In Sarnia and Point Edward, the Bluewater Anglers have posted their 2026 events calendar showing the 50th Annual Salmon Derby will run from May 1 to May 10, 2026, with an Awards Night set for May 20. The 10-day tournament draws upwards of 1,200 anglers to lower Lake Huron and the upper St. Clair River and helps fund the club’s fish hatchery in Point Edward.
According to the Bluewater Anglers events calendar, this year’s competition features categories including Chinook salmon, rainbow trout, brown trout and lake trout. Prize offerings for the anniversary derby exceed $60,000 in cash and merchandise. Weigh-ins are handled at multiple official stations (including Sarnia Bay Marina and the Port Franks community centre), with the Bluewater Anglers hatchery in Waterfront Park serving as the event hub.
The Salmon Derby event page provides contact details and a ‘Become a Volunteer’ link; organizers are encouraging volunteers to sign up via that link or contact the club for details. Organizers expect more than 1,200 anglers to take part, and volunteers are needed for tasks ranging from weigh-ins to awards coordination.
Local bait shops, hotels and restaurants in Sarnia and Point Edward typically see a boost during derby week as visiting anglers look for lodging and meals. The derby typically generates over 50% of the Bluewater Anglers’ annual operating budget; that revenue is used to support stocking programs that put roughly 200,000 salmon and trout into local waterways each year. The club’s hatchery facility itself has capacity to raise more than 150,000 chinook, rainbow and brown trout annually.
Founded in late 1979, the Bluewater Anglers built their hatchery in 1986 and have grown the derby into a major regional attraction. After pandemic-related cancellations in 2020 and 2021, the 2026 milestone marks a half-century of community fundraising and sport fishing on Lake Huron.
