King derby leaderboard remains unchanged

June 12, 2005

CASEY RESSLER/Frontiersman Valley Life Editor

After two weeks of the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce's Mat-Su King Salmon Derby, no 50-pound fish have been entered, but the peak of the season is still to come.

Last week's top fish was a 44.8-pounder, caught by Michael Reaves. It didn't top the 47.3-pounder hauled in by Ronda Hausser during the first week of competition.

For winning the second week's competition, Reaves took home a $100 barbecue grill from Lowe's, a $75 gift certificate from Alaska Industrial Hardware and a $50 gift certificate to the Great Bear Brewing Co. in Wasilla. He weighed the fish in at the Mat-Su RV Park.

Bill Paulo took second, with a 43.9-pound fish, followed by Paul Lang (42.1 pounds), Clarence York (40.6 pounds), Steven Deckert (40 pounds), Robert Herman (40 pounds) and Dale Tilton (38.8 pounds).

The leaderboard of the youth division got a major shakeup, thanks to Jared Reed's whopper. He caught a 42.5-pound king salmon, which was good for the $100 prize as the weekly winner.

He also took over the top spot in the youth overall derby. Taking second for the week and in the overall standings was Keaton Bland, who pulled in a 38.7-pounder. Other weekly winners included Cache Sumers (35 pounds), Paul McKeown (33.2 pounds), Alexa Hooley (32.5 pounds), Alex Fuller (24.3 pounds) and Tistina York (24.2 pounds).

Daniel Harding only caught a 15-pound chinook, but it matched the target weight, and he won a guided salmon charter from Fishtale River Guides. The same prize was won by Marlena Acord in the youth division. Her 23-pounder was closest to the target weight.

In the pro class overall standings, Steven Deckert leads Dennis Chavez and Dale Tilton.

All results are based on those found at the Web site www.matsukingsalmonderby.com. Larger fish may have been weighed in, but the aforementioned results were current through the end of the second week of competition.

New weigh station added

King salmon anglers participating in the derby now have another place to weigh their fish, at least on Saturdays and Sundays.

Deshka Landing Charters & Lodge will be open and weighing fish at its espresso stand from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays only.

For additional information, please contact Cheryl Metiva, Executive Director of the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce at 376-1299.

The derby runs through July 13. Other weigh-in stations include 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle in Wasilla, Willow Creek Resort, Mahay's Riverboat Service in Talkeetna, Mat-Su RV Park and Campground (Mile 90.8 Parks Hwy.) and Talkeetna Landing.

The largest king salmon caught in the derby will land the angler a freezer full of fish and a wallet full of money - the $10,000 grand prize.