Garrison, Whitney win Koocanusa Derby honors

Kathy Garrison has claimed top honors in the rainbow trout division and Jeff Whitney had the top salmon in the Koocanusa Resort's annual fishing derby.

The 2026 derby had 264 contestants fishing off 97 boats.

Garrison caught an 8-pound, 15-ounce rainbow trout to claim top honors in the division and a $1,848 prize. Finishing close behind in second place was Rick Maness, who caught an 8-pound, 12-ounce rainbow to claim the $1,320 prize. 

Claiming the third-place prize of $1,056 was Daniel Topp, who pulled in an 8-pound, 7-ounce rainbow to win the honor. In fourth place was Patrick Marek, who caught an 8-pound, 6-ounce rainbow and claim the $528 prize.

Easton Gilmore claimed the fifth spot on the final leaderboard with a 8-pound, 4-ounce rainbow to earn the $317 prize. In sixth place was Terry Frazer, who earned $211, for pulling in an 8-pound, 3-ounce rainbow for the final spot on the leaderboard.

In the salmon division, Whitney caught a 3-pound, 12.5-ounce salmon to claim the top prize of $660. Finishing second was Darrick Judkins, who hooked a 3-pound, 6-ounce salmon and claim the $396 prize. Claiming the third-place prize of $264 was Justin Ivins, who caught a 3-pound, 4-ounce salmon to round out the final leaderboard.

Derby organizers thanked the people and businesses of Troy, Libby and Kalispell for their help and donation of door prizes as well as the participants of the annual derby.

"Thank you to each and every one at the 24th Koocanusa Resort and Marina Derby," said Randy Burch. "We couldn’t do it without you all."