Anchor Point Calcutta King Salmon Tournament - Changes

Just got off the phone with the "More Information" gal to discuss some of the 'complications' of their fishing times, restricted fishing zones, and deadline for weigh-ins.  Originally they set the fishing time from 7am to 4pm with all fish required to be weighed in by 4:30pm.

The one mile wide Closed Fishing Zone that extends 1 3/4 miles south of Anchor River and 2 miles north of Anchor River (Page 71 of Regs) will be in effect during the tournament. For kayakers navigating either one mile out to fishable water or 2 miles north to open waters is not much of an option. So I assume the kayakers will be launching/fishing Whiskey Gulch area which would be a dilemma for getting to the Anchor River weigh-in many miles away by 4:30p. Compounding that is all the Homer origin boats have no means of weighing in their fish at the boat launch since they won't be pulling out at the tractor launch.

So a time change was in order. Anglers now have until 6pm to weigh in their catch that they have previously called in on the radio when caught.
This allows the kayakers to fish right up to 4pm, haul out, load up and drive to Anchor River launch for their fish weigh in. The same thing allows the Homer origin power boats to go back to Homer, and then drive their fish to Anchor River weigh in before the deadline.

As in the past, its a weather-permitting event and Saturday morning will determine if there is a delay of the start time or a move to Sunday if its very bad. She said that so far they have not had to move to the alternate date in the past.

Some nice fish are starting to show in the area. Shane's client took this one yesterday (Saturday) on a Wilson Point Dart straight under the boat jigging the marks on the fish finder. He was fishing up at the Bluffs as you can tell. Keep your tackle options open.  http://klondikekid.com/NWKAimages/17shaneBluffKing5-6.JPG

Dumb question, but is it expected for entrants to be at the auction?  Don't think I can make it down in time Friday.

Dumb question, but is it expected for entrants to be at the auction?  Don't think I can make it down in time Friday.

I would direct your query to Kardinal_84 as he has been a past participant. But from what I gathered from the gal on the phone today, you aren't required to bid during the auction phase Friday evening but to make it all work your boat must be REGISTERED by 6:30PM Friday night so that it is in the 'pool' for folks to bid on at 7PM. That's the way this Calcutta auction thing works. Those that want to bid have decided which BOAT they think will take the winning fish. The highest bidder on a particular boat is the "owner" of that boat. If it does catch the winning fish, the "owner" from the auction wins 50% of the entire auction pool of money that was bid on all boats. (Chamber gets the other 50%)  So that is a one pot prize.

The other money category is from the participant registrations so the more anglers the larger the prizes. 1st place wins 40%, 2nd place wins 25%, Average fish wins 10%. the Chamber takes the remaining 25%.  $100 per power boat, $25 per kayak.

Call the gal at 235-2600 and see if there is a way you can pre-register over the phone, email, or whatever. She said to direct anyone to her for help.

That explains things better, thanks KK. They have online registration...which of course closed out the 5th. I'll call tomorrow.

Ive always made the auction so Im not sure about pre registering.  The first year or two, you coukd "buy" a kayak for 50 bucks.  The last couple years its been more like 200 bucks to buy your kayak.  We must be getting a reputation. Lol.   

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Now I wonder who might be responsible for that? 

I've entered the last 2 years without attending the auction.

Looks like we've got low tide at 11:08 in Anchor point. I figure if I launch at 0700 I'll drift south pretty quickly. Once I near the boundary north of the anchor river I tentatively plan on heading out a mile and trying for halibut until the tide switches.

Should be a fun time, looks like we'll have nice weather. Last year   I ended up taking 3rd place and was only 1-2 lbs from second place, so this time I'm trying to decide if I should weigh in right away without bleeding my fish. (assuming I even catch one) Last year I fished for a few hours and bled my king. I've heard they can lose quite a bit of weight doing this but at the same time I want quality meat. Any thoughts?


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You can buy a lot of king crab with 2nd place money to make up for a couple mediocre meals of Alaskan king.    Save the juices!! Leave it live on the stringer and string it along for the ride.

Change of plans for me. Looks like we'll be able to come down for the tournament this weekend after all. Spoke to the lady at the APCoC and I can still do the online registration. Won't get down to WG til late Friday night, so hopefully there's still decent space to park the rv. Look forward to seeing you all on Saturday!


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I'm pretty sure I'll be driving down early Saturday morning. This week just went too fast to get the trailer ready make it down Friday night (with the trailer).

Let's win it in a kayak this year.

Ugh.  Now I am not going to make the auction Firday night.  I did pay and register.  Due to tides, I think we are launching as early as possible.  Maybe 6am ish....Derby starts at 7am.  We are going to try and paddle North to start.

Ugh.  Now I am not going to make the auction Friday night.

No worries.  You wouldn't be able to afford your boat anyway! The word is out!  LOL  And for your partner in crime especially!  His reputation is preceding him too.

At least I made some progress and got the AMAs mounted yesterday. Now trying to figure out a cradle for transport on the ATV trailer down near ground level for easy on/off access. I won't make the derby, got a million things backlogged. Ha, what else is new?  I hate being a one man, one pony show around this homestead.  Far too many chores.

BTW, Anchor River weir has been counting kings since MAY 3rd.  Total to Date: ZERO in the crick!  Shane said Inlet temps the other day before this heat wave was still 40°F up by Anchor Point. But the hooligan pushed on through to 20 Mile so the kings can't be far behind.

Good Luck all you salty dawgs!

Ugh.  Now I am not going to make the auction Firday night.  I did pay and register.  Due to tides, I think we are launching as early as possible.  Maybe 6am ish....Derby starts at 7am.  We are going to try and paddle North to start.

It might be easier to drive the boat up the beach, take the truck back to the parking area, then walk to the boat, launch and fish. I know that sounds like a lot, but it might be easier than peddling the boat against the current.  Just a thought.

Now more than the tides,  the weather looks a bit concerning.  SW 15knts at 3ft could present an issue.  I could easily see them postponing to Sunday given the current forecast.

The "good" if you can call it that, is the Anchor Pt Tractor Launch is very susceptible to a SW swell which is what is called for.  I would say 99% of the time, if the boats can go, we can go. 

I'm not sure what chart I was reading.  Need to recheck.  Looks like launching just as the derby starts and fishing might end up being perfect.  I need to double check. 

There are a couple of fishing strategies to take into consideration.

If you are just trying to catch a king and a feeder is acceptable too, then covering a lot of water may produce the best results.  Remember the limit is 1 per day in this zone.

However, if you are going for the title of First Place, you will want to catch a mature migrating spawner. These fish are traveling nearshore and for any given spot along the beach, every fish must past by there at some point in time. Maintaining a trolling approach in the migration corridor has a better chance of catching a winner.  Up at the Falls, the kings are so close to the beach that shore anglers casting out can put their lures in the boats that are trolling the area. The fish are right against the beach. BUT, that area is above the Tournament area.

Its going to be an outgoing tide at the gun and if I was going to fish the derby I'd just hold my own against the outgoing tide with my lure or bait behind me like back trolling in the rivers. Let the migration come to you! Not far north of WG the beach gets steeper and deeper near shore. I'd hang out there. On the tide change I'd just point the boat south and very slowly work back against the tide to the landing by 4pm.  Just a thought.

So far there hasn't been any kings counted in the Anchor yet. Runs seem back to normal timing this year so I think the saltwater is going to be a bit sparse for available fish this weekend other than feeders.

EDIT ADDENDUM: The latest Marine forecast for Kalgin Is and south.  Should update around 3:30pm today.

PKZ139-130030-
COOK INLET KALGIN ISLAND TO POINT BEDE-
322 AM AKDT FRI MAY 12 2017

TODAY
S WIND 10 KT. SEAS 2 FT.

TONIGHT
S WIND 15 KT. SEAS 3 FT.

SAT
SW WIND 20 KT. SEAS 5 FT. RAIN.

SAT NIGHT
SW WIND 20 KT. SEAS 5 FT.

SUN
SW WIND 10 KT. SEAS 2 FT.