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Hi gang, Rick Ostler here from North American Waterway bringing you Bayliner Boats along with news and views from the boating industry. Record silver salmon caught recently out of Fairbanks, Alaska.

FAIRBANKS — Even after netting a derby-record 22.14-pound silver salmon Saturday — a bigger fish than anyone has caught in the derby dating back at least 30 years — Derek Werder wasn’t banking on the $15,000 he stands to win in the Valdez Silver Salmon Derby.

“That makes you feel comfortable but I don’t want to count my money yet,” Werder, a 37-year-old stay-at-home-day from Valdez, said. “If there was one out there that big, you never know. There might be a 25-pounder out there swimming around.”

Chances of a fish that fat being caught in the next three days — the derby ends at noon Sunday — is slim. In 32 years of derby records, only four fish more than 20 pounds have been weighed in and nobody has ever caught a fish more than 22 pounds.

“That’s the biggest fish I’ve ever heard caught by anybody down here other than commercial fishermen,” said Dave Cobb at the Valdez Fisheries Development Association, the local hatchery responsible for the silver salmon run in Valdez.

Werder’s fish beat the previous derby record of 21.76 pounds by Albert Verrall of Palmer in 2002 by four-tenths of a pound.The state sport fish record for silver salmon in Alaska is 26.0 pounds, caught by Andrew Robbins in Icy Strait in 1976 in Southeast Alaska.

Werder was fishing with his wife, Jennifer, on their 21-foot Bayliner when the fish hit in 20 to 30 feet of water. Werder wouldn’t reveal his secret lure, other than to say it involved an orange squid and something else.

“It’s the first time I tried it this year,” Werder said of his set up. “As soon as I went over to it it was the only pole getting hit. “I haven’t heard anyone else using what I’m using,” he said.

Werder said he knew he had a big fish but he didn’t realize how big until arrived back on the docks to weigh it in on the derby scales. “I thought maybe 19 or 20 pounds,” he said. “I was surprised to see 22 pounds. It’s been 30 years and nobody’s caught anything like that.”

Catching big silver salmon evidently runs in the Werder family. Jennifer Werder finished second in the 2005 silver salmon derby with an 18.42-pounder, which was worth $5,000.

While he prefers fishing for halibut over silver salmon — the name of his boat is Butt Chaser — Derek Werder said he and his wife always participate in the silver derby. He purposely waits until the end the derby when there are more fish closer to harbor. Jennifer Werder caught her second-place fish in 2005 on Aug. 30.

“I always wait to the very end when they’re packed in here,” Weder said. This year’s silver run appears to be good one, both in terms of quantity and quality, according to Cobb. In addition to Werder’s record 22.14-pounder, two other 20 pounders have been weighed in this year by derby officials, although neither one of those anglers held a derby ticket, said derby organizer Laurie Prax.

The average weight of a Valdez silver is typically 8 or 9 pounds, said Cobb. This year, the average is probably more like 10 or 11 pounds, he said. “The fish are just a little bit larger than normal,” Cobb said. Prax has noticed the same thing as she has walked the docks interviewing anglers.

“The fish are getting bigger and bigger,” she said. “They were definitely later this year; maybe they’re eating a little longer out there.” Silver fishing in Valdez should remain good through the Labor Day weekend, after which the commercial fishing fleet will move in and scoop up fish, Cobb said. Even so, persistent anglers will be able to find decent silver fishing into the middle of September, he said.

Only time will tell if Jan VanderVaart’s 251.5-pound halibut will hold up to win the $15,000 first-place prize in the Valdez Halibut Derby but it’s looking like a good bet at this point with only three days left in the derby. The biggest fish weighed in at derby headquarters since VanderVaart landed his fish on Aug. 3 has been 146.8 pounds.

As of Tuesday, the Department of Fish and Game on College Road in Fairbanks still had about 40 Chatanika personal-use whitefish spearing permits available for anyone interested in spearing whitefish this fall.

The season opens Sept. 26 and runs through Oct. 26. Each permit is good for 10 whitefish. You must have a sport fishing license to get a permit. Personal-use dip netting in the Copper River will re-open at noon today following a four-day closure and will remain open through the end of the season on Sept. 30.

Charter operators have pulled out of Chitina for the season and dip-netters are now on their own for the rest of the season. Dip netting was still reported to be good last Thursday, according to Mark Hem of Hem’s Charters, who shut down for the season on Saturday. Charter customers averaged about 20 fish per permit on Thursday and Hem expected fishing to remain good.

There are more silvers being caught now than reds, according to Mark Somerville, a biologist with the Department of Fish and Game in Glennallen. “It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s primarily silvers when it re-opens,” Somerville said on Tuesday. “I think the sockeye run is about over.”

Assuming there’s a good silver run, which seems to be the case from Kenai to Cordova, dip netting should remain productive through much of September, he said. Even though most people have turned their attention to moose hunting and fishing is winding down, there are still some silver salmon to be had in the Mat-Su Valley.

Anglers are still picking up a few silvers in the Eklutna Tailrace and Jim Creek south of Palmer. The Parks Highway streams typically see some late silvers trickling in, too, though you might have to sift through some pinks, chums and blushed silvers to find fresh ones.

Fishing in the Little Susitna River downstream of the Parks Highway bridge should be good for another week or so, too.

Silver salmon fishing on the Kenai Peninsula is “slow and steady,” said area management biologist Robert Begich with the Division of Sport Fish in Soldotna.
“Some places in the middle (Kenai River) have got quite a few silvers,” Begich said. “There are still some coming in, too. That will continue through the first half of September. We’ll be fishing for silvers right up to freeze up.”

Rainbow trout and dolly varden fishing are also good at this time of the year, he said. The Kenai River is clear and the water level is dropping and fishing conditions in the Kasilof River, which has a smaller run of silvers than the Kenai, are also good.

Thanks to Tim Mowry for this; newsminer.com • New record means new leader in Valdez silver derby

Tags: ValdezSilver Salmon Derby, bayliner boats, alaska fishing,