Alaska holds the all-tackle world record for king salmon, but Argentina might soon take over that distinction based on previous catches, including a recent one described as “an absolute beast.”
Fabian Mengo, fishing with guide Tomas Biott from Tres Amigos Fly Fishing Outfitters, landed an estimated 66-pound king salmon from the shore of Lake Pearson in Santa Cruz, Patagonia, Argentina.
Every year, chinook (or king) salmon go upriver from the Atlantic Ocean to reach the waters of Glaciers National Park where salmon up to 90.3 pounds have been reported caught by anglers.
The world record for a king salmon is 97 pounds, 4 ounces caught by Les Anderson on the Kenai River on May 17, 1985, according to the International Game Fish Association.
Could a king salmon bigger be landed in Argentina? Possibly.
“I think this place is unique,” Juan Manuel Biott of Tres Amigos Fly Fishing Outfitters told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors. “Nature is so overwhelming and fish so big that only in dreams could it be this way. Glaciers, lakes and kings up to [90 pounds]. Anytime, the world record is about to be broken.”
Mengo used a spoon on spinning gear, and fought the 66-pounder for 20 minutes before it was netted. It was soon released, as you see in the video.
“It was a bit over the average of the big ones caught every week,” Biott told For The Win Outdoors.
The fish measured 46.5 inches in length with a girth of 31 inches.
As Tres Amigos Fly Fishing Outfitters stated on its YouTube description, it was “an absolute beast!”
