1 salmon for 4 Yaks out of Moss yesterday 6/20

Fished with Nolan, Greg, and Brian out of Moss yesterday.  We launched at 6:30 to no wind and just a small swell. We fished the edge of the canyon straight out and then more northern finger for absolutely nothing.  Not even a bump.  There was sporadic bait on the FF, but no birds and only 2 whales that we saw cruising by.

After about 10 miles of paddling we were heading in, and I was getting tired, so I pulled up my down-rigger and put a 10oz torpedo in front of my triangular flasher and FBR with a big herring.  5 minutes later and BANG, fish on.  I can tell right away that it is big.  It is peeling drag and shaking.  I give him the pedal drag treatment and he does a few short runs and I can't really gain any line on him as the pedaling and its weight is right at my drag limit.  After about 10 minutes, the fish isn't doing any more runs, but is still very heavy.  I stop pedaling and start working on gaining some line.  When he gets near the boat, I see a big flash of purplish green and think that it is sea bass.  It still wants to sit really deep and is pretty active, twisting and turning near the boat and I get a better look and confirm that it is a Chinook, with a colorful (and big) back.

Trying not to panic, I work it to both side of the boat a couple of times, but it keeps pulling just a bit of line and heading down as I am trying to get the net into position.  Nolan is watching from nearby and has offered to net a couple of times and on the third ask, I swallow my pride and say yes, "please help"!  First pass by we don't quite line things up, but on the second pass, I  get the fish up and into his net.  It's a beast, furiously flopping, and I end up grabbing the far side of the hoop and we hoist it out of the water together with a holler.

37 inches, 25.5 lbs (bled but not gutted).

That's a well-earned fish! Great story.

Wow, what a fish!  Congrats 👍.  Thanks for the detailed report.

Great report!

The last attempt pays off! Way to go! That's a hell of a nice fish, and a great story   

Badass fish, and what an epic day!  Good times!  Lets do it again, but maybe a little closer to shore next time!  For the sake of our backs, legs, etc -14 mile days are brutal, but capping it off with a fish like that is absolutely worth it! 
 

Great report and very nice king!  Fat for its length.  Big congrats, and enjoy thinking of that prize every night when you go to bed for at least 3 months!  If you're a super well rounded and down to earth dude you'll hang up the fishing rod now and not obsess with getting the next one...   

Badass fish, and what an epic day!  Good times!  Lets do it again, but maybe a little closer to shore next time!  For the sake of our backs, legs, etc -14 mile days are brutal, but capping it off with a fish like that is absolutely worth it! 
 

Congrats and great job to Nolan too - getting in position and successfully bagging a big and strong really nice fish is another aspect of the Madness that can pay big rewards but can also lead to heartbreak.  Always go for that reward!   

What a great fish!  Awesome day on the water and that hog definitely made it worth it!  Just seeing that battle unfold got my heart pumping.

wow, you guys really earned that one!

Congrats and great job to Nolan too - getting in position and successfully bagging a big and strong really nice fish is another aspect of the Madness that can pay big rewards but can also lead to heartbreak.  Always go for that reward!   

Haha.  Appreciate it Eric!  I know how much it matters to fishermen to be able to fight and land it solo, but we landed the fish, and THAT is what matters most.  I think the heartbreak is pretty bad when you lose a fat salmon boatside - did that twice last season.  The heartbreak would be 100% worse if I screwed up that netting job leading to Thomas's fish being lost.  I wouldnt ever forgive myself!  lol  I made sure to keep all gear out of the water, and approached very slowly and methodically so I wouldnt be in the way and I could be helpful.  It is not easy!   

Totally happy to have had Nolan's help!  My boat-side handling was a not on point and didn't want to lose that beast. In retrospect I should have used more creative pedaling to get him back into a better position for my solo net tries.  I fish a big 9ft rod and in my excitement I think I forgot some of what has worked in the past.

I will say that the only other fish I have had that fought like this (insisting on sitting deep), I ended up taking for another drag to try and tire him out more.  Seemed to perk him up even more, and he ended up doing an arial and spitting the hook.  So I think that was in the back of my mind.

Boat-side I was at least smart enough to not get my net into the water when it wasn't right, but after I let a little slack into the line on one pass, that was it and I was super grateful for the help.

WOW! Huge Congrats! That is a unit! Netting a big salmon on kayak is difficult.

Very awesome catch!  Jelly belly

Epic, for sure!

Right on Tommy!!!
Nothing sweeter than getting a beauty of a fish on the way in from a skunk!!!
Great Job!!!!!!

Scotty