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VALDEZ FISH DERBY SEASON WRAPS UP WITH RECORD HALIBUT

September 5, 2017 By Valdez Fish Derbies

VALDEZ, Alaska – Freida Wiley’s 374.0 pound halibut is the largest fish ever caught in the Valdez halibut derby and Cole Baxter’s 15.62 pound silver salmon is one of the smallest silver salmon winners ever caught in the Valdez Silver Salmon Derby. In fact, there has only been one other silver salmon weighing less than 16 pounds that ended up a winner. The smallest silver to ever win the Valdez Silver Salmon Derby was Jim Burzinski’s 15.11 pound silver caught back in 1971.

The Valdez Silver Salmon derby is the oldest derby in the state but records for winners only date back to 1971. The derby was started by the Chamber of Commerce in 1952 and several years back Bill Wyatt, owner of Bear Paw RV Park and owner of a small hotel in the 50’s, recalled the prize for the first derby was $500 and the first winner of the silver derby was Loren St. Amond with an 18.8 pound silver salmon. A history of the Valdez Fish Derbies can be found HERE.

Many anglers braved the cold and rain in Valdez to best the 15.62 pound silver caught July 26th by Baxter, but his fish held on to win the $15,000 first place prize in the Valdez Silver Salmon Derby. Homer Huffman of Valdez took home the 2nd place prize of $5,000 with a 15.10 pound silver salmon and 3rd place was won by Randy Arndt of Wasilla with a 14.98 pound silver salmon.

In the Valdez Halibut Derby, it was no surprise that Frieda Wiley stayed at the top of the leader board with the record 374 pound halibut she caught August 6th aboard the Dan Orion. Wiley takes home the $15,000 first place prize and has the distinction of catching the largest halibut on record in the Valdez Halibut Derby. Tim Stadtmiller of Fairbanks took 2nd place in the derby with a 266.6 pound halibut he caught June 19th and Brett Fickler of Omaha, Nebraska took 3rd place with a 197.4 pound halibut he caught August 18th.

Big Prize Friday winner was Michael Swisher of Finjsburg, MD with a 14.38 pound silver he caught from shore. Finjburg took home $500 in addition to the daily prizes. And the $10,000 cash prize winner for holding the winning ticket drawn at the Valdez Fish Derbies end of the year awards party was Roger Johnson from Great Falls Montana. At press time, Johnson was camping and had not yet heard about his winning ticket.

Halibut Derby – Overall Winners
1st           Frieda Wiley                       Valdez, AK                          374.0 lbs.             Aug 6                     Dan Orion
2nd          Tim Stadtmiller                  Fairbanks, AK                     266.6 lbs.             June 19                 Dan Orion
3rd           Brett Fickler                        Omaha, NE                         197.4 lbs.             Aug 18                  Lena Claire

Halibut Derby – Weekly Winners
1st                 George Brewer                 North Las Vegas, NV       92.0 lbs.                Aug 27                  Dan Orion
2nd          Tim Cooper                         Olathe, KS                           75.4 lbs.                Aug 27                  Jamie Lynn

 Silver Derby – Overall Winners
1st           Cole Baxter                         Fayetteville, GA                15.62 lbs.             July 26                   Shark Tooth Charter
2nd          Homer Huffman               Valdez, Alaska                   15.10 lbs.             August 25            Off Shore
3rd           Randy Arndt                       Wasilla, AK                          14.98 lbs.             August 26            Miss Esther

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