“Steve said its the biggest fish he’s ever had in his boat,” said Val. “We decided to measure then photograph and release him because his genetics must have been special to grow so big and healthy.”

“It measured at about 62 and a bit,” confirmed Veloso. “They (Jacksons) were really good about it. I was telling them while they were bringing it in that this is probably a big fish and it’s a good thing to do to think about releasing it, because big fish make big fish – good DNA. So before it was even in the boat he was totally committed to letting it go, which was super cool.”

Veloso said the big chinook was caught just off Lazo.