The eighth annual Save-On-Foods French Creek Salmon Derby takes place Friday, Aug. 17 to Sunday, Aug, 19 with proceeds going to the Marion Baker Fish Hatchery.
Derby founder Russ Mosher said on average, the weekend raises about $5,000 for the hatchery to go toward maintenance costs.
“They’ve been able to purchase a generator for when the power goes out, so there’s no harm to the salmon that are in their tanks. This year, now that all their fish have been released, they’ve repaired a couple of holding tanks,” Mosher said.
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Entry fee is $10 a rod but anyone can try their luck at the door prizes.
“You don’t have to fish to be in on the door prizes,” Mosher said. “We have 110 bundles of door prizes plus 10 large prizes… everybody has a chance to win a prize. The $10 (entry fee) is donation towards the hatchery.”
Prizes for the largest salmon caught and hidden weight prizes will happen each day and a grand prize of around $400 will go to the angler who catches the largest salmon at the end of the derby. Bigger door prizes will include fish smokers and Scotty downriggers.
“It’s not about the money, it’s just about having fun and donating to a hatchery,” Mosher said. “We don’t make it about the catching we make it about the fishing.”
Since its inception, the derby has grown extensively. The first year saw about 200 anglers enter which grew to 800 last year.
Last year’s winner caught a 22-pound salmon, but Mosher said they’ve seen past winners catch fish upwards of 40 pounds.
“It’s looking like there’s some big fish out there now,” Mosher said.
A Save-On-Foods sponsored barbecue will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday outside the French Creek Marine Pub and the prize ceremony follow at 1 p.m. Entry tickets can be purchased at the French Creek Marine store or the French Creek Marine Pub at 1025 Lee rd. in Parksville.
For more information on this weekend’s derby, call Russ Mosher at 250-248-3713.