Wrangell’s coho and king salmon derbies — with separate prizes for each — closed Sunday evening, Aug. 17, with noticeably lighter participation and smaller leaderboards than in past years.
The final numbers of fish entered across all categories totaled just eight king salmon and 12 coho, and seven in the halibut derby.
The number of entries was down significantly from last year, when 27 kings were weighed in. The number was 15 kings in 2023.
The coho and halibut derbies were new this year, in an effort to generate more interest.
Corey Ostrander won the king salmon derby for adults with a 29.7-pound catch. Gretchen Powell won the youth division with a 14.1-pound king.
Angela Madding took first place in the coho derby for adults, at 13 pounds. Brooke Ostrander won the youth division with a 5.9-pound coho.
Top prizes in the halibut derby went to Ken Madding in the adult division, with a 71.7-pound catch, and Brooke Ostrander in the youth division at 12.3 pounds.
The salmon derbies started July 17; the halibut derby ran from Aug. 14 to 17.
Far fewer people went out fishing, said Tracey Martin, executive director of the chamber of commerce, which sponsors the annual event.
Though more than 100 derby tickets had been sold as of Monday, it was a sharp drop from 300 to 600 in past years.
“I’m not exactly sure why, but I think it’s probably a combination of a couple of things,” Martin said. “I think it is because of the fact that there are just low fish numbers in this area. You have to go all the way out to Nemo Point before you can catch anything. And then there have been so many restrictions on king salmon from year to year — I just think it has been discouraging to people.”
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has consistently restricted sportfishing for king salmon in recent years in an effort to allow more to reach spawning streams and rebuild the runs.
Martin said the prize money has changed over the years as organizers work to keep the event sustainable. “We have to stay within our budget and try to make the derby be self-funding,” she said. “The chamber can’t afford to operate in the hole.”
The $35 derby tickets — which double as a chance in a raffle drawing for two Alaska Airlines tickets — will remain on sale until the morning of the drawing on Saturday, Aug. 23. Derby prizes will be distributed from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the Nolan Center, Martin said.
“It’s a good chance that if you buy some (derby tickets) between now and Saturday, you’ll have a good shot at winning,” she said.
Derby tickets are available at Ottesen’s, Cooper’s Corner, Angerman’s, Sentry Hardware, the Bay Company, Buness Bros. and TK’s Mini Mart.

Fishing results as posted by the chamber are:

Adult king division
Corey Ostrander, 29.7 pounds, caught at the Bend on July 19.
Lloyd Ward, 21.4 pounds, at Quiet Harbor, July 19.
Jason Fade, 18 pounds, at North Etolin, July 27.
Redena Massin, 14.1 pounds, at Kindergarten, Aug. 8.
David Powell, 13.8 pounds, at Little Baht, Aug. 10.

Youth (14-and-under) king division
Gretchen Powell, 14.1 pounds, caught at Little Baht on Aug. 17.
Owen Powell, 11.1 pounds, at Little Baht, Aug. 17.
Brooke Ostrander, 8 pounds, at 8-Mile, Aug. 16.

Adult coho division
Angela Madding, 13 pounds, at Big Baht on Aug. 14.
Kelly Buness, 9.2 pounds, at King George, Aug. 17.
David Mork, 9.1 pounds, at Round Point, July 20.
Ken Madding, 8.5 pounds, at Low Point, Aug. 14.
Julia Ostrander, 7.6 pounds, at 8-Mile, Aug. 10.

Youth coho division
Brooke Ostrander, 5.9 pounds at 8-Mile on Aug. 10.

Adult halibut division
Ken Madding, 71.7 pounds, at Snow Pass on Aug. 15.
Shelley Versteg, 20.6 pounds, at Two Tree, Aug. 15.
Michelle Davison, 18.6 pounds, at Snow Pass, Aug. 14.

Youth halibut division
Brooke Ostrander, 12.3 pounds, at Woronkofski on Aug. 16.
Ryder Miller, 7.7 pounds at Young Rock, Aug. 17.
Rhyatt Miller, 5.1 pounds at Young Rock, Aug. 17.