The Valdez Halibut Derby weigh-in station weighed in 18 halibut this week, all vying for a spot on the leader board and a chance to win the $1,000 Halibut Hullabaloo prize. At the end of the derby week, the derby leader board was completely dominated by women anglers. Kathy Young of Fairbanks reeled in a 134 pound halibut Saturday night to take the lead in the Halibut Hullabaloo and win the weekly 1st place prize. Young caught her fish aboard Reel Dreams. Hillary Schaeffer of Ester, Alaska slid into the standings just behind Young with a 131.2 pound Halibut she caught Saturday aboard the Halibut Grove.
Young’s catch puts her in 2nd place in the overall standings behind Laurie Deakin of Litchfield Park, Arizona, whose 158 pound halibut is still leading the derby. Schaeffer is currently in 3rd place overall. The Valdez Fish Derbies 10-day tournament called the Halibut Hullabaloo is underway and ends Sunday, June 23rd. The largest fish caught between June 14th and June 23rd will win $1,000 cash in addition to the weekly prizes. Young is hoping her fish hangs on to win the extra cash, but Weigh-In Coordinator Bonnie Woods said it could have easily been someone else. “Apparently there was a 170 pounder caught on the 14th, with no derby ticket,” Woods remarked.
The weather has been astounding in Valdez with record high temperatures and the fishing is becoming more productive. Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports, “Halibut angling has been fairly good throughout the Sound. More success has been seen South East of Perry Island and in Southern regions by Montague.” Rockfish angling has also been quite productive.
This coming weekend will bring the end of the Halibut Hullabaloo tournament, but the Valdez Halibut Derby runs through September 2nd. The City of Valdez will be hosting a Kite Festival in Valdez Saturday, July 29th, a big 4th of July Block Party on Thursday, July 4th and fun events for the Pink Salmon Festival July 6th.
The pink salmon should be returning to Port Valdez in a couple weeks and plans are underway for the Valdez Kids Pink Salmon Derby. Mike Wells of Valdez Fisheries Development Association said the expected return of Pink Salmon to Port Valdez is 13.8 million. The Kids Derby is held at the peak of the run. This year, the event will take place Saturday, July 20th. The Kids Derby is free and the first 300 kids to weigh in a fish will get a free t-shirt. The top three fish in four different age divisions will win prizes. There’s a free family BBQ at the end of the Kids Derby.
Halibut Derby – Overall Leaders
1st Laurie Deakin Litchfield Park, AZ 158.0 lbs. May 26 Dan Orion
2nd Kathy Young Fairbanks, AK 134.0 lbs. June 15 Reel Dreams
3rd Hillary Schaeffer Ester, AK 131.2 lbs. June 15 Halibut Grove
Halibut Derby – Weekly Winners – Week #4
1st Kathy Young Fairbanks, AK 158.0 lbs. June 15 Reel Dreams
2nd Hillary Schaeffer Ester, AK 131.2 lbs. June15 Halibut Grove
For more information on the Valdez Derbies, visit: www.valdezfishderbies.com
VALDEZ FISH DERBIES UPDATE
OVERALL LEADERS
1st PLACE: Laurie Deakin- 158.0 lb halibut
2nd PLACE: David Flynn- 114.0 lb halibut
3rd PLACE: Martin Snyder 106.0 lb halibut
WEEKLY WINNERS
1st PLACE: Brandon Systo- 105.0 lb halibut
2nd PLACE: Jonathon Yinger- 95.2 lb halibut
Eight big halibut were weighed in the first day of week three in the derby, but none of the fish weighed in this week were big enough to break into the overall standings. The first place weekly prize included a Valdez Fish Derbies winner jacket, t-shirt, $100 gift basket from Totem Inn, $50 to Easy Freeze, $25 to Prospector, $20 to South Central Hardware and gifts from Subway. To view the weekly prize list, CLICK HERE.
DERBY UPDATE
Laurie Deakin of Litchfield Park, Arizona leads the overall Derby standings with a 158.0 pound halibut caught on Sunday, May 26th.
Martin Snyder won the week one 1st place prize with the 106.0 pound halibut, followed by Justin Hoppe of Valdez won 2nd place in the weekly standings with a 97.0 pound halibut he caught May 19th. For more Derby standings tune into KVAK for daily fishing report updates or visit www.valdezfishderbies.com.
97 POUND HALIBUT LEADS DERBY AFTER FIRST WEEKEND
VALDEZ, Alaska – Several feet of snow still stand on the lawns and gardens of Valdez, but a little bit of late snow did not deter anglers in the Valdez Halibut Derby. Justin Hoppe of Valdez hit Prince William Sound aboard Dan Orion charters and returned with a 97 pound halibut on Sunday to take an early lead in the derby. Shawn Shipman of Whitehorse was also aboard the Dan Orion on Sunday and picked up a 70.4 pound halibut. Hoppe and Shipman are currently leading the derby and are in line to win the weekly first and second place prizes in the Halibut Derby if their fish stay atop the leaderboard until the derby week closes Saturday.
Greg Davis of Westminster, Colorado weighed in the first halibut in the Valdez Derbies on Saturday. “He was visiting from Colorado and really excited about his fish”, commented Derby Weigh-In Coordinator Bonnie Woods.
Charter Captains in Valdez are preparing for a busy season as anglers have high hopes of being the winner of the $15,000 first place prize in the Valdez Halibut Derby. A ticket costs $10 for the day or $50 for the season and must be purchased before heading out on the water. Ticket sale locations can be found at www.valdezfishderbies.com. The limit for halibut in Prince William Sound is still two per person and weigh-in for the derby is open 3pm until 8pm at the derby shack located kitty corner from the Harbormasters office.
In addition to the grand prize of $15,000, 2nd place prize of $5,000 and 3rd place of $2,000 for catching the largest three fish, halibut derby anglers can also win weekly 1st and 2nd place prizes in the derby. Again, this year the Valdez Fish Derbies will award a 4x4 F-150 truck to one lucky participant of the derby. Every $10 spent on a ticket is an entry to win the truck regardless of whether anglers catch a fish or not (season ticket is five entries).
The Halibut Hullaballoo fishing dates have been set for June14th through the 23rd and the angler catching the largest halibut during that time period will win $1,000 cash in addition to the weekly prizes and any overall prizes they might qualify for.
The Kids Pink Salmon Derby has been set for July 20th and the event has gotten bigger each year. The Silver Salmon Derby in Valdez will again boast a $15,000 first place prize and daily prizes. The Annual Valdez Women’s Derby is slated for Saturday, August 10th with an opening ceremony Friday, August 9th and the closing ceremony Saturday night.
There will be a $500 prize for the vendor and operator selling the winning derby ticket in both derbies. Every derby ticket purchased for either the halibut or silver salmon derbies is entered for a chance to win a truck from Seekins Ford that will be on display in Valdez.
For more information on the Valdez Derbies, visit: www.valdezfishderbies.com Halibut Derby – Overall Leaders
1st Justin Hoppe Valdez, AK 97.0 lbs. May 19 Dan Orion
2nd Shawn Shipman Whitehorse, YT 70.4 lbs. May 19 Dan Orion
3rd Greg Davis Westminster, CO 25.0 lbs. May 18 Private Boat
Halibut Derby – Weekly Winners – Week #1
1st Justin Hoppe Valdez, AK 97.0 lbs. May 19 Dan Orion
2nd Shawn Shipman Whitehorse, YT 70.4 lbs. May 19 Dan Orion
NORTH POLE MAN WINS $15,000 IN VALDEZ HALIBUT DERBY
VALDEZ – A 264 pound halibut reeled in by Calvin Carr just a week before the end of the Valdez Halibut Derby held on to take the $15,000 first place prize at the close of the derby Sunday. Carr caught his halibut aboard the Otter Dodger on August 26th. A group of about 70 gathered at the Elks Lodge for the awards ceremony and to watch the truck drawing. Everyone who purchased a derby ticket had a chance to win a 4x4 Ford F-150, but when the ticket was drawn, it was Maliwan Turner of Valdez who drove home the prize.
In the halibut derby, Bill Kelly took home $5,000 for second place with a 237.7 pound halibut he reeled in August 28th aboard the Victorious. Mike Burke of Henderson, Nevada took 3rd place and won $2,000 cash with the 233 pound halibut he caught August 12 while fishing aboard the Dan Orion.
Diana Doodchenko of Canada caught her 17.88 pound silver salmon July 25th and was doubtful it would hang on to take the 1st place prize of $15,000 in the Silver Salmon Derby. Doodchenko’s husband had a 3 x 5 picture printed in Valdez of his wife with her fish because he said he had a tradition of framing his wife’s prize fishing catches. As it turns out, this fish will provide much more than a memory. Tom Parker of Billings, Montana won 2nd place and $5,000 in the silver derby with a 16.70 pound silver he caught August 18th and Joel Brown of Valdez brought home the 3rd place prize of $2,000 cash for the 16.10 pound silver he caught August 15th.
The $500 cash prize for the charter captain taking out the winning halibut angler went to Dennis Petri of the Otter Dodger who said he was planning to give the money to his granddaughter who worked as his deck hand this summer. Nancy Meador won the $500 prize for selling the ticket to Calvin Carr. Dan Eames won $500 for being Diana Doodchenko’s Captain July 25th and Greg Kern of Fish Central won the $500 ticket seller’s prize for the silver derby.
