Valdez Silver Salmon Derby Kicks Off

Lavonne Kennedy with a 7.21 silver. (VALDEZFISHDERBIES.COM)

VALDEZ, Alaska – The Valdez Silver Salmon derby began Saturday and the largest fish weighed in was a 11.92 pound silver caught by Lavonne Kennedy of Valdez aboard the Lady Lavonne.

Charter Captain Sanoe Deaver said they are picking up a few silvers about an hour and a half out of Valdez by Goose island. “They’re slowly coming in, but they’re out there”, Deaver said.

There are daily 1st and 2nd place prizes in the Valdez Silver Salmon Derby as well as a $10,000 first place prize. Lavonne Kennedy took 1st place for opening day and Anne Branshaw was 2nd place for the day with a 11.14 pound silver she caught aboard the Highmark.

William Howe with a 187-pound halibut caught during the Valdez Halibut Derby. (VALDEZFISHDERBIES.COM)

In the Valdez Halibut Derby, Doug Cranor of Valdez is still leading the way with the 239.0 pound halibut he caught June 23rd. Weekly winners were William Howe of Fairbanks with a 187.0 pound halibut and Todd Carsten of Valdez with a 145.4 pound halibut. Halibut anglers are doing well. Charters have been able to reach the fishing grounds and have been bringing back numerous rock fish and lingcod in addition to their halibut.

Pink salmon fishing was amazing for the Valdez Kids Pink Salmon Derby. More than 300 fish were weighed in on Saturday. The biggest pink salmon in the derby this year was a 7.80 pound pink caught by Liliana Garcia of Fairbanks. Garcia is no stranger to the Kids Derby having placed 2nd in 2014 with a 5.06 pound fish in the 5 to 7 year-old age division. Garcia also just made it onto the list of anglers catching the Top 10 biggest fish ever caught in the Valdez Kids Pink Salmon Derby. Garcia’s fish took the 10th spot on the list.

The pinks will be around awhile for everyone to catch, but there are also some trout fisheries that have been fun for kids. Ruth Pond and Blueberry Lake were recently stocked with catchable size rainbow trout.

Valdez Fish Derbies is now gearing up for Silver Salmon Big Prize Friday and the 2018 Valdez Women’s Silver Salmon Derby. Big Prize Friday is July 27th and the angler catching the largest silver salmon that day will win $500 in addition to the regular prizes. The Women’s Silver Salmon Derby is Saturday, August 11th with an opening event on Friday, August 10th. The theme of this year’s Women’s Derby is “Circus”. Valdez Fish Derbies Women’s Derby Page on the Valdez Fish Derbies website has all the information.


Halibut Derby – Overall Leaders

1st        Doug Cranor                Valdez, AK                  239.0 lbs.         June 23                        Redhead
2nd        Russell Young             Fairbanks, AK             226.0 lbs.         June 23            Dan Orion

3rd        Tim Ingraham              North Pole, AK                        214.2lbs.          July 7               Jaime Lynn

Halibut Derby – Weekly Winners

1st        William Howe              Fairbanks, AK             187.0 lbs.         July 19             Jaime Lynn
2nd        Tod Carsten                 Valdez, AK                   145.4 lbs.        July 21             Straydog

Silver Salmon Derby – Overall Leaders

1st        Lavonne Kennedy       Valdez, AK                  11.92 lbs.         July 21             Lady Lavonne
2nd        Anne Branshaw           Valdez, AK                  11.14 lbs.         July 21             Highmark
3rd        Glenna Wiehe              Big Lake, AK               10.48 lbs.         July 21             Crista June

For more information on the Valdez Derbies, visit: www.valdezfishderbies.com