Each year, the Homer Winter King Salmon Tournament attracts anglers and enthusiasts from all over Alaska, as well as visitors from outside the state. The tournament provides a fun opportunity to fish, highlights the quality of the local harbor, and gives a boost to the local economy.
Historically, the Homer Chamber of Commerce has hosted the Homer Winter King Salmon Tournament in March. However, for the past few years, the tournament has been held in April. According to Brad Anderson, the Executive Director of the Chamber, this coming year, the somewhat inconvenient April timeline has been replaced by the more favorable time in late March.
“That was kind of vaccine-related we wanted a better chance for more people to get that, and will be more comfortable being part of an event and being out in open spaces. So we moved for two years to the April timeframe. When we surveyed all of our anglers, everyone wanted to bring it back in March. Especially because fishing regulations change after April 1 which became kind of an issue for a lot of anglers,” Anderson said.
Following the winter isolation, the event helps kick-start the local fishing season and provides a chance for people to fish before the tourist season starts. Anderson says there are a number of benefits that come from the tournament, not just for competitors.
"It's a good way for our local folks also to get connected to people that come down here and, and support this strong community event. There are a lot of people who don't even fish, they just come down to enjoy a big event at the cruise ship dock. We'll have live music, and a beer and wine garden out there, and allow people to come out and just watch everybody bring their fish in and see the winners. It creates a fun community event for that day as well," Anderson said.
The prize money is decided each year by the amount of anglers that show up for the tournament.
The 2024 Homer Winter King Salmon Tournament will be on Saturday, March 23, 2024.
You can find information about the tournament, along with the schedule and registration here.
