Washington resident Gary Smart gets help from Wrangell resident James Rowland to heft the 64-pound king salmon he caught off Found Island on May 24. The catch puts him at the top of the derby ladder, and is the biggest the competition has seen in over 30 years.
The competition has really been stepped up in this year's King Salmon Derby.
A 64.1 pound fish was brought to the scales on May 24 by Gary Smart of Sequim, Washington. He and his wife were here visiting family friends for a few weeks, and he was on board the Rowland family's boat when the catch occurred.
James Rowland explained his party of four had been fishing south of Wrangell that morning, near Found Island. The trip was one of a series since the arrival of Smart and Rowland's uncle on May 20.
"We've been fishing every day," he said. "It was good. Man, every night we were like 'what time are we going to get up?'"
That Wednesday had already been a productive morning. Andrew Rowland had already reeled in a 41.9 pound king salmon, which was already six pounds heavier than the derby leader at the time. The party was about ready to head back to town to get it weighed in when they decided to do another pass or two.
"There was only one other boat down there, so it wasn't crowded," Rowland recalled. As luck would have it, they were making their last pass before Smart had a bite.
"We hooked up and it ran and ran and ran," Smart said of his fish. He knew it was going to be big, and the salmon put up quite the fight. "Catching it was wonderful. It took a long time to get it in. Took about an hour to get it back to the boat where we could net it. Fought us and ran and it fought us."
The fish wasn't the only obstacle. During the reeling, the Rowlands had to shoo off sea lions and at one point were concerned by a passing whale.
"We got it in the net and it was all over, it was a wonderful experience," Smart concluded. A boat top builder of 40 years, he explained he has done quite a bit of fishing down in Washington. This was his first time fishing in Wrangell, and certainly the biggest salmon he had ever caught.
It was the largest the town had seen in a good while as well, at least during the annual derby. A 50-plus pound fish hasn't won the competition since 2009, and Smart's fish is the biggest since 1986, when Harry Sundburg brought in a 62.7 pounder. If Smart's catch isn't bested before June 11, it will have been the fourth largest in the derby's history. Found Island has historically been a winning spot, with four of the top 10 winners before this year coming from the area.
"We haven't had a fish that big in many, many years," said Cyni Crary, with the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce.
"We're going to get it mounted, I think," Smart said of his king's immediate future.
The dual catch put Smart and Rowland at the top of the ladder, and landing the former the Week 2 prize of $500, plus another $500 for the first 60+ pound fish caught. If the standings hold up, he could be in line for the main prize of $6,000 as well.
Heading into the derby's third week, Greg Blair was ahead after the weekend with a 39.5-pound salmon he caught off the Mill on Saturday. The fish puts him into third place overall, and has secured him the $2,500 pot for the Memorial Day weekend.
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