the coast. Now fish that big may not be common but they sure aren't rare. I know of a 22lb Coho being taken off the Snohomish last week. That never used to happen and the state record for a HUmpy was set on there in 2003.

About the same time this all started happening, the Seattle Times had a big story in their Sunday paper about a change in climate. One of the professors at UW said that while La Nina and El Ninio are factors. He figured out that there is a 30-40 year ocean cycle that affects feeding for salmon and that at the time we were on the up-swing which he predicted would mean better food for the fish and more of them. Looks like he was right.

No doubt about it. The typical 5-8 lb silvers in the South Sound are now 8-10 lb fish with a few in the low to mid-teens mixed in.

They've been eating well.