GIANT chinook salmon found in Battle Creek, CA. Not a hoax, BTW.

[kestrel91316]

51 inches long. The pic looks totally fake, lol, because nobody sees salmon this big anymore, right? But this was found in a Fish and Game Dept survey. So it's the real deal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2008/11/one-big-fish.html

This is not a year when you would expect to find a monster chinook salmon in California waters. The salmon runs have been so bad that the commercial and recreational chinook catch was canceled off the California and Oregon coast last spring.

But when state Department of Fish and Game biologists conducted their survey of fall-run chinook last month, they came across the carcass of one of the largest chinook ever recorded in California. The fish, which had died of natural causes as part of the natural spawning cycle, was found in lower Battle Creek near Red Bluff in Northern California.

Based on its measurements (51 inches long), biologists estimated the fish's live weight could have surpassed the state record, an 88-pound chinook caught in the Sacramento River.

The salmon counted in the fall surveys typically weigh 20 to 30 pounds.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[kestrel91316]

1. I have to say it. That is one scary, ugly MoFo of a dead fish.

I am gonna have nightmares for weeks over this.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

2. That is some great DNA in the mix. nt

[eowyn_of_rohan]

3. I wonder how old that fish was...?

Hope this bodes well for the salmon kingdom :)

[BrklynLiberal]

4. They said it was about 6 years old..

[eowyn_of_rohan]

9. thanks to you both

I have to read more carefully!

[kestrel91316]

5. The article speculated about 6 years.

[Blue_In_AK]

6. I wouldn't want to eat that guy. He looks spawned out.

Here's mine from a couple years ago. :)

[BrklynLiberal]

12. Wow!! Did you smoke it and eat it for a year or so??

[Blue_In_AK]

13. We ate some frozen and then smoked the rest.

My husband had one that year that was even bigger. It was hard to eat it all up before freezer burn started to set in, since we didn't yet have a vacuum sealer, so I smoked the rest after it started turning. It was still yummy. The ones we caught this year were smaller, around 35 pounds each, so I imagine we'll eat most of it over the winter.

[kestrel91316]

15. Salmon cans nicely, if you are comfortable using a pressure canner.

I canned up (in glass jars, actually) a whole bunch of half-pints of albacore that my BF at the time caught. I almost can't eat the store stuff now. Home canned was THAT much better.

[BrklynLiberal]

19. mmmm hot smoked salmon I LOVE it..

[kestrel91316]

14. JEEEEEEEZUS! That's just scary.

And yeah, that big 'un was quite dead when they found him floating down the river.

[Botany]

7. Thanx for posting

Wild run salmon rule

[jody]

8. The man holding the salmon is gritting his teeth.

[XemaSab]

11. The thing is probably fonsch as hell

:puke:

[depakid]

18. Looks like it reaks, doesn't it.

Nasty.

[kestrel91316]

16. Well it probably about gave him a frickin' hernia holding it.........

[uppityperson]

10. Very cool. This one is only a chum...

[kestrel91316]

17. It's only chum for a few more seconds, looks like - then it's roadkill.

I have to say, roadkill salmon is a new one on me.

[4dsc]

20. What an amazing creature...

Now that's one big a fish..