With a name like Spider, all ya got’s your reputation, so I figured before I started claiming the good old days are back, I better do some verifying. The results were…oh, so pleasantly ambiguous.
Fulton's Pedro Moreno holding his King, taken in downtown Oswego on September 5
Figuring guys who mount fish for a living would be the first to know if such beauties were being caught, I called Pulaski’s Fish Wish Taxidermy (all numbers are 315 area code: 298-4588). Owner Maggie Rathje said a fellow brought in a 41-pound king the other day. Unfortunately, she didn’t weigh it on a certified scale. Instead she used a ruler: multiplied its length (45 inches) by its girth (27 inches) and divided by 800. She’s been dealing with fish for a long time and feels confident her figure is accurate.
As an aside, she mentioned taking in a half dozen kings weighing over 35 pounds each already this season.
A responsible writer draws on several sources so I decided to call Fran Moshier, over at Animal Art Taxidermy Studio (963-3817). The biggest he’s seen so far this year is a 33-pounder.
Moshier suggests exuberance can cloud a good man’s judgment: “They might look that big when they first come out of the water, but on a good scale they’re usually a little lighter.”
Still, he’s quick to add: “Captains keep saying there’s a 40-pounder out there. They’re marking big fish.”
I went up to Oswego to pound the pavement for the truth. Mike, at Fat Nancy’s Tackle Shop (125 E. First St., 216-4595), hadn’t seen any 40-pounders, but he heard a lot of stories.
“One local charter captain’s taxidermist told him 40- and 42-pound kings were brought into the shop on August 2,” said Mike. “They were taken by the same boat. They weren’t entered in the LOC derby.”
Drew over at Screwy Louie’s Sport Shop (9 East Cayuga Street , 342-3138) confirmed that he heard the report of the 40- and 42-pounders over the radio, and that a lot of anglers are talking about it.
However, Shantell, another employee of Screwy Louie’s, claims the biggest king she’s heard of so far is the LOC Fall Derby winner, Richard Priset’s 39 lb. 0.8 oz. bruiser.
And that’s so close it almost hurts.
On the bright side: “A lot of people tell me this year could see the state’s king record broken,” says Fat Nancy’s Mike.
Considering that kings put on a lot of weight in their last binge before spawning, and that there’s still a week or two before some stop eating, we just might see a new record setter.
My money says it’ll come out of Oswego County waters.
I’ve included some photos of fish that were taken in Oswego on Sunday, September 5th. This is the earliest I’ve ever seen so many nice fish taken out this early in the month. If this holds, we’re in for a memorable season.
As an aside, she mentioned taking in a half dozen kings weighing over 35 pounds each already this season.
A responsible writer draws on several sources so I decided to call Fran Moshier, over at Animal Art Taxidermy Studio (963-3817). The biggest he’s seen so far this year is a 33-pounder.
Moshier suggests exuberance can cloud a good man’s judgment: “They might look that big when they first come out of the water, but on a good scale they’re usually a little lighter.”
Still, he’s quick to add: “Captains keep saying there’s a 40-pounder out there. They’re marking big fish.”
I went up to Oswego to pound the pavement for the truth. Mike, at Fat Nancy’s Tackle Shop (125 E. First St., 216-4595), hadn’t seen any 40-pounders, but he heard a lot of stories.
“One local charter captain’s taxidermist told him 40- and 42-pound kings were brought into the shop on August 2,” said Mike. “They were taken by the same boat. They weren’t entered in the LOC derby.”
Drew over at Screwy Louie’s Sport Shop (9 East Cayuga Street , 342-3138) confirmed that he heard the report of the 40- and 42-pounders over the radio, and that a lot of anglers are talking about it.
However, Shantell, another employee of Screwy Louie’s, claims the biggest king she’s heard of so far is the LOC Fall Derby winner, Richard Priset’s 39 lb. 0.8 oz. bruiser.
And that’s so close it almost hurts.
On the bright side: “A lot of people tell me this year could see the state’s king record broken,” says Fat Nancy’s Mike.
Considering that kings put on a lot of weight in their last binge before spawning, and that there’s still a week or two before some stop eating, we just might see a new record setter.
My money says it’ll come out of Oswego County waters.
I’ve included some photos of fish that were taken in Oswego on Sunday, September 5th. This is the earliest I’ve ever seen so many nice fish taken out this early in the month. If this holds, we’re in for a memorable season.
Pedro holding a brown he also took below the Varick dam on the same day, using an orange sponge.
Pedro waits at Larry's Oswego Salmon Shop to have his fish cleaned.
Fulton native Brian Stephens with a 24-inch walleye he took downstream of the Bridge Street bridge in Oswego.
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