Halibut Fishing in the
Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby


Final Winners 2002

Tagged fish ($500 to $10,000) caught  ? ( see below)

$ 48,675the Largest Jackpot on Record - Awarded to an Eagle River man, Clayton McDowell for his 347lb halibut

The ticket count is final, the Jackpot is official – Clayton McDowell of Eagle River wins $48,675 by catching the largest derby fish of the 2002 season. Clayton received his winnings at the annual Halibut Derby Banquet Saturday, Sept. 14 at Land’s End Resort in Homer.

July 28, 2002 was an exciting day for Clayton McDowell of Eagle River but he had to wait for over a month for confirmation that his 347 lb. halibut, caught that day, was the winner of the 17th Annual Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby. Clayton and his fish did maintain the lead and he received $48,675 as the Jackpot winner in 2002. This is the largest jackpot the Homer Halibut Derby has awarded. The jackpot amount was increased this year when the derby ticket price was increased. One more dollar per ticket went into the jackpot, with a total of $3 per ticket making up the jackpot.

Clayton and his wife were fishing on the "Sourdough" operated by Homer Ocean Charters. Clayton wasn’t going to buy a derby ticket but his wife insisted and he was certainly happy about that later in the day. Captain Glain Cook of the "Sourdough" is also celebrating. As captain of the boat with the winning fish he received a $3,000 captain prize, $1,000 from the derby and $2,000 from Innovative Textiles, Inc. maker of PowerPro fishing line and local distributors Kachemak Gear Shed, The Sport Shed, and Ulmer’s Hardware. Glain was using Power Pro fishing line when the huge fish was caught. A $1,000 check went to the ticket seller who sold the winning ticket. This is Ruth Sensenig, employee of Homer Ocean Charters.

2002 was another big year for the Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby with ticket sales over 16,000. There were 103 tagged fish this year,, ranging in value from $500 to $10,000. Many tagged fish were reported caught but only five of those had purchased derby tickets resulting in prize winnings of $3,000. Many tags from previous years were turned in this year, especially 2001 tags. There was even one tag from 1998 returned. This was the second year for the released fish prize with $10,000 going to the lucky winner. An angler releases a fish 80 lbs or larger and his name goes in a drawing for the $10,000. Fifty-eight (58) anglers released fish over 80 lbs to be eligible for this drawing. Jeff Cordes of Portland, OR was the lucky winner in the drawing. Monthly prizes for the 5 largest fish each month were awarded to 20 other lucky anglers. Total prize money of $10,500 in this category. There was also be a cash drawing for $2,000 for all derby participants who purchased a ticket. John Berschens, Gilroy, California was the lucky on in this drawing. All these drawings were done at the Derby Banquet, Sept. 14.

The Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby is an annual event, running May 1 through Sept. 30 each year. Tickets are $10. Over 16,000 tickets were sold this year.

For more information on the Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby contact the Homer Chamber of Commerce at 235-7740

2002 Jackpot Winner
  Prize Angler Charter/Boat Name Skipper Weight
halibut fishing derby homer alaska
1st Place $48,675 Clayton McDowell
Eagle River, AK
Homer Ocean Charters Glain Cook 347 lbs

 

May (final)
  Prize Angler Charter/Boat Name Skipper Weight
halibut fishing derby homer alaska
1st Place $1000 Ruth Armstrong
Eagle River , AK
Sockeye Charters Tom Hagberg 306.4lbs
2nd Place $750 Tom Barkman, Homer Halibut Hunter Charters  Tom Bunnell 214lbs
3rd Place $500 Electa Hostetter
Anchorage
Halibut-King Charters Don Doan 203lbs
4th Place $250 Ken Belden
Nucla, CO
Sorry Charlie Charters Mike Coates 200.8lbs
5th Place $125 Edna Aguirre
Anchorage
Captain Mike’s Charters Mike Huff 196.4lbs

 

June (final)
  Prize Angler Charter/Boat Name Skipper Weight
halibut fishing derby homer alaska
1st Place $1000 James Mato
Marco Island, FL
Silver Fox Charters Brian Noller 273.8lbs 
2nd Place $750 Alan Stevens
Sidney,MT 
North Country
Charters
Sean Martin 263.6lbs
3rd Place $500 Ross Effinger
Eagle River, AK
Captain Mike’s Charters Mike Huff 245.2lbs
4th Place $250 David Baumann
Palmer, AK
Obsession Charters Larry Croft 238.4lbs
5th Place $125 Tim Long
 Owasso,OK
A-Ward Charters Bob Ward 235.8lbs

 

July (final)
  Prize Angler Charter/Boat Name Skipper Weight
halibut fishing derby homer alaska
1st Place $1000 Joe Simpson
Anchorage
Silver Fox Charters Chad Kiesel 313.6lbs
2nd Place $750 Dave Crawford
Clinton, UT
Inlet Charters Russ Tomlinson 284.6lbs
3rd Place $500 John Capstick
Kendal, England
Aurora Sportfishing Mark Millspaugh 240.4lbs
4th Place  $250 Michael Severin
Running Springs, CA
Silver Fox Charters Brian Noller 233.2lbs
5th Place $125 Gary White K-Bay Charters Jerry Haughey 232.4lbs

 

August/September (final)
  Prize Angler Charter/Boat Name Skipper Weight
halibut fishing derby homer alaska
1st Place $1000 Scott Darlow
Houston, TX
Daniel’s Personalized Guide Service Daniel Donich 290lbs
2nd Place $750 Paul Lemek
Rockville, CT
Grizzly Charters Jim Craddock 278.2lbs
3rd Place $500 John Dunn
San Francisco
Aurora Sportfishing Mark Millspaugh 264.6lbs
4th Place  $250 Roland Frame
Banks, OR
Homer Ocean Charters Denny Wagner 261.2lbs
5th Place  $125 Frank Stevens
Eagle River, AK 
Homer Ocean Charters Denny Wagner 240.2lbs

Tagged Fish Caught:
$1,000 fish, Mark Breci, Eagle River, AK
$500 fish, Dwight Cork, Anchorage
$500 fish Joyanna Geisler, Homer
$500 fish Colleen Fowler, Homer
$500 Brendan Dejardin, Anchorage

Released Fish Update: 

There were 58 entries. The drawing was done at the banquet, Sept. 14.
Jeff Cordes, Portland OR won $10,000.


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Visitor Center 907-235-7740
Derby headquarters located on Homer Spit
e-mail: halibutderby@homeralaska.org

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