Alaska News

Seward angler grabs derby lead with 16-pound silver salmon

Nothing like local luck when it comes to making a strong showing in a salmon derby.

Retired Seward angler Earl Cagle, 69, brought in a 16.14-pound silver salmon Friday morning to grab the lead in the Seward Salmon Derby, worth $10,000 to the winner.

Cagle's big fish catapulted him past Anchorage angler Tristan Borneman, who slipped to second place with her 15.71-pounder. Roger Groth of Nikiski is now third with a 15.37-pound silver.

The derby, now in its 56th year, is not seeing the huge silvers of some other years. In 2002, Shirley Baysinger landed a 22.24-pound silver, the biggest in the history of the Seward Derby.

Cagle is a avid Seward derby angler, who's been fishing his hometown tournament since 1981 without winning -- though he's landed some fish that finished in the top 10. The derby ends on Sunday.

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

ADVERTISEMENT