Fairbanks woman takes top overall spot in Valdez Halibut Derby

Week three of the Valdez Halibut derby forced a massive overhaul of the leaderboard, knocking the top three out of first place.

The new third place holder is Edward Wahmann from Tok. ​

He reeled in a 126.2 pounder on June 8th on the Nunatuk. ​

That would have been the first place fish if it weren't for the two monster halibut that were caught two days earlier. ​

On June 6th, David Stack from Tyler Texas brought in a 158.2 pounder on the Sea Walker to take over second place in the overall standings. ​

The new top fish is going to be hard to beat. ​

Fairbanks' own Christine Ives reeled in a 285.6 pound Halibut to take the top spot so far this season. ​

She reeled hers in on the Nunatuk on June sixth. ​

These fish, obviously, also took the top two spots in the weekly standings. ​

The Halibut Derby will be running through September 1st. ​

The angler with the heaviest fish will win the $10,000 cash grand prize. ​

Second place will win $3,000 and third will take home $1,500. ​

The Silver Salmon Derby will also be starting soon. ​

That will run in Valdez from July 26th to September 1st and has the same cash prizes. ​