The Wrangell Chamber of Commerce announced last Friday it had finalized details for a coho salmon derby for the late summer, taking the place of its annual king salmon tournament it recently canceled.
Set to be the 66th annual derby this year, due to emergency measures taken by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game closing king salmon to sport fishing in virtually all Southeast waters, the Chamber's derby committee thought it appropriate to cancel the event. In its stead, members resurrected a bygone tournament focusing on coho.
Also known as silvers, coho salmon tend to be a bit smaller than kings, weighing in at from eight to 12 pounds and running between 24 and 30 inches long, on average. Coho are distinguishable from Chinook by their lack of black spots on the lower lobe of the tail, having instead small black spots on the back and upper fin lobe, and by their white gums.
The coho population is more robust than their king-sized Chinook cousins, which have seen reduced returns across the region's rivers this year. Coho begin returning in mid- to late-July, so the derby committee felt a weekend-only tournament held through most of the month of August until Labor Day in September would make for a good end-of-summer competition.
Held on Saturdays and Sundays, the smaller-scale tournament will begin August 11 and wrap up Labor Day weekend, with the final day on September 3. Each weekend will see a $250 prize for the biggest coho weighed in, except for Labor Day's, which will mete out a $500 prize.
Overall winners will be determined by combined weight, with each participant's three biggest fish weighed in through the course of the tournament added up to produce a final total. For the three anglers with the biggest total, grand prizes of $2,000, $1,500 and $1,000 will be awarded.
Tickets for the tournament will be $20 apiece, down from the king salmon derby's $35. However, each ticket purchased will put its holder into the running for two round-trip Alaska Airlines tickets, which will be drawn for at the tournament's end.
For more details, visit the Chamber's website at http://www.wrangellchamber.org or call 874-3901.
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