The 2024 Edmonds Coho Derby welcomed a near-record turnout and beautiful salmon catches for eager anglers of all ages. A total of 1,025 contestants ventured out in search of a coho big enough to win a share of over $35,000 in cash and prizes.
Included in the derby pool were 95 youth participants in the under-14 division. Every youth angler at the awards ceremony received a tackle prize donated by Silver Horde Fishing Supplies; a family-owned manufacturer based in Mountlake Terrace.
After tallying 435 coho salmon at the Edmonds and Everett weigh-in stations, Johannah Chamberlain of Snohomish was presented with a $5,000 prize for a cleaned fish weighing 13.14 lbs. In the youth division, Henry Johnson from Snohomish had a big payday with a $1,000 cash prize for his cleaned fish of 9.97lbs.
There was consensus among the anglers and derby volunteers that coho results are on a notable upswing. The salmon are larger and healthier this year, with massive schools of them already in local waters and headed for the rivers. The top 2024 fish in both divisions were over two pounds larger than 2023, and up to five pounds larger than 2022.
The complete leaderboard and all event details can be found at www.edmondscohoderby.com.
Many more coho are still in the ocean but headed this way, and fishing should remain very good for a few weeks to come. The next big derby event is the annual Everett Coho Derby on Sept. 21-22. For tickets, rules, and information, visit www.everettcohoderby.com.
The Edmonds Coho Derby is a fundraiser hosted by the Puget Sound Anglers, Sno-King Chapter. All funds benefit kids’ fishing events, Salmon for Soldiers, habitat restoration, and increasing hatchery production to support responsible fishing on Puget Sound and beyond. The Club’s meetings with fishing seminars are free and open to the public.
The next meeting is Wednesday,Sept. 11, at 6:30 p.m. and includes a coho fishing seminar by Brianna Bruce, just in time for the Everett Derby. Meetings are held at the Lake Ballinger Center: 23000 Lakeview Dr., Mountlake Terrace on the second Wednesday of each month. Visit www.psasnoking.org for more information.
Thank you.
This reminds me of an experience I had many, many years ago, when I was cooking on a purse seiner in SE Alaska.
I always enjoy attending church when traveling, and so I decided to go to the Russian Orthodox church in Juneau. Being Orthodox, much goes on out of sight behind a screen. It was moving and beautiful – and at the end a towering, bearded figure in embroidered robes stepped out before the congregation, and in a deep voice with a thick Russian accent, the priest said, “Today is fishing derby. I am late. Please leave.”
I hope he caught a wonderful salmon!