The 2011 Slam’n Salmon Ocean Derby weighed its last Chinook on Sunday afternoon, and claimed a number of firsts.

This year marked the first time the winning fish, caught by Shawn Hoback on Saturday, weighed less than 30 pounds. It weighed 27.2 pounds.

It also marked the first year that the fisherman who caught the largest fish also caught the smallest fish of the derby. Hoback caught a 5.7-pound legal Chinook to claim top and bottom prizes.

“The little 24-inch fish fought just as much as the big one,” Hoback said. “We caught both fish off the sidelines on divers with an anchovy and a hoochie.”

Hoback was fishing with his father, Ken, mother, Linda, and girlfriend, Jennifer, and said that the first day was tough to stay on the water because of the weather, but the last two days were much easier.

The foursome didn’t have a scale on the boat when they brought in the 27-pounder, but knew it was bigger than the 21-pound salmon they caught on the first day of the derby.

“Covered her with ice so she wouldn’t shrink,” Ken said. “... and we headed in ... at full throttle to get the fish weighed before she lost any weight.”

2011 marked the first year that a fish from the first day of fishing was heavy enough to claim a grand prize spot. Mel Thies took third with the 26.3 pound salmon he caught on Friday and took home the $1,000 prize.

It marks the first time that four fisherman made the trip from London to fish in the derby and one fisherman made the trip home from Greece in order to fish the derby.

For the first two days of the derby the weather did not want to cooperate and limited the total number of fish caught to just 16 on Friday and eight on Saturday.

Sunday increased the total number of fish caught during the derby to 47 total, according to event coordinator Debby Phillips.

“I think the fishermen were very happy,” she said. “It was my first time with the derby and I think we did pretty good.”

The grand prize for the largest fish of the tournament netted Hoback $6,000 and a custom-made gold ring. The ring, made by Harbrook Jewelers, was valued at over $3,500.

When asked what plans he had for his winnings, Hoback firmly stated that he had gone to work on Tuesday at Wild River Brewing Company, where he is general manager.

“The ring fit, and I wore it all day to show it off to my co-workers,” Hoback said. 

“Because we’re a tight-knit family, we’re actually going to use the money to take a vacation, we’d already had planned, but didn’t know how to finance.”

During the awards ceremony on Sunday, emcee Ken Byrtus jokingly suggested that Hoback move his seat to the front of the crowd because he was getting up and down so often.

“I never thought we’d win it,” Hoback said. “It seemed way too dream-like until they actually handed me the check.”

Ken Fisher, a participant who had never caught a salmon in his life, won second place overall to take home the $2,500 prize.

“This is the first time I’ve ever caught a salmon,” he said with a big grin on his face. “I’ll definitely be back next year.”