Of the myriad fishing derbies across Southcentral, only one has seen 78 percent growth in five years.

Oddly, perhaps, it's the derby open to only a small percentage of the Alaskans holding sportfishing licenses -- the 34 percent who are women.

The Valdez Women's Silver Salmon Derby, entering its sixth year, is a one-day affair set for Aug. 14 and expecting to build upon a record 662 women who registered in 2009 -- nearly 300 more than the inaugural event.

Over the last five years, such venerable Alaska derbies as the 25-year-old Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby (up 12 percent) and the 55-year-old Seward Silver Salmon Derby (up 10 percent) have registered more moderate growth.

The difference?

Perhaps the bachelor-of-filet auction (think single hunks flashing blades of steel). Or the wine tasting Friday night before fishing begins next morning. Or the exclusive desserts at the banquet. Or the Spawn-Til-Dawn bash.

Clearly, this is a derby with flash as well as fish, a competition that ventures well beyond bait buckets and salmon entrails.

"If I had to say one thing, it's about the camaraderie as much as the fishing," said Laurie Prax, general manager of KVAK radio and a member of the derby's board of directors. "It's more a weekend out with the girls. You go out the night before, then fish, then party. We're kind of doing our own thing, and people seem to like it.

"Last year, the fishing was not that great, but the women had a great time. This year, it looks like we'll have tremendous fishing."

So-so fishing may have plagued some entrants 12 months ago, but not Christy Roden of Delta Junction. Her 18.56-pounder not only won the derby, topping some 1,000 fish weighed. She also managed to claim fourth place in the six-week-long Valdez Silver Salmon Derby, of which the women's derby is part.

"It was an awesome experience," said Roden, who later cautioned her husband, "Every time you take me fishing now, I will expect gifts and money."

She was among five anglers weighing silvers more than 16 pounds.

"We have some very serious women anglers," Prax said. "They want that vest. But it also draws people who've never gone fishing before."

The top 50 finishers earn a snappy fleece vest. The winner earns $1,000 cash and prizes.

The derby has grown about as fast as the town of 4,000 residents on the shore of Prince William Sound can accommodate.

The dozen local charter boats listed on the derby website fill up fast. So do hotels and bed-and-breakfasts.

"Everything gets booked for that day," Prax said. "As much as we'd like to accommodate people, fishing charters are limited."

Those limitations combined with Alaska's demographics and hundreds of women desperate to fish have led to a somewhat predictable outcome -- "Single men coming down with a boat looking to take people out," Prax said.

Of course, the success of women-only recreational events in Alaska extends well beyond fishing. The Alaska Women's Gold Nugget Triathlon is the largest triathlon in the state. The Alaska Run for Women is the largest footrace in the state. And this year's Ski for Women on Super Bowl Sunday trailed only the Tour of Anchorage in entrants.

Five years ago, the Valdez Women's Silver Salmon Derby was just an idea in the head of Angela Corcoran, a clerk for the Valdez Fish Derbies.

"We kind of threw it together," Prax said, "and it went crazy."

The Prospector, a Valdez store selling outdoors gear, was the registration site for the inaugural derby in 2005. Some 372 women showed up and quickly overwhelmed the storefront.

Now the ballrooms of the Valdez Civic & Convention Center, which with a capacity of 450 is the biggest place in town, are filled for the derby banquet.

So what happens if it continues growing?

"We're not really sure," Prax said. "We really haven't had to face that yet."