Month-end standings shift in halibut derby </MCC HEAD>

Story last updated at 7:56 PM on Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Month-end standings shift in halibut derby

By McKibben Jackinsky
Staff writer

Just as the month of August came to a close, a new halibut caused a change to the standings, but not the derby's overall leader.

Tom Youngblood of Homer can breathe a little sigh of relief as his 354.6-pound halibut edges closer toward the derby's Sept. 30 deadline. Youngblood caught the monster fish June 26. However, with a month of fishing to go, anything can happen. Standings for the month of August are:

Photo provided

Jack Yako, right, is the $100-prize winner for catch of a left-handed halibut, caught while fishing aboard the Ashtikan with Capt. Bryan Bondioli, left.

* First place: 273.6-pound halibut caught Aug. 8 by Dora Orendayn of Corona Del Mar, Calif., with Capt. Keith Kalke of Ocean Hunter Charters aboard the Ocean Hunter;

* Second place: 245.4-pound halibut caught Aug. 6, by Matthew Hagerty of Coralville, Iowa, with Capt. Steve Button of Crystal Sea Charters aboard the Donna Mae;

* Third place: 197.4-pound halibut caught Aug. 29 by James Lindeman of Wasilla with Capt. Jared Bradshaw of Alaska Excursion Adventure aboard the Sea Witch;

* Fourth place: 195.4-pound halibut caught Aug. 2 by Jerry Saunders of Chugiak with Capt. Ken Petska aboard the Slow Goin, a private boat.

Although Orendayn maintained her lead as the top lady angler for the month, she can only choose one prize and that's going to be the $1,000 biggest-fish-of-the-month prize. That makes Connie Dunphy of Anchorage the official top lady angler and a $500 winner. She landed a 183-pound halibut Aug. 8 while fishing with Capt. Steve Morphis.

Yako Boru of Fosston, Minn., is the first derby fisherman to hook into a left-handed halibut, which will make him $100 richer. A rare catch, "lefties" have eyes on the left side of their face, rather than the right side, an occurrence believed to happen in approximately one in every 20,000 halibut. Boru hooked into the fish Aug. 29 with Capt. Bryan Bondioli of Captain B's Alaskan C's Adventures aboard the Ashtikan. Big River Reproductions is the sponsor of that prize.

Tagged fish were caught during August by:

* Ted Robinett of Homer, caught Aug. 2 on a private boat with Capt. Bob Russell, tag sponsored by Land's End Resort, worth $1,000;

* Cori Freischlag of Colorado, caught Aug. 8 on a private boat with Capt. Darin Applebury, tag sponsored by Smokey Bay Air, worth $500.

Twelve released fish have been reported during the derby. This category recognizes anglers choosing to release a fish of significant breeding potential. Any angler catching and releasing a halibut weighing more than 60 pounds and in possession of a valid derby ticket for that day qualifies for a $1,000 cash drawing at the end of each month and a season-long drawing for a prize of $5,000.

For more information on the derby, contact Paula Frisinger, derby coordinator, at 235-7740 or 399-2436.

McKibben Jackinsky can be reached at mckibben.jackinsky.@homernews.com.