“Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th.” – Julie Andrews.
That quote could have been meant for Jack MacDowall of Hancock, N.Y. … and you could add a few more attempts into his formula for success. After fishing Lake Ontario derbies for more than 30 years, he finally caught a salmon that earned him the $20,000 Grand Prize — a 30-pound, 13-ounce Chinook salmon that the lumberjack caught on the second day of the derby (Aug. 22) while fishing out of Oswego.
“I was fishing with Dave Burkhart of Westerlo and Nathaniel Murteza of Oswego on Aug. 22, and we were targeting big fish,” said MacDowall. “We were fishing aboard the ‘Reel Fun,’ Burkhart’s 30-foot Sea Ray Express in 125 feet of water off the power plant and we had an old fishing rod (a 50-year-old Ugly Stick with a wooden handle and 12-pound test line) with a Northern King Frost Bite Ultra Glow UV spoon sitting at 71 feet down on the rigger.”
At 9:15 a.m., the rod went off and MacDowall grabbed it. Fifteen minutes later, not thinking it was a big fish, he hauled it to the back of the boat. When they saw the size of the fish, their eyes grew large. “It’s a big king,” he shouted. Once they netted the fish and pulled it into the boat, they all breathed a sigh of relief. Then it was just a matter of time waiting to see if the fish would hold up for the next 16 days. It seemed like a long time.
When asked if there were any plans for the money, MacDowall simply said: “Pay some bills.”
Runner-up salmon and first place in the Salmon Division was a 28-pound, 12-ounce king salmon hauled in by Alan Knapp of Macedon. He was fishing with Gregg Knapp and Jeremy Bell, both of Macedon, out of Knapp’s 21 1/2-foot Aquasport named “Silas.” “We were fishing on Sept. 3 outside of the Ginna power plant after work,” said Knapp, “using a No. 5 size Chinook diver on a No. 2 setting. It was 117 feet back and we were in 70 feet of water when the fish hit our Pro Troll e-chip flasher and A-Tom-Mik meat rig in green/green colors. It was a flasher we won in an earlier derby. The fish hit at 7:15 p.m. and 15 minutes later we were driving into the derby scales.”
They were fortunate to catch the fish. The hook broke on the lure immediately after netting the fish. The lucky catch earned a check for $3,500.
Second-place salmon went to Massimo “Max” Iaccarino of Yonkers with a 28- pound, 5-ounce king salmon. He was fishing in his first derby on Aug. 29 with his buddy Joe Vernola of Carmel aboard the Hat Trick, a 28-foot Baha Cruiser captained by Zach Rayno of Hat Trick Charters and his mate Jim Staves.
They were fishing east out of Oswego Harbor toward the power plant in 170 feet of water using a Dreamweaver Hammer Time Spin Doctor outfitted with an A-Tom-Mik “Hat Trick” fly. Using a wire diver to get the lure into the 130-foot zone, the big fish hit around 1:15 p.m. Fifteen minutes later, he had the salmon in the boat — a personal best. He has been fishing the lake for 36 years, but again it was his first derby. It came at a great time! He won a check for $2,000.
The Youth Salmon winner was 12-year-old McKenna Westcott of Vestal with a 27-pound, 9-ounce king salmon she caught while fishing with her father, Dan Westcott and grandfather Steve Westcott, both of Vestal. Fishing out of Steve’s 24-foot Crestliner named “Salmon Slammer,” the trio worked the waters off Sandy Pond.
On Sept. 4, they were trolling a Pro Troll e-chip flasher with an A-Tom-Mik stud fly 85 feet down on the rigger over 90 feet of water when the rod went off at 6 a.m. Twenty minutes later she had a personal best salmon and a fourth-place fish in the contest – in her first derby. She won $1,250.
In the Brown Trout Division, Lisa Winch of North Tonawanda caught an 18-pound personal-best brown that also stood the test of time in the contest. She caught it the second day of the fall derby, too.
Fishing with her husband Wade (a first-place brown trout winner from two years ago in the summer) aboard their boat “S & K” (which stands for Skill and Knowledge), a 17-foot Fisher boat on the famed Niagara Bar, they were targeting brown trout in 60 feet of water.
“We were using a gold spoon near the bottom,” said Lisa at the awards ceremony at Riley’s Bar and Grill in North Rose. “We caught it at 1:30 p.m. and it took me 20-25 minutes to bring it in. It wouldn’t come off the bottom. It had a 23-inch girth, and it was 31 inches long.”
It was meant to be. This was the first Fall Derby that they fished because they are normally camping in the Adirondacks. Due to some conflicts, they never made it and they entered the derby. Good call! She won $1,750.
Second place brown trout was also an interesting story. Scott Foster of North Tonawanda was fishing with his father, Earl Foster of Wilson and 8-year-old Jackson Foster of Williamsville aboard Foster’s 22-foot Boston Whaler on Sept. 5. They were trolling for salmon, using a firetiger J-plug 45 feet down on the rigger over 60 feet of water.
At 9:30 a.m. the fish hit, and they thought it was a small salmon. Imagine their surprise when the fish appeared at the back of the boat — a big brown trout! The fish weighed in at 14 pounds, 7 ounces. It wasn’t a personal best. Foster won the division 10 years ago with a 15-pound, 13-ounce fish. This time his fish earned a check for $1,000.
In the Rainbow Trout/Steelhead Division, Chett Wearley of Atwater, Ohio caught a 16- pound silver bullet on Sept. 2 out of Point Breeze in Orleans County to win the category and a check for $2,000. He was fishing with Capt. Jake Huth of Mogadore, Ohio (and skipper of Lines Down Charters), Jim Huth of Mogadore (Jake’s father), and Tom Huth of Mogadore (Jim’s brother) out of Jake’s 30-foot Contender named “Lines Down.” Trolling a raspberry-colored Carbon-14 Moonshine spoon 55 feet down on the rigger over 100-120 feet of water, Wearley knew it was a big fish as it kept jumping out of the water at the back of the boat at 11 a.m. when they hooked it. The fish must have tired itself out because it was only 10 minutes later and the fish was in the net.
Second-place Rainbow/Steelhead was a 15-pound, 2-ounce fish reeled in by Richard Schmidt of Spencerport on Aug. 30. He was fishing with Larry Keppen, Jr. of Marion and Larry Keppen Sr. of Rochester aboard the younger Keppen’s 22-foot Penn Yan named “Gone Fishin.” Keppen Jr. won the Grand Prize in last year’s Summer LOC Derby.
For this contest, they were fishing straight out of Irondequoit Bay in 572 feet of water. Their lure of choice was a Dreamweaver UV Green Jeans Magnum spoon and at 9:15 a.m. they were letting the lure down on the rigger, intending to park it at the 90-foot mark.
“The lure never made it,” said Schmidt. “As we were lowering the spoon, suddenly between 70 and 80 feet the line started to shoot out. I thought it was tangled in one of the other lines — until we realized it was a fish! It took me about 20 minutes to bring it in.” It was another surprise catch as they were salmon fishing at the time. The $1,000 check was just fine with them.
Youth Steelhead winner was Chase Nowacki of Lockport with a 12-pound, 11-ounce Olcott fish on Sept. 1. He was fishing with Capt. Tim Sylvester of Tough Duty Sportfishing, and the 15-year-old set the downrigger at 55-foot over 250 feet of water himself. He used a Magnum Carbon-14 Moonshine spoon to catch the 13 th place fish in the division.
For a complete leaderboard, check out www.loc.org.
MacDOUGALL SPORTSMEN’S CLUB: NATIONAL HUNTING & FISHING DAY
24th Annual Event
Saturday, Sept. 19
10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Hunting & Shooting Activities, Fishing Fun for All Ages. Family Fun & Outdoor Education
3800 MacDougall Road
Waterloo, N.Y.
Contact: Kathy Larsen (315-5210997: