Nottingham angler wins 35th Winni Derby

LACONIA — A Nottingham fisherman won the top prize in the 35th Winni Derby with a 5.12 pound landlocked salmon.

Fred Smith won a Tracker Pro Guide fishing boat in the derby that was held over the weekend.

Runner-up in the landlocked salmon category was Douglas Granger of Danvers, Massachusetts, who won a Humminbird Helix 10 Mega SI G2N Fishfinder/Chart plotter.

The largest fish landed in the derby was a 12.18 pound lake trout that was reeled in by John Parker of Littleton. His catch was nearly twice the size of the next largest fish, a 6.17 pound lake trout landed by John Cole of Salem.

Parker won a Polaris Sportsman ATV.

First place in the Junior Division, winning a $1,000 A.J.'s Bait & Tackle fishing package, with a 3.85 pound salmon, was Calissa Bell of Merrimack.

Runner-up in the Junior Division was Sam Bonner of Alton with a  3.60 pound salmon.

The derby, which for the second year in a row was hosted by the Daniel Webster Council of Boy Scouts in conjunction with the Laconia Rotary Club, drew about 1,000 entrants.

Rick Davis, a lifelong Moultonborough resident, business owner and sportsman founded the Winni Derby in 1981. Davis ran the derby until shortly before his death in 2011. The Laconia Rotary Club took over the derby and operated it through 2015, but was unable to put on the event in 2016.