2019 Derby Dates
Silver Derby: July 20 through September 1st
Big Prize Fridays: July 26 & August 30
Tagged Fish Contest: August 9th – September 1st
The Valdez Silver Derby features a $10,000 cash Grand Prize for the largest Silver, $3,000 cash for 2nd place and $1,500 for 3rd place. In addition, the Valdez Silver Salmon Derby features 1st and 2nd place daily prizes. It all starts with a derby ticket and you can find out where to get one by visiting our Tickets page.
Prizes
Click here for a list of weekly prizes!
2018 Overall Leaders
1st Place
Aksel Hutchinson
Valdez, AK
17.28 lbs. on August 11
Amanda Rose
2nd Place
Daniel Schneider
Anchorage, AK
16.64 lbs. on August 4
Sea Duck
3rd Place
Leslie West
Provo, UT
16.48 lbs. on August 11
Sea Duck
Daily Winners – Sept 2
1st Place
Aidan Ray
Anchorage, AK
13.24 lbs. on September 2
Shore
2nd Place
Bart Burkans
Ft. Wainwright, AK
11.52 lbs. on September 2
Shore
Daily Winners – Sept 1
1st Place
David Szecinski
Conshohoula, PA
13.26 lbs. on September 1
Seagull
2nd Place
John Wyman
Fairbanks, AK
12.64 lbs. on September 1
Private
Daily Winners – Aug 31
1st Place
Brett Adair
Rosehill, KS
14.32 lbs. on August 31
Shore
2nd Place
John Totemoff
Valdez, AK
13.72 lbs. on August 31
Shore
Daily Winners – Aug 30
1st Place
Alma Nelson
Anchorage, AK
16.10 lbs. on August 30
Shore
2nd Place
John Nelson
Anchorage, AK
12.78 lbs. on August 30
Shore
Daily Winners – Aug 29
1st Place
John Ledsworth
Middlesex, VT
13.70 lbs. on August 29
Shore
2nd Place
Heather Rowhl
Nevis, MN
13.06 lbs. on August 29
The lip Ripper
Daily Winners – Aug 28
1st Place
Mike Widell
Fairbanks, AK
14.70 lbs. on August 28
Shore
2nd Place
Jim Hillman
Indianopolis, IN
14.02 lbs. on August 28
Shore
Daily Winners – Aug 27
1st Place
Kyle Krabill
Stakvn, MD
12.54 lbs. on August 27
Shore
2nd Place
Brooklyn Farra
North Pole, AK
12.26 lbs. on August 27
Private Boat
Daily Winners – Aug 26
1st Place
Velnita Hoyt
Fairbanks, AK
14.22 lbs. on August 26
Rental Boat
2nd Place
Arleda Tisdell
Fairbanks, AK
13.20 lbs. on August 26
Rental Boat
Daily Winners – Aug 25
1st Place
Chris Zenger
North Pole, AK
14.28 lbs. on August 25
Shore
2nd Place
John Kotula
Valdez, AK
14.12 lbs. on August 25
Private Boat
Daily Winners – Aug 24
1st Place
Aleshia Jones
Fairbanks, AK
14.42 lbs. on August 24
Misty Isle
2nd Place
Jolin Oksness
Anchorage, AK
14.36 lbs. on August 24
Rental Boat
Daily Winners – Aug 23
1st Place
Peter Mayer
Valdez, AK
14.18 lbs. on August 23
Lena Claire
2nd Place
Nathan Hendrickson
Valdez, AK
12.00 lbs. on August 23
Marvelous Minnow
Daily Winners – Aug 22
1st Place
Jack Johnson
Anchorage, AK
13.98 lbs. on August 22
Private Boat
2nd Place
Ray McPherson
Fairbanks, AK
13.50 lbs. on August 22
Private Boat
Daily Winners – Aug 21
1st Place
Victoria Fitts
North Pole, AK
12.22 lbs. on August 21
Eielson Boat #3
2nd Place
Joe Kotula
Kelliher, MN
11.96 lbs. on August 21
Private Boat
Daily Winners – Aug 20
1st Place
Steve Kerling
Vaughn, MT
13.96 lbs. on August 20
Fin Man
2nd Place
David Suozzi
Wasilla, AK
13.90 lbs. on August 20
Fin Man
Daily Winners – Aug 19
1st Place
Nathan Hendrickson
Anchorage, AK
15.22 lbs. on August 19
Marvelous Marie
2nd Place
Bonnie Woods
Valdez, AK
14.70 lbs. on August 19
Sea Ya
Daily Winners – Aug 18
1st Place
Michael Dalelio
Fairbanks, AK
15.44 lbs. on August 18
Mrs. D
2nd Place
Dustin Kaiser
Albuquerque, NM
15.14 lbs. on August 18
Vixen
Daily Winners – Aug 17
1st Place
Boyd Hillebrand
Orange, CA
15.48 lbs. on August 17
Hootchy Kootchy
2nd Place
Anthony Newcomer
Anchorage, AK
15.10 lbs. on August 17
Northern Light
Daily Winners – Aug 16
1st Place
Patricia Crisenbery
Fairbanks, AK
14.98 lbs. on August 16
Air’nC
2nd Place
Sue Eilers
Janesville, IA
14.48 lbs. on August 16
Gusikee
Daily Winners – Aug 15
1st Place
John Neitzke
Grand Rapids, MN
15.00 lbs. on August 15
Private
2nd Place
Al Sisarsky
Canton, GA
14.78 lbs. on August 15
Private
Daily Winners – Aug 14
1st Place
Savannah Cockerham
Valdez, AK
14.60 lbs. on August 14
Sadie K.
2nd Place
Dick Goins
Billings, MT
14.56 lbs. on August 14
Mrs. D.
Daily Winners – Aug 13
1st Place
Grace Sikorski
North Pole, AK
14.84 lbs. on August 13
2nd Place
Trevor Johnson
Newcastle, WA
14.58 lbs. on August 13
Alaski
Daily Winners – Aug 12
1st Place
Doug Johnson
Burien, WA
13.08 lbs. on August 12
Alaski
2nd Place
Bailey Bryant
Gillette, WY
13.06 lbs. on August 12
Private
Daily Winners – Aug 11
1st Place
Aksel Hutchinson
Valdez, AK
17.28 lbs. on August 11
Amanda Rose
2nd Place
Leslie West
Provo, UT
16.48 lbs. on August 11
Sea Duck
Daily Winners – Aug 10
1st Place
Ruby Powers
Fairbanks, AK
14.90 lbs. on August 10
Kanaloa
2nd Place
Bonnie Hinkle
Salcha, AK
14.58 lbs. on August 9
Diva
Daily Winners – Aug 9
1st Place
Dale Butler
Frisco, CO
15.36 lbs. on August 9
Dawn Treader
2nd Place
James Taylor
John’s Creek, GA
14.54lbs. on August 9
Vixen
Daily Winners – Aug 8
1st Place
Connie Olson
Huntsville, UT
15.56 lbs. on August 8
Lucky Me
2nd Place
Shelby Winchester
Kearny, NH
13.80 lbs. on August 8
Nunatak
Daily Winners – Aug 7
1st Place
Christina Felton
Kennewick, WA
11.48 lbs. on August 7
Chinook
2nd Place
Eric Kuh
Kennewick, WA
11.42 lbs. on August 7
Chinook
Daily Winners – Aug 6
1st Place
Alan Odom
North Pole, AK
11.44 lbs. on August 6
Private Boat
2nd Place
John Neitzke
Grand Rapids, MN
10.36 lbs. on August 6
Private Boat
Daily Winners – Aug 5
1st Place
Tim Tollefsrud
Pierre, SD
14.04 lbs. on August 5
Private Boat
2nd Place
Tom Plowman
Fairbanks, AK
13.72 lbs. on August 5
Center Shot
Daily Winners – Aug 4
1st Place
Daniel Schneider
Anchorage, AK
16.64 lbs. on August 4
Sea Duck
2nd Place
Tom Karlsten
St. Cloud, FL
16.40 lbs. on August 4
Long Shot
Daily Winners – Aug 3
1st Place
Lynn Mills
Clear Springs, MD
12.80 lbs. on August 3
Sea Hunter
2nd Place
Tim Tollefsrud
Pierre, SD
12.00 lbs. on August 3
Private
Daily Winners – Aug 2
1st Place
Jane Karlsten
St. Cloud, FL
13.18 lbs. on August 2
Long Shot
2nd Place
Chris Logan
Anchorage, AK
13.08 lbs. on August 2
Guskee
Daily Winners – Aug 1
1st Place
Bruce Doom
Romulus, MI
12.82lbs. on August 1
Vixen
2nd Place
Caitlin Connell
Valdez, AK
11.66 lbs. on August 1
Nunatak
Daily Winners – July 31
1st Place
Barb Amundson
Valdez, AK
13.08 lbs. on July 31
Chinook
2nd Place
David Bushey
Villa Rica, GA
11.48 lbs. on July 31
Dawn Treader
Daily Winners – July 30
1st Place
Tim Tollefsrud
Pierre, SD
11.08 lbs. on July 30
Private Boat
2nd Place
Allen Struck
North Pole, AK
10.58 lbs. on July 30
Sea Duck
Daily Winners – July 29
1st Place
Tera Stockton
Kenmore, WA
10.20 lbs. on July 29
Bucket List
2nd Place
Veral Stockton
Salcha, AK
9.58 lbs. on July 29
Bucket List
Daily Winners – July 28
1st Place
Ken Gieser
Fairbanks, AK
10.58 lbs. on July 28
Faithful
2nd Place
Calvin Teague
JBER, AK
9.96 lbs. on July 28
Sea Duck
Daily Winners – July 27
1st Place
Bernard Roberge
Quebec
11.44 lbs. on July 27
Sea Duck
2nd Place
Crista Anderson
Valdez, AK
11.32 lbs. on July 27
Crista June
Daily Winners – July 26
1st Place
Steve DuBois
Livingston, MT
11.44 lbs. on July 26
Aquila
2nd Place
Rita Patterson
Chattanooga, TN
10.92 lbs. on July 26
SeaDuction
Daily Winners – July 25
1st Place
James Morgan
Harrison, TN
9.52 lbs. on July 25
SeaDuction
2nd Place
Ron Patterson
Chattanooga, TN
9.38 lbs. on July 25
SeaDuction
Daily Winners – July 24
1st Place
Darlene Juve
Decorah, IA
14.98 lbs. on July 24
Orion
2nd Place
Evan Clark
Wasilla, AK
10.20 lbs. on July 24
Fin Reaper
Daily Winners – July 23
1st Place
Andrew Valdez
Aptos, CA
10.56 lbs. on July 23
Faithful
2nd Place
Ann Marie Dushime
Fairbanks, AK
10.46 lbs. on July 23
Faithful
Daily Winners – July 22
1st Place
Sol Leitzke
Hustisford, WI
10.24 lbs. on July 22
Guskee
2nd Place
Rue Leitzke
Hustisford, WI
9.30 lbs. on July 22
Guskee
Daily Winners – July 21
1st Place
Lavonne Kennedy
Valdez, AK
11.92 lbs. on July 21
Lady Lavonne
2nd Place
Anne Branshaw
Valdez, AK
11.14 lbs. on July 21
Highmark
General Information
Fishing for silvers in Valdez is a great sport. With the Solomon Gulch Hatchery releasing millions of coho fry each year, the silvers swim right past Valdez and are fairly easy to catch either from shore or by trolling by boat. Silvers put up a good fight and are popular with the locals as they taste great and freeze well. These fish can weigh from 6 to 20 pounds and are between 24 and 30 inches long.
When fishing for silvers use a medium weight 7-8.5′ rod with a high quality bait or spin-casting reel. Utilize at least 200 yards of 10 to 25-pound test, and keep a variety of swivels and weights available. Boat anglers in saltwater can troll with a flasher, herring dodger, pink lady or hootchie in addition to herring. Coho will also strike at roe, flies, spoons, spinners and plugs. At Allison Point, Pixies and Vibrax lures work well.
Silver salmon or Coho have dark metallic blue or greenish backs with silver sides and a light belly. There are small black spots on their baks and upper lobe of the tail when you find them in the ocean. Spawning river coho have reddish-maroon on their sides. To tell them apart from a pink, the gumline in their lower jaw has lighter pigment.