Top Of Valdez Halibut Derby Leaderboard Remains Unchanged

The following is courtesy of Valdez Fish Derbies:

ALDEZ, Alaska – Shane Miller used a jigging rod with a green squid and herring to catch the 184.6-pound halibut that won him $1,000 in the Valdez Halibut Hullabaloo Tournament last week. His fish remains in the lead to win the top prize in the Valdez Halibut Derby. Miller said he enjoys the hands-on experience of jigging. “I’m not a fan of just bait and waiting for the circle hook to do all the work,” said Miller. “I like the activity of fishing and setting the hook.” The size of the winning halibut in the Valdez Derby has ranged from a 170-pounder caught in 2022 to the record breaking 374-pound halibut caught by Frieda Wiley in 2017. When asked whether he thought his fish would hang on to win the big money, Miller responded, “I try to not get too excited about it, because it is still a long way away and I don’t want to upset myself if I don’t make it. I was just pretty excited about winning the Halibut Hullabaloo so that was pretty good for me.”

Jigging is working well for a lot of anglers in the Sound this season. Sean Pender of Carrabelle, Florida was fishing for halibut last week when a big salmon shark hit his line. Pender thought he had a derby winner when he initially felt the fish. Pender was jigging with light tackle and said he had to really fight to keep it on the line. Pender spent the better part of an hour getting the shark into the boat and when they got it on the deck it measured ninety-eight inches. At the weigh-in station the shark broke the Halibut Derby rope as it was being hoisted up. The shark registered a weight of 280 pounds …and the shark was gutted at the time of weigh-in. Charter Captain Josh Hughes of Hofstad Fishing Company estimates the live weight at 380 to 400 pounds. There is no prize for shark in Valdez but there is big money on the line for halibut and salmon.

The weights of the winners are always changing, but one constant in the Valdez Halibut Derby is the ten-dollar price tag to buy a daily Halibut Derby ticket and the chance to win a 10,000 cash prize. Miller is clearly in the lead in the Valdez Halibut Derby with a 184.6-pound fish and Chris Bass of Shreveport, Louisiana got on the leader board in 2^nd place with a 139.4-pound halibut he caught Friday aboard the Sentinel. Bass won the 1^st place weekly prize and Bob Landvogt of Clemente, California took the 2^nd place weekly prize with a 134.6-pound halibut he caught on Saturday.

The Valdez Kids Pink Salmon Derby is July 25^th and is free for kids aged 5 to 16. To participate, kids get a free hat at the weigh-in station on the morning of Saturday, July 25^th, fish in Valdez, and enter their picture on the valdezfishderbies.com website for a chance to win prizes. There will be four $100 Grand prize winners chosen randomly and eight other lucky kids will win a fishing pole. This is a free event sponsored by Valdez Fish Derbies to get kids involved in fishing. Anglers can catch pink salmon trolling the waters but there are also miles of accessible shoreline at Allison Point and anglers need only a fishing pole and a pixie, spinner or vibrax to hook a good one. CLICK HERE for more information about the Valdez Kids Pink Salmon Derby. The Women’s Silver Salmon Derby is slated for Saturday, August 8^th with the opening Breast Cancer Awareness Walk and Art Scavenger Hunt and Art Scramble on Friday, August 7^th. The Women’s Derby theme this year is Breast Cancer Awareness with the theme “TaTa’s, TuTu’s & XtraTuffs.”

Halibut Derby – Overall Leaders

1^st           Shane Miller                    Fairbanks, AK                 184.6 lbs.         June 19              Devil Dog

2^nd          Chris Bass                       Shreveport, LA               139.4 lbs.         June 26              Sentinel

3^rd               Steve Hylton                   Boise, ID                            136.4 lbs.         June 12              Hofshore

Halibut Derby – Weekly Winners – June 21 through June 27 

1^st           Chris Bass                       Shreveport, LA               139.4 lbs.         June 26              Sentinel

2^nd          Bob Landvogt                San Clemente, CA      134.6 lbs.         June 27              Hofshore