Fishing tales usually have to be taken with a grain of salt, but a recent Chinook Salmon found in Northern California has to be taken with a forklift.

During a survey on Battle Creek in Tehama County, Cal Fish and Game scientists recently found a dead Chinook Salmon that could have been larger then the official state angling record, an 88 pound fish caught in the Sacramento River.

Because Pacific Chinook Salmon die after spawning, surveys counting dead carcasses are commonly used throughout the Central Valley to estimate the number of salmon spawning in each stream, Fish and Game staff reports. Most fish found in these surveys are in the 20-30 pound range. This dead fish found in October was 51 inches long. When alive, it could have been heavier than that 88 pound record.

With the winter and spring run of the Chinook on the federal endangered species list, DFG Biologist Doug Killam calls the enormous fish, one of the few bright spots this year for one of Californias great sport fish, the Chinook Salmon. He was hopeful that that the monster salmon was successful in passing on its superior genetic potential.

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