Roche Harbor Rundown! 3

The third stop on the 2011 Northwest Salmon Derby Series was the Roche Harbor Invitational and I have to say that it is one of the best run events that I have ever had the pleasure of participating in!

Start to finish from the location, to the wonderful Roche Harbor facilities, the fishing and the people the experience was nothing but exciting, educational and a whale of a lot of fishing fun! The "educational" portion of the weekend came at the hands of one Derek Floyd of Reel Class Charters who absolutely dominated the field and displayed a mastery of one of the most challenging fisheries in the state.

Speaking of the start, Rob Endsley posted a video of the Shotgun Start which signaled the beginning of the tournament Friday morning.

Once we reached our destination, it wasn't long before we were joined by several other anglers. Here, Jay Field of Dash One Charters works his gear in the choppy waters of west Rosario Strait. 

David Arnold and his crew are all smiles with the day one leader which pulled the scales down to the 21 pound mark!

Tony "the truth" Floor served as Judge, Jury and Executioner for this year's Roche Harbor Invitational and here he is seen manning the scale for Friday afternoon's rush of fish!

WDFW personnel were on site taking scales to obtain age composition and coded wire tag data. Once compiled, this information is a vital aspect of the management of our chinook fisheries.

The first day's top four fish are displayed for all to see and they are a fine, fat bunch of San Juan Island winter chinook!

Top five fish are posted on the leaderboard as well as the top boat weights. Here are the day one leaders!

Day two started out with The Outdoor Line Crew interviewing tournament leader (and eventual winner) Derek Floyd as we broadcasted live from Roche Harbor.

After his on air appearance, Derek went back out and dropped the hammer on this 28.10 “blackmouth"! This monster, caught on the second day of the Roche Harbor Salmon Classic, beats the all-time record chinook from this tournament by over two pounds!!

Here are the final standings from the 8th Annual 2011 Roche Harbor Invitational Salmon Classic

100 Derby Boats; total 337 Anglers
43 fish weighed in on Friday February 4, 2011
25 fish weighed in on Saturday February 5, 2011
38 boats weighed in a total of 68 Fish
$25,000 cash prizes awarded:

$10,000 1st Place: Derek Floyd          Stanwood, WA 28.10
$5,000   2nd Place: Richard Sakuma  Bellingham, WA 22.04
$3,000   3rd Place: David Arnold         Bellingham, WA 20.16
$2,000   4th Place: Kirk Hawley          Bellingham, WA 19.15
$1,000   5th Place: Tony Petosa         Bothell, WA  19.0

$2,000         Mystery Fish Neal Kamrin  Bellevue, WA  9.0
 
 $2,000        Best Boat Total Weight   108.04 lbs  
                  Derek Floyd  Stanwood, WA
                  Julie Floyd  Stanwood, WA
                  Scott Bumstead Everett, WA
                  Shannon Bumstead Everett, WA

Derek Floyd ended up 1st place individual, 1st place, total boat weight, and the traditional side bet, for a total payout of $21,000!!! Congrats to Derek Floyd and we'll see you next year at the 2012 Roche Harbor Classic!