The Ninth Annual Kenai Silver Salmon Derby kicked off Tuesday and runs through Sunday, Sept. 14.
Put on annually by the Kenai Chamber of Commerce, the derby strives to discourage selective fishing by using a “magic weight” — determined by the results of a daily wheel spin. The salmon closest to that weight is the winner. On Tuesday, Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel spun the wheels and generated the first magic weight of this year’s derby at 9.43 pounds.
Randall Phelps won Tuesday’s daily award of $100.
Daily derby tickets can be purchased online at kenaisilversalmonderby.com. A daily fee is $10 or $50 gets a fisher access to each day of the derby. Tickets must be purchased before fishing on any day of the competition.
After each day of fishing, salmon can be brought to Three Bears to be weighed, and at the end of the day the magic weight will be determined and the winner named. Every fish weighed will be in contention for the final magic weight wheel spin Sunday evening, for a grand prize of $5,000 for the adult division and $1,000 for the youth division.
New this year is the Club 49 Ticket, a $4.90 add-on to any day of fishing that gets a fisher the opportunity to vie to win round-trip tickets from Alaska Airlines. Up to three winners who weigh a 4.90-pound fish and have their Club 49 Ticket will receive a pair of tickets.
Proceeds raised are designated for management and protection of riverbanks and other riparian zones in Kenai. In 2023, derby funds were allocated toward the replacement of a culvert in Cemetery Creek to promote passage of salmon smolt.
Chamber executive director Samantha Springer said Tuesday that the derby has earned “a legit following.” People were purchasing their tickets before the chamber started promoting this year’s derby and Springer said she’s been getting pictures from the contestants out on the water.
The annual derby is among the final throes of a summer in Kenai, Springer said, a wrap-up to the fishing year and among the last local events before a shift toward fall festivities.
Last year’s derby came amid emergency orders from the State Department of Fish and Game that limited silver salmon fishing — though the derby went forward with the department’s blessing and guidance.
This year, there’s “not even a hint of concern,” Springer said.
“It’s been such a strong salmon year in general,” she said. “People are excited about it. There’s fish in the river.”
An awards ceremony will be held during the Kenai City Council’s Sept. 17 meeting.
For more information, rules or to purchase tickets, visit kenaisilversalmonderby.com.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
Kenai Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Samantha Springer and Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel prepare to spin the wheels and determine the magic weight on the first day of the Ninth Annual Kenai Silver Salmon Derby at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
