Sacramento River 11/06/05

Nice fish Chuck!
33lbs?

I was up in Lassen fishing Hat Creek this weekend with snow on the ground. Should have stopped when we passed the Sac River instead!

Congrats Chuck - hope you sleep well tonight knowing that $100.00 was going to my son's college funds.....


Fred - what can I say.....every time you get a chance to fish....YOU DO IT! Congrats to you as well!

Nice work guys! I predict we will see Mooch on the river next weekend  

I am guessing ChuckE's is 31 LB.

Damm chuck! nice fish I would have to 38# there's my guess. I fill very confident in my halibut with all big swells and winter  Steve

Those are some awesome fish, I can only imagine the fun you had with the fight and netting those monsters.   I'm guessing 35 lbs.  Were you trolling or jigging when you caught these fish/

What a fish chuck!  you guys rocked!

Chuck that was a great 40 lb fish.  I am jealous of you guys, I spent the entire day yesterday working with my dad and then on my own house.  My dad is a 61 year plumber working on Sunday's, to guilty to fish if I don't help him.  

Maybe we should think about 2 salmon pot's for next year.  1 for the ocean and one for rivers.  The river will most likely always win.  

Jason

Mooch... my good buddy.... I just wanted you to sweat a little.
Having you actually believe that I caught a bigger fish than yours was worth more than the $100 jackpot prize to me!!!  

Would you guys believe that my fish weighed only little over 24 pounds???
We weighed it on a spring scale provided by a boater at the ramp.

That fish certainly lost a lot of weight heading up the river.  As Freddie was saying... if I had caught that same fish earlier in the ocean, it likely would have been weighed over 30 pounds and looked more like a football.

chuck,
did you measure the fish?  How long was it?  I believe Joel's was 38".

Stu

based on the lenght I figured 40lbs. What was the length?

Jason

It was about 36" long.
It sure looked bigger in the photo.
Gotta love that "Levi FishSniffer pose"  

Mooch... my good buddy.... I just wanted you to sweat a little.
Having you actually believe that I caught a bigger fish than yours was worth more than the $100 jackpot prize to me!!!  

Would you guys believe that my fish weighed only little over 24 pounds???
We weighed it on a spring scale provided by a boater at the ramp.

That fish certainly lost a lot of weight heading up the river.  As Freddie was saying... if I had caught that same fish earlier in the ocean, it likely would have been weighed over 30 pounds and looked more like a football.

Stu actually called me yesterday when I was just loading up to go home from StillWater.....but when I saw the pics this morning - I really thought it was over 40#'s  

In the ocean, the following is a pretty good length/weight Est.   with a 34.5" fish right around the 20lb mark.  Less than 40", the weight should be within a +/- 10%.  Over 40" and the weight will vary more depending on girth.

34" 19lbs
35" 21lbs
36" 23 lbs
37" 25lbs
38" 27.5lbs
39" 30lbs
40" 32.5lbs
41" 35lbs
42" 37.5lbs
43" 40lbs
44" 42.5lbs.

Big salmon are like footballs.  An inch adds a lot of weight.  A 30" fish is probably 9-10lbs, so the typical ocean caught salmon is between 30-34".

chuck,
I'm sure your fish would have been a lot bigger in the ocean.  They stop feeding once they enter the FW, with only one thing on their mind (spawning).  They are usually hitting lures out of aggravation rather than hunger.

Stuart

I have a new found respect for the tenacity of salmon caught in the rivers.  I fought that fish for nearly 20 minutes, and for a while that big fish was towing me up the river.  And when it decided to head down the river, I went for a serious sleigh ride.  Like Al's fish, mine tried to take me into some pilings near the bank, and that's when I knew I had to end the fight soon at the risk of popping it off.  Luckily, I got that slug into my net just a couple yards before reaching a piling.

When Freddie was getting towed by his fish, it looked like his yak had a motor.

sleigh ride are the best! I still have wet dreams over that ling that me for a ride