It was James Quashnick’s first year fishing in the annual Sportsman’s Association coho derby and he started off strong, landing a 12.65-pound silver.
He said he was in first place on the hand-written leaderboard that sits in the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s office for about two weeks.
“I was feeling pretty confident, but I knew somebody was going to come knock it off of the leaderboard,” he said.
And someone did. Steve Anderson took home the top prize, and $1,450 with his 13.4-pound catch, while Royce Dombrock fell just behind Quashnick’s second-place finish with a 12.65-pound fish that netted him $425.
Quashnick laughed when asked what his winning combination was, describing his gear combination of a $7 lure and a $100 spincasting rod. He caught the fish near the kayak docks on Chilkoot Lake.
It’s a moment of irony for him as he spent most of the summer learning how to fly fish.
“I moved to Haines about five months ago,” he said during an early November interview. “I kind of told myself when I got there that I was going to learn how to properly fly fish. So, I fly-fished pretty much every single day.”
Quaschnick, who moved to town from Mammoth Lakes, California, said he had some local help along the way from Gabe Long at the Alaska Sport Shop.
“He’d give me pointers. Then he and I actually went out on his boat and that’s when I caught the big coho,” he said.
It wasn’t on a fly rod, though. That derby winning spot went to Todd Rainingbird, who took in a 9.6-pound coho on his.
Quashnick, who ended up in second place for the overall weight of his coho, took home $625 in winnings, which covered the cost of some of the gear he bought this summer.
“I bought three fly rods. I bought lures. I bought nets,” he said. “I just kind of upgraded my gear.”
He said the fishing seemed good this year, and that most people were catching.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist Alex Tugaw said he has not yet gotten the chance to dive into all the data collected during the season, but from his preliminary surveys, it looks like a strong run of coho.
“Coho runs across Southeast Alaska were above average,” he said. “I spent a lot of time down at the Chilkoot this season. From my own fishing and talking with locals, it seemed like it was an exceptional run for that system.”
He said most runs in the Upper Lynn Canal were about a week early this year and lasted well into October.
“I personally caught my last Chilkat coho on Nov. 3 by accident, ” he said. “I was doing a little light trout fishing before taking off on vacation.”
The derby began on Sept. 15 and ended on Oct. 27. People paid $25 to enter and could weight their catches at Outfitter Sporting Goods and the Alaska Sport Shop. Sportsman’s Association spokesperson Cheryl Stickler said they sold 102 tickets, with 22 going to Canadians.
She said the proceeds from the derby go toward funding the organization’s annual alumni scholarships for post-secondary education and training.
“Typically, we are able to award two to three scholarships per year to Haines graduates,” she said.
Results
Category Name Weight Prize
1st Place Overall Weight, Steve Anderson 13.4lbs $1,450
2nd Place Overall Weight, James Quaschnick 12.65lbs $625
3 rd Place Overall Weight, Royce Dombrock 12.65lbs $425
Flyrod Largest Silver, Todd Rainingbird 9.6 lbs $100 & a prize package worth more than $200.
First place, coho kids’ derby, Axel Taug, 9.8 pounds, $325, prize package
First place coho kids’ derby, ages 11-15 Fraser Yeomans 8.5lbs, $325 & prize package
Second Place coho kids’ derby, ages 11-15 Luke Norton 5.3lbs, $200; prize package