About this tournament

Fort Peck Reservoir is one of the only inland fisheries in the lower 48 that holds a wild, naturally reproducing population of Chinook (king) salmon, and the Tournament of Kings is the marquee event built around them. Boats launch out of Fort Peck Marina near Glasgow and run the reservoir’s deep main-lake basins, trolling downriggers for kings that average 6–12 pounds with occasional double-digit bruisers in the mix.

The 2026 event runs Friday July 31 and Saturday August 1 with a mandatory rules meeting Thursday evening July 30. A weather/wind reserve day is held on Sunday August 2 in case big water shuts the lake down on either tournament day. Teams of 2–4 anglers fish each day independently and bring their best fish to the marina for the daily weigh-in.

Payouts are structured per day rather than cumulative — the top four salmon each day take $10,000 / $7,500 / $5,000 / $3,750. A separate $200 random-weight pot (covering both days) puts any salmon between 6 and 17 pounds in play for two daily drawings of $7,500 each, totaling $15,000 in random-weight money per day.

Schedule

• Thu Jul 30, 2026 — Mandatory rules meeting (evening)
• Fri Jul 31, 2026 — Tournament Day 1: fishing + weigh-in + daily payouts and random-weight drawings
• Sat Aug 1, 2026 — Tournament Day 2: fishing + weigh-in + daily payouts and random-weight drawings
• Sun Aug 2, 2026 — Reserve wind day (only fished if weather cancels Day 1 or Day 2)

Entry & Prizes

Entry: $400 per team (2–4 anglers) covers both days. Optional $200 random-weight salmon pot covers both days and makes any 6–17 lb salmon eligible for two $7,500 drawings each day.

Prizes: Daily payouts on the top four fish: $10,000 / $7,500 / $5,000 / $3,750. Random-weight salmon pots pay $7,500 × 2 per day ($15,000 daily) to the salmon closest to two randomly drawn weights between 6 and 17 pounds.

What to expect

Plan to launch and run far — most of the consistent salmon water is in the deeper main-lake arms well off the marina. Bring downriggers and a working sonar; kings are typically suspended over 60–120 ft of water chasing ciscoes. Glasgow lodging fills up fast for the derby — book early.

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