The Homer Halibut Derby will culminate this weekend, and an official grand prize winner will be announced on Tuesday, Sept. 3. Angler Tom Buck currently holds the lead after hauling in a 144.4lb halibut earlier this summer.
“Things are going well,” said Homer Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Brad Anderson. “It’s been a kind of somewhat quiet year for us on the Derby, but overall we’re glad to have it back.”
The summer-long derby returned to Homer this year after a five-year hiatus. The last full summer derby was in 2019. In 2020, the derby was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Chamber wasn’t able to fully get the competition off the ground–or back in the water–until this year.
“The jackpot Halibut Derby ran for like 34 years, and that ended in 2019. And then we’re going to come back with a tournament in 2020, but everything got canceled.” Anderson explained. “Then there’s the whole idea of a halibut tournament [that] just really never took off. And so, we did a Derby for a month-long in June of last year. Then there was a drive to bring it back for the full summer, working with the Homer Charter Association…so this was the first year bringing it back summer-long.”
Anderson said the Derby’s return was a welcome addition to the Homer community. “We haven’t had this summer-long tourny in probably about five years. So, it’s our first chance to bring that back into this environment again. So yeah, [we’re] happy to have it there and look forward to being able to make an announcement on the price packages starting right after Labor Day.”
The total payout is based on the amount of money the tournament brings in over the summer, but prize winners will receive 60% of whatever that total income amount is. Once the Derby concludes, the Chamber will be able to determine the exact dollar amounts going out to winners.
Follow the Homer Chamber of Commerce to learn who will be this year’s big winner!