Angler grabs a grand in Chinook derby
Jordan Smith/PHOTOS Steve Croston of Kellogg earned $1,000 for his first place Chinook at last weekend’s 14th annual, JH “Red” Covey Memorial Salmon Derby. Croston’s fish weighed 7.7 pounds.
Drake Thompson, 11, of Hayden won the youth first place award for a 4 1/2 pound chinook. The derby was sponsored by Fins and Feathers Tackle Shop and Guide Service in Coeur d'Alene.
A Kellogg man earned more than a grand for catching the biggest landlocked chinook salmon in last week’s Coeur d’Alene Lake derby sponsored by Fins and Feather Tackle Shop and Guide Service in Coeur d’Alene.
Steve Croston of Kellogg caught a 7.7-pound chinook to earn the $1,000 grand prize in the 14th annual JH “Red” Covey Memorial Derby, and 11-year-old Drake Thompson of Hayden won the junior division with a 4.5-pound chinook.
More than 120 anglers took part in the derby on Saturday and Sunday, and most of the anglers fished the southern end of the lake from East Point to Harrison.
“We caught 11 or 12 fish each day,” Jordan Smith of Fins and Feathers said. “Everybody was catching some fish each day.”
The derby, which often draws more than 200 participants had fewer anglers this year because of the long winter, Smith said.
“A lot of people don’t have their boats in the water yet,” he said.
And the fish were small, but numerous.
“You always want bigger fish, but you don’t always get them,” Smith said. “It was good fishing.”
Another fishing contest — the lake’s biggest pike tournament — is set April 27 and 28.
Two-person teams will pay $80 to compete in the 25th annual Lester V. Smith Memorial tournament headquartered in Harrison, with a 6:30 a.m. check-in each morning at the Gateway Marina. The tournament includes barbecues, a beer garden, raffle prizes and $100 daily big stringer awards.
For more information contact Fins and Feathers at 208-667-9304.