2014 King Salmon Derby winner Kelley Krumm accepts his award for taking first place, after landing a 42.8 pound fish in the fourth week. In addition to getting his name added to the list of winners, Krumm took home $6,500 in prize money.
Anglers near and far away are gearing up for next month’s 63rd annual King Salmon Derby, held in Wrangell from May 9 to June 7. Last year over 930 tickets were sold to participants coming from around the world.
The derby’s planning committee met late last month to approve changes to this year’s rule book. Among the new policies taking effect this year, salmon being weighed will be subject to random opening at stations to ensure no additional weights are being used.
“Probably the one biggest change people will see is our enforcing IRS withholding,” explained Dawn Angerman, on the derby committee.
Applicable taxes for all prizes and combinations of cash prizes worth $5,000 or more will be withheld from winning sums upfront. Under Internal Revenue Service publication 3079, 28 percent will be initially deducted from such sums and submitted to the IRS under the winner’s Social Security number.
The competition begins at 6 a.m. May 9 and ends June 7 at 9 p.m. Contestants who begin fishing before 6 a.m. on opening day will be disqualified for that entire day.
Individual tickets this year cost $30, allowing only one person to fish. Derby entrants are allowed only one rod while derby fishing, using equipment that reflects good sporting ethics and customs. Entrants must catch their own salmon, hooking and playing the fish themselves without any assistance beyond gaffing and netting.
Entrants are expected to have a valid fishing license and know Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) regulations. Copies of this year’s rules are available wherever licenses are sold or at the local ADFG office.
The grand prize for biggest king salmon is a $6,000 jackpot. Additional $4,000 and $2,000 prizes will go for the second- and third-biggest.
There will be a number of other cash prizes as well. On Memorial Day weekend, from May 23-25, the biggest king salmon landed will win a $2,500 grand prize. Excluding that weekend, the largest king caught and entered each of the four weeks of the derby wins the angler $500. The largest caught and entered on May 28 will win an additional $250 as part of the Aileen Meissner Memorial Prize.
The first king salmon caught that weighs 50 pounds or more will be worth a $500 prize; the same goes for the first caught weighing 60 or more pounds. The $250 Art Clark Pioneer Prize will go for the largest king entered by an angler aged 65 or older.
The largest king salmon caught and entered by a woman will win her a sterling silver salmon bracelet provided by Ria Designs, valued at $350. The bracelet is awarded in addition to other applicable prizes.
Youth prizes for the three largest king salmon caught and entered include $250, $100 and $50 prizes. Wrangell’s Wells Fargo branch has also donated a new bike for the first-place winner.
Contestants must be present to claim derby prizes or else have someone present to accept them on their behalf, as derby organizers can no longer ship or hold prizes. Contestants are limited to one prize for salmon caught, regardless of the number entered, except for bonus prizes as determined by the derby’s committee.
Organizers are rounding up a variety of prizes from local businesses to distribute to the winners at Award Night on June 11 and already have a pair of round-trip tickets for Alaska Airlines system-wide travel. Every derby ticket purchased is entered into the drawing. Seventy to 80 other prizes are expected for this year’s event.
“It’s a big part of our derby,” Angerman explained.
Another new rule this year requires people claiming a prize for another person at Award Night to register at the door, indicating such. This must be done before the calling of names to select prizes, without exceptions.
Copies of the new rule book come with the purchase of derby tickets at various businesses in town, or they can be read online at the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce
website, http://www.wrangellchamber.org. The Chamber is also looking for individuals, couples, clubs or organizations interested in running for 2015 4th of July Royalty.
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