Other Pertinent Information for the Hood Canal Salmon Derby

Volunteers of the South Sound Chapter of PSA have worked diligently to ensure that you have an enjoyable experience at our derby.  We hope that if there ever becomes a misunderstanding, that we can work it out to everyone's satisfaction.    We also hope that you understand that there is not enough room on our brochures & fliers to cover all possible situations.    In efforts to further this concept, we would like to convey some things listed below that may add clarification on some matters.

Derby Staff :  All derby staff will be wearing a navy blue Tee Shirt with the PSA logo on the LH chest & large word STAFF on the back.   One staff member has been assigned to verify that all aboard the fishing boats have derby tickets.  Feel free to ask questions of any of them. 

Derby Officials reserve the right to clean fish and may do so on a random basis.  Derby Officials may disqualify any fish that has been tampered with or APPEARS to have been tampered with.  The decisions of the derby Officials on legality, time, and weight will be final & binding

Derby Tickets Availability :  Derby Tickets will be available at the advertised locations & at the Tacoma Power powerhouse boat launch at Potlatch at about daylight (5AM) on Saturday to 8 AM & again on Sunday until 8 AM.  After 8 on Sunday, ticket sales close.

Official Weight :  When the fisherperson weighs their fish in at the weigh-in, they will be asked to verify the weight on the scale & what is written on the master list.  They will then be requested to initial this on the list.  A cleaned fish can be weighed in, but at the cleaned weight.

Photo's :  The weigh in staff will also ask if photos taken at the event can be used for club promotional purposes later.  When the fisherperson initials the sheet as to weight verification, next to that box is the photo OK box, this needs to be initialed also to constitute photo consent.

Mystery Fish :  This weight is preset by all the board members placing a number on a small piece of paper, which is then folded & placed into a can.  One number is drawn (not looked at) & is placed into a sealed envelope, which is not opened until the awards ceremony.  This number in pounds of the fish's weight will be used to determine which fish is CLOSEST (above or below) to the number & thereby determine the winner of this category.  If there is a tie as to poundage, (either up or down) then the earliest time will be the winner.   This weight is designed to be below a any money fish.

WDFW fish checker :  There will be as in the past, a WDFW fish checker at the weigh-ins, who will measure & may take scale samples from your fish.

Twanoh State Park Launch :  We have made arrangements with he park ranger to leave the gates to this launch unlocked earlier than their normal hours opening for these derby 2 days.   We usually contact them with a written note on the day of our picnic.  The request from the ranger is to please close the gate behind you for this early usage after you get inside, before the official park opening hours.

Barbeque :  There will be a Saturday night barbeque in Hoodsport at the parking lot of the Hood Canal Grocery. Your Derby Ticket is what gets you in.  This is a great way to mingle with other fisherpersons & possibly find out what where the hot bite was that day. 

Awards Ceremony :  This year is different in that the Hoodsport Merchants Assn. has made the location of the previous Saturday night barbeque available for the Awards Ceremony. 

Update with Larger Fish :  If you catch a larger fish after you have weighed in one, YOU HAVE TO request this update at the time you weigh the larger fish, so the earlier fish is removed, as you are only allowed one fish on the official roster.

All Weighed in Fish Identified :  Each weighed in fish will be identified as weighed in by the weigh in team by punching a hole in the gill plate, using a different location each day.

Cell Phone / Radio Coverage :  One thing you will encounter here is that cell phone coverage is very limited on the water, ( like ZERO ).  We have found that there is minimal coverage at the weigh-in location at Sunrise which usually has 2 bars.  Some VHF may be possible from the boat, if you have a tall antenna.

Fog :  You may encounter morning fog here this time of the year.  So a GPS/Plotter can be beneficial.

Last updated 07-11-08