The lines are out and the fish are being brought ashore

The Great Northern Salmon Classic Derby is officially underway, today is day three of the six week event and for the most part those out on the fishing grounds are having a good time of it all.

While the Derby itself finds itself under a bit of attack from folks inland and from some sectors of the commercial industry and the local populace , the idea of luring tourists to the North Coast seems to be working so far, with modest success.

The Daily News had an update on the first day of the derby in its Wednesday edition.

SPORT FISHING FANS HOOKED ON FISH DERBY
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
Pages One and Two

Ed Beakhouse knows it’s always his wife who had better luck behind the reel.

And yesterday was no different when the couple arrived at the weigh-in station at Atlin Terminal for the Great Northern Salmon Classic derby.

“She always catches the big ones,” said Beakhouse as his wife Lynn hoisted a heavy catch for a photo before heading to the weigh in station.

“Now, I’m off to go get my minnows.”

The couple, from Morinville, Ontario, caught their limit on their first fishing trip in Prince Rupert.

“We’ve done a lot of salmon fishing but this is the first time we’ve gone fishing in Prince Rupert,” he said. Groups from Prince George and Quebec joined the Beakhouses on the dock as they cleaned their fish for the first weigh ins of the derby yesterday afternoon.

And, despite the common belief that fishing is a man’s sport, there were nearly as many women on the dock as the men.

Bruce Wishart, executive director of Tourism Prince Rupert, said getting the whole family out on the water during the derby was part of the plan.

“One of the goals of Tourism Prince Rupert, when we are working with the local recreational fishery, is to promote fishing as a family activity,” he said. “We have specific prizes for female anglers and anglers under 18.”

According to statistics from Tourism British Columbia, 60 per cent of sport fishermen are male. But Wishart said they didn’t want it to be that way for the Great Northern Salmon Classic.

“We wanted to have something special for each member of the family.”

The derby, which runs from Aug. 1 to Sept 15, includes a prize of $10,000 for the largest coho caught by a female angler, $5,000 largest eligible coho salmon caught by an angler under 18 years of age and $500 weekly for the largest eligible pink salmon caught by an angler under 18 years of age.

The top prizes are $100,000 for the largest eligible coho salmon, a 2006 Dodge Dakota for the largest eligible coho salmon caught by Aug. 19, and $40,000 for the second largest eligible coho salmon.

“There are also daily mystery weights that will be drawn after the close each weigh-in and the prizes, each valued at about $100, include jewelry, power tools, camping gear and fishing gear among other items.

Four out of five fish judges were down on the docks yesterday for the first day of the event, as were a lot of spectators who crowded along the rail above.

Wishart explained there will always be a member of the judging committee on hand during the weigh-ins to ensure none of the catches are hiding any extra weight.

“These are respected members of the community. Their role is to determine the rules and regulations are being followed,” he said.

But whether or not fishermen walked away with a prize, those out on the water yesterday said they had a good time.

“It was fantastic,” said Tiny Keehn of Prince George, whose fishing foursome caught 14 coho, one spring and seven halibut.

“It was all for the fun of it. Now we are hoping to go drink beer.”