Haines’ coho derby just crossed the halfway point, and no one is winning. Well, two people are.
Robert Jennings and Olen Larson are tied at the top of the overall leaderboard. Both caught silver salmon weighing 13.05 pounds.
“I don’t know how we’re going to deal with that. Hopefully someone will just beat it,” said Russ Byerly, president of Haines Sportsman’s Association, which is hosting the third annual coho derby. Byerly later told the CVN that the tiebreaker is first fish caught.
Jennings caught his fish on Oct. 3. Larson, named “Alpenglow” on the leaderboard, caught his on Tuesday.
Other than the conundrum of a tie, Byerly said the derby has gone smoothly. “The run’s good. People are getting fish pretty much every day. So I’m going to guess (the top spot’s) probably going to be eclipsed.”
Most of the action has been at Chilkoot Lake and River, Byerly said. Coho numbers through the Chilkoot weir are above average, while Chilkat River fish wheel coho counts are average, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
In second place overall, Gabe Long caught a 12.55-pound fish. And in third, Tomi Scovill hauled in a coho weighing 12.45 pounds.
Steve Anderson leads the fly-rod category with a 12.30 pounder. Joslyn Williams heads the youth category with a 9-pound salmon—“a big fish for a little kid,” as Byerly put it. And Alex Weerasinghe heads the 11-15 year-old group with a 10-pound fish.
Tickets cost $25 and can be purchased at the Alaska Sport Shop and Outfitter Sporting Goods