WHO remembers the Vancouver Sun salmon derby?

[capt hook]

That was a exciting weekend when i was a young kid.
Thousands of boats and every bay and beach crowded with over night campers partying all night getting ready for the zoo the next day.
I believe the boundary was SandHeads to roger Curtis and weigh in was hosted on a big Barge at Sewells in Horsehoe Bay , hundreds of prizes.
from fishing rods and reels , small row boats to car toppers with small engines up to a about a 20 foot Sangster with motor.
The winner always seemed to be around 30-40 lbs and usually caught on a Lucky Louie plug.
It is a great memory , and is amazing how it took over the whole area. You could darn near walk across the boats.

 

[Dogbreath]

I remember when it all started to go downhill too-those guys that entered a river fish they'd kept in a freezer over the winter.

 

[Bear]

We would go to the launch ramp at Horseshoe Bay and watch the people trying to launch their boats.Forgetting to untie the back straps,no plug,motors had not been started for months,dead batteries and on and on.Saw one guy back boat on trailer into water and try to push boat off trailer.No go.Remembered he had not undone tie downs on rear of boat.Pulled ahead and undid tiedowns.Had already untied from bow.When he put the truck in reverse,the 19ft boat unloaded about 50ft from the water.

Several of us bystanders helped him reload the boat.He just pulled away and went home.Always good for a laugh.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

My dad had yearly moorage at Swells in Horseshoe Bay many years ago.

Fished in many a Sun derby, lots of fun, even won some prizes
most years.

 

[trophywife]

I won a peetz reel in 1979!!

 

[profisher]

Wasn't Cow Bay also open to the derby and later Sooke?

 

[tubber]

I was in it once in 1969. I was 7 and we were sportfishing from my father's buddy's gillnetter. I seem to recall the adults laughing at stuff that wasn't funny and taking a lot of naps. We didn't catch much till we went back to Sandheads from Bowen after the derby ended in the late afternoon.

 

[Little Hawk]

Maybe the Sun Derby will come back one day?

I, too, recall the excitement and commotion it caused in the Lower Mainland every year. It was huge!

I'm dating myself here but, IIRC, there were 50 to 60 + LB. fish atop the leader board in the early days (1960's).

We used to catch Coho on drop-lines (hand lines) off the barges in N. Van in the middle of Burrard Inlet.

I tend to get downcast when I think of how it used to be.

 

[ziggy]

My fondest memory was a Norris cartoon depicting the bedlam in Horseshoe bay with every type of boat dragging lines and the ferry trying to navigate through.

 

[profisher]

Maybe I'm thinking of the wrong derby. Is this the one that was about $25 grand for first? We used to go up to Cowichan Bay to fish a derby and it did include the Sunshine Coast area in its boundaries. Same one?

 

[bananas]

Maybe I'm thinking of the wrong derby. Is this the one that was about $25 grand for first? We used to go up to Cowichan Bay to fish a derby and it did include the Sunshine Coast area in its boundaries. Same one?

i think your thinking of the bc salmon derby Rollie, my grandfather won it in 76 on my birthday it was 26k pretty good for back then.i have the trophy on my fireplace mantle rite now.

 

[profisher]

Did it include Sooke in the last year or two that it ran? I'm thinking late early 70's was the time frame we were in it.

 

[bananas]

Did it include Sooke in the last year or two that it ran? I'm thinking late early 70's was the time frame we were in it.

It did include Sooke thats where he was fishing when he won , they flew a float plane in to Pedder bay and picked him and his partner up and flew him back to van to get his prize.

 

[Degree of Freedom]

my dad used to mark it on the calendar as a day NOT to go fishing...he couldn't stand all the strange boats invading HIS waters LOL

 

[profisher]

Ok, that was the derby...I was just a snot nosed kid at the time. I'm thinking we must have fished in it once or twice before Sooke was included because we've had the cabin at Gordon's Beach since 1958 but fished the derby in Cow bay.

 

[Little Hawk]

Didn't the BC Salmon Derby run for 2 or 3 months each summer? Or, am I losing it?

 

[Lipripper]

Thinking the Export A or the Diawa derby LH?

 

[Labman2]

I'm not 100% sure on this, but in the 70s, wasn't it billed as the Sun $100.000?

 

[Little Hawk]

Lippy: IIRC the BC Salmon Derby ran in the 70's and was pretty much done by the 80's. Think - Peetz & Steelite reels before Diawa was around...

Okay, so I'm an older pecker.

 

[Lipripper]

Okay, so I'm an older pecker.

Yes... yes you are.... I wasn't even borned yet