Jace Orozco caught his first Chinook in late September, adding another story to many on the Chicago lakefront this fall with the return of king salmon to shore.
According to his grandfather Richard Rogoz, it weighed 24 pounds on a hand scale, though the taxidermist at All Game Southerland’s Taxidermy in Palos Hills thought it weighed more.
“Regardless, it’s the biggest fish [Orozco] ever caught and will keep him coming back for more,” Rogoz emailed.
Orozco caught it on a Bloody Nose Moonshine Spoon while fishing the river basin near Lake Michigan.
“She was loaded with eggs, still firm in the skein, which we cured over the weekend,” Rogoz emailed. “I’m glad she saved them for us.”
He added a line I loved, “Reminds me of myself in the `70s, chasing Chinooks all over. lol.”
It’s worth a full-length look.
FOTW, the celebration of big fish and their stories (the stories matter, as this one shows) around Chicago fishing, runs Wednesdays in the paper Sun-Times.
To make submissions, email (BowmanOutside@gmail.com) or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside), Instagram (@BowmanOutside) or Blue Sky (@BowmanOutside).
