Salmon Derby Leader Weighing His Chances

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Category: ROOT

Created on Tuesday, 29 May 2012 09:50

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    Seasoned derby fisherman Mike Vaughn is taking the cautiously optimistic approach about being at the top of the  Sitka Salmon Derby leader board with his 41.4-pound fish.
    “I won’t be surprised to see it drop down the ladder,” Vaughn said today. “But we’re keeping our fingers crossed.”
    Vaughn caught his big fish on Sunday, and it leads the field by two pounds over the 39.4-pound second place king landed by Dave Bandick. In third place is Vaughn’s fishing partner, Grant Hagerman, with a 36.4-pound fish.
    The remainder of the ladder is as follows: 4. Foy Nevers, 35 pounds; 5. Glen Tuzon, 33.6 pounds; 6. Michael Roberts, 32.8 pounds; 7. Kohl Schlottmann, 32.8 pounds; 8. Bert Edenso, 32.3 pounds; 9. Gary Moore, 32.2 pounds; and 10. Gemma Diehl, 31.7 pounds.
    Derby sponsors noted that if two fish of the same weight are turned in, the first fish turned in gets the higher placing.
    Gemma Diehl, in 10th place, is fishing her first derby, at age 6.
    Vaughn caught his largest fish of the three-day weekend Sunday north of town, but he and Hagerman continued fishing for five or six hours before turning it in at the satellite weigh-in station at Kalinin Bay.
    Two more days of fishing are left in the 57th Annual Sitka Sportman’s Association Salmon Derby. The winner will take home $7,000 in cash and two round-trip tickets on Alaska Airlines. Second prize is a heat pump, donated by Pacific Heating and Refrigeration and third prize is $1,500 in cash from Lakeside Grocery.
    Vaughn, who didn’t want to reveal the exact location of his catch, said he and Hagerman could tell he had either a large king or halibut on his line, due to its depth.
    “I was hoping it was a king,” he said. Vaughn estimated it took seven or eight minutes to haul in his chinook.
    Vaughn, 43, a fisheries biologist with the Department of Fish and Game, has lived in Sitka for 20 years, and has fished the derby the past 15 years. Originally from upstate New York, he grew up sport fishing with his dad.
    If this fish holds at the top, it would be the smallest derby winner. Last year’s winning fish was 45 pounds, 9 ounces, caught by Steve Burrell.
    There is also a contest for total pounds. Nevers leads that competition, hauling in 9 kings weighing a total of 179.3 pounds in the first weekend. Other top contenders are 2. Bart Edenso, 171.8 pounds (nine fish), 3. Bert Edenso, 170.8 pounds (nine fish); 4. Ann Stevenson, 122.9 pounds (six fish); and 5. Dave Meabon, 119.1 pounds (seven fish).
    Organizers said 110 entrants turned in 277 kings over the weekend. On Saturday, 71 fish weighing 1,438.1 pounds were turned in; 103 fish weighing 1,857.8 pounds were turned in Sunday; and 103 fish weighing 1,680.5 pounds were turned in Monday.
    The average weight was 18 pounds.
    Sponsors believe the weather and price of gas may have cut down on participation this year, but overall, they said, they’re pleased with the first weekend of fishing.
    Vaughn said he plans to fish next weekend, maybe in the same area.
    Barge Chairman John McCrehin said average weight is down from last year, and the leading fish is relatively small, but that can all change.
    “The tides change, and we’ll have a new leader – that’s my prediction,” McCrehin said.
    Fishing resumes Saturday morning at 7 a.m., and the derby will conclude at 7 p.m. Sunday June 3.
    The results are unofficial until the awards banquet 7 p.m. June 14 at Centennial Hall.

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