newsminer.com

FAIRBANKS -- The 300-pound barrier has been broken by halibut fishermen in both the Seward and Homer halibut derbies this summer, but Valdez is still waiting for its first 300-pounder to hit the dock.

If last year is any indication, it could be any day now.

Only two 200-pound plus fish have been weighed in at derby headquarters in Valdez this year. Lorena Jenkins of Valdez leads the derby with a 244.2-pound halibut caught on June 14 and David Gatch holds second place with a 207.2-pound flatfish caught on June 9.

The derby winner will net $15,000. The derby runs through Aug. 31.

The last time a fish as small as Jenkins’ won the Valdez derby was in 1994, when Tom Plowman of Fairbanks claimed top honors with a 239.1-pounder. Fish more than 300 pounds have won the derby the past four years.

Jim Adams of North Pole won last year’s derby with a 340-pound halibut caught on July 28. His was one of several halibut more than 200 pounds weighed in during the last two weeks of July, including a 264.1-pounder on July 16; a 328-pounder on July 17, which went on to place second in the derby; a 242-pounder on July 22; and a 236-pounder on July 30.

“Somebody’s way overdue,” said derby weigh-in coordinator Bonnie Woods, who placed third last year with a 274.5-pounder she caught on June 25.

Derby coordinator Laurie Prax said the four 300-plus pounders that won the derby the last four years could be a fluke. She noted that her husband won the derby in 2003 with a 251-pounder he caught in June. In 2002, Josh Watford of Fairbanks won the derby with a 261-pounder.

“This one could win it,” Prax said of Jenkins’ 244-pounder.

After a slow start, the Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby is finally seeing some big fish. While only two 200-pounders were weighed in during May and June, the derby has already had four 200-plus pounders brought in this month, including a 348.2-pound halibut caught by current leader Jeff Pardi of California on July 9.

In Seward, Tim Berg of Soldotna reeled in a 319.6-pound halibut on June 25 to win the $10,000 first-place prize in the Seward Halibut Derby, which ended on June 30. His was the only fish more than 200 pounds weighed in during the month-long derby.

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There are still reported to be a fair number of king salmon entering the Chena and Salcha rivers and fish counts in both rivers are ahead of last year.

“We caught quite a number of them in the lower Chena this past weekend,” said Bill O’Halloran of North Country River Charters in Fairbanks.

Through July 15, an estimated 1,999 kings had been counted through Moose Creek dam on the Chena River and 1,194 kings has been counted past the Richardson Highway bridge on the Salcha River.

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The last day of king salmon fishing on the Gulkana River is Saturday. The river was running a little high earlier this week but should clear up by the weekend if it doesn’t rain, said Mark Somerville at ADF&G in Glennallen. An estimated 2,130 kings have been counted past the tower above Sourdough boat launch and there still should be kings spread from the Richardson Highway bridge to Sourdough.

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The Klutina River is open to king fishing through July 31.

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Pinks aren’t as thick as some years in Valdez but there are enough that anglers are having no problems filling their limits off Allison Point. There have even been a few reports of silvers being caught off Allison Point.

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A few silver salmon have starting showing up in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley but it’s still early in the season for coho fishing. King salmon fishing is closed in all Valley streams except the Eklutna Tailrace, which is open all summer. Rainbow trout fishing in the Parks Highway streams is reported to be good.

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Down on the Kenai Peninsula, king salmon fishing in the Kenai River is reported to be fair and should improve as more fish enter the river in the next two weeks. The king situation on the Kasilof River is much the same.

A few sockeye salmon have been caught in the lower Kenai River but red fishing there is reported to be poor. Anglers are having a little better success picking up reds i the Kasilof River.

Sockeye fishing in the Russian River is rated as poor and will remain that way until more late-run reds arrive.

Dip-netters are also reporting better success on the Kasilof River than the Kenai River.

—Tim Mowry