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August 22, 2018

Lodge 128’s Michael Koepke Lands Champion Fish

Nature
(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