Derby News - Week 5 (June 22 - June 28)

You Can't Win the Derby Without a Derby Ticket

It only took a 134.2 pound halibut to take the weekly 1st place prize in the Valdez Halibut Derby this week, but it could have been a 200 pound flatfish on the leader board and in the overall standings. That is, if the boat of men who headed out in Prince William Sound had derby tickets. Immediately after returning to Port Valdez, the men were teased mercilessly about catching a big one without a derby ticket. The men do not want their names divulged at this time, but suffice to say there were local Valdezeans aboard who should have known better. “I wasn’t here, but it was my Dad”, said Diane Saxe of Eagle’s Rest RV Park. “They all came back to Port Valdez and bought season tickets.”

Lack of derby tickets left the field wide open for Charles Uren of Grimes, Iowa who caught a 134.2 pound halibut aboard the Faithful. He took the weekly first place price and Wiley Shott of Bement, Illinois reeled in a 132.2 pound fish aboard a private boat to take 2nd place for the week.

Lorena Jenkins of Valdez is still in the lead and in line to take home the $15,000 first place price with the 244.2 pound halibut she caught aboard No Excuses June 14th. David Gath of Fairbanks is currently in 2nd place with the 207.2 pounder he caught aboard the Faithful. And Robert Pfeil of Delray Beach, Florida is holding onto 3rd place with a 177.7 pounder. What will it take to win? Speculation is always rampant, but charter captain Dave Bruss says he thinks the winner will be in the upper 200 pound range.

As summer falls into place, the kings have begun to emerge. Mike Borque pulled at 25.7 lb king salmon from Galena Bay on June 26th. Borque was accompanied by John Bird. Both men are from Colorado and are in Valdez fishing for the first time. A storm in the gulf forced the men to cancel their original plans to go halibut fishing, and instead rented a boat and went out on their own. It was the first cast that landed the trophy fish, on an eight pound test line with an orange pixie. They also pulled in their limit of pinks and a few rockfish.

Excitement is building over the 3-day Halibut Hullabaloo tournament July 11th, 12th and 13th. The person catching the largest halibut on any of those days will win two round-trip tickets anywhere Alaska Airlines flies ($2,500 value). There is no additional entry fee. Anglers just need to have a Valdez Halibut Derby ticket and weigh their fish at the weigh-in station just as they do the rest of the season.

The Kids Pink Salmon Derby in Valdez is slated for July 19th with prizes for the largest pink salmon caught in each of four age divisions. The 1st place prize for each division is a bicycle, 2nd place prize is a skateboard and 3rd place prize is a fishing pole. There are no fees to participate and all participants are invited to a free barbeque at Dock Point in the evening. For the latest Valdez Fish Derbies standings or more information on events, visit www.valdezfishderbies.com.