Competition, charity and camaraderie: ‘Salmon Classic’ a smooth success

Published 12:43 pm Tuesday, August 2, 2016

ILWACO — The sea was too rough to fish safely offshore and the fishing was slow inshore, but it was still a solid success for the Tuna Classic turned Salmon Classic drawing 350 people and generating more than $50,000 total in the two-day tournament for charity over the weekend.

“It went really well,” Del Stephens, chairman of the Oregon Tuna Classic said, “Especially in spite of not being able to tuna fish.”

Koby Bryant caught the biggest salmon — 28.4 pounds officially — during the weekend fishing tournament deemed the “Salmon Classic” after the tuna portion was canceled due to rough seas offshore.

“It feels like $2,000,” Bryant joked when asked how it felt to catch the winning fish. Bryant, who has caught salmon up to 56 pounds in Alaska, knew he had something heavy right away. “It went on a big run, then we saw a big flash. We just took our time,” he said. The 40-inch fish was hooked on a live anchovy around the tide change on Friday and took 10 minutes to land. An active member of the Navy, Bryant was fishing in the tournament for the second year with Gus Forster, of Beaver, Oregon.

“We’ve been fishing out of Hammond seven or eight years — so we pretty much know the river,” Forster said, “When we got the fish in the boat, we figured we might have a winner.” Forster was quick to credit his crew.

“They’re dynamite at fishing in the river. They know what they’re doing. And that was the key to our success,” Forster summed. Doug Dixon took second place with a 22.35 pound salmon and Mark White came in third with a 15.25-pound fish, each taking home $1000 and $500 respectively. White, owner of F/V Beast Mode, took 3rd with a 15-pound salmon.

“This is the one (tournament) we look forward to the most,” White said adding that they had no qualms about fishing for salmon instead of tuna. Using herring, they worked the Washington side above the bridge and brought back a couple fish.

“We fished above the bridge on the Washington side and caught a few fish,” White said..

Most of the action occurred in the afternoon right around the tide change in what was a slow weekend of fishing overall for most.

“From daylight until 1 p.m. it was dead,” White said. The slow-fishing sentiments were reflected at the weigh-in, where only 14 fish were entered during the two-day contest. Fishing was particularly slow Sunday when only three fish came to the scales by the 4:00 deadline.

“The bite was tough,” Oregon Tuna Classic chairman Del Stephens summed.

While the weather seemed relatively calm and clear inland, conditions were vastly different offshore where the tuna fishing would have typically taken place.

“There was 13-foot combined seas Saturday at 8:00 a.m. at the #46029 buoy,” Stephens said referring to a buoy 20 miles offshore, “It was definitely good reason to cancel the tuna portion.” Fishermen felt it was the right call too.

“We watched the forecast well in advance, and we completely understood the switch to go to salmon,” Forster said, “The Coast Guard made the call and it was the right decision to make.” Already rigged for albacore, the switch did send some crews scrambling for salmon gear last minute.

“We sent some people back home to grab some salmon gear because we had two dozen tuna rods and tackle on the boat. But it wasn’t a big hassle,” White said. Nine teams skipped the fishing and went golfing instead, but they all came together for the banquet.

Approximately 350 people gathered under the tent for the banquet, auction and raffle behind the port of Ilwaco Saturday evening. The culmination of the weekend fishing tournament, food and fishing stories are shared while donated good and services were auctioned and raffled off.

“Everybody razzes one another — bidding each other up. It’s just a lot of fun,” White said. A prominent showing from Ilwaco Tuna Club members provided much of the fireworks in bids between groups. By auction end, more than $27,000 was raised eclipsing their initial goal of $25,000.

“We’ve established a loyal following,” Stephens said adding that some fishermen donated their fuel money as well.

“There’s a least a couple thousand in fuel money donated,” Stephens estimated. “If we can get about $40,000 or $50,000 and clear about $25,000 after our expenses, it will be a great day for the food banks,” Stephens summed. For more information, visit www.oregontunaclassic.org