Fishing derby winners announced

As summer draws to a close, another season of fishing derbies has wrapped up as well. Wrangell saw two derbies this past month, a coho derby from Aug. 10 to Sept. 2, and a halibut derby over Labor Day weekend. There were numerous prizes available in each derby. According to Alicia Gillen, with the chamber of commerce, 220 tickets were sold this year in total.

First place in the coho derby went to Elmer Mork, who caught a

salmon weighing 15.4 pounds. His prize for first place is 30 percent of ticket sales for the derby, or $1,650. Second

place went to Adam Jordt, with a fish weighing 14.6 pounds, or $825. Third place went to Holly Kell with a salmon weighing 13.6 pounds, or $550. The second and third place prizes are 15 percent of ticket sales and 10 percent of ticket sales, respectively. There were several weekly winners who received $250 cash prizes, as well: Holly Kell, Mike Dodson, and Mork again. Courtney McCay caught the biggest coho on Labor Day weekend, 11.3 pounds, earning herself a $500 prize.

First place in the halibut derby was Leslie Cummings, catching a 130.6 pound halibut. Second place went to Evan Kennedy, at 95 pounds, and third place went to Hellen Keller at 69.3 pounds. The prizes are $700 for first place, $400 for second, and $200 for third. There was the opportunity to catch a specially tagged halibut worth $10,000, but this fish remained uncaught.

For the full 2019 derby ladders, visit http://www.wrangellfishderby.com.