After severe weather postponed the tournament a week earlier, spirits were high on Saturday during the 29th annual Homer Winter King Salmon Tournament awards ceremony. Tournament participants and community members crowded the event area at the Deep Water Dock to see the top 10 fish caught that day and find out which anglers had won prizes provided by the Homer Chamber of Commerce and event sponsors.
Gail Bilyeu, fishing on the El Negro, is this year’s tournament champion, with a fish weighing in at 26.12 pounds. His official winnings amount to $23,313, but including side tourney winnings may add up to as much as $62,036 in total cash prizes.
This year’s Top Youth Angler prize goes to 9-year-old Liam Carney on the Southern Charm 2, with a king weighing in at 16.54 pounds. Third-place overall winner Dakota Alward on Team Deplorables also caught the largest white king salmon, weighing in at 23.12 pounds and earning him an additional prize package for the Top White King.
2023 Homer King Salmon Tournament Results
Place, Angler, Weight in pounds, Boat, Earnings, Side Tourneys
1: Gail Bilyeu, 26.12, El Negro, $23,313, $38, 723
2: Alivia Erickson, 23.36, Team Redemption, $12,270, $10,140
3: Dakota Alward, 23.12, Deplorables, $9,816
4: Paul Ostrander, 22.98, Thunder Bay, $8,589
5: Dan Dahlen, 21.86, A Retreat, $7,362
6: Bo Calhoun, 21.70, Hope, $6,135
7: Joseph Inglis, 20.68, Gondola, $4,908, $1,820
8: Brianna Bahl, 20.32, Quickwater, $3,691
9: James Thompson, 19.52, Beverly Jean 1, $2,454
10: Jason Kinnard, 18.96, Circus Circus, $1,227
The top 20 overall anglers were awarded prizes. Anglers who finished in 11-20th place received prize packages, according to a March 27 press release from the Homer Chamber of Commerce.
Nyla Lightcap was also awarded the Scott Ulmer award for her continuing excellent work facilitating the annual tournament and making sure the event runs smoothly.
The 29th annual tournament marked the return to the event’s original March timeframe, after being held in April for the past two tournaments. An estimated $132,129 in prize money was given out this year, along with a record amount of merchandise prizes worth over $31,000, more than double the number of prizes over last year’s tournament, according to the press release. This year’s tournament had 818 anglers and 273 boats that participated in the tournament, the release states. 101 fish were weighed in by the tournament’s end.
Homer Chamber of Commerce thanked the many local businesses and over 50 volunteers that facilitated the 2023 tournament, adding a very special thanks to sponsors, including Ulmer’s Drug and Hardware, the UPS Store, 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.
A complete summary of the tournament results can be found at homerwinterking.com or on the Homer Chamber of Commerce website at homeralaska.org.
Third place winner Dakota Alward (second from left) poses with his team and trophy during the Homer Winter King Salmon Tournament awards ceremony on Saturday. Photo by Delcenia Cosman
Top youth angler, nine year old Liam Carney, puts on his winner’s vest during the Homer Winter King Salmon Tournament awards ceremony on Saturday. Photo by Delcenia Cosman
