The 36th annual Haines Sportsman’s Association King Salmon Derby kicks off 8 a.m. Saturday, offering more than $20,000 in cash and prizes to participating anglers.
Last year, 33 fish were turned in after two weekends of derby fishing. With a list of 60 prizes that includes ones for the largest 25 kings, “almost everybody who enters a fish wins something,” said event chairperson Toni DeWitt.
“I’m not seeing any big winds in the (weather) forecast for the weekend, so that’s good for people getting out in their skiffs,” DeWitt said.
Also, expect more room for boats. Recent improvement work that added float sections and moved Letnikof Dock farther into the cove there means fishermen will have more places to tie up at the derby dock.
The derby is a fundraiser for local youth activities, including Haines Dolphins, Venturer Scouts, Haines School Booster Club, Haines Hot Shot shooting club and student hunter safety courses.
Kings turned in during the derby are sold to a local processor. Anglers must donate their fish to the derby to win prizes, but people who want to keep their fish can buy them back at market prices, DeWitt said. A complete list of prizes and rules is available at local sporting goods stores.
Longtime derby fisherman Ray Staska and wife Connie will be on the water again this year.
Connie has topped Ray in the derby for years, last year landing a 20-pound fish as her husband got skunked. “It hurts,” said Ray, a former Fish and Game fisheries biologist. He said he once caught a 48-pound king in Chilkat Inlet – not during the derby.
But he’s not giving up. “I keep my eyes and ears open. The name of the game is to be flexible and persistent and check different areas. You can have a hot hit in one area one day and the next day, it goes flat. You’ve got to cover some water.”
Staska remembers when Juneau and Whitehorse fishermen comprised a lot of the derby anglers. He said he doesn’t mind that that’s changed. “The derby has become a very local, very fun event.”
Some derby followers would like to change derby dates, as the bulk of the king run in recent years seems to arrive just as the derby ends. “I don’t blame (derby organizers) for targeting the holiday weekend. It’s not so much that the run is later, it’s that the early run doesn’t exist anymore,” Staska said.
Fishing pressure south of Haines is taking a big bite of the local catch, he maintains. “The Juneau experts can go in Chatham Strait. They know when to cross over and intercept Chilkat spawners.”
DeWitt said she sold 189 season and daily derby tickets last year, when the event raised $4,500. “We had a lot of ticket sales last year, which really saved us because we only made $1,700 from the sale of fish.”
In the late 1990s, as many as 120 fish were turned in during the derby, DeWitt said. If numbers of fish turned in don’t match the prizes (for example, for the 40th king caught), the unclaimed prizes will be raffled off, DeWitt said. Also, as in recent years, winners will get their choice of prizes, starting with the derby champion.
DeWitt said some derby participants have suggested the event seek later dates to place it more squarely on the bulk of returning fish, but she’s resistant. “We’re supposed to be a conservation organization. We could probably go slay them, but what’s the point of that? It’s a community event and a fund-raiser, that’s how I see it. It’s about having fun.”
The fishing derby extends through 6 p.m. Monday, then resumes 8 a.m. May 31, ending 6 p.m. June 1. Angler tickets are $15 per day or $50 for a season ticket.