By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
After missing a year due to the pandemic, the Sitka Salmon Derby is back on board for this weekend and next.
The family-oriented event heralds the beginning of summer, Sitka Sportsman’s Association chairman and president John McCrehin told the Sentinel today.
“It’s the kick-off to summer – it’s the first long weekend that the families can go out and do things because of no school. It’s a family event,” he said over the phone.
McCrehin has helmed the Salmon Derby for 21 years, and 2021 is the event’s 66th year. Over those decades, only the coronavirus pandemic has prevented Sitka’s derby.
While the person who catches the largest salmon wins, McCrehin said that he enjoys the social aspects of the event too.
“I like to see the folks, surprisingly even in a small town like this there are folks you don’t see until Salmon Derby time,” he said. “And like I said earlier, it’s a family event.”
Buzz Brown, a 10-year Sitka Sportsman’s Association Sitka Salmon Derby volunteer, left, and John McCrehin, a 19-year volunteer, stood on the weigh-in dock at Crescent Harbor in 2019, during the final salmon derby before the pandemic. (Sentinel File Photo)
During the derby, which runs May 29-30 and June 5-6 this year, McCrehin said he will stay on his barge in Crescent Harbor with his wife Diane and their daughters Marsha and Melissa to weigh fish as they arrive.
While the derby will operate as it has in past years, McCrehin noted one sizable difference: the salmon bag limit is higher.
“No changes in boundaries, no changes in rules, the only things that we’re having this year that we haven’t had in four years or five years… is that it’s a three-fish limit,” he said.
In recent years, the bag limit in May has been one salmon per angler. Those who choose to fish need a valid fishing license; and to pull up king salmon, a king stamp is required. To be retained, a king must be longer than 28 inches.
While Sitka’s bag limit is higher than it has been in the past, concern over poor salmon runs around Ketchikan led to the closure of that town’s salmon derby this year, KRBD reported two weeks ago. The pandemic also canned Ketchikan’s derby last year.
With some prizes left over after the cancellation of the 2020 derby, McCrehin noted that this year he has a plethora of prizes to give out.
“We have more prizes than we’ve ever had before,” he said.
The first prize is a $6,000 award, along with round-trip tickets on Alaska Airlines. Second and third prizes are small boat engines. Other prizes include flights on Alaska Seaplanes and gift cards.
Derby tickets are on sale at Orion’s Sporting Goods and LFS Marine Supplies. A person can also sign up at McCrehin’s barge in Crescent Harbor on one of the fishing days, he said.
While the forecast for Memorial Day weekend this year includes only moderate showers and manageable winds, McCrehin stressed the need for safety on the water.
“Be safe out there – don’t go places that your boat isn’t equipped to go. And have fun,” he said.
