William Welch of Dansville took home the grand prize in the 60th annual National Lake Trout Derby held over Memorial Day weekend. Competing against 615 other anglers, Welch landed a 12.36-pound lake trout, earning him $10,000.
The catch, made at 8:17 a.m. on Saturday, was hooked with a green Michigan Stinger spoon while Welch was fishing from his 17-foot Lund boat on Seneca Lake. Despite fishing alone, Welch managed to reel in the winning trout after a 15-minute struggle. “It was a tough troll, especially alone,” Welch said.
Other winners included Michael Salotti with a 12.02-pound lake trout, Ralph Feo with an 8.55-pound brown trout, Matt Dyske with an 8.45-pound rainbow trout, and Christopher Miller with a 7.61-pound landlocked salmon. For a complete leaderboard and more details, visit laketroutderby.org.
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