Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

The Haines Sportsman’s Association annual Coho Salmon Derby concluded this Saturday and Paul Hearn of Whitehorse pocketed the winning prize, a $1,250 check and $200 gift card to Outfitter Sporting Goods. Hearn won the rod and reel contest with a 12.2 pound coho, Steve Anderson placed second at 11 pounds and third at 10.85 pounds. Dani Grunberg of Saskatchewan won the fly-rod contest with a 9.8 pound coho.

“It was the best fight I can remember,” Grunberg said of his winning catch. “I caught it on the second or third day of our trip and it had been really hard fishing so far. I hooked into this one on the fly-rod and it ripped down the stream. It was really hard to pull, it probably took twenty minutes because it was fighting so hard. I knew it was big, we caught a glimpse of it jumping out of the water. I didn't know it was going to be a winner, but I was stoked that it was.”

In the kid’s division, Josiah Kelly placed first for youth ages 5-10 with a 4.45 pound coho. For youth ages 11-15, Alex Weerasinge placed first with a 7.3 pound coho, Auden Kelly came in second and Elia Kelly placed third.

The Sportsman’s Association sold 128 tickets, comparable to last year’s sales, yet this was the first derby since 2019 to include Canadians in the competition.

“Given the fact that the borders were more open I’d expect more tickets from Canadians,” Jim Stickler of the Haines Sportsman Association said. “I would assume that there would be more Canadians buying them but the fishing never got really good.”

Fishermen reported around six rod hours to get a fish, Stickler relayed. “It's hard for fish to see a hook when it's swimming through a chocolate milkshake.”

This season’s coho salmon run met the target escapement range, according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game sport fish biologist Richard Chapell. However, rough weather and water conditions never let up.

“High water with a lot of turbidity made for very challenging fishing conditions,” Chapell said. “We did see a decent escapement; 43,000 adult coho on spawning grounds, that’s within the escapement goal range of 30,000-70,000. It was a little below average but well within the escapement goal range.”

Coho returns will begin to drop in November, but there may be some chances for a final catch. According to Chapell, the “bulk of the run is already on the spawning grounds. There are definitely still coho salmon out there but a lot of chum salmon are also showing up in pretty good numbers now,” Chapell said. “You might have to pick your way through some chums to find a good coho.”