Silver Salmon Derby General Information
July 20th through September 1st, 2012
View our list of great prizes here!
The Silver Salmon Derby
Fishing for silvers in Valdez is a great sport. With the Solomon Gulch Hatchery releasing millions of coho fry each year, the silvers swim right past Valdez and are fairly easy to catch either from shore or by trolling by boat. Silvers put up a good fight and are popular with the locals as they taste great and freeze well. These fish can weigh from 6 to 20 pounds and are between 24 and 30 inches long.
When fishing for silvers use a medium weight 7-8.5' rod with a high quality bait or spin-casting reel. Utilize at least 200 yards of 10 to 25-pound test, and keep a variety of swivels and weights available. Boat anglers in saltwater can troll with a flasher, herring dodger, pink lady or hootchie in addition to herring. Coho will also strike at roe, flies, spoons, spinners and plugs. At Allison Point, Pixies and Vibrax lures work well.
Silver salmon or Coho have dark metallic blue or greenish backs with silver sides and a light belly. There are small black spots on their baks and upper lobe of the tail when you find them in the ocean. Spawning river coho have reddish-maroon on their sides. To tell them apart from a pink, the gumline in their lower jaw has lighter pigment.
