Sandpoint, ID

I got a phone call about two weeks before Halloween from my boyfriend asking me what I was doing Halloween weekend. I told him I had no plans which was good because he had just signed us up for the Captain’s Table annual Halloween fishing derby.

The weeks went by and it was time for the derby. We pulled into Garfield Bay around 5am, hoping to beat most of the derby boat traffic. We unloaded the boat at the launch into the lowest water level I had ever seen, so low that we put the boat into the water and walk it over to the dock where we crawled over the bow into the boat. It was pretty awkward but we safely pulled away towards our fishing location.

The sun began to rise and we were ready for a great day of fishing. Weather in November can be a little questionable and this weekend was no different. We were granted one day of sunny, warm weather and one day of rain and wind. I have found in my limited time of fishing that bad weather does not always mean that you will not catch fish. Those guys on the Deadliest Catch fare some pretty harsh weather so I was sure some scattered rain showers and wind would not do me in

On our first day of the derby we fished for almost the entire day and caught two small Mackinaw. Once we called it a day we got the boat loaded up and we headed over to The Captain’s Table to check the derby stats. Sadly our 5 pound fish would not even dent the daily record.

We arrived about the same time the next morning and started out our day in the same fishing location. After a few slow hours I convinced my boyfriend to go to a different location. We boated over to the Hope area and we were plagued again with slow fishing. We returned to our original location and had a moment of luck where we caught a fish, got it up to the boat only for the trickster to get off the hook and swim away. We were disappointed as we returned to shore since we had not caught anything for the day. We stopped by The Captain’s Table around 2pm, about an hour before the derby participants spaghetti feed which was included in the derby fee followed by the awards ceremony. While we were there we watched the 3rd place fish weigh in at about 11 lbs and the room was filled with excitement.

The derby is an annual event open to anyone with a valid fishing licence. The derby fee is $40, which is put into the pot that is divided up between the top 3 largest fish (Rainbow or Mackinaw species). Tickets for the derby can be purchased at the Captain’s Table. Unlike other derbies you are only allowed to weigh in your fish at the Captain’s Table for this derby. For more information about the derby you can call the Captain’s Table at 208-265-6351.