Rainy Saturday Proves Lucky for St. Ignace Salmon Derby Winners
By Stephen Underwood

Members of the “Looking for Charlie” boat that caught the winning salmon with some of their fish (from left): Warren Fosmore, Les McFarland, Dylan Robin, Tamyra Kruger, and Brett Green. They used Stinger lures and Big Jon downriggers.

A steady rain the first morning of the St. Ignace Salmon Derby proved to be ideal for anglers, who pulled in large fish weighing up to 17.62 pounds.

Saturday, August 27, dawned with near-constant rain, alternating between light and hard. Conditions were much better by late afternoon and Sunday, but by then Brett Green of Alanson and a boat headed by Jimmie Miller of Moran had already caught the biggest fish Lake Huron would yield.

The team of (from left) Jim Miller, Carol Miller, and Terry Cece caught four salmon that totaled more than 56 pounds during the first day of the St. Ignace Salmon Derby Saturday, August 27. Missing from the photograph are Sherry Cece and Debi Ferguson.

Mr. Green’s winning catch of a 17.62-pound salmon topped the field of 140 fishermen in 45 boats during the two-day event and won him $1,000. Just a third of a pound behind at 17.28 was Mr. Miller’s wife, Carol ($400), and Jayme Warwick ($250) of Rogers City was third at 17.12.

Mrs. Miller’s catch, along with those of her husband, Terry and Sherry Cece, and Debi Ferguson, combined for 47.76 pounds on the first day, good for $300.

“I’ve always liked to fish in the rain,” said Mr. Miller. “A lot of people left, but the fish were biting. We even had a triple (three people with fish on their rods at the same time). We caught nine fish and all but one were more than 10 pounds. About 90 percent of that was before the rain stopped.”

“When it’s rainy and cloudy, sometimes it’s better,” said Pete Everson, who chaired the event. “The fish aren’t spooked as easily.”

Additional Money Winners

(place, name, city, weight in pounds, money won)

Boat Division

Day 1

2. Eric Gustafson, Owosso, 42.02, $200.

3. Les McFarland, Alanson, 40.38, $100.

Day 2

1. Chet Romanik, Cheboygan, 32.94, $300.

2. Les McFarland, Alanson, 29.34, $200.

3. Ron Colvin, Wyandotte, 29.04, $100.

Mystery Weight Division

Day 1 (fish closest to 6.6 pounds)

1. (tie) Pete Everson, St. Ignace, 6.62, $25, and Scott Sunderland, St. Ignace, 6.58, $25.

Day 2 (fish closest to 7.7 pounds)

1. Mike Jarnan, Cheboygan, 7.70, $50.

Individual Division

4. Zach Swartz, Owosso, 16.86, $150.

5. Al Bishop, Cheboygan, 16.12, $100.

6. Richard Weber, Moran, 15.64, $100.

7. Jimmie Miller, Moran, 15.60, $100.

8. Jimmie Brown, St. Ignace, 15.18, $100.

9. Nicole Brown, St. Ignace, 15.18, $100.

10. Joe Calcaterra, St. Ignace, 15.14, $100.

11. Terry Cece, Epoufette, 14.88, $50.

12. Joe Hefele, Rogers City, 14.70, $50.

13. Pat Grondin, Powers, 14.66, $50.

14. Jim Gahn, Cheboygan, 13.80, $50.

15. Eric Gustafson, Cheboygan, 13.68, $50.