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Slam'N Salm'N for Charity: Cold Keeps Fish Offshore, so Fewer Fishermen Catch Fewer Salmon for Soup Kitchen Charity

Posted on: Monday, 12 June 2006, 12:00 CDT

By Anne Aurand, Anchorage Daily News, Alaska

Jun. 12--Vincent "Vinny" Eben waited out the final minutes of the Ship Creek king salmon derby in his black Chevy pickup, glancing at a crumpled thank-you speech he was hoping he'd get to read at the closing ceremony Sunday.

He had caught his 39.4-pound fish a week ago. Fortunately for him no one did better in what many called a painfully slow fishing derby.

Right after 3 p.m. Sunday, closing time for the 11-day Ship Creek Slam'n Salm'n Derby, organizer Marty Turnbow bee-lined to Eben's truck and shook his hand. Eben won $1,000 cash and a trip to Ultima Thule Lodge in Alaska's Wrangell Mountains for catching the overall biggest fish in the derby.

Many complained that the derby preceded the fish this year. Biologists have said cooler weather and water kept salmon in the salt water longer.

This year, fishermen weighed in about 25 percent of what they caught last year, Turnbow said.

Krystal Lombardo, who won the adult female category with a 29.35-pounder, said she could see kings circling just outside the mouth of Ship Creek.

"You can see 200 fishermen on the creek and maybe five hit a fish," said Eben, the winner. "Every other year it seemed like everyone had a fish on."

Eben, who called himself a rookie on Ship Creek, said God helped him land his winning fish.

"I don't have no skill. I actually don't believe in luck," he said. "I feel that the good Lord put the fish on my line."

Eben, 54, was raised in Nome and Unalakleet and moved to Anchorage in 1969. He cuts hair at A Cut Above, a barber shop, he said.

Eben said he has fished in the derby three to five times. He said he took interest in it because his buddies were doing it and he wanted to hang out with them. On the muddy banks of Ship Creek, he watched others and asked a lot of questions: how to tie knots, what kind of sinkers to use, how big a reel he needed. Someone told him to buy a big game reel, so he did, and the next day he caught his winning fish.

The derby is a fundraiser for the Downtown Soup Kitchen, a shelter that provides food and clothing for those in need.

The church Grace Alaska, a subsidiary of ChangePoint, rescued and took over the event last year. Previous operators struggled to keep sponsorships and volunteers, Turnbow said. Grace Alaska has a huge pool of volunteers to mine for charitable events, he said, and sponsorships from GCI and the Alaska Railroad really helped this year.

Between 550 and 600 tickets were sold for the 2006 derby, less than last year's approximately 650 tickets, said Chris Keffalos, derby director. He blames poor fishing for the lower turnout.

Turnbow said he wants the event to develop into more of an "elite" sporting event. Organizers brought in Jackie Purcell, a well-loved KTUU-TV weatherwoman, to lead the closing ceremony. Maybe sometime he'll recruit the mayor to give a speech, Turnbow said.

Keffalos said the king salmon derby raised about $17,000 this year for the soup kitchen. Last year the event raised $12,500.

"We're excited to see it grow," he said.

Prizes will be available after 8:30 a.m. Friday at Grace Alaska church, 6689 Seafood Drive near the corner of Raspberry Road and Minnesota Drive, the former Alaska Seafood plant. Winners need to bring identification with their Social Security numbers.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Anchorage Daily News, Alaska

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Anchorage Daily News

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