31-pound Chinook leads fishing derby
Photo by Tom Rivers – Lake Ontario was rough on Sunday, but several people have hooked good-size fish at the beginning of the Orleans County Fishing Derby. This photo was taken at the shores of the Golden Hill State Park in Barker, about a mile west of the Orleans County line.
Julie Schaeffer of Sligo, Pa. leads the Orleans County Fishing Derby with a 31-pound, 11-ounce Chinook. The derby started Saturday and runs until Aug. 18.
The Albion Rotary Club sponsors the derby and will hand out $8,800 in prizes, including $4,000 to the angler who catches the biggest fish at Lake Ontario and its tributaries from the Niagara River to the Genesee River.
Other leading fish include a 12-pound, 11-ounce rainbow trout, and a 12-pound, 13-ounce brown trout. No lake trout is on the leaderboard yet.
Last year’s derby had an unusual winner: a lake trout that weighed 34 pounds, 6 ounces. A Chinook almost always claims the top prize.
