Derby News - Week 12, 8/7- 8/13

293 Pound Halibut brought into Port no Derby Ticket

With 789 people registered for the Valdez Women’s Silver Salmon Derby, no one suspected there would be one lone woman out on the Sound fishing for halibut. But, she was out there and came back to Port with a 293 pound halibut. A halibut that would have put her in 2nd place in the Valdez Halibut Derby, had she bought a $10 derby ticket. But Julie Rupe did not buy a derby ticket. “My husband and I talked about it last night and decided we wouldn’t buy derby tickets because we never catch anything substantial”.

Rupe’s catch will not make the derby board and her only consolation is that a 335.7 pound halibut was caught earlier in the season by Annette Guitterez and that is the leader to win the $15,000 grand prize. The one person who might be happy that Rupe didn’t buy a ticket is James Pohlman of Fairbanks who remains in 2nd place with the 214.8 pound halibut he caught July 20th aboard the Dan Orion. Sam McCallister of Anchorage reeled in a 197.2 pound halibut aboard the Theo Polis knocking Brad Yates off the leaderboard. McCallister won the weekly 1st place prize with his 197.2 pounder and Karl Kristensen of Birchwood, Wisconsin took the 2nd place weekly prize with a 142 pound halibut he caught August 12th.

More than 900 silver salmon were brought to the derby shack at the harbor to be weighed in for the Women’s Silver Salmon Derby. The anglers definitely had the most luck past the narrows and out toward Galena Bay. The fish weighed in for the Women’s Derby were not as large as year’s past, but the top 50 fish in the derby all weighed in at 11 pounds or more. And there were 54 silvers brought in weighing 10 pounds or more that didn’t make the Top 50.

The top three fish weighed in for the Women’s Derby all tipped the scales at more than 16 pounds. Jeannette Wakefield of Anchorage took 2nd place with 16.24 pound silver. Nichole Theisen of Aitkin, Minnesota took 3rd place with 16.14 pound silver while honeymooning in Valdez. The three leading ladies in the Women’s Derby are also currently leading the Valdez Silver Salmon Derby. If Groundwater remains in the lead through the end of the derby Sunday, September 4th, she will win $15,000 cash.