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Halibut Derby

2021 Derby Dates

Halibut Derby: May 22nd through Sept 5th
Halibut Hullabaloo:
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.

CLICK HERE to read Weekly News Release

Prizes

Download a list of weekly prizes here!

 


 2020 Overall Winners


1st Place
Mickia Cenker
Fairbanks, AK
224.0 lbs. on August 16
Halibut Grove

2nd Place
Jim Rothenbuhler
Salcha, AK
201.2 lbs. on June 23
The Bucketlist

3rd Place
Kenny Tussey
North Pole, AK
193.4 lbs. on July 5
Dan Orion


Week 14 – August 30 through September 6

1st Place
Heidi Kampwerth
Fairbanks, AK
115.8 lbs. on September 5
Halibut Grove

2nd Place
Judy Skipworth
Anchorage, AK
79.0 lbs. on September 5
Sue Q


Week 13 – August 23 through 29

1st Place
Karen Deal
Fairbanks, AK
94.6 lbs. on August 28
Bold Eagle

2nd Place
Cole Read
North Pole, AK
93.6 lbs. on August 23
Dan Orion


Week 13 – August 16 through 22

1st Place
Mickia Cenker 
Fairbanks, AK
224.0 lbs. on August 16
Halibut Grove

2nd Place
Brayden David
Montgomery, MN
109.0 lbs. on August 19
Nunatak

 


Week 12 – August 9 through 15

1st Place
Terrence McCabe
Valdez, AK
173.0 lbs. on August 13
Private

2nd Place
David Scott
Valdez, AK
162.0 lbs. on August 9
Deep Sea Angel

 

 

 


Week 11 – August 2 through August 8

1st Place
Ken Boschert
Fairbanks, AK
128.4 lbs. on August 7
Six Gun

2nd Place
Brett Nelson
Palmer, AK
115.0 lbs. on August 2
Dan Orion

 

 

 


Week 10 – July 26 through August 1

1st Place
Jason Long
Fairbanks, AK
179.2 lbs on July 29
Halibut Grove

2nd Place
Jay Jeppson
St. George, UT
166.4 lbs on July 31
The Reflection


Week Nine – July 19 through July 25

1st Place
John Axhelm
North Pole, AK
153.4 lbs on July 25
Fish Whacker

2nd Place
Glenn McDowell
Kalamazoo, MI
139.8 lbs on July 21
Arctic Warrior


Week Eight – July 12 through July 18

1st Place
Andy Eiman
Valdez, AK
180.4 lbs. on July 18
Crista June

2nd Place
Terrence McCabe
Valdez, AK
134.2 lbs. on July 12
The Refraction


Week Seven – July 5 through July 11

1st Place
Kenny Tussey
North Pole, AK
193.4 lbs. on July 5
Dan Orion

2nd Place
Roger Horrace
Fairbanks, AK
173.6 lbs. on July 6
Dan Orion


Week Six – June 28 through July 4

1st Place
Elias Sturm
Fairbanks, AK
152.0 lbs. on June 29
Halibut Grove

2nd Place
Jason Howell
Delta, AK
132.0 lbs. on July 2
Treemendous


Week Five – June 21 through June 27

1st Place
Jim Rothenbuhler
Salcha, AK
201.2 lbs. on June 23
The Bucketlist

2nd Place
Debbie Peters
Valdez, AK
108.6 lbs on June 27
Final One


Week Four – June 14 through June 20

1st Place
Diane Jewkes
North Pole, AK
117.2 lbs. on June 17
Moscato Myst

2nd Place
Bonnie Saxum
Valdez, AK
111.0 lbs. on June 16
Nunatak


Week Three – June 7 through June 13

1st Place
Cody Buchanan
Hamlin, TX
127.0 lbs. on June 7
Jaime Lynn

2nd Place
Travis Frisk
Anchorage, AK
125.0 lbs. on June 13
Red Head


Week Two – May 31 through June 6

1st Place
Robert Miller
Fairbanks, AK
125.8 lbs. on June 5
Dan Orion

2nd Place
Ryan Woods
Valdez, AK
125.4 lbs. on June 6
See Ya


Week One – May 23 through May 30

1st Place
Jeff Saxe
Valdez, AK
157.0 lbs. on May 30
Go Get Her

2nd Place
Charles Young
Fairbanks, AK
128.8 lbs. on May 24
Reel Dream

 


 

 


General Information

huge-halibut-derbyThe Valdez Halibut Derby features a $5,000 cash Grand Prize for the largest halibut, $1,500 cash for 2nd place and $750 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 29 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.

https://www.valdezfishderbies.com/wp-content/uploads/Brad-Burch-296.2-Pound-Halibut.mp4

 

 

 

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