PORT ANGELES — The locals know best.
That certainly was the case during the first day of the Port Angeles Salmon Club’s 10th annual halibut derby Saturday.
Port Angeles’ Gary Coffey brought in the derby ladder’s top fish, a 68-pound beauty, at 8:03 a.m. to set the tone for what turned out to be a North Olympic Peninsula angler-heavy leader board.
“I’m just glad to catch something,” the 59-year-old retired mill worker said. “I normally don’t do that well.”
Things worked out pretty well for him Saturday.
Not only did he hook into a sure-fire prize winner amid the strong tides and steady winds that accompanied Day 1, he did it right before the water got choppy.
“As soon as it hit I knew it was a good one,” said Coffey, who was bouncing herring off the Rock Pile when the fish struck.
“It hit and I just reeled her up. I got it to the top and it went back down and I brought it up again.
“It was a nice fish. Nicer than I’m used to anyway.”
It will be even nicer for Coffey if he walks away with the $5,000 top prize after fishing comes to a close at 2 p.m. today.
The 30-fish derby ladder includes catches from 17 Peninsula anglers, with Sequim’s Troy Tenneson in second (63), Port Angeles’ Bob Aunspach third (59) and Port Townsend’s Hunter Burrow fourth (53).
A total of 682 derby tickets have been sold thus far. Many are expected to be out for today’s final, which should see calmer fishing conditions.
Go ahead and include Coffey in that group.
“It was getting pretty rough [Saturday],” he said. “If it flattens out [today] they should get a little bit bigger one.”
Fishing runs from daylight to 2 p.m. today. Derby tickets cost $40.
Cash prizes will be awarded at the Port Angeles Yacht Club immediately after fishing comes to a close.