The 29th Annual Homer Winter King Salmon Tournament held on Saturday, March 25th handed out an estimated $132,129 in prize money along with a record amount of merchandise prizes worth over $31,000, more than double the number of prizes over last year’s tournament.
This year, the tournament returned to its original March time frame after shifting to April for the last two tournaments. Originally scheduled for March 18, it was postponed for one week due to weather conditions.
This year’s tournament recorded 818 anglers and 273 boats participating in the tournament. The First-Place angler, with a fish weighing 26.12 pounds, was Gail Bilyue. The unofficial results are currently showing that Bilyue will earn $62,036 in total cash prizes, including the team’s Side Tournament winnings. This year’s Youth Prize winner was 9-year-old Liam Carney with a 16.54 pound King. Third-Place finisher Dakota Alward caught the largest white king, which earned him an additional prize package.
Here is a summary of the winning anglers:
# ANGLER WEIGHT EARNINGS SIDE TOURNEYS
1. Gail Bilyeu – 26.12 – $23,313, $38,723
2. Alivia Erickson – 23.36 – $12,270, $10,140
3. Dakota Alward – 23.12 – $9,816
4. Paul Ostrander – 22.98 – $8,589
5. Dan Dahlen – 21.86 – $7,362
6. Bo Calhoun – 21.70 – $6,135
7. Joseph Inglis – 20.68 – $4,908, $1,820
8. Brianna Bahl – 20.32 – $3,681
9. James Thompson – 19.52 – $2,454
10. Jason Kinnard – 18.96 – $1,227
Anglers who finished in 11th-20th place received big prize packages. A complete list of the official results can be found at HomerWinterKings.com.
The Homer Winter King Salmon Tournament is the premier fishing tournament in Alaska and likely the biggest on the west coast. The new tournament area by the Homer Deep Water Dock is the perfect setting to showcase the Homer Harbor and the beautiful ocean waters of Kachemak Bay. Sea Tow Southcentral Alaska provided the official tournament boat keeping an eye on the anglers to make sure they were operating safely and adhering to tournament rules.
Many local businesses and over 50 volunteers helped make this record setting event happen. A very special thanks to Presenting Sponsors Ulmer’s Drug and Hardware and Weigh In Sponsor UPS Store, plus Event Sponsors Homer Port & Harbor, Muslow & Agnew Group, LLC, Alaska Peninsula Plumbing & Mechanical, Cosmic Cannabis Company, Collins Excavating, Dibble Creek Rock, Moore & Moore Services, Captain’s Coffee, L&R Rental, Alaskan Brewing Company and K&L Distributing.
For a complete summary of the tournament results, please vising HomerWinterKings.com or the Homer Chamber of Commerce website at HomerAlaska.org.