The Salish Sea Salmon Challenge was held on May 31st, 2025, and despite less-than-ideal weather, countless brave fishers cast off in pursuit of the prize-winning catch. It was also the last day for hatchery retention in most of area 19. Anchored again by our two Tyee sponsors, The Alpine Group and GFL Environmental, the event featured big pay days for the top 5 chinook.
The first fish in the derby table weighed in at 20.81 lbs and gave Kyle Jones the first place $10,000 prize! The next 4 largest fish came in later in the day, all from Sidney we believe, where Mother Nature played nicer. Full result board was as follows:
| 1st Place | $10,000 | Kyle Jones | 20.81 lbs |
| 2nd Place | $5,000 | Jon Bond | 19.00 lbs |
| 3rd Place | $2,500 | Carter Burkhard | 18.43 lbs |
| 4th Place | $1,500 | Dean Purych | 17.54 lbs |
| 5th Place | $1,000 | Bobby Ross | 17.19 lbs |
Several of the fishers chose to donate their catch to Our Place Society to help feed the homeless in Victoria, delivering a cooler full of fish later that day. As a result of this event, more than $10,000 was raised to support salmon enhancement on Southern Vancouver Island.
A big thank you goes to Esquimalt Anglers for hosting the event and to City Centre Grill for welcoming us at registration the evening before. We are also deeply grateful to all the incredible volunteers and the many generous Victoria-area businesses who stepped up to support the event, whether through raffle prizes or financial contributions. Your support means everything. Please continue to support these amazing local businesses!
Tyee Sponsors
Chinook Sponsors
Coho Sponsors
Sockeye Sponsors
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