August was a record-setting month for pink salmon anglers

OLYMPIA-Anglers spent much of August shattering state records for pink salmon caught in saltwater.

The record- a 6.38 pound fish caught in August, 1997 by Rodney M. Hansen of Mountlake Terrace-was broken seven times during the month.

The new state record was set Aug. 10 by Thomas S. Ingram, of Bakersfield, Calif., who caught a pink weighing 8.38 pounds. Ingram trolled a green hoochie with a flasher off the coast near LaPush.

Other big pinks beating the 1997 record were:

• 8 pounds, Aug. 11, by Mark R. VonGrey of St. Paul, Minn.
• 8.34 pounds, Aug. 15, by Scott W. MacNeil of Port Angeles
• 6.98 pounds, Aug. 20, by Bill Heinck, of Arlington
• 7.34 pounds, Aug. 26, by Ryan Smith, of Walnut Creek, Calif.
• 7.99 pounds, Aug. 28, by Matao Ikeda, of Japan
• 8.3 pounds, Aug. 29, by Joshua Kopperstad, of Port Orchard

WDFW maintains separate records for pink salmon caught in saltwater and freshwater. The current freshwater record, held by F. John Erickson, hometown unknown, is a 10-pound, 2-ounce pink caught in the Snohomish River in 1985. That record was threatened this year by a 9.18-pound fish caught in the Skykomish River on Oct. 1 by Abraham H. Mejia, of Lynwood.