huge steelhead caught near sac.

[TaylerW]

promised my buddy i wouldnt tell where it was caught, but he just got a 22lb steelhead.

[Scott V]

Was it caught on a fly? Either way would have love to seen it.

[TaylerW]

it was fly caught. it looks like something youd see on the OP. im going out with him on the 12th so i hope to get his big brother. i didnt even know there were fish that big in the system here.

[huntindog]

call me a skeptic but I am not believing it

[Darian]

That would be an exceptional catch during the late fall or winter.... I know it's possible to catch large Steelhead in "the system" but at this time of year.... Are you sure it wasn't a Salmon

At any rate, it must've been fun to catch....

[Mike R]

Not to be a cynic, but there seems to be a huge steelhead caught each year in the valley that goes unsubstantiated. On the other hand, if you got pics, I'll be the first in line to see them. Let's hope this is real.

Mike

[Ed Wahl]

I've got the story right here. And it's a classic.

Enjoy






In 1967, Alvin Samples, an overall-clad, stock-car racing liquor store operator, claimed to have caught a world record 22-pound, 9-ounce largemouth bass in Cumming, Georgia’s Lake Lanier, shattering the 35 year-old mark by five ounces.

Jim Morrison, the Georgia Game and Fish Department Chief of Information, drove to Cumming to investigate. He easily found his man. Not surprising – how much bigger than Samples could Cumming have been? Morrison interviewed Alvin on his front porch, which he dubbed “Squalor Holler.” Fortunately, the exchange was recorded.

Samples said he caught the fish on a submerged island. “I dropped my anchor rock there on the island and pitched my little Zebbyco 33 out and had some heavy equipment there in the boat. I put a big lizard on it and got ready for big bass. I got one hooked over there and saw my line a stretchin’ and a straightenin’ and I reached down and caught him. When I jerked him I thought I was hung up because it didn’t go no where. After he come up and stood on that tail and shook that head three or four times, he just turned over on his side and I just drug him right in.”

Samples said he ate the record fish but swore he’d weighed it several places first. But when pressed, Samples couldn’t remember where. “I don’t know. I was drunk. We weighed him somewhere. I showed him all over the county. At least I think I did. There’s plenty of people who seed the fish. I thought we weighed him down at Joe Hansard’s but Grace said Harold said we didn’t weigh him down there so I guess we didn’t weigh him down there.”

“I drove him all around the lake looking for who weighed it,” Morrison stated. “The hell of it is we found someone who said he’d seen the fish.”


Samples talked so convincingly Morrison started to believe him. Samples even produced a rotted, stinking fish head so large it astounded the official. He photographed Samples wearing the fish head as a hat.

Morrison drove the head to Atlanta and woke up a fisheries biologist who examined it by flashlight. He stated: “This is the finest bass that’s ever lived.”

Now convinced, Morrison contacted WSB, an Atlanta radio station. The story broke almost immediately, prompting a saltwater biologist to come examine the head. He stated: “Jim, that ain’t no bass. It’s a red grouper.”

Hoax indeed. But where would Samples find a saltwater fish head so far from the ocean? Some say he and his brother lifted it from someone’s car and ate all but the head. Others say his son drug it home from the town dump – remaining intact only because it stunk so bad the dogs wouldn’t touch it.



I know there was a photo of Junior with his fish head, I remember seeing it somewhere, I think it was when he died, but for the life of me I can't find it on the net. But it had me rolling around laughing.

Ed

[TaylerW]

to be honest i am kinda bummed out with all this doubt. this fish was caught with a reputable guide, and im sure i could get him to tell you its true. as for scott, i will send u the picture. ed, thats kind of harsh. you dont believe me, whatever. your not the first person to not take this kid seriously. im gonna be out there next weekend. and im gonna hook a another one.

[Dustin Revel]

pictures! or it didn't happen!

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

We have really big Rainbow trout in Lake Natomas. Maybe a giant one got over the dam?

Would be interesting to try and find out what is the largest Steelhead weighed in at the Nimbus Hatchery on the Lower American River.