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This Lady is a CHAMP!

Published on 12/12/06 at 11:23:58 GMT by JB

It was August 25th 1978 and we were in Westport,Washington. We had been up all night playing poker and choking down potato chips and beernuts with cheap beer. Our group,the Queen Anne Lions Club from Seattle was about to embark on a covert mission to catch the elusive King Salmon. The 5 of us had chartered the boat 'Six Pak' to lead us on the hunt! There was room for 6 of us but only 5 had signed up. I suggested that we invite my wife so we could fill the boat. Since these guys were essentially penny pinchers they did some figuring in their conniving minds and came to these two conclusions;
1) when you divide the cost of the boat by 6 instead of 5 it will cost them each less to go!
2) Gayle,being a woman would probably get seasick and lay down the entire trip so there wouldn't be any risk of her catching the first,biggest or most salmon so they would be assured of winning the pools!
Well, Gayle went to bed early enough to get a good nights sleep while we were still half buzzed when we walked on board the Six Pak at 4:00 am!!
By the time we left the breakwater we were really rock'n and roll'n over the swells. We had about 20 miles to go to get to the fishing grounds and we wanted to beat the other boats of course.The bait boy set up 3 pools for us.We each paid $20 into it, $5 for the first fish, $5 for the first limit and $10 for the biggest.
All the old geesers got a little queasy but gayle sat and read one of her fashion magazines and had a couple of cups of coffee. Then we heard the captain yell, "Time to fish! Soak them baits at 70 feet!" So we all jumped up with renewed life and got our lines in the water.
After about 10 minutes we heard "Fish On!" Yea, that's right it was Gayle again with a nice 10 pounder. One of the guys says man she wins the pool for the first fish! His partner says ,"Don't worry, there still 2 more pools and I got my eye on them both!"
There was no more action and after about 15 more minutes the captain yelled, "Pull 'em up! We're moving."
We tried several more spots and a couple of small ones were boated by the guys but nothing to write home about. We headed south to the reefs where the captain had had some good luck a few days earlier. As soon as we dropped them in Gayle yells "Fish On!" After a nice battle of about 20 minutes Gayle lands a really nice 15 pounder. The old boys are really sweating now.As the day progresses several 5-10 pounders are taken and the Captain says it is starting to get a little rough so we will make one more move then we're heading in. We went about 10 miles to the North and there were several other boats in the area. Just before it was time to head back we heard a scream from the back of the boat,"Help, somethings got my line!" The captain went to the stern to find Gayle hanging on to her pole for dear life. He says, "you're right sweetie,somethings got your line and it looks like a big one! Keep pumping up the rod, and reel fast while you let it down! "
Gayle says, "Can you please help?"
Captain, "Not if you want to win the derby. You do have derby tickets don't you?"
"Yes. My sweet husband bought them for me.But don't worry I won't need his help spending the winnings!"
"If anybody helps you reel it in you won't get the prize."
Well, she reeled and reeled until her arms almost dropped off. The line on the reel was getting mighty low as the huge monster dove for the bottom. Even though there was about 300 yards of 50 pound mono on the reel it was close to 90% out when all of a sudden the fish stopped dead still. Gayle pumped and reeled and took in slack. Slowly the line started filling up on the reel again. After about 10 minutes of this the fish exploded out and away from the boat rising rapidly until it finally broke the surface about 100 feet out. We all were dumbstruck as we watched him break the surface again then back down. This went on for about 20 more minutes as gayle had to keep circling around the boat as she brought more and more of the line back to the reel.
Finally after one more run down towards the bottom the big fish began to tire and Gayle worked him in to the boat. Her arms were like rubber and went limp as the captain netted the giant King Salmon. We were all guessing the weight but one thing for sure it was going to take a monster to beat this one in the derby. I can't begin to tell you how proud I was of my wife, my best friend as we walked over to the official weigh-in site. My Lionc Club buddies were all bad sports and vowed to restrict future trips to guys only! I laughed as Gayle offered to spend her pool money in the bar buying rounds for all of the group. No-one took her up on it so we just stood by and waited for the weigh-in.
There were several fish in the 20 pound range and one 33 pounder that looked like it might challenge Gayles fish. But when they finally put it on the official scale it tipped the scales at 40 pounds even!!! Gayle had taken the coveted Westport Derby for the day and she got her picture taken for Fishing and Hunting News along with a check for $175.00!
AS we were leaving the town on our way home we came upon a building on the side of the road with a sign that read 'STUFF-IT Taxidermy" and Gayle said pull in! Well, I brought her gorgeous trophy in and they said they mount it for $250.00 bucks and would have it ready for delivery at the Seattle Sports Show. I said OK and they skinned it and gave me the meat. As we pulled out I squeamishly asked, "Where are you going to hang this puppy?" She just smiled and said "Don't worry I'll find a place! So for the next twenty five years she could claim to have caught the biggest fish in the family and the proof is hanging in my sports room staring down at the pool table. It took a trip to Alaska in 2003 to gain my self respect back. See article entitled King for a Day.

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What a great story!

Written on 12/12/06 at 11:32:10 GMT by John Brahy

That was great, I had never heard the whole story before! Thanks!

re: What a great story!

Written on 12/12/06 at 14:09:24 GMT by JB

I am sorry that I never took the time to tell you the whole story but now it can be passed on forever to my grandkids because of your website!Thanks to YOU!!!

re: What a great story!

Written on 12/12/06 at 11:46:34 GMT by John Brahy

Can you post a photo to go with the story?

re: re: What a great story!

Written on 12/12/06 at 14:11:55 GMT by JB

We have the picture from Fishing and Hunting News of Mom receiving the check so when you come up maybe you can figure out how to get iton the site

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