NorthWest Kayak Anglers

Regional Discussions => Alaska Kayak Fishing => Topic started by: kardinal_84 on September 23, 2017, 11:35:28 AM

Title: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: kardinal_84 on September 23, 2017, 11:35:28 AM
Well with LongJawn and Swanson Silver posting positive reports about Homer, thats a good segway into the announcing the Homer Elk's King Derby. 

It's Oct 7th and 8th.  Unlke the March derby, you can likely expect to catch fish in this derby and I am glad to see a few folks already catching.  Fish are smaller but typically more reliable.  Last year a gal I fished with not only won the kayak divine but the women's overall division as well.   

Here's the brochure:
(https://i.imgur.com/vyKuP7P.jpg)
Title: Re: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: easyyakker on September 24, 2017, 10:50:47 PM
I'll be there. I'll be staying at Land's End Friday and Saturday night. If anyone else is around, let's get together.

I think it's about time a kayak wins it all. Let's do it.
Title: Re: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: AKFishOn on September 25, 2017, 10:39:24 AM
I'm in.  My money is on Ryu for the win!!!
Title: Re: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: kardinal_84 on September 26, 2017, 10:13:04 PM
I'm in.  My money is on Ryu for the win!!!

He will be there!  lol.  My money is on him too.  I can't seem to catch one bigger than him no matter how often I go.

But I will take any kayaker wining this!  Let's do it!
Title: Re: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: AKFishOn on September 28, 2017, 09:49:31 AM
Called to try to register yesterday, but the gal who answered the phone told me registration was next Friday...well, looking at the flyer, registration fees are due by noon on the 6th. Guess they don't know what to do about non-Homer locals entering.  I'll contact the derby chairman later today to get the scoop.
Title: Re: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: Klondike Kid on September 28, 2017, 04:18:06 PM
There appears to be some typo errors in the black and white poster above concerning the Registration dates. Those appear to be a remnant of last year's derby. Looks like they used that as a template for this year but missed a couple of changes. Here is the color poster I got from Michael earlier this month to announce on Facebook.

Early registration should be ongoing up until Friday Oct. 6th when the doors open for in person sign ups at the lodge until 10pm that night. They even have allowance for latecomers arriving Saturday morning to get on board with registering then.   Maybe you were the first to call to sign up and caught them off guard for having their ducks in a row this early. :)

ALSO NOTE: On the corrected color poster you will see that there is no requirement this year for everyone to call or check in on both days of fishing before starting. Your registration is the only contact you need for the derby.

P.S. I dumped the PDF and switched to a png to display on the post.

(http://klondikekid.com/NWKAimages/2017ElksSalmonDerbyFlyer.png)
Title: Re: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: AKFishOn on September 28, 2017, 04:47:19 PM
Awesome.  Thanks KK, I'll just register when I get down there Friday evening.  Staying at the Driftwood Inn RV park.
Title: Re: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: AKFishOn on September 30, 2017, 12:19:51 PM
Who's ready!?!
Title: Re: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: kardinal_84 on September 30, 2017, 04:35:40 PM
Nice!  Out at the spit.  Fishing is slow but a few fish being picked up by the boats. Hoping to hit the sunset hour hard and see what happens. BEAUTIMOUS DAY!!!

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170930/ea3298fa144936ff09628d9f4d054b54.jpg)
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Title: Re: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: easyyakker on October 05, 2017, 07:58:30 AM
Been watching the marine forecast. It has come down a bit for Saturday. Was at 20 kts., now down to 15 kts.  Sunday forecast is still good. Hopefully we'll get some good weather so we can give a good effort. Hope to see you down there.
Title: Re: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: AKFishOn on October 05, 2017, 10:48:42 AM
Looks like I'm going to have to miss it again this year, friggin back gave out again...GRRRR!   >:(  Good luck, safe going and tight lines.  May the plastic navy take the prize!
Title: Re: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: kardinal_84 on October 05, 2017, 01:52:28 PM
Dang, that's a bummer AKFISHON.

Weather looks like it might hold.  My concern is after a strong westerly blow, the water might be murkier closer to shore. 

We plan to be there!  It only takes one good fish!  Besides, Fresh king salmon sounds pretty good about now!
Title: Re: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: Low_Sky on October 05, 2017, 02:27:19 PM
Good luck, Plastic Navy!


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Title: Re: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: katinalaska on October 07, 2017, 09:45:51 AM
I'm here at Lands End watching the waves and whitecaps since sunrise. The wind is dying down a bit now, but still a few whitecaps which takes the fun out of it for me when trawling. Just as Rudy predicted, the water is murky along the Spit. If conditions don't improve, I'll be napping rather than fishing!


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Title: Re: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: Lawngjohn on October 07, 2017, 03:42:24 PM
I decided to stay home after looking at the forecast and webcams this morning. Good luck to everyone down there though!

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Title: Re: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: Klondike Kid on October 07, 2017, 04:48:22 PM
Looks like its flattening out on the webcam pics and a flotilla of boats are developing out off the spit. Hopefully there are some poly fleet members out there. Stuck at home with a malfunctioning boiler trying to get some heat back in the house. Was 30°F outside this morning.   Marine Forecast doesn't look promising for Sunday. Looks like its going to kick up again this evening and into Sunday.
Title: Re: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: easyyakker on October 08, 2017, 09:49:56 PM
Well, I was there and I fished. Saturday morning the weather was bad. Strong wind, fast current. No fish. After taking a break for lunch, a couple adult beverages, and a nap, I went out again at about 2:30. The weather was much nicer. Still, not much happening on the fish front. Rudy and Ryu were out. Rudy caught a silver.

I'll admit that I bagged it on Sunday. By the time I left Homer, a bit after 10:30, the weather was actually fairly nice. Rudy was was getting ready to launch. Hopefully he'll have a good report for us. I just couldn't get myself enthused enough to suit up.

Hopefully the fish will pick up sometime before the weather gets too cold for me.
Title: Re: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: kardinal_84 on October 09, 2017, 08:40:41 AM
No love from the fish on Sunday.  Got out at low tide and the water was pretty murky a third of the way to the buoy. 

I was just messaging a friend how the weather forecast the night before was calling for 6ft at the spit but it was nice and flat.

5 minutes later 20knot winds and the end of my day after maybe 90 minutes on the water.  Ugh. 

I didnt see too many boats catching either.  But its hard to control weather. 

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171009/406dbf7fef3b08ae7a2d411b85eb7fe6.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171009/c17b0a3bab2f08c4bf660ae428dbf9d7.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171009/1314bd7da930e646e99b019dddef224c.jpg)

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Title: Homer Elks King Derby Results
Post by: Klondike Kid on October 09, 2017, 02:04:06 PM
I acquired a snapshot of the Final Leader Board and Standings for the Homer king derby. The weather was definitely a factor in reducing the number of participants as well as the number of fish caught.

As a comparision:
2015 fish entered: 420 (4185 lbs) (163 anglers)
2016 fish entered: 372 (3350 lbs) (204 anglers)
2017 fish entered:  75  (734 lbs)   (145 anglers)
---------------------------------------------------
Here are the unofficial results:
---------------------------------------------------
Total Anglers: 145
Lady Anglers in the event: 30
Total Entered Fish Weight: 733.50 pounds
Number of fish entered: 75
Average Fish weight of all entries: 9.4 pounds
Closest to Average Weight:  Patsy Stringer (F/V Fish Hawk)

1st Place: Ed Scribner @ 24.60 lbs. (F/V Sea Wolf)
2nd Place: Ron Johnson @ 22.20 lbs. (F/V Oly John)
3rd Place: Patrick Hankins @ 20.40 lbs. (F/V Sound Escape)

Best Ladies Entry: Bethany Casey @ 20.30 lbs (F/V Misty)
(Bethany missed 3rd Place by 0.11 pound)
Best Kayak Entry: Not available

UNOFFICIAL Prize winnings based on number of angler entries:
1st - $2900
2nd - $1740
3rd - $986
Avg. Fish Wt. Prize - $2900
Women's Biggest Fish - $100
Kayak Division Biggest Fish – $100 (may not have an entry)
Title: Re: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: easyyakker on October 09, 2017, 09:02:42 PM
Well that is pretty telling. Only 75 fish entered in a two day derby. Quite a difference from last year. I entered four fish last year. I barely used four baits this year. They do call it fishing.

Too bad about that weather change Rudy. Good thing you were close to shore. It would be bad to be a couple miles off shore when that hits. I've had it happen in my powerboat days...luckily not in the kayak.
Title: Re: Homer Elks King Derby Oct 7 & 8
Post by: Klondike Kid on October 10, 2017, 04:14:06 AM
Well that is pretty telling. Only 75 fish entered in a two day derby. Quite a difference from last year. I entered four fish last year. I barely used four baits this year. They do call it fishing.

Too bad about that weather change Rudy. Good thing you were close to shore. It would be bad to be a couple miles off shore when that hits. I've had it happen in my powerboat days...luckily not in the kayak.

+1 on that PB experience easyyakker. Glassy Zero to 35 knot wind with 6 ft seas literally overtook us while running at 25 knots to Anchor Pt from Homer on a bluebird day. Closest I've come to just running the boat to the beach to save my life and walk away from it....alive. Made it back to the harbor with 2 gallons left in my 28 gallon tank.  Marine forecasts in AK are not foolproof and can surely kill the fool who puts their life entirely in the hands of the forecasters. I've heard many complaints this year about a noticeable decline in forecasting accuracy for Cook Inlet by NOAA this season. I'm glad there were no incidents during this event.