That’s right, its halibut derby time again in Alaska, and there is not much time left to catch the jackpot halibut this year. Currently, the leading halibut is coming in at 273 pounds and was caught by Mark Hilts from Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Also, there are a couple of halibut in the 250 pound range that were landed in July too.
Weather has been typical Alaska weather, tiny bit of sun, tons of overcast and some rain. Water conditions have been a little bit nasty several of the past few days with quite a few out of town anglers getting a bit sick out there. But hey, its derby time, and you got to be able to play with the big barn door halibut if you are going to have any shot.
One of the big questions of the year is where the heck is Deep Creek Fishing Lodge right now in this derby? Haven’t seen crusty man Steve Moe at the weigh in scales yet, so not sure if he has been able to get out of bed to do some fishing lately? But, knowing him, he will probably be sliding in the winning halibut on the last day of the tournament.