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Queen Charlotte Lodge Kingfisher Derby 2007
Posted 30 Jul 2007 IN: default
BY Queen Charlotte Lodge

Tyee Chinook salmon release
Beautiful flat water and a few precious hours of sunshine treated QCL anglers this weekend.  But the scattered rain showers didn’t dampen the spirits of the guests – particularly the participants in the Queen Charlotte Lodge Kingfisher Derby, our 5th annual mid-season event.  Primarily a catch & release derby, anglers vie for a top prize of $50000 for the largest salmon released over the 3 day event.  Although there were lots of Coho, Pinks and Halibut to be found, the Chinook fishing required some patience, especially on Friday and Saturday.  On Sunday there was more reliable Chinook action and several nice fish were boated at Bird Rock 1 and Klashwun Point.  There definitely are some huge salmon around these days however and that’s what the derby participants were hunting for.  We’ve had 8 fish over 50 pounds in the past week and 5 of them were recorded this weekend.  Gina Goller landed her first salmon ever on Saturday at Klashwun Pt. – a 50 pound beauty that gave Gina and her husband Jason the fight of a lifetime.  Ryan McKay released a big Chinook taping out to 52.5 pounds at Bird 2 on Saturday as well.  Derby participants raised the bar for our mid-season derby with 3 qualifying fish scoring more than 50 pounds.  Jay Koetje sent back a 51 pounder at Bird Rock 1 on Sunday while Mike McAuley got one weighing 52.8 pounds at Klashwun Pt. Saturday.  These fish paid off well for the guys but they weren’t quite big enough to bump Brian Kask off the pedestal for the largest salmon of the derby.  Brian and his son Brian Jr. were fishing with QCL Head Guide Greg Ettles on Friday at Klashwun Point where they hooked up with a powerful fish that dragged them out into a strong tide rip off the point.  The battle was long and fierce but finally Greg slipped the net beneath the big silver fish and pulled it to the boat.  They passed it off to the attendant QCL Derby officials in the tag boat for measurement.  The fish was carefully revived and released before Brian learned that the big Tyee had scored 57.66 pounds to take an early lead in the derby – a lead that was threatened several times over the weekend but in the end, never surpassed.  Our congratulations go out to Brian for his victory and to all derby participants who took part in the annual event.  Plans are already under way for the 2008 rendition!