MIKE YOUDS
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS
While no springs broke the 40-pound mark at this year’s Port Alberni Salmon Festival, the $15,000 fish weighed in at a respectable 38.9 pounds, caught by Crofton resident Chris Blace.
Hundreds of recreational anglers and other festival-goers converged on Tyee Landing over the Labour Day weekend, savouring barbecued salmon dinners, live music and near-perfect weather for the three-day celebration in the harbour.
Dan Washington, president of the Salmon Festival Society, said the entire festival went quite well this time. It was only the second year the event has been held at the new location.
“We had mostly positive comments about Tyee Landing,” he said. “Overall, people in Port Alberni love the location.”
Action on the water seemed to be steady through the weekend as cooler after cooler, laden with big fat springs, was lugged up the catwalk to the weigh station.
“Bait,” Washington quipped about the first contender to set the bar of 30 lbs. on Saturday morning. Derby volunteers were hoping someone might land a whopper in the 40- or 50-pound range since more five-year-old spring were expected to be returning this year.
That first big fish was caught by Kelly McDonnell of Ladysmith off King Edward Island near Bamfield. It was knocked from first place later on Saturday by Chris Blace of Crofton, who caught the 38.9-pounder off China Creek using anchovy as bait. Two days later, that fish was still number one in the derby.
The $15,000 prize was a welcome reward for Blace, who has competed in the derby for the past 10 years. After accepting the George Barry Memorial Award with his 11-year-old son Carter, he credited his friend Matt Kerr for netting the big chinook.
This was the third year in a row that the winning fish was caught by an angler from out of town. Nanaimo anglers seemed to hook into a lot of the top fish this year.
Chris Dittkowski took home the Fred Duncan Award for biggest derby fish caught by a Port Alberni resident. His spring weighed in at 34.1 lbs.
“Salmon is culture here, as we all know,” said Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns at the awards ceremony on Monday. “It connects everybody in terms of food security.
“47 years, it doesn’t happen without volunteers. Everybody wins at Salmon Fest, whether they’re out on the water or just having fun.”
Bill Surry could certainly attest to that. He took home the $10,000 Rotary raffle draw on Monday, sporting a big grin.
Sharon Swakum received the award for top volunteer in the festival. Alice Kempton of Port Alberni won first place in the draw. Coincidentally, she also won the derby six years ago.
Here are the top finishers for each day:
Saturday
Chris Blace, 38.9 lbs.
Chris Dittkowski, 34.1 lbs.
Kelly McDonnell, 30 lbs.
Sunday
Ken Pellett, 30.1 lbs.
Lee Kielbiski, 28.5 lbs.
Danny Wilson, 22.9 lbs.
Monday
James Zsiros, 27.3 lbs.
Barry Cozens, 23.1 lbs.
John Scotton, 23.1 lbs.
Any prize winners who were unable to pick up their prizes on Monday can do so at West Coast Aquatics or they can text Rob Cole at 250-720-6084.
