This mammoth, record-class king salmon was found dead on Oct. 30 in Battle Creek, a major tributary to Northern California’s Sacramento River by a crew of biologists surveying the creek for spawners.

“The length of this giant was 1290 mm (50.7 inches!) and I can’t remember the massive girth, but a weight calculator gave an estimate of 85 pounds!” says Matt Johnson, of the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, who sent to photo in to be entered in our Smoker of the Year Contest. “Some lucky dog might have broken the state record had there been a season this year!”
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