Homer Winter King Derby Report - PIC HEAVY

The 22nd annual Homer Winter King Derby was held this weekend.  This was my third year entering.  The previous two years I have been blanked.  The weather and fish certainly cooperated for the derby.  Records were shattered in number of anglers, boats, and fish caught.  The total ended up being 1,324 anglers, on 386 boats (7 kayaks) with 590 fish caught!  That fish per angler was 0.45 fish per angler.

There were 3 Hobie Outbacks, two Pro Anglers, one wilderness System kayak, and a Native Propel.  Two kayakers including myself entered fish.  Of the seven, 5 were from "TEAM NWKA".  A huge shout out and thanks to those who entered!  AKRod, EricBlim, Michilutiiq, and Uuqutiiq!!!!!!!!

I only got to speak to Travis on the Wilderness System.  I hope he signs up here.  A third kayaker, Derrick (sp?) lost a fish which was unfortunate because had he landed the fish instead of being 0.29 fish per kayak angler it would have been 0.43 which would have been virtually identical to the power boats!  Now THAT is pretty cool! Especially when you consider the area we fished is NOT consider a hotspot by any means and most boats traveled at least ten miles one way to get to their spots.

I pre-fished the derby on Friday with AKRod and EricBlim from the NWKA forums.  I managed a fish in the first 5 minutes of fishing but didn’t get another strike the rest of the day.  I caught it on a chrome Silver Horde Coho Killer spoon behind a red/chrome Fish Flash flasher and 12oz of weght.


On derby day, I had a solid strike early but when I reeled up, 40lbs fluorocarbon had been cleanly cut off just above the spoon.  I switched to herring and nothing.  Switched back to a Black and White coho killer spoon and within 2 minutes had my fish on!  I am starting to think the action of the spoon trumps the fishiness of herring.  More reaction strike than an "eating" strike…maybe?

 A strange mix of weather.  Cold and breezy in the morning.  Blazing sun and heat during lunch, then a few more sprinkles.  But you couldn’t ask for a better time!

To add a little more kayaking flair to my story, I head out Sunday on a powerboat with friends who had gotten skunked during the derby.  Four rods for 6 hours and zero strikes.  Maybe my kayak really is more optimal in catching fish! Lol.

Great times, slow fishing.  But who can complain!!! Thanks to the Homer Chamber and the entire community for holding this great event!  We willdefinitely be back!!!!

So a fairly unedited video.  My Friday and Sat fish.  Double my normal length at 5 minutes, but pretty amazing considering I hit the button pretty much as soon as I get the rod in hand and get the fish initially under control...about 10 seconds after the strike.  It sure feels like an eternity when you are fighting a good fish, but to be able to land two kings in under 5 minutes sure seems like a lot faster than when we are on a boat.  I know its different in rivers but we've battled big kings for nearly an hour. 

It's definitely one of the things I like best about kayak fishing and one of the things I like the least.  What I like is I swear my hookup to landed ratio is off the charts compared to fishing from shore or a big boat.  I attribute that to the fact that kayak acts as another shock absorber.  Instead of the fish just running for a hundred yards, the kayak slowly gets towed and it slows the fish down sooner.  So the thing I hate most is the same concept.  I don't think the battles off a kayak are anywhere near as exciting as from the shore or the boat.  I learned in my ultralight fishing days, the fish seemed to battle proportionately as hard as you pulled.  Yah, length of fight may differ, but the "berserkness" factor is much lower from a kayak in my opinion.

oh yeah, the video...sorry. 



A few..uh, bunch of pics.  All the good ones courtesy of Michelle.
































And finally my favorite pic with my daughter Sakurako!

Another great report.   It's cool to see the  49th and 50th states represented in the same day.

How did the kayak fish score?  Did you win anything other than some outstanding eats?

They did have a kayak division even though there were only 7 of us out of over 1300 anglers.  I got a nice NRS PFD, pelican box, and a dry bag.  I guess they might be of use someday.  But no complaints! 

16.2 pounds

20th place was 23 pounds

Congratulations to you guys for scoring this year! That last picture is the winning picture though...

Rudy thanks for the pictures. Cherish the one with your daughter they grow up so fast. I fished on Sunday but got skunked again except for the Pollock I caught for a beach fisherman. The weather was pretty great considering it  is March and I added to my sunburn on Sunday. It was great putting real life faces on the NWKA AK bunch. I am looking forward to our next outting.

Outstanding!  The photos are magnificent, and your narrative was energized and full of enthusiasm for the pursuit of salmon - which I myself am all wrapped up in down here along the far northern California coast.

Way to go, man.   

Great report Rudy.  It was fun fishing with everyone.  My fish was caught on a herring behing a Deep Diver.  Weighed in at 13.1 pounds.  We have been eating it raw the last couple days and have been blown away with how great it tastes.  Thanks to Rudy for this great on-the-water shot

Great write up,  Rudy.  It was a good day on the water.  Could have been better,  of course. If nothing else, it was a great,  early chance to sort out a couple gear issues for Sarah and me. Derrick is on NWKA,  he told me. What a great group of people out there. Looking forward to more meet ups this year.

Great pictures Rudy!  You've got the itch started early for me this year.

   Outstanding job Alaskan's.
   A huge thanks for bringing the rest of us along on this adventure.
   Some incredible numbers put up this year.

   Great pictures also. You did good Michele. Especially that last shot

   Priceless.........

Great photos of a great day...  Looks like you all had a blast.

And like everyone else, that last pic with the daughter is a Keeper!

Jim

It looks like you guys had a blast! Hopefully I will be able to attend the derby next year.

Awesome report and pictures! I love the mountains in the background. Looks like a great day to be on the water. Congrats on the fish - you guys and gals did great!

This is Derrick. I changed my name from FishinAK1980. This is my original post on the other Homer Derby link:

It was nice seeing all of you down there for the tournament. I heard many comments from others about the number of kayaks out there. Someone suggested and I thought about maybe next year we can do a side bet just for the kayaks/non-motorized anglers which would include those anglers that were on the beach. What are your thoughts?

Although I caught a few cod and a huge Irish Lord, I had my shot at a king but blew it. I had a lot of fun trolling out there and I learned a few valuable lessons on this trip like:
o I would have liked to get down there and fish a few days before but my schedule just didn't allow it. Next year I'll make sure to have enough time to get down there and do some scouting trips, maybe even take a water taxi to the Bluffs or Pogi Point. 

o This was my first time fishing with a 9ft rod and having the down rigger in the position that I had it. I now know why EVERYONE says reel the down rigger up so you can play your fish without an additional worry. I also am going to switch my down rigger cable to braid instead of the steel that came with it. It was humming pretty loud whenever I went against the current and my ball was probably too light because it would rise up significantly.

o I'll make sure to have my net extended already. When I went to net the salmon I somehow managed to make the retainer pin slip into the hand and the net separated completely from the handle. Not cool. I also need to work on landing a thrashing king with a mooching rig hanging from its mouth because I scooped at a bad angle and hit the second hook with the net, further helping the down rigger cable neatly cut my fluorocarbon leader.

o The structure and down scan feature on my fish finder is awesome and I saw my salmon trail behind my bait before taking it. Of course I had no way to know if it was a salmon or a cod but I knew it was a decent sized fish that strayed away from a huge bait ball to follow my kayak. That was very exciting to watch. I wish I had one of those cool down rigger camera things that allows you to see the strike.

o I learned the precious lesson of clip tension on the down rigger cable. My first fish didn't release the clip for quite some time. What is the best tension strength for salmon?

This was my first Cook Inlet/Kachemak Bay trip in the kayak so thank you Rudy for all the info you have put on this site and your other sites. I got to see the tide swing in action and that gives me more confidence to hit the other places like Deep Creek and Whiskey Gulch.

Again, it was nice to meet you all and I had a blast. If any of you want to hit the water sometime just let me know and I'll see if I'm available.

Hey Derrick!!! I'm sorry I didn't get to talk to you more! My apologies. We will be fishing again soon!!!  Make that 6 Team NWKA members!!!