Dave's Trophy Room

The two photos shown in this post came within a couple weeks of each other. Talk about some incredible luck. A 41 pound Salmon and an amazing 4 point buck.

It was late October 2004 when the 41lb Salmon was taken right around the time my daughter Alyssa was born or about to be born. The actual dates are a little fuzzy. I just remember having to plan carefully to avoid missing out on the birth of my daughter. I didn't want to be out to sea when my wife went into labor. In any case I managed to sneak out for a day.

We fished out north of the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge in an area called Duxberry. It is commonly known to hold large salmon late in the season, so if you want to catch them big this is the place and the time to go. The odds of catching a 41 pounder is still very rare though. My previous record was around 24lbs, so this was a step up.

It was an amazing battle. Salmon have sharp pointed teeth and the longer the salmon is on the line the more likely those teeth will do harm to the line. Not to mention seals are known to come steal the salmon off of your line. This bruiser made us work for it. It was a three man effort to get this monster in the boat. One on the rod, another driving and a third with the net. The fish would circle the boat and it was a constant effort to keep the boat line up with him. I can remember seeing him come close several times teasing us only to turn away effortlessly leaving a trail of blood in its wake like sports car leaving rubber on the road. It is one of those moments that you never forget.

41 Pound Salmon


We waited to go hunting until after Alyssa was born. This kept the wife happy. :) We chose a D zone knowing we would want a short drive to get to the hunting grounds. We hunted what was probably the last weekend of the 2004 hunting season right after a big storm hit. We camped just below the snow level waited out the rain and walked out of camp in the late afternoon. I was nearing the end of a semi open ridge line and nearing the point at which I would want to turn around. I was able to walk fairly quickly and quietly as the ground was wet. There was some tall bushes that I was traversing through and as came around a bush a deer came into view about 60 yards down the ridge. At this point it's head was down. I remember thinking it must be a buck as I could see branches of a bush being rustled as he ate, but in the end I think it was just it's antler's. I had never seen antlers on a Ca black tail that big before accept maybe on someones wall or in pictures.

The gun came off my shoulder, safety switched off, and I aimed my Remington 247 all in one smooth motion. This wasn't my 1st time doing this. simultaneously the buck raised it's head and turned to stair at me. About the time he caught eyes with me I had him in my scope. It was over in a matter of a second or two. 2004 was by far my best season for trophy's. Most hunters are lucky to see any buck and a nice 4 point like this is rare. The timing was right and luck was on my side.