Thomas Salas holds the pink salmon he caught Monday, Aug. 22, 2016 in the Kenai River. The fish weighed in at 12 pounds, 13 ounces, beating the previous state record of 12 pounds, 9 ounces. Salas held the record for a few hours before Robert Dubar brought in his 13 pound, 10.6 ounce fish.

Thomas Salas holds the pink salmon he caught Monday, Aug. 22, 2016 in the Kenai River. The fish weighed in at 12 pounds, 13 ounces, beating the previous state record of 12 pounds, 9 ounces. Salas held the record for a few hours before Robert Dubar brought in his 13 pound, 10.6 ounce fish.

State pink salmon record broken twice in one day

After 42 years, the Alaska state record for a sport-caught pink salmon was broken — twice.

Thomas Salas hauled a monster pink salmon out of the Kenai River near Big Eddy in Soldotna on Monday night. The California resident, who said he visits the Kenai every other year or so, was originally going to throw it back when a friend told him to hang on to it.

“(He) said, ‘You gotta keep it, that might be a record,’” Salas said.

As it turns out, he was right. When the anglers took the fish into the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in Soldotna the next morning, it weighed in at 12 pounds and 13 ounces and 28.5 inches long, claiming the state record from the previous 12 pound and 9 ounce fish, caught in 1974. Multiple biologists certified it and sent Salas on his way, the new holder of the state record.

About three hours later, Robert Dubar brought in his own humongous pink salmon. He’d pulled the monster out of the Kenai River just downstream of Angler’s Lodge in Sterling on Tuesday morning.

“I thought it was hooked on a log,” Dubar said. “Then it started moving a little bit. Took about five minutes to get him to the shore.”

Dubar, who is visiting the Kenai Peninsula from Incline Village, Nevada, brought the pink salmon into the Fish and Game office in early afternoon. The biologists there again took its weight and measurements and certified it — 13 pounds, 10.6 ounces, 32 inches long.

The new state record. Dubar said he plans to mount the monster.

Salas took the news with a laugh.

“Really?” he said. “Another guy caught a bigger fish?”

Fish and Game certifies and seals particularly big fish caught by sport anglers through its trophy fish program. For pink salmon, the minimum weight to qualify is 8 pounds. Entries have to be weighed in the presence of witnesses and a trophy fish official on a certified scale. Catch-and-release fish can qualify for an honorary certificate as long as the angler doesn’t remove the fish from the water and someone gets a photo of it. Honorary certificates are measured by length.

The previous record was held by Steven A. Lee for a 12 pound, 9 ounce pink salmon caught in the Moose River in 1974. Two other state trophy fish — a 16 pound sockeye salmon and a 97 pound, 4 ounce king salmon — were both caught on the Kenai River as well, both in the 1970s.

Anglers have been catching enormous pink salmon in the Kenai River this season, said Jason Pawluk, the acting area management biologist for the Division of Sportfish in Soldotna.

“I have lost track of how many pinks have been brought in this year for our trophy program, and that’s a pink over 8 pounds,” Pawluk said.

The pink salmon have been consistently larger. Commercial fishermen began reporting early in the season that the pink salmon were larger, but the average has been consistently increasing throughout the season. The Kenai River experiences high even-year pink salmon runs, but these are some of the largest anglers have recalled seeing.

“We’ve observed this in the inriver sport fishery and confirmed for sure in the commercial fishery,” Pawluk said. “The pound average per fish is an order of magnitude difference than it has been in previous years.”

The reason for the larger size isn’t really clear. Low pink salmon runs have been a mystery in Prince William Sound, Kodiak and Southeast Alaska this year — managers have suggested ocean temperatures as a possible cause. The pink salmon have been larger than usual in Kodiak as well.

Pawluk said it’s still uncertain how large the run is, but the trend in larger size is clear.

“It’s possible there’s still a record fish out there,” he said.

 

Reach Elizabeth Earl at elizabeth.earl@peninsulaclarion.com.

Robert Dubar holds up the pink salmon he caught Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016 in the Kenai River. The fish weighed in at 13 pounds, 10.6 ounces, beating out the previous state record of 12 pounds, 13 ounces, which had been set that morning by another fish from the Kenai River.

Robert Dubar holds up the pink salmon he caught Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016 in the Kenai River. The fish weighed in at 13 pounds, 10.6 ounces, beating out the previous state record of 12 pounds, 13 ounces, which had been set that morning by another fish from the Kenai River.

More in News

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, a Soldotna Republican who co-chairs the House Education Committee, speaks in favor overriding a veto of Senate Bill 140 during floor debate of a joint session of the Alaska State Legislature on Monday. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)
By 1 vote, lawmakers sustain Dunleavy veto of education bill

The bipartisan bill included $680 increase to per-student funding

The Sterling Highway crosses the Kenai River near the Russian River Campground on March 15, 2020, near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Russian River Campground closed for construction

The campground is expected to reopen on June 2

A man fishes in the Kenai River on July 16, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion/file)
Fish and Game announces series of closures and restrictions for king salmon fisheries

Cook Inlet king salmon stocks are experiencing a prolonged period of poor productivity, the department said

Montessori materials sit on shelves in a classroom at Soldotna Montessori Charter School on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Education debate draws state attention to peninsula charter schools

Dunleavy would like to see a shift of authority over charter school approvals from local school districts to the state

The Nikiski Senior Center stands under sunlight in Nikiski, Alaska, on Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Support available for community caregivers

Nikiski Senior Center hosts relaunched Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program

Flags flank the entrance to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s office on Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Dunleavy vetoes bipartisan education bill

Senate Bill 140 passed the House by a vote of 38-2 and the Senate by a vote of 18-1 last month

The Alaska State Capitol on Friday, March 1, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
House passes bill altering wording of sex crimes against children

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer

Ben Meyer and Brandon Drzazgowski present to the Soldotna and Kenai Chambers of Commerce at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Watershed Forum gives update on streambank restoration

The watershed forum and other organizations are working to repair habitat and mitigate erosion

The entrance to the Kenai Police Department, as seen in Kenai, Alaska, on April 1, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai resident arrested on charges of arson

Kenai Police and Kenai Fire Department responded to a structure fire near Mountain View Elementary

Most Read