Katherine Dimond said she and her family were five minutes away from calling it a day when it happened: a 27.4 pound fish was at the end of her line.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt all happened kind of quick,\u201d Dimond, 23, said Monday. It was during a \u201clast-ditch effort\u201d around 5 p.m. Saturday near the Douglas docks that she fought a king salmon for about 10 minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt ran for a little bit in the beginning, but it got tired and we were able to pull it up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Dimond has been a Golden North Salmon Derby participant alongside her family for about 12 years \u2014 her dad\u2019s a commercial fisherman and she was born and raised in Douglas. She said she\u2019s placed in years prior, but this was her first big win.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something we always look forward to as a family,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Other members of the Dimond family didn\u2019t come up short, either. Dimond\u2019s mom Jackie Dimond placed ninth with a catch she made on Friday, and her brother Jon Dimond got the 52nd largest catch of the derby on Sunday. He could have easily also placed first because he was seated next to his sister when her line connected to the winning king on Saturday. It\u2019s proof, she said, that winning involves a bit of luck.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just took my pole instead of his,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Plenty of other derby participants were \u201clucky\u201d as well, with approximately 18,150 pounds of salmon submitted by the end, derby co-chair Matt Robus said. That\u2019s about a 30 percent drop from last year\u2019s catch total (26,000), but Robus said that has more to do with weather conditions that derby participation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty mellow all three days last year and it was pretty tough all three days this year,\u201d Robus said.<\/p>\n
He said, based on talks he\u2019s had over the past couple days with participants, that it appeared the bigger catches were happening where the winds were heavy and the waves were high. That would make less than ideal for the smaller vessels trying to stay in the game while also staying in the calmer waters.<\/p>\n
[Derby kings trickle while cohos abound<\/a>]<\/p>\n \u201cSo many of Juneau\u2019s sports fishermen stayed out in those conditions and brought back great fish. That show they\u2019re very dedicated to fishing and helping territorial (sportsmen) and raising scholarships,\u201d Robus said.<\/p>\n Overall, Robus said he considered this year\u2019s derby and success, with far more cohos showing up than anyone expected. Then there was the fun \u201cstatistical coincidence\u201d with this year\u2019s winning catch weighing the same (to the tenth of a pound) as last year\u2019s winning catch.<\/p>\n But derby happenings aren\u2019t over yet. The doors will open for an awards ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Centennial Hall. Before the top winners take their prizes at 7 p.m., people with scholarship tickets can also pick up their winnings.<\/p>\n To see a complete list of the top 70 derby catches this year, visit goldennorthsalmonderby.com\/topfishmain.html. The official results should be ready by noon on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u2022 Contact reporter Paula Ann Solis at 523-2272 or paula.solis@juneauempire.com.<\/p>\n Read more local news:<\/strong><\/p>\n Missing man’s sister: ‘My brother’s gone’: Coast Guard suspends search for missing man in Auke Bay<\/a><\/p>\n The race is on: Four in the running to fill two school board seats<\/a><\/p>\n