2021 Derby Dates
Halibut Derby: May 22nd through Sept 5th
Halibut Hullabaloo: June 5th through June 14th
The Valdez Halibut Derby features a $10,000 cash Grand Prize for the largest halibut, $3,000 cash for 2nd place and $1,500 for 3rd place. In addition, the Valdez Halibut Derby features 1st and 2nd place weekly prizes. It all starts with a derby ticket and you can find out where to get one by visiting our Tickets page. The Valdez Halibut Derby week starts on Sunday and runs through Saturday Night!
CLICK HERE to read Weekly News Release
Prizes
CLICK HERE for 2021 Halibut Derby Prizes
2021 Overall Leaders
1st Place
Maren Russman
Lino Lakes, MN
214.8 lbs. on July 21
Nunatak
2nd Place
Terrence McCabe
Valdez, AK
202.0 lbs. on July 5
Only Fins
3rd Place
Caleb Hughes
Palmer, AK
160.4 lbs. on July 16
Reflection
Week 10- July 25 through July 31
1st Place
Chris Dixon
Fort Wayne, IN
146.0 lbs. on July 26
Hooked Up
2nd Place
Rodney K. Brown
Laughlin, NV
145.4 lbs. on July 25
Halibut Grove
Week 9 Winners- July 18 through July 24
1st Place
Maren Russman
Lino Lakes, MN
214.8 lbs. on July 21
Nunatak
2nd Place
Kyle Dearborn
Wasilla, AK
131.4 lbs. on July 21
Reflection
Week 8 Winners- July 11 through July 17
1st Place
Caleb Hughes
Palmer, AK
160.4 lbs. on July 16
Reflection
2nd Place
Mark McCaffrey
Anchorage, AK
150.4 lbs. on July 15
Sea Hunter
Week 7 Winners- July 4 through July 10
1st Place
Terrence McCabe
Valdez, AK
202.0 lbs. on July 5
Only Fins
2nd Place
Natalie Cevasco
Fairbanks, AK
158.2 lbs. on July 7
Gettin’ Some
Week 6 Winners- June 27 through July 3
1st Place
Shannon Stigall
North Pole, AK
107.4 lbs. on July 3
Sea Hunter
2nd Place
Mark Doggett
Semmis, AL
103.6 lbs. on June 29
Sea Hunter
Week 5 Winners- June 20 through June 26
1st Place
James Ekstrom
Mesa, AZ
144.6 lbs. on June 26
Bold Eagle
2nd Place
Colleen Thompson
Fairbanks, AK
137.4 lbs. on June 22
Dan Orion
Week 4 Winners- June 13 through June 19
1st Place
Jeff Steenhoven
Salcha, AK
143.4lbs. on June 15
Reel Nuts
2nd Place
Jessica Buchholz
Fairbanks, AK
142.4 lbs. on June 15
Lena Claire
Week 3 Winners- June 6 through June 12
1st Place
Gary Gardner
Valdez, AK
133.2 lbs. on June 7
Fraid Knot
2nd Place
Brenda Raynor
Charlotte, NC
123.0 lbs. on June 10
Arctic Warrior
Week 2 Winners – May 30 through June 5
1st Place
Jared Van Putten
Valdez, AK
123.2 lbs. on June 5
Bob
2nd Place
Gary Littlewood
Boise, ID
106.0 lbs. on June 3
Reflection
Week 1 Winners – May 22 through May 29
1st Place
Rick Fleming
Palmer, AK
128.9 lbs. on May 24
Reflection
2nd Place
Tim Ellis
Valdez, AK
116.4 lbs. on May 27
Lena Claire
General Information
The Valdez Halibut Derby features a $10,000 cash Grand Prize for the largest halibut, $3000 cash for 2nd place and $1500 for 3rd place. In addition, the Valdez Halibut Derby features 1st and 2nd place weekly prizes. It all starts with a derby ticket and you can find out where to get one by visiting our Tickets page.
The halibut charter season starts in May and runs into September. During May and June, halibut charters head to the icy waters of Prince William Sound in search of halibut and rockfish, but once it hits July charters also target lingcod. Halibut are found throughout Prince William Sound waters, on or near the bottom over mud, sand or gravel banks and below steep drop offs.
Anglers will catch halibut near Valdez in the Narrows and along the coastlines of the islands in Prince William Sound. Some of the closer popular fishing spots include Knowles Head and Red Head, Galena Bay, and Sawmill Bay. Further out, halibut can be found on the outside of Hinchinbrook entrance and the edge of the Gulf of Alaska. The preferred method for fishing halibut is anchoring and using bait. There are 32 species of rockfish that live in the Gulf of Alaska and lingcod up to 30 pounds are caught regularly. Fishing for salmon sharks out of Prince William Sound has also become quite popular, although there is not a shark derby.
The average halibut is 30 to 35 pound range, but several over 300 pounds have been brought back to Port Valdez. There is a two fish daily bag limit for halibut. Charter vessel anglers may keep one fish of any size per day and one fish that is no more than 32 inches in length The Valdez Small Boat Harbor has numerous fish cleaning stations available that feature high pressure hoses and disposal chutes.
While fishing in Valdez and Prince William Sound, anglers can expect to see majestic mountains, eagles, many species of birds, seals, sea lions and sea otters. Dall porpoise and humpback whales are also residents of Prince William Sound likely to make an appearance.