With sunny skies and a booming sale of tickets, organizers of the 2016 Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby are calling the event a “great success.”
The derby’s grand prize of $10,000 went to Danny Davis of Anacortes for a 20.70-pound salmon. Second place went to Ronald Gustafson of Port Angeles with a 15.35-pound fish. The $1,000 third place prize donated by 7 Cedars Casino went to Quinn Boudle of Blaine with a 13.80-pound salmon.
Ken Imamura was Sequim’s top finisher, taking fourth place with his 13.70-pound catch.
Sequim’s Dave Tice was sixth with a 12.50-pound salmon.
A total of 760-plus tickets were sold for this year’s derby.
Net proceeds from each derby support local emergency services and other community needs; the Gardiner Salmon Derby Association, a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, runs this ongoing annual event.
This year the most successful fishing area was in the traditional derby hub near Discovery Bay and Protection Island, derby officials said.
There were 63 winter blackmouth chinook salmon submitted that were bigger than six pounds. The average weight was 9.35 pounds.
The final prize ladder had 53 winning fish; the smallest prize-winner was 7.05 pounds, and the winners had an average prize-winning weight of 9.91 pounds.
Anglers were in competition for a big prize list worth over $21,300 — including the $10,000 first prize plus four $500 “Mystery Fish” prizes, open to any submitted fish of at least six pounds.
“This derby would not be possible without the encouragement and unlimited energy of our membership, volunteers and supporters,” Barry Wood, president of the Gardiner Salmon Derby Association, said.
The derby is part of the Northwest Salmon Derby Series, run by the Northwest Marine Trade Association. All derby ticket holders are entered in the association’s end-of-year (September) grand prize boat drawing.
In 2015, a ticket holder from the Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby was the winner of the grand prize boat.
For a list of the fish submitted, and other details, visit the derby website (www.GardinerSalmonDerby.org) and the derby Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/SalmonDerby).
