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You are here: Home / Best of FishwithJD / The Story of the World Record King Salmon

The Story of the World Record King Salmon

August 1, 2008 By JD 15 Comments

Les Anderson's World record king salmon

On May 17, 1985, Les Anderson of Soldotna, AK landed the all-tackle world record king salmon…this 97-pound, 4-ounce beast from the Kenai River. The mammoth Chinook was nearly 5 feet long and had an amazing 37.5-inch girth!

The improbable catch took place during the Kenai’s early run of kings, which typically features smaller salmon than the July run.

What’s even more crazy is the fish probably weighed considerably more at the time Andersen caught it…

After putting the giant in the net, he through the fish on the floor of the boat and fished the rest of the morning.

World Record King Salmon

Then, Anderson hauled it around in the back of his truck for awhile. Of course, it was one of those rare sunny & warm days in coastal Alaska…and the sun beat down on that fish for 7 hours before it was officially weighed.

There’s no telling how much weight the fish lost to dehydration but the king was probably pushing the 100-pound mark when it was fresh!! You can stop in and pay homage to the record king salmon at the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce where’s he mounted and on display.

Anderson’s 97-4 is the official record, but there have been even larger undocumented catches. Before the dams, the Columbia River was reported to have 100 pounders as did Washington’s Elwah River. Even the Sacramento in California has produced kings to 88 pounds in recent times and may have had even larger ones historically.

In 2001, a German tourist caught and released a 99.1-pound Chinook on B.C.’s Skeena River, so there’s still a chance.

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Filed Under: Best of FishwithJD, Fishing Stories, Trophy Room Tagged With: alaska, chinook salmon, kenai river, skeena river, world record king salmon

Comments

  1. H. Singmaster says

    December 7, 2021 at 9:19 pm

    I had floated/fished the Kenai river in the only drift boat on the water just days before that big fish was caught. The story was Les wanted to give his 2 buddies a chance to catch a big one too. Many hours went by, and by the time it was weighted the game officers were very disappointed, stating it had undoubtedly lost 5/6 lbs. and would have been a century fish if ONLY.

    Reply
  2. Richard Drummond says

    April 26, 2014 at 8:13 pm

    Good old Les !! The fish gods were with him that day! I have many hours on the river and have had a few big ones get away

    Reply
  3. david wayne brownell says

    June 26, 2013 at 11:34 am

    incredible

    Reply
  4. GC Thomason says

    December 1, 2011 at 4:47 am

    From the Field and Stream, May 1971 page 84,

    World records… in Pacific salmon are made in British Columbia waters… “Heintz Wichmann’s 92 pound salmon came from the Skeena river”.

    Reply
    • JD says

      December 1, 2011 at 8:30 am

      Big fish! But Anderson beat it later….

      Reply
  5. Billy says

    November 9, 2011 at 5:32 pm

    I’m in a restaurant in Seattle and they have a pic of a teddy roosevelt looking guy that caught a 124 lb fish. That gotta be a record

    Reply
    • JD says

      November 9, 2011 at 9:16 pm

      Billy, did ya snap a pic of that photo for us?

      Reply
    • Annonymous30 says

      July 26, 2013 at 2:12 pm

      My husbands father (who is now deceased) did the taxidermy work on that fish in the 1970s while working for Klineburger Brothers in Seattle (Think it was Jonas Brothers back then). That fish was commercially caught and is the true largest king salmon ever recorded. But its not an IGFA world record because it was commercially caught in a net. My husband has personally seen the mount and his father also had a fiberglass mold that he made off the mount. He sold a few reproductions out of the mold to sea food restaurants in different places. Unfortunately, the mold was destroyed along with a reproduction in a fire that leveled his fathers taxidermy shop in Hoquiam, WA in 1997. Not going to mention any names but anyone that knew my husbands father knows who we are talking about.

      Reply
      • Bryan Santilli says

        November 20, 2016 at 10:09 pm

        How big was it?

        Reply
        • JD says

          November 21, 2016 at 6:44 am

          97.4

          Reply
    • cadey says

      September 18, 2013 at 8:22 am

      Cool

      Reply
  6. Al Ward says

    March 30, 2009 at 8:56 am

    I found a Zippo lighter that is engraved ” World Record Salmon 92 lbs.” How can I find the rightfull owner? I can be contacted at [email protected]

    Reply
    • Al Ward says

      June 15, 2021 at 5:26 pm

      Not zap me. My email address is [email protected]

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. How many firemen does it take to carry a moose? /  The-Ave.US says:
    November 29, 2022 at 11:37 pm

    […] Soldotna, a town of 4,342 people (as of 2020) on the Kenai Peninsula in southeastern Alaska, is home of the king salmon hook-and-line world record, a 97 lb., 4 oz. fish caught in 1985 (see story and photos here). […]

    Reply
  2. Finest Place to Fish Salmon in Alaska – 9 Superb Spots - Get This Fish says:
    April 30, 2022 at 3:28 am

    […] again in historical past, Les Anderson caught the largest king salmon at this river which weighed 97 kilos and 4 ounces making it on the […]

    Reply

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