Fish Camp
The Origins of Dinner
The cork line thrums as we approach the net, close to shore. We’re three hours into a big ebb tide sweeping down Cook Inlet and around Kalgin Island’s north end. The current...
Brought to you by 
Fishing for Resurrection
Combat Fishing Tournament Returns to Seward This Spring
United States Armed Services members protect our country, and the Armed Services YMCA of Alaska supports them. Founded in 1941, ASYMCA offers programs for Alasks’s military service members, particularly the junior enlisted. In 2006, two volunteers, determined to do the same thing with Alaska flair, started the Combat Fishing Tournament. The event, now a collaboration with ASYMCA and the original founders, has become the largest military appreciation fishing tournament in the US.
Every year, shortly before Memorial Day, service members gather in Seward and launch from Resurrection Bay. After a day of fishing and camaraderie, they enjoy a banquet while Captain Jack’s Seafood Locker processes the caught fish. This generous gift allows service members a chance to share their catch with family and friends.
For some service members, the tournament is a once-in-a-lifetime deep sea fishing experience. For others, though, it’s a lifesaving event. ASYMCA Executive Director Sarah Riffer, who has spoken with thousands of service members, has heard the many ways the ASYMCA has improved their lives.
One soldier, in a 2021 note sent to Riffer, shared how he’d returned from deployment filled with desolation. He’d decided to join the tournament as “one last experience.” Then, somewhere between landing his “monster of a halibut” and returning to duty the following Monday, he’d decided that asking for mental health support was not as overwhelming as he’d originally thought.
This soldier’s story is just one of the many reminders of why, no matter what it takes, ASYMCA works to ensure that all service members stationed in Alaska have access to opportunities for community, camaraderie, and recreation through events like the fishing tournament.
2022 CFT Highlights
195
service members
95
partners and supporters
2,133.5
pounds of fish caught
138.2 pounds
largest fish
The 17th Annual Combat Fishing Tournament will take place on May 24, 2023. Already, the CFT team is hard at work recruiting donors, partners, and boat crews, all of whom make this day of appreciation possible. You can help, too! Scan the QR code to learn how you can help make this life-changing Alaska experience possible for our service members!
Related Stories & Recipes
Filling the Freezer
Someday, I will be a true Alaskan. Someday, I will kill something with hooves. In preparation for this day, I bought a bench freezer. It’s in my basement. It’s like something you’d find in a science l...
