Arguably the largest fishing derby in North America, the Interior Alaska Building Association’s Big Catch Classic was a weekend contest open to 6 fish species caught from remote waters across the Interior (July 9th & 10th). A joint effort by the IABA and the Fairbanks Food Bank, this second annual event grew 4x its 2015 attendance.
“This is really a tournament for everyone. People can compete by fishing from their private dock, a gravel pit, the river behind their dry cabin, right here in town or in the Bush,” said Richard Musick, Derby Committee Chair. Tanana Lakes Recreation Area served as home base for registration, weigh-in and the Awards BBQ, but participants entered their catch from any ADF&G-approved waters listed in the 2016 Northern Alaska regulation book.
Besides bragging rights and sparkling trophies, participants reeled in a gamut of exciting prizes donated by Back to Life Taxidermy, Ferguson Enterprises, Ventilation Solutions, Spenard Builders Supply, Florcraft Carpet-One, Superior Insulation, Big Ray’s Sporting Goods, Frontier Outfitters, TRAX Outdoor Sports, Play-it-Again Sports, and Northern Legacy Lure Works.[xyz-ihs snippet=”adsense-body-ad”]
LOCATIONS & DETAILS
Anglers reported in from Fairbanks, North Pole, Ft. Wainwright, and Eielson Air Force Base, and entered fish from across the interior as the weekend progressed.
Bathing Beauty (Mile 343.7 Richardson Hwy) was a stop along the way into town for some anglers; real frustration was felt by kayaking anglers who were circled by massive pike, to no avail.
Birch Lake (60 miles south of Fairbanks) is usually a favorite for anglers looking to catch heftier stocked trout, char, arctic grayling and salmon. Rainbows brought in from Birch Lake ranged 7-17” and were caught using light tackle with small white twistertails on jigs.
Chena Lake (Mile 346.8 Richardson Hwy) offered smaller trout to contestants who were fishing off-site on Saturday, July 9th. Anglers used light tackle, spinners, and orange power bait.
ADF&G stocked 2,812 Rainbows in Cushman Lake in late May 2016; fishing for them was very slow while Northern Pike averaging 18” took the derby by storm.
Some large pike were brought in from favorite fishing holes further out of town, but details related to the location and tactics were kept secret by these competitive anglers.
ANGLERS & PRIZES
Darrin “Bear” Edson, founder of the Interior Alaska Fishing Club (IAFC) posted, “Wow, what a great weekend at the second annual IABA Big Catch Classic…” on Facebook as his fellow club members placed for awards across the leaderboard. Bear won a pike fisherman’s dream door prize, a yellow cedar lure, hand-crafted by Northern Legacy Lure Works.
When Terry Beasley, Fairbanksan and active member of IAFC, pulled his catch out of the back of his truck, everyone at the weigh-in station gasped – its size was unexpected out of Cushman Lake. Beasley landed the largest fish of the derby- a 6-pound Northern Pike, measured at 27.625 inches long. He landed a First Place trophy, a Reddington Rod & Reel combo and a life-size replica mount of his pole-bender Pike.
Rickey Cole Currie, his family and friends, arrived at the weigh-in station pulling a large camouflaged fishing boat, all hands on-deck. Rickey took First in the Trout/Char category for his 16.5” Birch Lake Rainbow and placed a close second to Beasley’s Northern Pike at 27.5” long. He won two trophies, a 4-person tent, and a 7-compartment Flambeau tackle box.
Chris Redmond took First in Trout/Char-Under 12 and First in Pike-Under 12 with catch lengths totaling 22” and 103.5”, respectively. Josh Redmond took second place in the Pike-Under 12 category at 86”. Both received trophies, new rod & reel combos, and small utility tackle boxes.
No one landed the $5,000 pike sponsored by Superior Insulation, but the crowd squealed when Sarah Shaw weighed-in the only tagged fish caught this year. Shaw pulled ahead in sheer numbers of transferred fish and by 4PM on Sunday she out-fished her 75 competitors. She earned the Grand Prize Trophy for a whopping 234” Total Catch Length– nearly 61” more than the second qualifier. Shaw closed out the weekend with a $100 tagged fish cash prize, a 45-quart Pelican ProGear Elite Cooler, and a double-stacked Grand Prize Trophy.
Several anglers took their limits of Northern Pike, and some came back for more after transferring possession of their landed fish. In a grand finale, the Derby Committee measured and weighed a total of 82 fish during the 2-day event and organized a donation of 80 pounds of fish to the Fairbanks Food Bank.
The weather was fantastic after a rainy start to July and fishing was consistent for most anglers that weekend. Terry Beasley, First Place Northern Pike 2016 Trophy winner said it best on his Facebook post after the event, “Great time with some good people. Next year, it’s on!”
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