(Left to right) Lodge 128 fishing champs Christopher Craft and Michael Koepke hold up the champion chinook at 23 lbs.
Michael Koepke, a Boilermaker out of Lodge 128, recently won Lake Huron’s largest fishing derby by catching a 23lb chinook salmon that measured 38″ long and had a girth of 22″. According to Brother Koepke “We pulled in the winning fish with 6 hours left till the end of the tournament. It took 15 minutes to get the fish on board, it gave us a difficult fight, but it was worth it.” The championship winning fish landed him $15,000 and the bragging rights at his local until he must defend his title at the derby next year.
1,500 people entered the 35th Annual Chantry Chinook Classic, a 15 day derby running from July 28 to August 12. Learn more about the derby by clicking here.