Syracuse.com - Three-day, Salmon River fishing derby kicks off this morning

HuntingNY-News · October 5, 2012

The fishing on the Salmon River has been hot the past couple of weeks with the annual spawning run of chinook and coho salmon. Things will heat up even more this weekend with the second annual Salmon River Fishing Derby, which runs today through Sunday. The derby is being run in conjunction with the annual Salmon River Festival in...

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The fishing on the Salmon River has been hot the past couple of weeks with the annual spawning run of chinook and coho salmon. Things will heat up even more this weekend with the second annual Salmon River Fishing Derby, which runs today through Sunday.

The derby is being run in conjunction with the annual Salmon River Festival in Pulaski. Proceeds will benefit the Salmon River International Sport Fishing Museum, on Route 11.

The derby entry fee is $25.

This year’s tournament is once again promising a “100 percent payout,” with the total amount of prize money handed out hinging on the number of anglers entered. Money raised from raffles and T-shirt sales will be given to the sport fishing museum.

Last year, 75 anglers signed up. The grand-prize winner was Kenneth Green, of Altmar, who took home $2,100 for his 31.9- pound chinook salmon. Daily cash prizes were also awarded for first-, second-, and third-place catches of coho salmon, and raffle winners took home donated prizes such as a bicycle, a fishing pole, a grill and a handmade rocking chair.

Registration and a weigh-in station will be at the Ringgold Firemen’s Dunbar Field at the end of Lewis Street, just off Route 11 in Pulaski. Anglers can sign up from 6 to 8 a.m. today, and 6 to 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. The tournament starts at 9 a.m. today and ends at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The weigh-in station at Dunbar Field will be open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and Saturday, and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.

The 13th annual Salmon River Festival is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at South Park, also on Route 11. The festival features games and activities for children, crafts, food and live music. Admission is free.

The sport fishing museum, which features antique and vintage fishing items from around the world, will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. all three days of the derby. Fred Betts, curator of the museum, has invited collectors to display their antique lures and reels and talk about the history of their collections.

For more on the derby, call 298- 9990 or visit the museum's website and click on “Derby.”

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog