SEATTLE – Oct. 10, 2018 – Joshua Stokes of Post Falls,
Idaho, was at home watching TV with his father Roy Stokes on Sept. 23 when his cell
phone rang.
“I
saw the 206 Seattle area code number, and hit ignore since I had no idea why
someone from there would be calling me,” Joshua said with a chuckle. “Then I
listened to the voicemail message. I told my dad wouldn’t it be “rad” if I won
the boat. He was like yeah right and jokingly said I probably won a hat or t-shirt
and they want your address.”
Little did the Post Falls native realize, but the call
was coming from Mark Yuasa the director of the Northwest Salmon Derby Series. Mark
had some great news: Joshua’s name had been randomly drawn at the Everett Coho Derby
from almost 7,000 anglers following the conclusion of the 2018 Northwest Salmon
Derby Series.
Yuasa left a voicemail although he didn’t tell the
younger Stokes that he’d won a grand prize, fully-equipped aluminum boat valued
at around $65,000.
Yuasa went back to cleaning up at Everett Coho Derby
that drew more than 1,700 anglers when his cell phone rang about five minutes
later.
“(Yuasa)
told me I won the boat and I was super spaced out and fully didn’t realize what
happened to me,” Joshua said. “It still doesn’t feel real and I’ll know for
sure once I get the keys to boat.”
Joshua’s name was entered into the derby series drawing
after fishing in The Big One Salmon Derby on Lake Coeur d’Alene in northern
Idaho on July 25-29.
“This was the first year I bought a ticket to the Big
One Derby since I was 15 years old, and that ticket was totally worth it now,”
he said. “I’d been fishing with my dad since I was three years old, and caught my
first fish a 28 pound chinook at Lake Coeur d’Alene soon after. I got so scared
and wouldn’t go near the huge fish. In 1996, I caught a 22 pounder in the derby
and took 17th place.”
Both have been longtime members of the Lake Coeur
d’Alene Anglers Association and Joshua’s dad was the past president of the club.
The boat is the 15th grand prize boat,
motor, and trailer package that has been given away since the Series was
created in 2004.
This year’s Kingfisher 2025 Series boat is powered by a 150-horsepower
Honda and a 9.9-horsepower Honda trolling motor, on an EZ Loader tandem axle
trailer. The boat came fully-equipped with Raymarine electronics, Scotty
Downriggers, WhoDat Tower, and a Dual Electronics stereo.
“How thrilling this was for me to hear the excitement
in his voice and all the plans he has in store to take the boat out fishing,”
said Yuasa. “This boat and motor package is top-of-the-line and will provide
Joshua and his dad with more fishing memories to come. He said he can’t wait to
take the boat out soon.”
The Northwest Salmon Derby Series is a fishing
promotion program directed by the NMTA that encourages boating and fishing in
the Northwest. In 2018, the Series included 14 derbies in Washington, Idaho and
British Columbia, Canada. For each derby an angler competes in, they get one
entry into the drawing for the grand prize boat held at the final derby in the
Series.
###
About
the Northwest Marine Trade Association
The NMTA is the nation’s largest regional marine trade
association. It represents more than 700 companies in the recreational boating
industry, including boat dealers, boat brokers, marinas, boatyards,
manufacturers, retailers and suppliers of boating accessories and services. The
NMTA’s mission is to promote the growth of recreational boating and member
businesses. The NMTA produces the Seattle Boat Show – the West Coast’s largest
boat show – on Jan. 25-Feb. 2, and the Anacortes Boat Show on May 16-19.
Additional information is available at www.nmta.net.
Contact
Mark
Yuasa
NMTA
Director of Grow Boating Program
and
NW Salmon Derby Series
(206)
619-8868
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