05/13/2026
Spring LOC Derby held May 1-10
Yaeger Wins Spring Derby with 24 lb. 5 oz. King Salmon
By Bill Hilts, Jr.
You could say Joe Yaeger of East Amherst, NY was simply in the right place at the right time. However, to understand Yaeger and his approach to salmon fishing, you must look at the big picture. For the short version, Yaeger, fishing with his brother Paul Yaeger of Grand Island, NY reeled in a 24-pound, 5-ounce king salmon on May 7 while fishing the Niagara Bar to win the Spring Lake Ontario Counties Trout and Salmon Derby’s $15,000
Grand Prize, $500 for big fish of the day, and an extra $1,000 for the largest fish caught by a member of the Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Association. There was no questioning his membership – he’s the current president of the group, a position he has held for over 30 years.
For the first five days of this year’s LOC Derby, fishing was off the charts for salmon fishing. It seemed like everyone was catching salmon out on the lake. However, the minimum size to make the leaderboard was 20 pounds and all the fish were just under or near the 20-pound mark. What was happening? Yaeger knew it was just a matter of time, and he reassured derby organizer Dave Chilson as much – telling him he was going out Thursday, inferring he was going to get a 20-pound fish for the board. His words were never more prophetic!
After David Parker of Springville, NY broke the ice on May 6 with a 22-pound, 15-ounce salmon out of Wilson (winning a $3,000 rollover big fish of the day for the Salmon Division), it was Team Yaeger aboard Joe’s 22-foot Grady White named “Salmonella” that would live true to his prediction – reminiscent of Babe Ruth calling his home run shot in Yankee Stadium during the 1932 World Series.
After launching at Fort Niagara, they headed north to the Niagara Bar drop-off, setting their lures at various depths. One downrigger was set at 55 feet down over 70 feet of water – a lucky rigger that produced the Grand Prize winner in 2017 (Sandy Brown of Pennsylvania) and the first-place salmon (Ed Brown, Sandy’s husband) in 2024. It was outfitted with a Salmon Candy magnum spoon called Dark Hero.
Fishing for salmon was good all morning, but the fish were under the 20-pound mark. At 10:30 a.m. the rod went off, but this one was different. The Yaeger’s are meticulous in their program and plan when a fish is on, and all the other rods were cleared. It takes away any of the problem scenarios that can arise when fighting a fish that can do whatever it wants. They were lucky they did because the fish was all over the place.
Yaeger also knew it was hooked well. He was using a new product on his rod called “Strike Assist” that allows a fish to suck in a lure for a better hookset, allowing you to land more fish. It worked.
When they finally netted the fish, they knew it was over 20 pounds. For a derby like this, every ounce is important to ensure maximum weight. Yaeger learned that lesson in 2024 when their salmon came up four ounces short of the Grand Prize, realizing they could have lost weight by handling the fish, hoisting it up on a hand-held scale, any blood loss – whatever action that could contribute to any weight loss at all. They left it in the net.
With all the rods already in, they headed directly south to The Wicked Worm in Youngstown, a sanctioned weigh station for the derby. When they pulled up, the fish was still in the net, and the lure was still in the mouth of the fish. On the scale it went, the hook was popped off, and the official weight was taken – 24 pounds, 5 ounces! As luck would have it, Chilson was there to witness the catch and he was overjoyed. They had three days to wait to see if the fish would hold up … and it did!
Yaeger made a point to say that the DNA was taken from the fish to turn into DEC for analysis to determine if it was a wild or stocked fish and what size the parents of this fish were.
First place salmon came close to Yaeger’s catch, a 23-pound, 8-ounce king salmon reeled in by Larry Fischer of Penfield. He was fishing with Steve Stockton of Rochester aboard his 17-1/2-foot Tracker boat named “Anonymous” on May 9 when the fish hit at 9 a.m. off Webster east of Rochester.
The two anglers had worked the shallows for brown trout earlier in the morning, but action had slowed so they decided to head out a bit deeper. When they hit 35 feet of water, their gold perch Stinger spoon behind three colors of lead core line started screaming. In fact, it nearly spooled their Dakota 600 reel twice. They almost lost the fish when it became tangled in the planer board, but they managed to work the fish free. It was a personal best for Fischer, and they walked away with a check for $2,500.
Parker’s ice breaker catch came out of Wilson, to the east in 48 feet of water. He was fishing with Robert Mueller of Hamburg, his brother-in-law. They were fishing aboard Mueller’s 18-1/2-foot Crestliner “Old Amigo.” Mueller is no stranger to the winner’s circle. He won the Grand Prize in the spring derby in 2019.
The downrigger was set at 40-foot with a Berkley mega spoon in brass and yellow. At 8:30 a.m. the rod went off, but it didn’t seem to be doing anything. As soon as Parker put pressure on the fish, though, it took off and they knew it was a salmon.
Some 15 minutes later, they almost didn’t get the fish into the boat. Mueller went to net the fish and realized the fish was bigger than the net. The hook of the lure caught the net and that normally spells trouble. However, he was able to wrangle the fish in and weigh it for the first fish of the derby – a personal best salmon at 22 pounds, 15 ounces for Parker. They earned a check for $4,000.
First place in the Lake Trout Division was John Jackson of Rochester with a 27-pound, 3-ounce fish he caught west of Point Breeze in Orleans County near Green Harbor on May 3 out of his 20-foot Key West boat named “Sea Trick.” He was fishing with his brother Vern Jackson of Spencerport.
“We were using a black and green Stinger spoon 72 feet down over 80 feet of water when we had a release,” said Jackson on his win. “We had been catching some salmon in the same general area and had 35 bites that day. At 12:15 p.m., I thought initially it was a false release, and it was tangled in the downrigger ball. It didn’t take me long to realize that it was a lake trout.”
It was a personal best for him, but he did have a 29-pounder come off his boat a few years ago to win the division. His daughter also won the Brown Trout Division a few years ago in the Fall Derby.
Second place lake trout was reeled in by Brian McCarthy of Hinsdale, New Hampshire when he weighed in a personal best 22-pound, 4-ounce fish while fishing out of Hughes Marina in Wayne County in his 27-foot Grady White named Patricia Ann. He was fishing with Mike Jarvis of Chesterfield, New Hampshire. They earned a check for $1,250.
They were fishing 7 miles west of the marina. After targeting brown trout in 15 to 25 feet of water, they moved to 40 to 60-foot depths for salmon. They then moved out to 100-plus feet of water for bigger fish. When they hit the 125-foot mark, the spoon rod went off, a rigger-rod sporting an old aluminum magnum Northern King in white. Thirty minutes later, and after a botched net job, they managed to haul the fish into the boat.
First place in the Brown Trout Division was a 16-pound, 5-ounce fish weighed in by Edward Lee Evans of New Woodstock, NY, another personal best for the winner’s circle. He was fishing with Capt. John Kopy of Salmon Tracker II Charters out of Oswego and his first mate Jared Chlus of Syracuse. Rounding out the crew were Tyren McGrae of Syracuse, Dean Campbell of Pulaski, and Andy Morrison of Pennsylvania.
The party was fishing east of Oswego off the power plant in 15 feet of water when the fish hit a Smithwick “Jailbreak” stick bait at 9 a.m. Twenty minutes later, Evans had his money fish. They had been using planer boards, and the lure was 130-foot behind the boat. Their first place check was $1,250.
Second place brown trout was another personal best fish and the angler lived up to his name. Brian Ketchum of Hammondsport, NY out-battled a 14-pound, 2-ounce brown trout while fishing out of Pultneyville with Capt. Joe Pastore of Set-N-Ready Charters. He was also fishing with Rich Redsicker of Ontario and Scott Libihoul of Brewerton aboard Pastore’s 31-foot Baha named “Set-N-Ready.”
“I normally fish the derby with my own group of friends,” said Ketchum, who operates Ketchum Fish Charters in the Finger Lakes, “but Mother’s Day and getting ready for the season created some issues. Joe invited me to come fishing the night before our May 7 trip. We fished west of Pultneyville and we were running three colors of lead core line behind a board over 40 feet of water, using a Hybrid spoon like a caramel dolphin called a snow cone.” Twenty minutes later, Ketchum did what his name suggests.
The next LOC Derby will be the summer contest, set for June 27 through July 26. There will be over $43,000 in cash up for grabs, including a $15,000 Grand Prize for the largest salmon. For more information on the derby or to see the complete leaderboard from the spring, check out www.loc.org.
