Homer: Winter King Salmon Tournament.

• Author: Anderson, Tasha
• Position: TRAVEL - Brief article

For those itching to shake off some winter stillness, head to Homer for the annual Winter King Salmon Tournament taking place Saturday, March 22 at the end of the spit. The tournament is outside of the tourist season and comprised mostly of locals, says Meldonna Cody, events coordinator for the Homer Chamber of Commerce. "It's the first really fun time to dig that boat out and celebrate the coming of spring--it sort of beats the regular tourism. It's heavily Alaskan, primarily a sort of insider thing."

One of the most exciting aspects of the tournament, Cody says, is the drawing for bell-ringer prizes. "Those are prizes announced over the VHF radio--it's all random drawings. They happen, roughly, depending on the amount of prizes, every fifteen minutes or so. You hear the ship's bell ring over the radio, and then the person who won it is announced."

Since every fisherman and every boat must be registered to be in the...