The winner of the 2019 8th annual Merle Lawson Memorial Salmon Derby was Nate Salazar, who weighed in a 19 pound (gutted) salmon early enough to win him the $1275 first place purse and  $75 gift certificate to the Outdoot Pro Shop in Cotati. Second place was Bob "Skippy" Rosario with a (later) 19 pound salmon for $850 and a $50 Sportsman's Warehouse gift card. Finally, 3rd place went to the first boat to return and A. J. Masters with his 18 pound fish, worth $425 and a $25 Sportsman's Warehouse gift card. For a change, the Derby was graced with beautiful weather and some decent fishing. Rounded out with a great group of people it was a really fun time.

    Mike and Mara Nursement sweetened the pot for the Derby with a $500 donation. Mike obviously regretted that and tried to win it back but came up a few pounds short. Pretty darn nice fish, though.

   Patty O'Hair was also gunning for a bit of that prize money with this fish which didn't make the top three but did fill a hole in the freezer. The previous two fish as well as many if not most of the others landed yesterday came from offshore. 220 to 330 feet of water, from Bodega Head down to almost Point Reyes. Most of the deep water fish were also caught pretty deep on the wire, 120 to 200 feet down, although the pictured fish, as I understand it, came from up near the top. With the weather as it is and is forecast to be, it is likely that some of these fish will find their way onshore for a shallow water bite very soon.

    

   These guys above (separate photos to make room for egos) didn't get the message about it being a salmon derby only, it seems. That, or they didn't want to leave fish to find fish, which is actually a pretty good excuse. Either way, they whomped the poor halibut somewhere sandy (strangely, they wouldn't say where)(yes, my son won't tell me. My son).

   John Brezina is smiling because he caught the derby winning salmon. A moment later his smile disappeared when he remembered  the derby was yesterday. This salmon weighed 31 pounds, guts in.

    Team Fogal found a few halibut to 23 pounds out front today. Just remember, the size of your boat doesn't dictate the size of your fish. It's the number of rods you fish that does.

    Joe Winn and his crew bagged 9 halibut to 17 pounds (and a starry flounder) today. I believe that they did it yesterday too. Please note: None of the halibut pictured were caught by Hog Island. There's fish by Hog but with the current water temps it is better North of there.