Absolutely stunning weather and phenomenal fishing were hallmarks of the 11th Annual Kingfisher Derby, held at QCL this weekend. Thirty-five anglers competed for over $70000 in prize money. This derby is largely built around Catch & Release fishing for Chinook salmon, facilitated by the use of derby marshals who are standing by on the fishing grounds to exchange the netted fish for an empty net. They then use standard length & girth measurements to establish a score for each entry before carefully reviving and releasing the fish.
After 3 days, diligently working the waters between Cape Naden and Klashwun Point, the final results were revealed at the awards banquet Sunday night. Tony Reid came away the big winner this year with the top 2 fish, netting him $40K for first prize plus $13K for the second largest salmon of the derby. Kudos to senior QCL guide Cole Adams who kept them on the action for the duration of the weekend, registering the big fish which scored 37.45 and the second which scored 35.60. The third place fish, which scored 35.60 was landed by Bill Hendriks at Bird 2 with guide Derek Poitras. An interesting twist in the derby structure is an $8000 prize for the largest killed fish, this time to another QCL veteran, John Satterberg, and fishing partner Wally Remmer. John’s fish scored 34.17 to claim the prize.
Congratulations all around to all participants and thanks for helping to make the 11th Annual Derby a resounding success.