Valdez Silver Salmon, Halibut Derbies Heating Up

The following press release is courtesy of Valdez Fish Derbies:

VALDEZ, Alaska – In addition to winning the 1^st place daily prize, Anne Branshaw won Big Prize Friday with a 10.86 pound silver salmon and took home $500 cash as well as her daily prizes. In first place overall in the Valdez Silver Salmon Derby is Wayne Tuttle of Pepperell, MA with a 11.68 pound silver salmon he reeled in on July 23^rd aboard the Alaskai. Adam West of Santa Rita, Guam holds second place overall with a 10.96 pound silver salmon he caught on July 23^rd aboard the Sea Hawk 1. Holding on to third place overall Anne Branshaw of Valdez, AK reeled in a 10.86 pound silver salmon on July 26 aboard the High Mark.

As the silvers return to Port Valdez in larger numbers during the coming weeks, expect the size of daily winners to increase. The largest fish on record to win the Valdez Silver Salmon Derby was a 22.14 pound fish. It doesn’t always take a huge fish to win the Valdez Derbies. The smallest silver salmon to win the derby according to records dating back to 1971 is Jim Burzinski of Valdez who reeled in a 15.11 silver to win back in 1971. Visit the Valdez Fish Derbies Silver Salmon Derby “Previous Winners” page for complete list of winners and weights.

Christine Ives of Fairbanks, Alaska hooked into a 285.6 pound halibut aboard the Nunatak June 6^th to take the lead in the Valdez Halibut Derby. Christopher Barnes of Moorhead, Minnesota is currently in 2^nd place overall with a 225.6 pound halibut caught June 24^th. Joshua Curry of Valdez, Alaska is holding onto 3^rd place in the Valdez Halibut Derby with the 213.4 pound halibut he caught aboard the Mistress.

The Valdez Women’s Silver Salmon Derby should bring in some bigger fish, and a lot of lady anglers looking to catch them. Registration for the Women’s Derby will begin August 3^rd and run through August 10^th at the Prospector. The opening ceremony for Women’s Derby is Friday, August 9^thand a closing awards ceremony on Saturday, August 10^th. The top 50 winners will take home a prize. The theme of this year’s Women’s Derby is “Pajama Party” and there will be a group costume contest Friday. Live music and awards are planned for Saturday and derby organizers are expecting another exciting year. CLICK HERE to visit the Women’s Derby page on the www.valdezfishderbies.com website.

Halibut Derby – Overall Leaders

1^st        Christine Ives              Fairbanks, AK            285.6 lbs.         June 6              Nunatak
2^nd       Christopher Barnes     Moorhead, MN           225.6 lbs.         June 24            Sea Quester
3^rd        Joshua Curry               Valdez, AK                 213.4 lbs.         July 21            Mistress

Halibut Derby – Weekly Winners

1st        Joshua Curry               Valdez, AK                 213.4 lbs.         July 21            Mistress

2^nd        Steve Woodin               Des Moines, IA              132.2 lbs.         July 22             The Reflection

Silver Derby – Overall Leaders

1^st        Wayne Tuttle               Pepperell, MA                11.68 lbs.         July 23             Alaskai

2^nd        Adam West                Santa Rita, Guam             10.96 lbs.         July 23             Sea Hawk 1

3^rd        Anne Branshaw            Valdez, AK                   10.86 lbs.         July 26             Aquila