Belllingham man hooks $10,000 anniversary, birthday gift - Roche Harbor second Annual Salmon Classic Invitational


	Lopez Island	Orcas Island	Visitor's Guide

Email this page to a friend

ROCHE HARBOR FISHING DERBY

FISHING COMPETITIONS

2007

Simms wins $10K in fishing derby; Holman $5K

A couple of firsts for Einar-Barr Fishing Classic

2006

Lawson lands derby winner in 'nasty' conditions

A couple of firsts for Einar-Barr Fishing Classic

2005

Angler wins Nielsen/Barr by 1 ounce - 21th Annual Einar Nielsen/Becky Barr Memorial Fishing Classic

Bellingham man hooks $10,000 anniversary, birthday gift- second Annual Salmon Classic Invitational

Russ Lett leads Roche Harbor derby

2004

Orcas men win $6,500 in Roche Harbor salmon derby

Anglers vying for $10K prize - Roche Harbor Village first Annual Salmon Classic Invitational

Einar's kin wins derby
20th Annual Einar Nielsen/Becky Barr Memorial Fishing Classic

2003

19th Annual Einar Nielsen-Becky Barr Memorial Fishing Derby

Sandy Point man hooks $10,000 anniversary, birthday gift

1 | 2

Richard Price, center, displays his winning chinook minutes after he landed it off Waldron Island with boatmates Roger VanWeerdhuizen, left, and Rod Nau.

Debbie Sandwith (in yellow), chair of the event, kept busy checking in fish and handing out prizes.

Richard Price (right) celebrates with his boat mates.

Allie Ehle (second from right) and friends were pleased with her second-place finish.

Hunter Wood

The winner of the Northwest Salmon Derby Series takes home this boat.

posted 02/05/05
Richard Price hauled in a lunker of a anniversary and birthday gift for his wife Saturday, Feb. 5. Price's 21.60-pound king won the 2nd Annual Roche Harbor Salmon Classic Invitational and the Sandy Point man netted $10,000, a bright red jacket, a fish landing net and a trophy that will keep him recounting his big fish story for some time.

"I can't wait to put this trophy on the mantle of the barbershop," said Price, who cuts hair one day a week at Leopold Barber Shop in Bellingham.

Price celebrated his wedding anniversary Saturday, Feb. 5 and his wife's birthday is Sunday, Feb. 6.

In addition to his wife, Price plans to share his winnings with his fishing partners Rod Nau of Bellingham and Roger VanWeerdhuizen of Acme. "By the time I get done splitting it with these guys and my wife, I'll be in the hole.... The fishing hole," Price joked.

Price and crew were fishing on his boat Tequila Queen on the east side of Waldron Island when he hooked the blackmouth about 11 a.m. Nau recounted: "When it came up to the surface, I said, 'That's the winner.'"

Several more fish were caught by the 5 p.m. deadline but the closest one came in a couple pounds shy of Price's. Allie Ehle, a 19-year-old college student, used color theory to pick the color of her flasher and hoochie. Her choice netted the 19-pound second-place fish and $5,000. "Something I studied at Evergreen State (College) finally paid off," Ehle said.

Ehle plans to use her winnings for college tuition. She plans to study biology. "I'll learn some more and I'll catch the big one next year," said Ehle, who learned to fish at her grandfather's fishing resort on Lake Huron.

Dallas Gibson of North Saanich, B.C. finished third with an 18.40 king and took home $1,500, or $1,875 Canadian.

Russ Lett of Oak Harbor and Ty Lett of Auburn pulled in 44.05 pounds of chinook and won the $1,500 Best Boat competition. Russ hooked 17.40- and 16.15-pound kings and Ty caught 5.55- and 4.95-pound fish.

Five-year-old Hunter Wood was the youngest angler in the derby. He won a trophy and a rod and reel. Dozens of other fishers took home prizes ranging from electric downriggers to sonar.

This year's derby, which is the Largest blackmouth derby in the world, featured 80 boats. Their crews caught 37 fish.