The goof-off days are over and now the big push of the year begns in earnest. What finer way to start it off today with a jumbo Kasilof king that will eventually grace the wall of Brit's home.

Numbers aren't here yet, but nice to see some piggies if the action is still quiet, this wasn't even the biggest fish of the day off the river ... wow!

Good God Almighty... that's what you meant about being busy posting pics tonight!

Mercy!

At least somebody can wait till the rod buries...
Nice fishy...
Bonk...

Hey TRBO... where are the FOLBE's on that stinkin' barge?

Ahem.......nice fish, that one's worth the wait!

I keep asking him the same thing year after year. They are NEEDED too.

Big fish like the ones above tend to flat out PIN the rod in the rod holder. Can't even tell you how many fish I've seen come unbottoned in that barge because people don't know how to properly set the hook as well as releasing pressure on the rod which allows it to be freed from the holder.

I need to get me one of them Kasilof Piggies on the bug rod! If I do, FishGal can have it for her wall.

Holy big piggy! Great fish. I don't think the 6 fish we caught this morning would add up to the weight of that one!
Cheers,
Neal

how many 50+ kings u landed parker?

No need to push Deano off ... only saw two boats the entire day

Not sold on the Folbe's yet ... MIkey has them on his boat and he's already lost two overboard because clients keep messing with the buttons ...

They also don't seem to be any better at getting them out of those either because they still can't pull straight up with that much load ... and that was even on the smaller June fish.

I'm waiting for the local store to get some of the new Fish-on's with the dual placement option, would like to see if those work a little better.

At just shy of 55, it would have won dery the last two years ... the other taken yesterday was just over 57. Already another 55 a few days back ... I was sad to see that one bonked since the client didn't even want the fish (for eating or mounting) and the guide ended up taking it home

A big dead fish is a BIG DEAD FISH any way you slice it.

I know the drill... "It's the client's call." Ok I can respect that. But I do wonder how many 30# steelhead on the OP get the wood shampoo. I say that with utmost respect, TRBO... not as a flame. Gentle persuasion works a lot better than

Let's all just remember that we can't possibly conserve the gene pool of the biggest baddest fish in a system by selectively killing them. Those enormous Kasilof pigs are VERY special... wild purebred giants not unlike the Kenai hawgs I rally so hard to protect.

Just food for thought.

OK off my soapbox... back to our regularly scheduled program. Carry on....

that's a fish of a lifetime...........wow!

I hear ya Doc

Guilty as charged in plenty of cases, but I'd never consider killing one just to have it at the dock if the client didn't want it ... and that was the case in the situation I mentioned ... he simply wanted it to hang up.

Granted, it's touch to get many big release pix on the Ditch because of the mud and current situation that is common when these bigger fish show ... but it's not the end of the world ... we've let a number go over the years without much more than a slashing shot alongside the boat as we send them on their way.

It's ironic though that it take take some whacking of these fish to phyically deliver them to F&G over the years for state certificates to finally open the eyes of a few in the office to the fact that they do actually exist and help get the ball rolling on some form of a study on them ... who knows if that'll ever get us some headway in a true management plan though ... only time will tell.

Fortunately, in the drifter fishery ... many of these big guys get around us in the heat ... if it was a powerboat show, that wouldn't likley be the case

Why? What's that question got to do with anything?

Fish in the 40's but haven't broken the trophy mark up there, yet. My Dad was fortunate enough to luck himself in to a 59 pounder on the Ditch. He never came remotely close to getting the rod out of the holder....until both Bob and I simultaneously reached over and set the hook/released the rod for him.

I've watched a couple big fish come and go because the clients couldn't get the rod out of the holder(s) in a timely manner.

You should just ditch the rod holders all together Bob and let everyone use bug rods. I wonder how many rods you'd lose in a season?

PS. I thought it was implied, but if not, Damn Nice fish, Brit! Once of the nicest Ditch Pigs one will ever see!

MERCY.............

to quote one of Doc's favorite one-word one-liners.

Nice hog.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

I was just admiring that fish again today.

You know.... either it's got an awfully wide maxillary plate.... or it's got awfully small eyeballs.

Even in Alaska, a river fish that BIG and that CLEAN is a 1:100,000 phenomenon.

You know it ain't right to call boys "pretty" (take Merg for example), but unlike that big old brick in my current avatar, that some-beach is PRETTY!

NICE !!!!!!!!!

Peace
Fly