Whopper leads king derby after first week

Valley Life editor

The bar has been set extremely high for Valley anglers in the Mat-Su King Salmon Derby, as Robert Robinson has a 66.8-pound fish on the board -- which would have won every derby so far.

Robinson caught the monster on the Deshka River during the first week of the Mat-Su King Salmon Derby. His lead is more than 20 pounds, as Nicole Yundt is second place (as of Friday morning) with a 44.5-pound king caught on the Little Su. Edward Jetle's 44.3-pound king, also caught on the Little Su, was good for third place, while Tim Brown's 44.1-pounder, caught on Willow Creek, was fourth. Greg Bietsch was in fifth with a 43.8-pound fish.

As far as anyone can remember, the 66.8-pound monster is the largest fish ever entered in the Mat-Su King Salmon Derby.

In the youth division, Eli Hite won the first week's competition with a 42.2-pound king caught on the Little Su. Josiah Warta was second at 28.4 pounds, followed by Danial Lange with 23.6 and Josh Duplechain at 10.6.

In the weekly weight match competition, Kevin Peterson was the adult winner, with an 11.4-pound king salmon. Duplechain's effort led the youth division.

In the pro class standing, Robinson leads the way, followed by Bietsch and Anita Bilek's 28-pounder is in third place.

Derby tickets are still on sale, and the derby runs through July 13.