PORT ANGELES — Jeff Reynolds knows a thing or two about fishing.
The life-long Port Angeles resident proved that point when he became the first two-time winner in the history of Port Angeles Salmon Club fish derbies.
We’re talking about a lot of derbies, folks.
There have been 69 total derbies, 58 salmon derbies and 11 halibut derbies. That’s 67 single winners and one double winner.
Reynolds, 63, wrote himself into the history books by catching a 112-pound monster halibut Saturday that held up to win the 2012 Halibut Derby that was held during the Memorial Day weekend.
The 1967 Port Angeles High School graduate also won the 2004 Halibut Derby with a 156-pound flatfish.
“I was talking to Jeff about that [on Saturday], that if he held on and won, he would be the first two-time winner,” Bob Aunspach of Swain’s General Store in Port Angles said.
Swain’s is the headquarters of the derbies.
Catching the prize-winning fish is an interesting tale with a major role played by the removal of the Elwha Dam. More of this later in the story.
Reynolds was born into a fishing family and has been on the water his whole life. He knows the best North Olympic Peninsula fishing holes like the back of his hand.
“I have never been out of the area,” Reynolds said.
In the old days, the Reynolds family fished a lot to put food on the table.
“Now we do it more for sport,” Reynolds, retired from Nippon Paper Industries USA, said.
And, boy, Reynolds is having a lot of fun fishing nowadays.
He also has won the Port Townsend salmon derby several years ago and he has placed in the Port Angeles Salmon Club derbies at least 12 to 15 times over the years.
“I have placed with 40- to 50-pound fish,” he said.
And we’re not even talking about the monthly salmon derbies put on by the Salmon Club and Swain’s.
Reynolds and his son, Mark, are usually at or near the top of the monthly ladders.
It’s no fish tale that the top anglers on the Peninsula are very, very competitive among themselves.
“I compete against 15 to 20 people who are the best here,” Reynolds said.
Halibut smaller
What was surprising about this year’s halibut derby is that Reynolds hooked the only one that was more than 100 pounds.
“Most years I would have come in second or third with a fish this size,” he said about his 112-pound winner.
Anglers have been sending in photos to the Peninsula Daily News for the past three weeks with halibut caught in the 130-, 160- and even 190-pound range.
The super big ones seemed to disappear last weekend.
Second place went to Tom Blihler of Edmonds, who caught one 97 pounds — close to 100 pounds but no cigar — while Mike Constant of Port Angeles came in third at 93 pounds.
There was only one other fish weighing more than 90 pounds. (See a complete list of 2012 derby place-winners in Scoreboard on Page B2).
Reynolds caught his winner in a spot near where a few other big ones have been caught this season, close to Freshwater Bay, just west of Port Angeles.
He hooked his beauty off Elwha River, just east of Freshwater Bay.
It was quite the adventure bringing up the fish because of the location.
The water was dirty from the Elwha Dam removal, making it hard to see into the water.
“You couldn’t see into 3 inches of the water,” Reynolds said.
That’s important because Reynolds wanted at least 6 inches of visibility.
That’s because he harpoons halibut to bring them on board, and he likes to do that 6 inches beneath the water line.
Otherwise, the fish could break off the line before it’s on the boat.
“We have a 16-foot boat,” Reynolds said. “A 16-foot boat and a 100-pound fish don’t match well.”
It wasn’t easy but the fish was harpooned and brought aboard.
The long-time angler said he expects the mouth of the Elwha River to be muddy for several years.
Reynolds caught the winner in 65 feet of water. He was a little cautious about giving away that information.
“That’s not very dep to catch halibut,” he said. “But I have been catching them at that depth this year.”
The fish made two long runs on Reynolds.
“He went about 100 yards both times,” he said.
Reynolds used dual-bait of herring with a salmon-belly teaser.
“Halibut love it,” he said.
Reynolds saves the bellies of salmon he catches in winter, and uses them all summer.
Now, just one more derby win and Reynolds will be the Joe Montana of Peninsula anglers.
Montana, of course, is the San Francisco quarterback who is the only NFL player to win three Super Bowl MVPs.
Not bad for a lifetime of fun on the water. Oh, and a little work, especially when you pilot a 16-foot boat.
