Vancouver Chinook Classic Derby logo
By David Y. Wei
Over our radio came the warning, “Only 12 minutes remaining! Lines up at one p.m.”
Despite the little time remaining, our guide, Pacific Angler’s Dimitri Roussanidis, was determined to make one last pass. After finishing in fourth place (and just out of the prizes) in each of the first three years of the Vancouver Chinook Classic Derby, he was feeling a bit snake-bitten – he didn’t want to make it: “Fourth for Four!”
I felt a firm shove as Dimitri unexpectedly scampered past me. Grabbing the rod from its holder, he wound down hard. Simultaneously, the mainline jerked free of the downrigger. The taut line put a full semi-circle into the rod as he swept it back over his head and slammed the hook-set. With every bit of slack out of the line, he passed the rod off to me as the fish made its first fierce run.
I barely heard Dimitri’s words, “Be careful, it’s a big one!”
The chinook flopped out of the water, and suddenly my heart was in my throat. Dimitri was shouting, “Oh my God, it could be the winner! Play it really hard! Don’t give it any slack! Someone radio the weigh boat!”
Everything became surreal. I sensed a flurry of frantic activity around me – lines brought in, downriggers stowed, the boat turning around. I was acutely aware only of the big chinook on the end of the line, my shaking knees, and what Dimitri might do to me if I screwed up!
The tight, smooth drag on my Abel mooching reel snubbed the big chinook’s hardest runs, while the limber Trophy rod tempered its violent headshakes. As the fish neared the boat for the first time, Dimitri yelled, “Keep winding! Now! Lean back hard!” And abruptly, the fight was over … followed by tumultuous whoops of joy.
The weigh-in boat came beside us in a flash. The chinook’s length and girth would be used to calculate its weight. The officials relayed back to derby headquarters, “Length: 37 inches. Girth: 23 inches.” Now we could only wait.
The Pacific Salmon Foundation is a federally incorporated charitable organization dedicated to the preservation of wild Pacific salmon in their natural habitats. Through its grant-making Community Salmon Program, the heart of its activities, the Foundation supports volunteer-driven organizations that undertake salmon conservation and habitat restoration projects in British Columbia and the Yukon. Most of the funds for these grants – totalling more than $1.8 million annually – are generated through sales of the Fisheries and Oceans Canada Recreational Fisheries Conservation Stamp (commonly known as the Salmon Stamp), which anglers purchase in addition to their fishing licences if they want to retain salmon.
The Foundation also delivers a wide range of other enterprises that include the Skeena Salmon Program (a watershed-level science initiative); the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project (a multi-million-dollar research initiative to restore the Strait of Georgia fishery); and the Salmon-Safe eco-certification program. For these, the Foundation relies on a variety of funding sources that include direct donations from individuals, groups, or events like the Vancouver Chinook Classic Catch-and-Release Derby.
The two-day derby – which donates some of its proceeds toward educational support and supplies for Capilano Little Ones School, on the Squamish First Nations Reserve in North Vancouver, as well as to the Pacific Salmon Foundation – began in 2012. It is now held annually during the last weekend in August. The main sponsors (Pacific Gateway Hotel, Pacific Angler, and West Coast Fishing Club) and major donors (Scotty Plastics Limited, Gibbs-Delta Tackle, Islander Reels, Air North, Simms, Abel Fly Reels, Pesca Industries, Maui Jim, and others) want a charity derby that will showcase the excellent late-summer chinook fishing anglers can expect within Vancouver Harbour, and around the mouth of the Fraser River. The derby’s headquarters, Saturday evening festivities (with silent and live auctions, a raffle, buffet supper, and entertainment), Sunday afternoon barbecue, and derby prize awards are all held at the Pacific Gateway Hotel and its newly renovated marina – conveniently located on the North Arm of the Fraser River, only minutes from the main fishing areas. Anglers in the derby also receive gift-bags with sponsors’ products and services, and can get preferred rates at the Pacific Gateway Hotel for accommodations and moorage.
After what seemed an eternity, we heard over the radio, “24.46 pounds…a new leader” and, moments later, “It’s one p.m., the Derby is officially over…” Our Chasin’ Tales team had won the Vancouver Chinook Classic Derby! Dimitri had scored a buzzer-beater.
For more information about the Fifth Annual Vancouver Chinook Classic Derby, visit vancouverchinookclassic.com