Three months of setting out lines and 49 entries later, the 71st Wrangell fishing derby – a three-in-one event this year – came to an end last week.

The sportfishing derbies for king salmon, coho salmon and halibut opened June 7 and closed Sept. 7. 

The chamber of commerce, which sponsors the annual derbies, decided to try a longer contest this year to see if it would generate more interest.

The chamber promoted the contest with a $1,000 prize for each winner of the three derbies.

First prize for the largest king went to Diana Nore-Ellison, with a 27.9-pound catch, followed by Jody Clark, 27.7 pounds, and Marlin Benedict, 23.2 pounds, according to records provided by the chamber to the Sentinel.

There were 11 entries in the king salmon contest.

There were nine entries in the halibut contest, which was won by Bristol Wagner, of Cherry Valley, California, with a 133.6-pound catch, followed by Jeff Murtaugh, of Arizona, 111.2 pounds, and Charlie Wagner, also of Cherry Valley, at 87.4 pounds.

The top prize among the 29 coho entries went to Corey Ostrander, at 14.7 pounds, followed by Jeff Rooney Jr. with a 14.7-pound coho, and Jeff Rooney Sr. at 13.1 pounds.