The 67th annual Seward Silver Salmon Derby will start Saturday, Aug. 13 and run until Sunday, Aug. 21. Hosted by the Seward Chamber of Commerce, the event challenges fishers to catch silver salmon in Resurrection Bay to win a variety of prizes.
Kat Sorensen, Seward Chamber of Commerce executive director, said the event draws anglers across the state and the country to compete. Last year’s derby featured 1,800 contestants competing across eight days. According to Sorensen, part of the appeal is the variety of ways to win prizes. “Even if you’re coming out for a day or two and you don’t know if you’ll catch that big honking silver, you can still win something.”
The largest prizes are for the top 10 heaviest fish caught, but there are also prizes for the heaviest fish caught from a sailboat, a kayak or from shore and daily prizes for heaviest fish and first fish. There will also be 13 fish tagged with prizes and random weights with assigned prizes each day. A prize will also be awarded to the 67th heaviest fish to commemorate the 67th anniversary of the derby.
All fish caught have to be brought to the derby booth to be weighed and weighed fish go to the Seward Silver Salmon Derby unless bought back for $5. Fish not purchased back will be sold by the chamber of commerce to local fish processors.
Tickets are purchased online, and must be purchased before 9 a.m. on each day of competition. Each day’s tickets can be purchased for $10, or entry to the entire event can be purchased for $50.
Proceeds from the derby go to the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association and are used to support the silver salmon run in Resurrection Bay. Smolts are purchased from CIAA and released into Bear Lake to support fish restoration efforts.
