Starting the final week of the Wrangell King Salmon Derby, Eric Halstead was holding his lead with a 43.4-pound catch.
Almost four dozen fish had been weighed in as of Sunday evening, with no one coming close to Halstead in the second week of competition. The derby opened June 15, and Halstead hooked his leader on June 17.
The derby runs through 9 p.m. Sunday, with $7,900 in cash prizes.
The largest king salmon entered in the derby will win $3,000; second place is worth $2,000; and third place wins $1,000.
As of Sunday evening, Stanley Johnson was in second place, with a 41.8-pound king that he caught on June 19. He won $500 for catching the largest fish on Father’s Day.
Dave Svendsen was holding on at third place, at 39.9 pounds. He won $500 for netting the biggest fish on the first day of the derby, outweighing Diana Nore’s 38.4-pound king. Nore was in fourth place.
All of the top-10 catches as of Sunday evening were caught in the first five days of the derby, which is sponsored by the chamber of commerce.
Peyton Stolley last Saturday moved into first place among kids 12 and younger with his 37.8-pound catch, passing Parker Mork who had held the top spot all week at 32.9 pounds.
Tickets to enter the derby are $25 and entrants also need to have a state sportfishing license and a state king salmon stamp. Alaska residents under 18 don’t need a license, but they still need a ticket.
Last year’s derby was the first in Wrangell since 2017, as the fishing effort was cut back to help protect weak king salmon returns.
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