Beat this one BK!!!

Caught out of the Skeena this past fall...it was estimated at 44#'s.

World Record Steelhead

UNREAL fishy...
Wish they were like that down here...
Keith

HOLY [Bleeeeep!], I mean HOLY [Bleeeeep!]!!! That's the fish dreams are made of son. On a bug rod no less. What a beut. Did I say HOLY [Bleeeeep!]?

"WOW"
Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

Thats really cool because of the angle and how he is holding the fish the size isn't readily apparent but take a glance at his hand holding under the front of the fish. That is one thick fish!!!

That's a steelhead of a lifetime, but I'd bet a lot of cash it's in the 30's, not 40's. I think the weight equations are for people who want to think their fish was bigger than it really is. I'd guess 36.

That fish is the 5hit!

Thats a beauty fish but it ain't 44 pounds. Those formula's aren't accurate on fish that big. The guy also has his hands straight out, the oldest(and cheeseiest) way to make your fish appear bigger.

I've got a pic of a buddy of a fish that appears about the same size and he figured it would go 32 pounds. The guy holding the fish is 6'4 225. Heres the pic:



Theres no way theres a 12# difference between the two fish. Having said all that, I haven't caught a Steelie even close to the size of either fish

That fish is freakin' huge, but I agree that it isn't 44lbs.

~ Dr Pepper

That fish is 43# using length x girth squared divided by 775, and this formula works real well on big steelhead. What is execptional about this fish is the girth, and that's what really makes the pounds add up. I talked to a fly fisherman who actually measured a dead spawnout on the upper Bogy that was potentially bigger - 49" long! But he couldn't get a girth as it was partially eaten. We both agreed that it would have probably broken 40 easy.

I caught a 21 lb steely on the upper Quinault on a fly several years ago, and it damn near killed me. Can't even imagine what a fish over twice that size would do to you

who knows. one thing is for sure. the canadian fishermen are almost as big liars as we are. ive never met a fisherman yet that doesnt add a couple of inches to his fish (etc.). thats why they dont allow catch and release world records unless it is photographed with a ruler and certified scale. too many fish stories. no matter what it weighs, you gotta admit its one nice fish.

It's a 43 Canadian pound fish, bardo. You keep forgetting the US-Canada Exchange Rate.

It's a 27 American pound fish.

lol. good one

Even here in BC,that's a 30lbs fish.Not even close to 44.The angler in question is from Italy and spends a couple of months every year up here fishing the Skeena area(mostly the Bulkley).I've seen him in magazines with similar size fish,all around 30lbs or less.This photo was done for the benefit of American magazines.The measurements given were obviously exagerrated.You can tell by the way the fish is being held(away from the body),and by the girth compared to his hand,that they are trying to make the fish look bigger than it is.It's still a huge fish around 30lbs though,but it's nowhere near what they claim.News of a 44lbs fish would be the talk of every angler in BC,yet no one had even heard about this fish until this pic showed up.Several 30+lbs fish were taken last year without alot of people seeing that as a big deal.A 44lbs fish is in another catagory altogether.That would be the HOLY GRAIL of fish.Even if this angler were a very modest man,there is no way on earth that his guide and lodge would be able to keep their mouths shut over a fish like this.Every guide in BC would be hearing of the NEW WORLD RECORD caught at such and such lodge with so and so guiding him.It's big money for anyone who can put an angler into a fish like that.It's a huge fish,but don't kid yourselves.It's not even close to 44lbs.Low 30's at best.There have been several fish caught that size up here last year so it's no big deal.The story was almost as bad as that one in SalmonTroutSteelheader about Capt.Armand and his 30lbs Gold River steelhead.The boys up here are still laughing over that.That fish was low 20's at best,in fact it was probably less.Saying it was 30lbs was a joke.A 20lbs fish is HUGE for the Gold.A 30 is totally unheard of.To think someone could just show up and catch a 30lbs fish from there on 6lbs line in a 2 or 3 day trip,is an insult to the hordes of guys that have fished that river all their life without ever seeing anything close to that.The Capt. has a tendancy to hold fish away from his body too.What's with those US magazines?Why can't they just call it what it is?A huge,gorgeous 30lbs(not 44) or 20lbs(Capt.Armand) fish.I know several people who saw the Capt's fish when he caught it.They said it was between 18 and 20lbs.Nuff said!Canadian anglers aren't the only ones that lie.

AD, i'd have to say that you are right on. ive fished the gold river for years and have never seen a 30 lb. fish taken. last year a guy on a local river pulled in, bragging about his 55 pound salmon. i weighed it on my certified scale and it weighed 33 pounds.
fishermen lie almost as much as lawyers.
44 pound steelhead do exist though, as i have seen fish that big come out of nets, and i have several on my wall to prove it.catching one on hook and line would be a great accomplishment. not impossible, but very difficult

I wondered about the validity of that wieght to,I was just afraid to say anything as I have never seen a 30 in the wild.It just looked like a fish that had to be held out to be that big.

I personaly do not talk about the size of fish as I have not weighed enough of them to know!I am repeatedly wrong.My wife got a nice king last fall that I put at 20lb.When we got home and did the bathroomscale trick it was 32!I did the same thing with a king that I knew was big but it wasn't untill I got it home that I found out it was 48 after being in a cooler for two days,I was going to put it at 35.

I guess my point is how many fisherman really can guess the weight on the stream?I understand the formula used for steelhead but I mean the average joe that has one of those special days and releases 5 nates in one day,do ya believe him on the size?

Hey bardo stay away from me with that fancy scale of yours I don't want to know the truth!

ltlC,

You have exactly the opposite problem most have when estimating fish weight. I've seen hundreds of 8-9 lb fish that were called "12-13 pounders". I mean, a 15 lb. hatchery steelhead is bigger than most people think it is. I've found that people consistently guess 2-3 lbs heavier than their fish really is.

Another thing I know is that photos lie. It's pretty difficult ot get an idea how big a fish was through a photo, unless multiple angles and lighting are used. A single photo without much reference makes it diffcult to judge size. If they actually taped it, and calculated the size with the 4/3 LxGxG / 1000 formula, I'm more likely to believe what the formula says than what the picture looks like. A pic might be worth a thousand words, but I've found that the formula doesn't lie by much, but pics sometimes do.

Last year my buddy and I caught a couple beauty hatchery fish. His outweighed mine by 2 lbs. You'd never know it in the pics.

If the problem you have is guessing 10 and winding up with 13 or 14............I'd say that's a pretty good problem to have.

cleo, don't worry. even if i weighed your fish, we could both stll lie about it.

Yeah, but that would take some "hush" money, wouldn't it Brad?