Week 9: Two New Leaders on the Halibut Board, Silvers Running

Derby News – Week 9, 7/13-7/19

VALDEZ, Alaska – While the kids were slaying the pink salmon Saturday, halibut fishing in Valdez hit a high point with two anglers breaking into the overall standings. Jeff Maurer of Elysburg, PA caught a 171.4 pound halibut July 17th aboard the Dawn Treader to hop into 2nd place and Mark Clark of Sutton, Alaska is currently in 3rd place overall with a 163.8 pound halibut he caught July 17th aboard the Dan Orion.

Halibut fishing continues to be consistent with larger fish coming from Ocean Entrances reports the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Ling Cod season is open and many are arriving to Port Valdez. ADF&G suggests, “jigs fished 10 feet off the bottom near and on top of steep rocky ridges and reefs work quite well for lingcod”.

Nearly 300 kids converged on Valdez for the 7th Annual Kids Pink Salmon Derby on Saturday and the largest fish brought in was a 7.5 pound pink caught by Aaron Williams of Fairbanks. The fish landed Williams a longboard skateboard and a 5-year subscription to Fish Alaska Magazine as well as bragging rights as one of the Top 10 Kids Derby Anglers in the derbies seven year history. Williams Fish is the 5th largest ever caught in the derby. This list is comprised of nine fish weighing over seven pounds and one just shy of 7 pounds. The largest fish ever caught in the derby was a 7.92 pounder caught by Theron Lee of Winfield, Alabama in 2012. A list of the Top 10 can be found at www.valdezfishderbies.com.

The silver salmon derby started Saturday and among the string of pink salmon caught by anglers young and old were bright silver salmon. Andrew Freerksen of Everson, PA caught the first silver salmon of the year and currently in the top spot on the leader board. Freerksen caught a 5.86 pound silver.