FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER
The Legendary King of King Salmon Tournament
With the 2022 season opening only a month away, there’s excitement and anticipation all around. Guests arriving in June should be arranging flights and getting prepared to land some beautiful king salmon (Chinook), especially with the current bag limit of 3 through the end of June. We are waiting on limit confirmation for the remaining season, but we are confident that kings will be open all season.
That makes our King of King Salmon Tournament that much more exciting. It’s always a highlight of the fishing season for our guests, and one of the largest sport fishing tournaments in Alaska. Every day, the guest with the largest king gets:
- Recognition at dinner, on social media and a Waterfall cap
- Entry into the season-end drawing for a Ford F-150 truck
- Opportunities to win King of the Week, of the month and of the season, each with great rewards including return trips and, for the largest of the season, $10,000!
You may be wondering what size king to anticipate, if lucky. Take a quick look at some of the largest-of-the-season past winners and their stories (links). Keep in mind that when a king is landed over 50 pounds, it’s tradition to bring out the Crown Royal and for the Guide to take a dip in the cold waters of the harbor. Brrrr.. but maybe that Crown Royal helps keep ‘em warm?
- 2021: Jeff Walker, 50.2 lbs
- 2020: Jerzy Poprawa, 46.4 lbs
- 2019: Ethan Berto, 58.2 lbs
- 2018: Tony Perkins, 48.2 lbs
Each of these winners won King of the Month adding a 3-night return trip to the $10,000 cash prize they received. For all the daily winners, view the 2021 King of the Day Photos on Facebook or in our posts on Instagram. In fact, for this 2022 season, sign up now for text messages for daily KOD announcements and more.
Imagine not entering the tournament only to discover that you landed a winning salmon! You’d end up with no award other than “if I had” bragging rights. Of course, everyone enjoys all the delicious fish to take home. That’s an award itself!
If you prefer the fun of landing lots of Silver Salmon (Coho), you’re not left out. Each year we give $2,500 to the Silver of the Month for King of King Salmon Tournament participants.
Most every year, we have additional catches of note. For example, last season, young Nick Simmons achieved landing the fourth largest chinook of the season, 42 lbs, and young Dylan Hassan brought in a 47.3 lb lingcod! Both are Youth Trophy size by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
For our halibut lovers, we do not award prizes, but you certainly get the thrill and recognition at the dock and in our social media for pulling in those 200 to 500 lb giants! And then there’s lingcod, not part of the tournament either, but so much fun showing off those toothy smiles – the fish’s not yours.
Are you ready to join the fun? Be sure to register for the King of King Salmon Tournament. Everyone can sign up now for daily text messages and watch the leaderboard and social media (Facebook, Instagram (@waterfallreortalaska) and Twitter (@FishingResort) for daily winners.
Let's go fishing!