Beginners Luck – First Timer Lands 48 Pound King Salmon
It’s not often fishermen catch a 48-pound king salmon, and a fish that size usually isn’t reeled in during your first time out.
Mary Price categorized it as beginner’s luck. After being talked into climbing aboard Lisa and Skip Allen’s boat alongside her husband, Dave Price, Mary caught the only fish that day and it just happened to be 461?2 inches long.
“We estimated it took about 25 to 30 minutes to reel in,” Mary said. “The thing put up a fight.”
She caught the monster fish at Rocky Point boat ramp along the Coquille River in late August. It was her first time fishing out on the boat, despite the fact that her husband is an avid fisherman, and just renovated his own boat.
Mary said she’s a “big city girl” at heart, and never got into fishing. In the past, she’s lived near two major cities, Los Angeles and St. Louis, and is still getting used to the outdoors mentality of the Southern Oregon coast.
Mary, who lives in Myrtle Point and is retired, said her husband helped her a little with the catch, but she did most of the work herself. Claiming to be clueless about the world of fishing, Mary said she had no idea how large a fish had to be in order to be considered “big,” and couldn’t tell how heavy the salmon was when she began reeling it in.
“My husband said I was calm,” Mary said. “I guess I was in the moment. I didn’t know what a big fish really was.”
Her friends said the line might have snapped had Dave not tied a knot in it before casting.
“The line wasn’t expecting a 40-pound fish,” Mary said.
They froze the fish, and Mary said they’ll have salmon for a long time. She said the steaks were a few inches thick, and tasted amazing.
Mary said she plans to go fishing again this weekend, and that her big catch opened her eyes to the sport.
“I’m more likely to go once I’ve caught something,” Mary said. “I was excited when I caught that fish.”
