2006 November - Big Fish Derby Results
In most years the King Salmon show up in big numbers at the end of June and carry through to July. This year the Salmon were late as well as the Halibut. On Thursday before the derby, Halibut started showing up in large numbers all across the bay. Big King Salmon were being caught up at Pigeon Point. Friday saw some nice Salmon for those who took the ride up to Pigeon Point and nice Halibut came in at all weigh stations.
Saturday, Rock Cod season opened and the Salmon started showing up at the Soquel Hole. Sunday was the best day of all for most people who fished in the derby. This year the winner was Jessie Sanchez. Jessie is a spear fisherman and caught the biggest Halibut at the Pajaro Pipeline. There has been a lot of discussion about the mixing of spear fishing with tackle fishing. This is the first year a spear fisherman has won a money prize. Spear fishermen have been fishing in the derby for 5 years. We would like to hear from those of you who fish and those of you who spear fish to make your opinions known so we can accommodate as many people into the derby as possible.
Following that line of thinking, we are dropping Tuna from the derby fish and adding the biggest Rock Cod. More people fish for Rock Cod than Tuna and we want them to participate in the derby as well. Starting next year, Ling Cod and Rock Cod will both receive a prize for the biggest fish and a mystery weight fish.
Lastly, Al Smith, our Board Chairman and the individual responsible for running the weigh station at the upper harbor is retiring next year. We need more volunteers to run the upper harbor weight station. It is a fun experience and those of you who work will have the opportunity to meet lots of nice people who love to fish plus you get to raise money for the Monterey Bay Salmon & Trout Project. We are an all volunteer organization and need more individuals and their energy to keep this organization going forward for those of you who still enjoy the nature that surrounds us.
