If the Homer Elks annual winter king salmon derby is a good way to tell the changing of seasons, it must be winter. The 18th annual Homer Elks Winter King Salmon Derby was held Oct. 4 and 5.
The two-day event drew 128 anglers who turned in 222 salmon. The total weight of the two-day catch was 2,338.05 pounds.
At $100 per entrant, that’s a total $12,800 raised, with prizes equaling a percentage of the total gross ticket sales:
Overall first place, 20 percent of total gross ticket sales, $2,560: Bruce Lozekar, who caught a 24.05-pound salmon while fishing on the Obsession;
Overall second place, 15 percent of the remaining gross ticket sales, $1,536: John Michaels, who caught a 23.25-pound salmon while fishing on the Hurt Locker;
Overall third place, 10 percent of remaining gross tickets sales, $870: Ken Miller, who caught a 20.6-pound salmon while fishing on the Amber Wave;
Top female angler, $100: Kathy Musick, who caught a 19.95-pound salmon while fishing aboard the Arctic Addiction.
A fifth prize of 10 percent of total gross ticket sales was awarded to the angler reeling in a salmon weighing the closest to the average of all weighed derby fish. The average of all fish caught was 10.532 pounds, worth $1,280. This year there was a three-way tie. Riley Jones, Andrew Snella and Chris Firey each caught a 10.45-pound king salmon and each took home a prize of $426.
After prizes were awarded, the remaining proceeds totaled $6,454.
“The proceeds from the derby go to fund our community charity donations,” said Mike Parish, derby organizer.
