Luck often plays a role in fishing success, but good genes never hurt.
So it was on Saturday at Alaska's biggest winter fishing extravaganza, the one-day Homer Winter King Salmon Tournament, where some 858 anglers came out to enjoy the sunshine and promise of warmer days ahead.
Among them was Sara Ross of Anchorage, the 12-year-old daughter of last year's champion, Scott Ross.
Sara did dad proud. Not only did her 23.1-pound king salmon win the kids' prize of $300, she took seventh place overall worth another $3,432 to the family fishing budget.
Dad's winner, however, was more than 15 pounds heavier, so he didn't have to eat too much humble pie.
The 18th annual tournament featured 135 kings landed, none bigger than the 30-pound fish of hometown angler Michael Walls, who picked up $18,018 in prize money on top of some tasty filets.
Anchorage anglers nabbed the next three spots led by John Lund, whose 28-pounder was worth $12,012. Tom Hyatt brought in a 25.6-pound king worth $9,438 and Henryk Kurgan's 25.2-pounder was worth $6,864.
Fifth-place winner Richard Gregoire of Homer landed a 24.3-pound king worth $5,148.
All together, the top 10 anglers earned $64,350 -- with another $41,081 changing hands in side bets. But perhaps best of all was the best weather of recent tournaments.
"It was sunny calm and warm," said tournament coordinator Paula Frisinger. "All in all, it was an incredible day."
Reach reporter Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.
By MIKE CAMPBELL
mcampbell@adn.com