It was a rainy day on Saturday (Aug. 15) for the 12th annual Paul Bentley Memorial Fishing Tournament, but board member Leah Walker said they still had a total of 63 rods on the water.
Of the 33 people who weighed in at the station set up in Skidegate, Gil Pollard won the first prize of $3,000 and an engraved Islander MR3 reel for his 33.06-pound catch.
The second prize of $750 went to Chini Har (30.20 pounds) and third prize of $500 went to Jesse Brillon (29.54 pounds).
Many hidden weight prizes, donated by islanders and businesses, also went to lucky participants who caught and weighed a spring salmon on the day.
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Walker, who is Bentley’s niece, said they also have a $1,800 cheque to donate to the Swan Bay Rediscovery Camp this year.
“Paul was an avid fishermen,” she said of her uncle and the summer cultural camp experience in Gwaii Haanas. “That’s where Paul grew up and loved being down there.”
The tournament raises money for prizes and the annual camp donation through $100 buy-ins for rods. A sum of $250 remains from what was raised this year, Walker said, to put toward the engraved reel for next year.
Bentley was killed in 2004 in a collision on Highway 33.
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