Thirty-one years ago today, local fisherman Les Anderson fought for hours to reel in the 97 pound, 4 ounce King Salmon that still holds the World Record spot.
Anderson and his legendary fish are memorialized in front of the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce through a wood carving among other things. Chamber Executive Director Tammi Murray…
Murray: “People suspected it was probably over one hundred pounds because he ran around for a while, trying to get it weighed and showing it off so definitely think it lost some fluids and was probably at least one hundred pounds. So it’s a bummer that he didn’t get it weighed right away but it’s definitely a trophy we have here at the Visitors Center and we get lots of people every year coming in to see it.”
Anderson was inducted into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame, which has a replica of his fish on display at the Ted Stevens International Airport.
The Hall of Fame recounts the story of May 17, 1985, when Anderson and his partner Bud Lofstedt were fishing on the Kenai River.
68-year-old Anderson used a spin-n-glo lure with salmon eggs before the fight with the monstrous fish began. As the fish pulled Anderson and his friend around in the little boat, he was able to reel the fish in three times but they were unable to get it into the boat. Anderson finally landed the fish when they beached the boat.
After the King was announced as the new world record, Anderson was recognized as “the man who caught the world-record salmon” until he passed away in 2003.
Murray says his widow, Clara Anderson, visits the center sometimes to see his fish and even approved of the new wood carving out front after the original was vandalized.
