Nikolski on Umnak Island, located in the middle of the Aleutian chain, recently hosted its annual salmon derby, a competition held since the 1980s. Locals gather on the beach every September to try to catch the heaviest fish. And this year, kids were included in the derby for the first time in many years.
Lorraine Winters, the derby’s organizer, said they were catching silver salmon off of Nikolski Bay this year. And there were rules to follow if a local wanted to win.
"You can't go out in the water in waders; you have to fish from the beach," said Winters. "No boats, no flotation devices whatsoever," she chuckled.
Throughout the week, local residents fished before or after work or during their lunch breaks; Winters said it depended on the tide. She has managed the derby for the past few years and weighs every salmon entered in the week-long competition. Every day, she was either at the beach or just a phone call away because once the fish is caught, every ounce matters.
"If you let them sit there for a while, they kind of bleed out, and their weight goes down," said Winters.
About 30 people live in Nikolski and it’s a 45-minute flight west of Unalaska’s Tom Madsen airport. It's a subsistence village, so all the fish caught in the derby are used.
"The fish we do catch, we do clean and we either smoke it, we freeze them, we dry them,” said Winters. “Kipper, whatever we can."
The local tribal organization, Native Village of Nikolski (IRA), funds the competition every year because it brings the community together. Over the decades, prizes ranged from recliners to hundreds of dollars of Amazon gift cards.
"There's an incentive, but there's also the fun part of it because we all just gather and sit and talk," said Winters. "Sometimes we're down there, not even fishing."
Kids were also competing in the salmon derby this year, which hasn’t happened in a while because there just haven’t been enough of them the past few years. In 2009, the local public school closed due to low student enrollment, but families have grown back since then.
Winters said some of the kids who were fishing were extremely dedicated, and she hopes they continue their passion for the sport. She described one girl named Autumn, who never gave up.
"She fished from 12 o'clock in the afternoon until eight o'clock at night. She took small breaks,” said Winters. “She was so determined. I was just so proud of her."
Autumn ended up in second place in the kid's derby, competing against eight kids in total. Haven, who's eight years old, won first place in the kid's derby — his silver salmon weighed eight pounds even.
Ten adults participated in this year's adult derby. Josh Stamm won first place with his silver salmon weighing nine pounds and 14 ounces.
