Joe and Pete's big fish story

How's this for a fish story?

Early Saturday morning, Pete and Joe Devoni (shown) caught the first fish of the 2003 Can-Am Salmon Derby.

That was at 7:20 a.m.

After everyone came off the river at 1 p.m. Sunday, it was determined that over two days of fishing by 100 teams, the first fish had also been the biggest fish.

The Devoni brothers' 24.25-pound chinook was declared the biggest catch of the two-day event.

"It was a tough one," says Joe, who was credited with the win. "It took us about 20 minutes to land it."

The Devoni salmon, caught in the shadow of Bruce the Moose, was more than three pounds heavier than any other fish caught in this year's derby.

But it was considerably smaller than the 27.8-pound chinook that topped last year's Can-Am event.

The local scuttlebutt, if anything related by fishermen can be believed, has 28-pounders being caught right up to the start of this year's derby on Saturday.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Dr. Wes Perusek, head of NASA's Ohio Space Grant Consortium, reports today in our News Response forum that he and Algoma Steel retiree Vic Ostrowski landed a 27.9-pound chinook off the boardwalk on August 21. A week earlier, he tells us Vic took a 34.5-pounder in the rapids.)

As soon as the derby began, however, the big fish wisely kept their distance.

So much so that some of the winning aggregate weights are what one would normally expect from a single catch.

Ed Murray's winning grin

Second place went to Ed Murray, whose fish weighed in at 21.10 pounds. To see Ed's winning grin, please click here.

This year's Can-Am Derby almost didn't happen. The Sault and District Anglers Association, which had organized the event in 2001 and 2002 together with a group of marine dealers, decided earlier this year to pull out.

Four weeks ago, the St. Joseph Island Hunters and Anglers Association agreed to run the derby as a fundraiser for its free fishing events for youth.

About $17,500 was raised this year through entry fees.

Top ten winners

First - Joe Devoni - 24.25 pounds Second - Ed Murray - 21.10 pounds Third - Louis Frennetto - 21.05 pounds Fourth - Curtis White - 20.05 pounds Fifth - Jim Brunetta - 19.95 pounds Sixth - Derek Myerscough - 19.50 pounds Seventh - John Gamelin - 19.09 pounds Eighth - Ron Loucks - 19.05 pounds Ninth - Randy Smith - 19.00 pounds Tenth - Kevin Caruso - 16.80 pounds

Aggregate winners - Saturday

First - John Gamelin - 62.69 pounds Second - Derek Myerscough - 33.65 pounds Third - Curtis White - 31.50 pounds

Aggregate winners - Sunday

First - Ed Murray - 33.15 Second - Louis Frennetto - 30.60 Third - John Yukich - 25.90

Reader-submitted photos

The following images were submitted by SooToday.com reader Denis Gauthier, a Can-Am participant who caught better photos than fish this year:

Saturday sunset #1 Saturday sunset #2 Saturday sunset #3 Saturday sunset #4