By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
With sunshine in the forecast and fish in the water, the annual Sitka Salmon Derby kicks off this weekend.
The community and family oriented event has run for 67 years, and Sitka Sportsman’s Association president John McCrehin told the Sentinel he’s looking forward to the springtime tradition.
“Couldn’t kick the derby off to a better weekend. Everybody I’ve talked to is looking forward to it,” McCrehin said from his barge, moored in Crescent Harbor. “The price of fuel doesn’t seem to be affecting us. This is a kickoff to summer for Sitkans, in my opinion. And you get families that are going out for the first three-day weekend, going camping. Get up in the morning and go fishing. What better life?”
John McCrehin waves from the Sitka Salmon Derby weigh-in barge at Crescent Harbor today. McCrehin and other members of the Sitka Sportsman's Association were getting the barge ready for the first weekend of derby fishing. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
Fish-focused Sitkans will hit the water Saturday in pursuit of the largest king salmon – the derby officially gets underway when McCrehin blows his whistle at 7 a.m.
The person who reels in the heaviest fish wins a $5,000 cash prize along with two Alaska Airlines tickets. Second prize is $2,000 cash donated by Gary’s Outboard, and the third place winner takes home an inflatable dinghy, donated by LFS Marine Supplies.
Numerous other prizes totaling thousands of dollars also are on the line.
While the pandemic canceled the event in 2020, the derby roared back to life in 2021. McCrehin expects significant support this year as well.
“We canceled two years ago – in 2020 we didn’t do it. And we came back and participation was just great. We didn’t really lose any participants, or what we did we picked up with new folks… Roughly I’ll say on the high end 400 folks buy tickets, some buy them just to support us,” he said. “Others actually fish in the derby. Some buy a five-day ticket, maybe only to go out for two days, but we appreciate them supporting us.”
A longtime Sitka angler, McCrehin has worked the event in a variety of roles for 24 years and is now the Salmon Derby board chairman. The Sportsman’s Association sponsors the event, with many local businesses and groups chipping in by donating prizes.
He was appreciative of the local businesses who support the event.
“Last year was a little different than most, because we actually had two years of derby prizes because of COVID. We already had the prizes and when I made the determination not to have a derby there was no market for the fish, so we would get bottom dollar. We had all sorts of prizes last year, but the community, I have to thank them all, because… they get asked by everybody for donations,” he said. “Every group is looking for fundraising ideas and Sitka has a limited source. It’s not like we’re in Seattle where you can go knocking on a lot of businesses. So I thank businesses that donate, even the private individuals who donate and in years past there have been some creative donations.”
To this day, the largest fish caught in the derby is the 73 pound, 6 ounce, monster pulled in by Connie See in the first ever derby in 1956. Recent fish have been smaller. Last year, Charlie Skultka Sr. won the event with a 36 pound, 8 ounce, fish, and in 2019 Emmitt Johnson caught the smallest ever derby winner – a 31 pound, 2 ounce, salmon.
While the derby can at times have a competitive edge to it, McCrehin stressed the social dynamics of the decades-old tradition.
“I love to see all the families. Like I’ve said in the past years, there’s every possibility of a combination of fathers and sons, moms and daughters, uncles and aunts against grandkids. You name it, it’s there,” he said. “And some of them take it real seriously, and others are just going with the flow and spending some quality family time... My grandsons are down here fishing, just playing around while we’re setting up. And so even at this end it’s a family event.”
His young grandchildren were busy fishing from McCrehin’s barge while event setup was underway. Although he’s been involved in the event for decades, he hasn’t fished in the derby himself in about 30 years, he said.
Anglers who catch fish in the derby don’t keep them for personal use. Instead, the king salmon are sent to Silver Bay Seafoods and sold on the open market.
So far this season, McCrehin said, the fish are biting but they’re not particularly large.
“The folks that I’ve talked to that have been out either commercial fishing or just subsistence fishing say there are fish out there. But like last year, they’re smaller ones. Had a gentleman tell me he caught a 30 pound white one,” he said.
Tickets are for sale at McCrehin’s barge in Crescent Harbor, as well as at Orion’s Sporting Goods and LFS Marine Supplies. Prices range from $25 to $45, depending on how long a person wishes to fish. The derby begins at 7 a.m. Saturday and runs through Memorial Day before resuming again for the weekend of June 4 and 5.
For those beginning the derby at the outlying stations – in Goddard Bay where Mike and Kim Svenson on the F/V Partisan will be accepting fish, and at Kalinin Bay, where Eric and Sarah Jordan on the F/V I Gotta will be set up – fishing starts at 7:30 a.m.
Caught fish can be validated at local boat ramps.
Awards are to be given out 7 p.m. Thursday, June 16, at Harrigan Centennial Hall.
Participants must have a valid fishing license and king stamp. A king salmon must be at least 28 inches long to be kept. Fishing regulation booklets published by the Department of Fish and Game are available for free online or in sporting goods stores.
The National Weather Service calls for mostly clear weather this weekend with highs in the 60s and mild winds.
“As long as the wind doesn’t pick up, everybody’s happy,” McCrehin said. “They’ll even fish in the rain as long as the winds die down… I just ask everybody to be safe, courteous.”
