Above: Terry Cece of Epoufette, with his seven-year-old son, Jared, holds up his 24.60-pound salmon, the largest fish ever caught in the St. Ignace Salmon Derby. He won $3,000 for first place for largest fish. His team, Lucky Two, also won first in the Three Heaviest Fish contest. The team of Lucky Two lived up to its name as Terry Cece of Epoufette and Jimmie Miller of St. Ignace took the top spots in the 4th annual Moran Salmon Derby Sunday, August 27. Mr. Cece's 24.60-pound salmon is the largest fish ever caught during the St. Ignace Salmon Derby, said event coordinator Pete Everson.

"I battled with it for 20 minutes," Mr. Cece said about his prize catch, which he caught at noon. "It put up a good fight."

Mr. Miller caught his 19.18pound salmon 20 minutes later. It earned him second place.

The two also won the Boat Division with the three heaviest fish combination contest with a combined weight of 50.42 pounds, ahead of Les McFarland's second place team, which weighed in at 45.12 pounds.

The Lucky Two team won a combined $5,500. Mr. Cece was awarded $3,000 for his first place finish in the largest fish event. Mr. Miller's second place finish earned him $2,000. The team was awarded $500 for finishing first in the Boat Divison contest.

Jimmie Miller of Moran finished second in the largest fish category with this 19.18-pound salmon. He was teamed with Terry Cece. The total pay-out for this year's Salmon Derby was $8,855. This year, the event awarded cash awards to 30 contestants.

The Straits Area Sportsmen's Club awarded Rod Hesselink Jr. $100 for his 9.76-pound salmon for the youth angler contest. Finishing second was Brian Horn, who caught a 9.02-pound salmon. Mr. Horn did not walk away empty-handed though, as he was the winner of the 50/50 raffle, which gave him $335.

Jim Gahn won the Mystery Weight contest, winning $50 with his 8.78-pound fish.

The rain on Saturday, August 26, forced the event to be held only on Sunday, which prevented some out-of-town anglers from participating, said Mr. Everson. The number of boats this year, 33, was the lowest since the event's inception four years ago.

Despite not making a profit, and considering the low number of participants, there was a fair number of fish caught, said Mr. Everson.

Tamyra Kueger of Alanson finished third in the St. Ignace Salmon Derby, with her 18.78-pound salmon earning her $1,000. "The sizes of the fish were probably the best we had," he said.

Board members of the derby will look to improve the participation next year, said Mr. Everson, who, along with fellow board member Jimmie Miller, talked with anglers after the award ceremony to gather ideas on how to improve the derby for next year.

"This year, we were able to pay out more to anglers and usually we are able to generate enough money to support things like the fish cleaning station, which we finished last year, and equipment for the high school football team," said Mr. Everson. "The board is going to have to rethink the event. We want to keep it going, but we need to generate enough money to support the event itself, the St. Ignace Sports Boosters Club, and the Straits Area Sportsmen's Club." Results of the 2006

St. Ignace Salmon Derby

At left: Rod Hesselink Jr. (middle) won the youth angler contest with his 9.76-pound catch. He was awarded $100 from the Straits Area Sportsmen's Club's Louie Colegrove (right). Brian Horn finished second. He won the event's 50/50 raffle contest, winning $335. Individual Winners: 1.   Terry Cece, Epoufette,     24.60, $3,000 2.   Jimmie Miller, Moran,     19.18, $2,000 3.   Tamyra Kueger, Alanson,     18.78, $1,000 4.   Jon Kamyszek, St. Ignace,     17.44, $150 5. Barry Beck, St. Johns,     16.62, $100 6.   Chad Fox, Escanaba,     15.98, $90 7.   Judy Gahn, Cheboygan,     15.72, $80 8.   Beth Sliwinski, Saginaw,     15.54, $70 Jon Kamyszek of St. Ignace caught this 17.44-pound salmon, earning him $150 for fourth place. 9.   Jennifer Howard,     Cheboygan, 15.32, $60 10. Lance Williams,     Cheboygan, 13.98, $55 +     10 anglers were awarded     $50 and 10 were awarded     $25. +     Dusty Saker and Steve     Peterson donated their winnings,               $50 and $25, respectively,               back to the event.

Team Boat Winners 1. Jimmie Miller, 50.42, $500 2. Les McFarland, 45.12, $400 3. Jim Gahn, 42.38, $300 4. Nathan Beck, 41.20, $100 5. Dave Sliwinski, 39.54, $ 50