An Alaska fisherman thought he had the perfect excuse after wildlife troopers found a massive illegal king salmon on the beach

An Alaska fisherman who said he was only trying to untangle and release a king salmon ended up cited after wildlife troopers found the dead fish on Kenai North Beach, where strict rules barred king salmon from being removed from the water during the dipnet season.

According to the host of the bodycam footage channel WildlifeWarden, the case began on July 11, 2025, in Kenai, Alaska, after a call came into the Soldotna Emergency Dispatch Center reporting that a man had allegedly caught, killed, and taken a king salmon from the beach. The caller claimed the man removed the fish from his net, carried it up toward his camper, and later returned to the beach with the salmon.

When Alaska Wildlife Trooper McDonald arrived, he found 64-year-old Michael Reed standing near a dead king salmon that the trooper later described as a “40-inch beautiful king.” Reed had an explanation ready, and at first, it sounded like the kind of confusing situation that could happen to someone trying to do the right thing in a hard moment.

But as McDonald asked more questions, reviewed the timeline, and spoke with Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the central issue became clear. The fish had been removed from the water, and under the rules for that fishery, that was enough to turn the situation into a citation.

A Call About A Dead King Salmon

WildlifeWarden’s host reported that troopers were called after someone said a fisherman had been seen catching and taking a king salmon on Kenai North Beach. By the time Trooper McDonald made contact, Reed was near the fish, his cooler, and the stretch of beach where the tide had moved out.

Reed quickly told the trooper that he had called Fish and Game “numerous times” that morning. He said the fish had become tangled in his net when the tide was higher, and he described trying to free it while speaking with someone by phone for guidance.

According to Reed, the king salmon’s gill had gone through the net, leaving it badly tangled. He said he eventually got it out and released it back into the water, but he believed the fish later died and someone else pulled it from the water and placed it near his cooler.

“I wasn’t even by the fish,” Reed told the trooper, adding that someone else could verify he had been farther down the beach fishing when the dead salmon ended up where McDonald found it.

That part of the story was important because Reed was trying to separate himself from possession of the fish after the release. Still, the dead salmon was next to his cooler, and McDonald had to figure out whether the fish had been unlawfully taken or whether Reed’s version fit the evidence.

Reed Said He Called Fish And Game For Help

As Trooper McDonald checked Reed’s identification and fishing license, Reed tried to call Alaska Department of Fish and Game again. McDonald asked what he was trying to accomplish by calling ADF&G at that moment, and Reed said he did not know, before explaining that someone had told him to call back when a trooper arrived.

Reed said a Fish and Game employee had told him to move his hand in the water to help the salmon swim away after it was freed from the net. He insisted that the fish swam out when he released it, and that he later learned it had died after the tide went down.

McDonald took a picture of Reed’s phone log, noting a call around 7:40 a.m., while the current time was around 10:10 a.m. The trooper also explained that he wanted to move quickly because he thought the meat might still be salvageable and could be donated to charity.

That was one of the more grounded parts of the encounter. Even while investigating a violation, the trooper was also trying to keep a large salmon from being wasted, which is the practical side of wildlife enforcement that often gets overlooked.

Reed repeated that someone had allegedly put the fish in his cooler and tried to take it, then flipped the cooler over. McDonald suggested that whoever moved the cooler may have been trying to keep birds off the fish.

Fish And Game Explains The Earlier Call

McDonald later spoke by phone with Jonathan from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Palmer office, who confirmed that he had spoken with Reed earlier that morning.

Jonathan told McDonald that Reed had called to report a king salmon tangled in his net. According to Jonathan, Reed said he had pulled the fish partly out of the water to free it, then released it. From Jonathan’s understanding at that point, the salmon had taken off, so he told Reed he was fine.

The situation changed when Reed called back later and said the tide had gone out and someone had dragged the fish up near his cooler. Jonathan told the trooper he was not there and could not say exactly what happened, but he explained that the first call sounded like a released fish, while the second call made the matter much more serious.

That distinction mattered because Reed seemed to believe that calling ADF&G showed he had tried to handle the situation responsibly. It did help show that he had asked for guidance, but it did not erase the fact that the fish had been removed from the water and later died.

There is a lesson in that small gap between intention and rule. In conservation cases, especially with protected fish runs, officers often have less room to judge a case based only on what someone meant to do because the harm to the resource has already happened.

The Regulation Became The Turning Point

After speaking with others and reviewing the rules, Trooper McDonald told Reed that the main problem was not whether Reed had tried to get the fish out of the net. The problem was that the king salmon had been removed from the water.

McDonald said a witness on the beach had taken photos, and those photos supported the report that the salmon was removed. He also explained that the regulations strictly stated king salmon “shall not be removed from the water” in that fishery.

Reed pushed back by saying the fish was strong, tangled badly, and difficult to manage. McDonald acknowledged that king salmon are powerful and said he had seen them bust through nets before, but he pointed out that one option would have been cutting the fish out of the net to return it to the water faster.

The trooper told Reed that king salmon needed to get upriver and that time out of the water reduced the chance they could revive and swim away. For an angler trying to save a net, cutting it may feel like an expensive and frustrating choice, but McDonald made clear that protecting the fish came first under the rule.

A $270 Citation And A Seized Fish

McDonald eventually told Reed he would be cited because the fish had been removed from the water and died. The citation totaled $270, including a $250 fine and a $20 surcharge, and the trooper described it as taking salmon over the limit while dipnetting off Kenai North Beach.

Reed seemed stunned by the fine and told McDonald he had lived in Alaska his whole life. He said he had been in Wasilla for decades and that this was the first king salmon he had ever caught.

The trooper tried to keep the encounter from becoming personal, telling Reed that he was not calling him a bad person or a bad fisherman. McDonald described it as a fishing mistake, but one with steep consequences because Kenai River king salmon are so heavily protected.

McDonald also told Reed that there had been a strict change in the statute that year and repeated that king salmon could not be removed from the water. He suggested that Reed carry a knife and zip ties in the future so he could cut a fish out of his net if necessary and quickly repair the mesh enough to keep fishing.

That advice may have sounded small, but it was also the practical takeaway from the whole case. If a protected fish gets wrapped up, the rule leaves no room for dragging it onto the beach to work on it.

A Mistake With A Protected Fish

WildlifeWarden’s host reported that Reed was ultimately issued the $270 citation after being reported for catching and taking the king salmon on Kenai North Beach. The host said photos from a witness supported the report, the fish was seized, and the case was closed with a citation.

The incident stands out because Reed did not present himself as someone sneaking around with a hidden fish. He had made phone calls, he tried to explain what happened, and he repeatedly insisted that someone else moved the salmon after it died.

Even so, the trooper’s conclusion rested on the rule itself: the fish was removed from the water, it died, and it counted as taken. That is the hard edge of wildlife enforcement, where a fisherman’s explanation may explain how something happened but still does not undo the violation.

In the end, the massive salmon was taken from the beach and sent toward salvage rather than left to spoil, while Reed left with a citation and a warning about how to handle any future king salmon encounters. The case is a reminder that in heavily regulated fisheries, especially ones involving struggling salmon runs, knowing the rule is only half the job; following it in the moment, even when a fish is tangled and the tide is moving, is what matters most.