Six-year-old Tegan Humphrey moved into the leading lady angler spot Sunday with a 138.8-pound halibut caught Sunday on Big Bear Halibut Charters with Capt. Rob Hyslip aboard the Bear Force I.

"Six years old. Can you believe it?" said Paula Frisinger, derby coordinator.

In spite of the size of her fish, however, Humphrey wasn't happy.

"She said she was very disappointed because she wanted to catch a mermaid," Frisinger said. "Isn't that cute?"

Not all young anglers have long faces. Take 11-year-old Nathan Watts of Sarasota, Fla. Nathan is in the area visiting grandparents Greg and Cheryl Guy of Homer. Nathan hooked into a 73.6-pound halibut while fishing with Capt. John Kuklis of Here Fishy Fishy Charters on the Kimberly Ann.

"(He's) staying for a month and wants to go fishing as much as possible," Frisinger said.

Every year fishermen swap sad stories about big fish that get away. For the second year in a row, Capt. Art Morris has a story about having a fisherman onboard that, for the lack of a Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby ticket, lost big dollars.

"I don't know the name of the guy, but he was from Canada," said Morris, captain of Rainbow Tours' vessel, Jackpot. "The deckhands helped pull it up and pointed (the tag) out to me."

Learning the fisherman didn't have a derby ticket, Morris released the halibut back to the water where, hopefully, an angler with a ticket will hook into it during the derby. Before releasing it, however, Morris noted the number of the tag and, just for the heck of it, radioed in to find out what the tag was worth.

Answer: $10,000.

"He didn't say very much. He was kind of quiet about it. It was kind of a shock," Morris said of the fisherman's response upon learning what he'd lost.

This isn't the first time Morris has seen disappointment on a fisherman's face.

Photo courtesy of Kent and Keri Catching a 235-pound halibut catapulted David Moore of GilI, Colo., into the lead spot of the Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby. Moore caught the halibut while fishing with Capt. Kent Haina of Poi Boy FIshing and Wilderness Lodge aboard the Last Laugh on Saturday.

Halibut are tagged and released in advance of the derby by Homer Chamber of Commerce members. The tags are sponsored by local businesses and worth varying amounts.

According to Frisinger, there are approximately 40 halibut worth $500 each, 30 halibut worth $1,000 each and six halibut sporting $10,000 tags.

"I want to thank you, Capt. Morris, for releasing that tagged fish and allowing someone with a derby ticket to possibly recatch (it)," Frisinger said. "That was an outstanding decision you made."

In last year's derby three $10,000 tagged fish were caught, two by fishermen without derby tickets. Their consolation prize was a derby hat.

The third tagged halibut was the first $10,000 payout in the derby's 17 years of tagging halibut.

One big halibut that isn't winning any prizes, but is getting lots of attention is the 8-foot barn door on display at the derby weigh-in station on the Spit. It was made from a mold by Tom Kaiser of Big River Reproductions in Soldotna.

"People have been stopping by and taking pictures like you wouldn't believe," Frisinger said. "It has really drawn people to the derby. Kids go up and hug it and kiss it. It's really something."

Derby standings for the month of June are:

* First place: 235 pounds, David Moore of Gill, Colo., caught Saturday on Poi Boy Fishing & Wilderness Lodge with Capt. Kent Haina aboard the Last Laugh;

* Second place: 198.2 pounds, Joe Richards of Leominster, Mass., caught Sunday on Big Bear Halibut Charters with Capt. Brandon Hyslip aboard the Bear Force II;

* Third place: 159 pounds, Rob Lyons of Anchorage caught June 2, on Falcon Charters with Capt. Tony Arsenault aboard the Falcon;

* Fourth place: 153 pounds, John O'Drobinak of Crown Point, Ind., caught June Sunday on Homer Ocean Charters with Capt. Billy Trachsel aboard the Outer Coast.

Tagged halibut caught during June:

* Ana Reid of Homer, caught June 1 on Bob's Trophy Charters with Capt. Brad Gibbs aboard the Tuff Stuff, sponsored by Adventure Alaska Car Rental, worth $500;

* Brenda Timmer of Fairbanks, caught June 6 on Ocean Hunter Charters with Capt. Keith Kalke aboard the Ocean Hunter, sponsored by Alyeska Tire, worth $1,000.

Eight fish have been released.

McKibben Jackinsky can be reached at mckibbenjackinsky.@homernews.com.