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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Steelhead size overstated, so what’s new?

A wild steelhead salmon is brought to the boat before being released by fishermen on the Okanogan River. (Rich Landers)
A wild steelhead salmon is brought to the boat before being released by fishermen on the Okanogan River. (Rich Landers)

STEELHEADING -- A few sharp-eyed readers noticed that fish in the photo of the "27.5-pound" steelhead   (see two blog posts below this one) I hooked Tuesday in the Okanogan River either didn't look that big or the guy holding the fish, Jerrod Gibbons, must have been about 8 feet tall and 400 pounds.

Sorry, I meant 27.5 INCH-LONG steelhead, not 27.5 inches.  The correction has been made in the text.

It's a normal sort of mistake for a fisherman.

I know the length for a fact because a WDFW biologist measured it when we pulled off the river.

Meanwhile, the photo above is of a wild fish -- another third bigger than the one photographed a couple of blog posts below this.  Gibbons released this beautiful hen without bringing it out of the water.



Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

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