GARDINER — Danny Davis’ crabbing boat was the place to be during the Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby over the weekend.
Not only did Davis become a richer man by winning the derby, but his three partners on the boat each finished in the top 20 on the derby ladder.
Davis, 46, of Anacortes, took home the $10,000 first prize with a 20.7-pound blackmouth that he caught Saturday near Smith Island in Marine Area 6.
“I didn’t realize that the fish was that big,” Davis said. “It didn’t look like it weighed that much.
“It took me a while to bring it in. Usually, winter blackmouth, you just hoist them into the boat, but this one didn’t want to come in.”
That’s not all.
At about the same time Davis was bringing his fish in, one of his cohorts, Patrick Monroe also had a fish to bring in.
Monroe’s fish weighed
11.7 pounds, which was good for 11th place in the derby.
“His came in a little after mine,” Davis said. “It was a doubleheader.”
Monroe also is from Anacortes. As are the other two anglers who were on Davis’ 35-foot commercial crabbing boat over the weekend, Mike McPhee and James Campbell.
McPhee finished 13th in the derby by catching a 11.1-pound blackmouth, and Campbell’s 10.25-pounder placed 19th. (All weights are in decimal pounds, not pounds and ounces.)
The derby win was the first for Davis.
One never knows for sure, Davis said, but he and his crew were confident when they saw how much his fish weighed.
“I told them that if we can catch a 20-pound fish, we’ll win the derby,” he said.
“I kind of figured it would hold up.”
Not only did it hold up, it won the three-day derby by more than 5 pounds.
Port Angeles’ Ronald Gustafson placed second, and won $2,000, with a blackmouth that weighed 15.35 pounds.
Quinn Boudle of Blain claimed the $1,000 third-place prize with a 13.8-pound fish. Sequim’s Ken Imamura was fourth (13.7 pounds) and Kingston’s Michael Salazar rounded out the top five (13.1 pounds).
North Olympic Peninsula residents reeled in 30 of the 63 blackmouth caught by ticket holders during the Friday-through-Sunday derby put on by the Gardiner Salmon Derby Association.
Port Townsend residents led the area with 12 fish, including four that finished in the top 10. Port Angeles was second with eight and Sequim had six.
Barry Wood, who is in his first year as the president of the Gardiner Salmon Derby Association, said in a news release that the most successful fishing was done near Discovery Bay and Protection Island.
The derby sold more than 760 tickets. The 63 clipped-fin hatchery blackmouth submitted for derby prizes — fish must weigh at least 6 pounds to be eligible — is down from 292 in 2015.
This was likely due to the daily limit decrease from two to one blackmouth in Marine Area 6 as well as the less-than-stellar weather.
“Last year, we had great weather,” Wood said. “This year was more typical February weather: one great day and two colder, rainy, windy days.”
Forty-five of the 63 blackmouth were caught Saturday. Nine were caught Friday and nine came in Saturday.
More than $21,300 in prizes were awarded to 53 fish at the awards ceremony at the Gardiner Boat Ramp on Sunday. Four of the winners took home $500 mystery fish prizes.
The largest cash prizes were funded through ticket sales, but the other prizes are donated by area businesses and residents.
The proceeds from the derby support emergency services and other needs for the local community.
Davis said he planned to split the $10,000 prize with his crew, and probably buy some crab bait with his cut.
The blackmouth he caught will be turned into smoked salmon.
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Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
