Joe Cook of Ocean Park was the individual winner of the 18th annual Surf Perch Derby in May. He caught nearly 13 pounds of the delicious local fish.

LONG BEACH — The 18th annual Surf Perch Derby was held on May 18 at the Bolstad beach approach. Hosted by the Peninsula Lions Club, with support from the city of Long Beach, this event is normally held the second or third Saturday of May, depending on the tide.

Team winners were as follows: First place with a total of 17 pounds, 5 ounces in total fish weight and winners of $300 were Cheryl Pritchett, Woody Pritchett and Nick Calais; second place with a total of 10 pounds, 13-5/8 ounces in total fish weight and winners of $150, Sean Womack, Jason Womack and Amy Gilhuly from Vancouver; third place with a total of 7 pounds, 15-1/8 ounces in total fish weight and winners of $90 were Jorji McElrath and Matt Wooldridge from Vancouver and Raphel Meja from Warrenton.

Individual winners were: First place — Joe Cook from Ocean Park, who earned $200 for total fish weighing 12 pounds, 15-3/8 ounces; second place — Christopher Brown from Ocean Shores, who earned $100 for his total fish weighing 4 pounds, 5-5/8 ounces; and third place — Michael Saecho from Vancouver who earned $50 for his total fish weighing 3 pounds, 13-1/8 ounces.

The individual heaviest fish award went to Joe Cook from Ocean Park, who earned $50 for a fish weighing 1 pound, 10-1/8 ounces.

A total of 47 fishermen participated in the event, which included 11 teams and 17 individuals from the local area as well as from Auburn, Camas, Federal Way, Enumclaw, Lake Tapps, Portland, and more.