Local wins Petersburg Salmon Derby with 50 pound fish

He was alone on his boat, and it was a bit of a battle. Scott Stafford, of Petersburg, caught his Salmon Derby winning 50.9 pound fish on Saturday.

Fishing from his 22-foot-long Alice Marie, just outside of the North Arm with fishermen from a dozen vessels watching nearby, Stafford said it took about 30 to 40 minutes to reel in the fish.

The fisherman brought the king salmon up to his boat about seven times. It went under the boat, around the boat. Finally he got it to where the head was pointing at him and he could get it in the net.

"He was pretty tuckered out by then and it was over," Stafford said.

He went fishing with friends Phil and Sandy Meeks the next morning, when Phil caught his ninth place salmon in about 10 minutes. The rest of the day was slow.

"The first day I got skunked," Stafford said. "The last day I figured I couldn't do any better."

The 34th Annual Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Salmon Derby began Friday morning and continued until Monday evening. The fish caught weighed anywhere from 6.7 pounds to Stafford's 50.9.

Stafford's participated in the derby since 2006 and done it "pretty much every year" since. Three years ago, he placed third.

Stafford plans to take the $7,000 he won this year and apply it to a boat fund. He's been saving up for a new one.

Madison Whitethorn, of Petersburg, placed second with a 45.8 pound salmon, making her one of the derby's youngest top finishers at age 13.

She got it on the line around 9:50 a.m. Friday morning, and on the boat at about 10:10. She noted all was quiet until "all of a sudden, Grandpa was yelling for me, telling me to take the pole."

The fish was a struggler.

"It was kind of hard because I didn't know how to get it out, so I was just wrestling it," Whitethorn said.

Her arm was cramping by the end of it, but when she saw how close the fish was after the line had been 150 feet out, she "started crying tears of joy."

Whitehorn has participated for "quite a few years because I love fishing. I go with my Grandpa when I get the chance." She was actually fishing from her grandpa's boat, the Maddy D, in a "top secret" location when she caught the salmon.

Whitehorn thought it was "pretty cool" to come out in the top three, especially at her age. She added that she couldn't have done it without her grandpa and dad. They all stayed out fishing until Sunday.

She's putting most of her $3,500 toward a college savings fund, but is also buying some new clothes and using it to help remodel her room.

Third place with a prize amount of $2,500 went to Stephanie Sell, who caught a 45.4 pound salmon. Kent Wegener won the cumulative weight prize, as his total catch weighed in at 112.3 pounds.

Chamber of Commerce Manager Cindi Lagoudakis said the 364 participants from this year's derby came from at least 18 states, including Arizona, Illinois, Texas and Connecticut, covering all regions of the U.S.

"Not unexpectedly, the majority of out-of-staters were from Washington," she said, adding there were some from British Columbia, too. "Last year we had no recorded Canadian participants, but had several from Australia."

Alaskan towns represented besides Petersburg were Fairbanks, Juneau, Sitka, Talkeetna, Wrangell, Craig, Haines and Valdez.

2015 Salmon Derby Results

# WEIGHT NAME

1 50.9 Scott Stafford

2 45.8 Madison Whitethorn

3 45.4 Stephanie Sell

4 36.2 Vern Craig

5 36.2 Steve Burrell

6 36.0 Rick Dormer

7 35.3 Troy Larson

8 35.2 Larry Peterson

9 34.8 Phillip Meeks

10 34.8 Mike File

11 34.3 Sam Volk

12 33.3 Bob Ziemke

13 33.0 Helmer Olson

14 32.1 Jim Schramek

15 32.0 Jennifer Bryner

16 31.8 Don Thorsteinson

17 31.7 Kent Wegener

18 31.6 Cole Young

19 31.5 Charles Gillies JR

20 31.5 Matt Bryner

21 31.3 Jim Schramek

22 31.0 Norris Swanson

23 30.8 Dan O'Neil

24 30.3 Michael McGillvrey

25 30.2 Dennis Biggs

26 30.1 Daniel Torrance

27 29.8 Robert Crisman

28 29.8 Sawyer Bryner

29 29.7 Dave Evens

30 29.6 George Curtiss

31 29.5 Chadam Lopez

32 29.4 Don Huse

33 29.2 Byron Lyons

34 29.1 Derek Lopez

35 29.0 Craig Anderson

36 28.9 Trevor McCay

37 28.8 Don Thorsteinson

38 28.5 Rufina Hansen

39 28.4 Brett Lopez

40 27.9 Andrew Carlisle

41 27.6 Pat Rice

42 27.6 Derek Thynes

43 27.4 Don Thompson

44 27.3 Kenny Goodman

45 27.2 Paul McKeown

46 27.1 Dan O'Neil

47 27.0 Jeffery Pfundt

48 26.7 Mason Evans

49 26.7 Bosjun Reid

50 26.6 Tyson Reid

51 26.5 Tyson Reid

52 26.3 Steve Berry

53 26.2 Brandee Luhr

54 26.2 Jenny Payne

55 26.2 Danika Williams

56 26.1 Michael Sheldon

57 26.1 Karen Schramek

58 26.0 Mike Payne

59 25.9 Maddy McPherson

60 25.5 Mike Evans

61 25.3 Troy Curtiss

62 25.3 Trevor McCay

63 25.2 Chadam Lopez

64 25.1 Franc Fernandez

65 25.0 Isaiah Etcher

66 24.9 Brett Lopez

67 24.8 Kimberley Morgan

68 24.8 Vicki Curtiss

69 24.5 Stewart Vick

70 24.5 Scott O'Neil

71 24.4 Betty Rodgers

72 24.3 Don Thompson

73 24.1 Kaitlin Duross

74 24.0 Connor Bell

75 23.9 Julie Ruhle

76 23.8 Scott Oneil

77 23.6 Jenna Olsen

78 23.3 Will Ware

79 23.3 Karen Schramek

80 23.1 Kaitlin Duross

81 23.0 Jared Volk

82 22.9 Kristi Birchell

83 22.8 Jared Volk

84 22.8 Christy Ware

85 22.7 Chris Greinier

86 22.6 Cheryl O'Neil

87 22.4 Martin Massin

88 22.4 Koby Pennington

89 22.4 Sarah Reid

90 22.3 Chase Lister

91 22.2 Laurie Sunnen

92 22.0 Marva Thynes

93 22.0 Dave Evens

94 22.0 Tom Stevens

95 22.0 Erica Washke

96 21.9 Guy Grebe

97 21.7 Barry Bracken

98 21.6 Kristie Evans

99 21.6 Kim Titus

100 21.6 Marlena Erickson

101 21.5 Stewart Vick

102 21.5 Maddy McPherson

103 21.3 Anna Caulum

104 21.3 Gordan Lyons

106 21.2 Dan O'Neil

105 21.2 Jenny Payne

107 21.1 Robert Volk

108 21.0 Tanner Washke

109 20.9 Erica Washke

110 20.9 Jon Wikan

111 20.8 Hunter Conn

112 20.8 Stephen Connor

113 20.7 Cody Wegener

114 20.7 Cody Wegener

115 20.7 Curt Birchell

116 20.7 Terri Kolean

117 20.6 Derek Lopez

118 20.6 Henry Cantrell

119 20.5 Anna Caulum

120 20.5 Shalene McCollum

121 20.4 Zephrie Whitethorn

122 20.4 Ken Madsen

123 20.4 Joe Fischer

124 20.3 Matt Bryner

125 20.3 James Stromdahl

126 20.3 Richard Lowell

127 20.2 Walt Payne

128 20.2 Kim Titus

129 20.2 Brett Lopez

130 20.1 Brian Oaks

131 20.1 John Knight

132 20.1 Will Ware

133 20.0 Michael

Worthington

134 20.0 Jennifer Thynes

135 20.0 Tammy Strickland

136 19.9 Trevor McCay

137 19.9 Cody Wegener

138 19.9 Franc Fernandez

139 19.9 Chris Marshall

140 19.8 Casey Knight

141 19.7 Skyler Cummings

142 19.7 Doug Welde

143 19.7 Natalie Mcpherson

144 19.5 Logan Padgett

145 19.4 Don Thompson

146 19.4 Ralph Strickland

147 19.4 Don Huse

148 19.3 Tyson Reid

149 19.3 Erica Washke

150 19.1 Jennifer Thynes

151 19.1 Tanelle Olson

152 19.1 Jim Schramek

153 19.1 Alec Schramek

154 19.1 Tom Stevens

155 19.0 Anne Volk

156 19.0 Paul Anderson

157 18.9 Gunner Washke

158 18.8 Alec Schramek

159 18.8 Gunnar Payne

160 18.7 Curt Birchell

161 18.6 Avery Skeeks

162 18.6 Jennifer Thynes

163 18.6 Sharon Stockton

164 18.4 Ken Madsen

165 18.4 Addysen Bird

166 18.3 Jill Dormer

167 18.3 Marva Thynes

168 18.3 Tanner Washke

169 18.2 Marva Thynes

170 18.2 Hunter Conn

171 18.2 Cory Volk

172 18.1 Jackie Tyson

173 18.1 Rikki Lewis

174 18.1 Andy Kittams

175 17.9 Kent Wegener

176 17.8 Ingrid Jensen

177 17.6 Ty Peterson

178 17.5 Ronald Ware

179 17.4 Stephanie Sell

180 17.4 Chandler Strickland

181 17.4 Bobbie Lewis

182 17.3 Karen Schramek

183 17.3 Anne Volk

184 17.3 Michelle Lopez

185 17.2 Norris Swanson

186 17.1 Kim Titus

187 17.1 Steve Berry

188 17.1 Zephrie Whitethorn

189 17.1 Douglas Corl

190 17.0 Marsha Fernandez

191 17.0 Chris Evens

192 17.0 Cary Volk

193 16.9 Koby Pennington

194 16.9 Aaron Murph

195 16.9 Jason Regula

196 16.9 Brett Lopez

197 16.9 Chadam Lopez

198 16.8 Charles Harris

199 16.8 Kent Wegener

200 16.7 Martin Massin

201 16.7 Travis Gibson

202 16.7 Marva Thynes

203 16.7 Ryan Littleton

204 16.6 Lance Kittams

205 16.5 Casey Knight

206 16.4 John Hoag

207 16.3 Kenneth Duncan

208 16.3 Aden Martinsen

209 16.3 Gunnar Payne

210 16.2 Duane Olson

211 16.2 Marva Thynes

212 16.2 Natalie Mcpherson

213 16.2 Jim Cariello

214 16.1 Alissa Lund

215 16.0 Bernadette Etcher

216 16.0 Donald Reyes

217 16.0 Craig Anderson

218 16.0 Cody Wegener

219 16.0 Stephen Connor

220 16.0 Jim Schramek

221 15.9 Kory Birchell

222 15.9 Maddy McPherson

223 15.8 Curt Birchell

224 15.8 James Lulley

225 15.7 Andy Whitethorn

226 15.7 Andrew Carlisle

227 15.7 Leann Brusell

228 15.7 Ian Williams

229 15.7 Guylynn Etcher

230 15.7 Rufina Hansen

231 15.7 Leo Luczak

232 15.7 Jenny Payne

233 15.7 Norris Swanson

234 15.7 Helmer Olson

235 15.6 Andrew Carlisle

236 15.6 Evan Ware

237 15.6 Troy Thynes

238 15.5 Derek Lopez

239 15.5 Trent Kittams

240 15.4 Julie Ruhle

241 15.4 Adam Ware

242 15.4 Karl Holmberg

243 15.4 Jon Tucker

244 15.4 Kent McCollum

245 15.3 Dawn Ingle

246 15.3 Zackery

Christiansen

247 15.2 Jeff Pfundt

248 15.2 Natalie Mcpherson

249 15.1 Brian Oaks

250 15.1 Cynthia Mathisen

251 15.1 Elijah Slaven

252 15.0 Alec Schramek

253 15.0 Tanner Washke

254 15.0 Ryan Littleton

255 14.8 Aaron Murph

256 14.8 Troy Thynes

257 14.7 Alissa Lund

258 14.7 Marva Thynes

259 14.6 Samuel Caulum

260 14.6 Franc Fernandez

261 14.6 Gina Ressler

262 14.5 Chuck Ressler

263 14.5 Iia Marie Cantrell

264 14.5 Michelle Lopez

265 14.5 Chadam Lopez

266 14.4 Steve Berry

267 14.4 Craig Anderson

268 14.4 Kent Wegener

269 14.3 Scott Olsen

270 14.2 Max Kamp

271 14.2 Cole Young

272 14.2 Derek Lopez

273 14.2 Alissa Lund

274 14.1 Michelle Lopez

275 14.0 Iia Marie Cantrell

276 14.0 Jennifer Thynes

277 13.9 Maddy McPherson

278 13.9 Ian Williams

279 13.9 Bob Cummings

280 13.9 Rachel Krernvik

281 13.8 Avery Skeeks

282 13.8 Franc Fernandez

283 13.8 Jenny Payne

284 13.8 Maddy McPherson

285 13.7 Michelle Lopez

286 13.6 Kim Titus

287 13.6 Tom Marsh

288 13.6 Wayne Parks

289 13.6 Jode Coil

290 13.6 Byron Lyons

291 13.6 Chase Lister

292 13.5 Tanner Washke

293 13.5 Craig Anderson

294 13.4 Helmer Olson

295 13.3 Kristi Birchell

296 13.3 Ted Hasbrock JR

297 13.2 Raymond Evens

298 13.2 Rikki McCay

299 13.2 Annette Olson

300 13.1 Walt Payne

301 13.1 Gunnar Payne

302 13.0 Julie Ruhle

303 13.0 Terri Kolean

304 13.0 Derek Thynes

305 12.8 Harry Rodgers

306 12.7 Anthony Dinyestige

307 12.6 Brian Oaks

308 12.5 Tom Stevens

309 12.5 Mattias Volk

310 12.5 Chuck Ressler

311 12.5 Joshua Coghill

312 12.4 Kent Wegener

313 12.3 Winter Skeek

314 12.3 Dan O'Neil

315 12.3 Natalie Mcpherson

316 12.2 Phillip Chavez

317 12.2 Chadam Lopez

318 12.2 Mike Evans

319 12.2 Annette Olson

320 12.0 Gunner Payne

321 11.8 Michael

Worthington

322 11.6 Ian Williams

323 11.6 Robert Volk

324 11.5 Andrew Carlisle

325 11.4 Phillip Chavez

326 11.4 Isaiah Slaven

327 11.3 Bernadette Etcher

328 11.3 Joshua Coghill

329 11.3 Steve Burrell

330 11.3 Karen Schramek

331 11.3 Ty Peterson

332 11.2 Wayne Parks

333 11.1 Troy Thynes

334 11.1 Brian Newman

340 11.0 John Rice

335 11.0 Stephanie Sell

336 10.9 George Doyle

337 10.9 Cynthia Mathisen

338 10.8 Rikki Lewis

339 10.6 Isaiah Etcher

341 10.5 Skyler Cummings

342 10.5 Brett Lopez

343 10.5 Kent Wegener

344 10.4 Cheryl O'Neil

345 10.3 Michael

Worthington

346 10.2 Kim Titus

347 10.2 Joseph Slaven

348 10.2 Duane Olson

349 10.1 Gunner Washke

350 10.0 Charley Streuli

351 9.9 Mackenzie Peeler

352 9.6 Phillip Chavez

353 9.4 Charles Gillies JR

354 9.2 Phillip Chavez

355 9.1 Derek Thynes

356 9.1 Larry Peterson

357 9.1 Maddy McPherson

358 8.8 Tanner Washke

359 8.8 Stacey Kittams

360 8.7 Duane Olson

361 8.6 Kent Wegener

362 8.4 Kim Titus

363 8.4 Jon Wikan

364 6.7 Tucker Gibson

HALIBUT

# WEIGHT NAME

1 97.5 Larry Scaduto

2 64.3 Mike Fox

3 52.7 Kenneth Caulum

4 52.7 Rhiannon Kivisto

5 42.9 Berrnadett Etcher

6 31.7 Anna Caulum