Coho Salmon fishing in Sooke is great right now! Special thank-you to all the fishers who entered the 4th Annual Sooke Coho Derby held October 11 at Jock’s Dock. The derby is known for giving great prizes for the largest Coho weighed in during the one-day tournament, and for the proceeds from ticket sales going to the Juan de Fuca Restoration Society/Charters Creek Interpretive Centre. Annually fishers also donate whole Coho salmon to the Sooke Food Bank, for chances to win more prizes! This year volunteer filleter Dave Monyard estimated over 250 lbs of salmon was donated to the food bank.
Half of ticket monies collected went to the first prize of $2,620 which was awarded to local resident Ted Dawes for his 12 lb Coho salmon weighed in with his son Ryan early in the day. The pair also took home $660 in other monies. Second prize was a Coast Reel donated by Sea Legs Fishing Charters which was awarded to no stranger to the winner’s circle Zack Homer, for an 11.2 lb Coho.
The rest of this year’s top 10 fish weights were rewarded with a trip up to the prize table to pick which ever prizes they wanted. Many prizes were then given away by drawing from donated fish tickets, regular derby ticket stubs, and finally a Texas style rush to the table to grab what was left!
The Sooke Harbourside Lions were on site providing tasty hotdogs and smokies for the crowd. The derby organisers would like to thank all the local sponsors which donated prizes and posted posters of the event to help spread the word. Thank you to all who participated by donating and fishing.
Ron Neitsch
2 Reel Fishing
