SALMON REPORT: Because salmon is king ...

ARLINGTON, Wash - Make no mistake about it: salmon is king in the Pacific Northwest.

We're a salmon people, with longstanding salmon traditions and deep, deeeep wells of loyalty to our beloved Chinook, coho, chums (and, yes, pinks, too).

Here's where we celebrate our fishing heritage. Welcome to the new NWWC Salmon Report.

SALMON REPORT: Thomas' 27.48-pounder leads hawg parade in Anacortes
POSTED March 29, 2010 / 11:10 a.m.

ANACORTES - The expression on the little boy's face outside the awards tent at the 2010 Anacortes Salmon Derby said it all. Gawking at the four fish packed in ice - including the derby-winning 27.48-pounder - the boy summed up the weekend in three words: "Big fish, huh?"

Big fish indeed, to the tune of nine 20-plus-pounders weighed in during the two-day derby. To put that in perspective, the three previous years of the Anacortes Dery produced exactly T-H-R-E-E 20-pound fish combined.

The hawgs were feeding in the San Juan Islands this weekend.

"I'm excited to see the quality of the fish at this derby, but I've never seen anything like it this time of year," said derby organizer Jay Field, owner of Dash One Charters and a veteran of the Anacortes fishery. "I don't know whether those are spring fish headed for their natal rivers, or they're just grazing around here for the (summer) opener July 1. If they are, those 20s are going to be 30s in three months."

That appears to be a very realistic possibility.

"Those are all Washington fish," said Tony Floor, organizer of the 2010 Northwest Salmon Derby Series, of which the Anacortes Derby was the fourth event in the 17-derby series. "Those were all marked fish, probably 4-year-olds, definitely not Canadian fish. It looks like we have some early arrivers. If those fish stay around here and feed, we'll have some absolute hawgs come July and August."

The Top 5: Tacoma angler Ralph Thomas hooked the derby winner on Day 1 fishing off the west side of Obstruction Island, an area that, in recent weeks, has been thick with bait. Second-place finisher John Belarde of Woodinville caught his 25.72-pounder in Thatcher Pass. Seth Baumgarten of Kirkland (24.38), Timothy Starkovich of Anacortes (22.98) and Russ Lett of Oak Harbor (22.72) rounded out the top five in the 1,000-entrant derby.

The Scholarship Fund: All proceeds from the Anacortes Salmon Derby go into a scholarship fund managed by the Fidalgo Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers. That fund provides grants and scholarships for high school students wishing to pursue an education in fisheries or environmental science, and for college students pursuing advanced degrees in fisheries management

8CHECK THE ANACORTES DERBY WEB PAGE FOR OFFICIAL RESULTS and more information about the scholarship fund (including past awards)

SALMON REPORT: Thomas' 27.48-pounder takes home top prize in Anacortes
POSTED March 28, 2010 / 5:10 p.m.

ANACORTES - When you go blackmouth fishing on a Saturday morning, you don't expect to be driving home on Sunday afternoon with a spare $15,000. Unless you're Ralph Thomas of Tacoma, and you just happned to hook into a 27.48-pound Chinook while you were fishing in the 2010 Anacortes Salmon Derby.

Thomas left Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes $15,000 richer this afternoon thanks to the hawg blackmouth he landed on Saturday morning. The biggest fish weighed in at the two-day Anacortes Salmon Derby was one of nine 20-plus-pounders brought to the scales at the North Sound's most popular derby. Second-place finisher John Belarde of Woodinville weighed in a hawg himself with a 25.72-pounder, followed by Seth Baumgarten of Kirkland wiht a 24.38-pounder.

8CHECK THE ANACORTES DERBY WEB PAGE FOR OFFICIAL RESULTS tonight or tomorrow morning.

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