And the winner is….

Steve Griffin from Monterey pulled into the parking lot at Portuguese Hall a little after 11 a.m. last Saturday. Weigh in for the Annual Sand Crab Classic Perch Derby had just begun. He had landed a big one early in the day. Big enough to make the decision he should quit fishing and get to the weigh in as soon as possible. Griffin had a shaky look about him as he approached the weigh-in table manned by volunteers Don Carniglia and Sean Pourdsier.

He was pretty sure he had a winner. And, moments later the weighmasters told him he probably was correct. Still, there were two more hours before weigh-in ended. Would someone show up with a bigger fish?

In the end, Griffin’s three-pound, five-ounce barred surfperch remained at the top of the list as the heaviest perch for this year’s Sand Crab Classic Perch Derby. The fish measured 16 5/8-inches long, and was particularly round and thick. Griffin caught the giant perch from “a beach in Monterey,” using live bloodworms for bait.

He has entered the Derby for the past five years, placing as high as second in previous years. This year, Griffin went home with the gleaming four-foot tall trophy.

The 15th Annual Sand Crab Classic will be held next year, on the second Saturday in March. Limited to 300 entrants. the event is about family, fun and fishing as well as boosting stewardship of our local anadromous species and protecting our ocean waters.

Other notable trophy winners include Matt Michie with a beautiful 14 5/8-inch striped perch; Ken Oda, who won the flyrod division with a perch measuring 13 5/8-inches; and Leslie Cadwallader who took the Women’s Barred Surf Perch top honors with an 11 5/8-inch fish caught at Sunset Beach.

Kristen Outten from Half Moon Bay brought in a redtail perch she caught at San Gregorio Beach, winning the Women’s Seaperch division, while Emiko Anchetta and Julian Renz took home the big trophies for Number one in the Junior Barred and Junior Seaperch divisions respectively.

Everyone is a winner though, in this annual gathering and celebration. While having lots of fun, families are also passing along fishing and conservation heritage. All proceeds from the derby entries, raffle and silent auctions go directly to the Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project, for their work in protecting and propagating our coastal steelhead and king salmon populations.