Soldotna’s Errol Severson weighs his fish Tuesday in the Fourth Annual Kenai Silver Salmon Derby at Three Bears in Kenai. Evelyn McCoy, customer service PIC at Three Bears, looks on.
Severson said he enjoys participating in the derby because it is responsible. A spin of the wheel generates a random winning weight each day, so participants are not encouraged to keep catching and releasing fish until they land a big one.
Severson fished from 7 a.m. to 7:45 p.m., with one break to bring a fish to Three Bears, and caught two silvers and about 30 pink salmon. Due to the slow fishing, he joked of the derby’s responsible nature, “The way the fishing’s been, nobody’s throwing back anything, anyway.”
Twelve derby tickets were purchased for Monday. Severson caught two of the six fish entered Tuesday but when the spin of the wheel generated 14.89 pounds, John LaPointe’s 11.23-pound silver carried the day and won him $100.
The derby runs through Sunday and supports the Kenai Community Foundation. More information is available at kenaisilversalmonderby.com.
