Smelt Derby still a fun-for-all with snow

Despite snow and cold, the Rotary Club of La Conner sold 96 fishing tickets to old and young fishermen and fisherwomen on Saturday during the 49th annual Smelt Derby.

Participants braved nasty roads and came from as far away as Port Angeles and Vancouver, Washington to take part in La Conner’s favorite rite of winter.

Each year the La Conner Rotary raises money for its literacy projects with the annual “Smelt Derby Festival,” a fun-filled family day of fishing, games, and food that ended this year with a dance at Maple Hall.

Two youngsters took the cash prize for biggest fish judged by Patsy Good.

There were two first place winners for the largest smelt, said Rotarian Connie Milliken. Kylor MacKey of Port Angeles won first place in the age 12 and under category; Tina Carlstrom from Juliaetta, Idaho took the prize for largest smelt in the 13 and over age group.

Kylor’s fish was 3¾ inches long; Tina jigged a 7” smelt.

The largest raffle prize of $1,000 was won by Chris Tjersland, from Vancouver, according to Milliken.

A pancake breakfast at Maple Hall and a fun run kicked off the festival.

For the 17th year in a row, the Skagit Symphony, in collaboration with the Rotary, sponsored the Smelt Run — featuring a 5K and a 10K run.

Hundreds of runners — 318 to be exact, according to Executive Director Tami Laughlin with the Symphony — could be seen mid-morning, dressed in skimpy running clothes with snow pelting them as they ran the streets.

With the tune of crashing symbols, Mayor Ramon Hayes started the race, ready, set, GO! The Symphony shares the race proceeds with the Rotary.

Fish printing is an annual event. Kids paint dead fish, caught earlier and frozen and make a cloth print. Some kids started making fish prints years ago and make one for every year.

According to Roberta Nelson, unofficial town historian, smelt used to run in the thousands. Offal was being dumped into the channel at that time by fish processing plants. “That sounds awful,” said Roberta, “but it’s true.”

Her brother was the first judge when the Derby was in its infancy. “Only thing he ever took seriously,” said Nelson. “They were very particular about their smelt back then. They used a long wooden pole with nails in the end of it to rake across the water. The smelt were so abundant you could just rake them up. It was a wonderful thing.”

In comparison, this year a total of six smelt were caught in addition to herring and a saddleback gunnel, which looks more like an eel than a fish.

Smelt Derby just isn’t what it used to be — in more ways than one. “No fish, no partying, no entertainment,” Gordy Bell, local resident, complained.

“In 1975 when I lived at the corner of Second and Whatcom behind the post office, we decided to have a barbecue for smelt derby, but we didn’t have a salmon.

No problem, we built the fire and posted a lookout, who waited until the Lighthouse Inn restaurant put theirs out onto the barbecue pit down the street. We swooped in and grabbed salmon, rack and all when the cook went back inside, brought it up to our pit and finished cooking it. Party on! I think the statute of limitations has expired now...”

One of Bell’s accomplices commented, “Tore is rolling over in his grave.”