The lucky angler is Steve Atkinson of Huntington Beach, Calif. He caught the fish out of White Stone Harbor south of Hoonah in southeast Alaska.
The trophy fish programs coordinator for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Bob Piorkowski, tells KINY-AM that the fish weighed in at 26 pounds, 11 ounces.
Piorkowski says that surpasses the previous 26-pound record fish that was caught in the same area in 1976.
Two hand scales at White Stone Harbor indicated the fish was near the record so it was flown by chartered aircraft to an official scale in Juneau.
Piorkowski says he'll be issuing Atkinson a trophy fish certificate.
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