2006 Just for Halibut Derby
Posted on April 26th, 2006 by Island Outfitters

Island Outfitters announces another successful derby and donates $1,500 to the TLC Fund for Children.

The 10th annual Just for the Halibut Derby was held on April 22nd & 23rd. Once again, the kids were the winners as a $1,500 cheque was presented to the TLC Fund for Children.

There were 458 tickets entered and anglers searched the depths of southern Georgia Strait and Juan de Fuca Strait for the prize-winning fish. First place, and bragging rights, went to Don Vandijk for his 197.4 lb halibut caught near Oak Bay. Don received a $10,000 cash prize and the admiration of all for his big fish.

Second place went to Dave Kennedy for a 136.8 lb halibut, also caught near Oak Bay. Dave Kennedy won a cash prize of $2,500. Third place went to Ken Thompson for his 135.3 lb halibut from Oak Bay. Ken’s fish took the bait just as he was about to reel in his last rod on the final day. After being stopped by the fisheries officer at the Cattle Point boat ramp, Ken just barely made it to the final weigh in with only a few minutes to spare. Ken took home $1,000 in cash for his effort.

The $20,000 cash prize for a halibut over 202 lbs. went unclaimed this year, but it wasn’t missed by much, just 4.6 lbs.

This year, there was great weather, with light winds and favorable currents and tides. The winning combination of guide Gord Martin (Foghorn Charters) and clients Don Vandijk, Denny Arvanitakis and Cliff Hitchcox had a fabulous weekend of halibut action. On Saturday they brought in 6 halibut with 4 of the fish being over 80 lbs! On Sunday, they had a double header, which included the 197.4 lb winning fish landed by Don and a 123.1 lb fish landed by Denny. After weighing in the big ones, they went back out and landed a 50 pound halibut!

All told, 102 halibut were weighed into the competition, with a total weight of 6894 lbs and an average size of 67.6 lbs. This was by far our most successful derby ever and it’s nice to see such a good fishery this year.

Click here to view complete result!

Left to right: Denny Arvanitakis, Cliff Hitchcox, Donv Vandijk and guide Gord Martin with 4 big halibut on the first day of the derby.

Left to right: Denny Arvanitakis, Cliff Hitchcox, Donv Vandijk and guide Gord Martin with the winner

Left to right: Don Vandijk with Island Outfitters owners Darren Wright and Ward Bond

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