Anticipation high for 2008 Seward Halibut Tournament

CINTHIA RITCHIE

June 05, 2008 at 2:32PM AKST

Ready your reels: The 2008 Seward Halibut Tournament is officially open.

The tourney, which started June 1, pits ordinary fishermen against hefty halibut in a month-long battle of brains vs. brawn.

According to Laura Cluberton at the Seward Chamber of Commerce, the event has a stuttered past. It comes and it goes, she said, and unlike the popular salmon derby, which takes place each August, it’s still in its evolutionary phase.

That doesn’t mean that the fish are any smaller, though. Last year’s winning catch was a whopping 251.2-pounder nabbed by David Hicks of Anchorage.

The tournament continues through the end of the month. Tickets are $10 a day or $25 for three consecutive days and must be validated before lines are thrown in the water.

Last year approximately 1,500 tickets were sold. The chamber, which has sponsored the event for the past two years, hopes to entice more folks from Anchorage and the Valley to Seward for halibut fishing.

The backbone (or should I say back fin?) of the tournament is to increase tourist activity during the relatively quiet first few weeks of June.

“The slamming tourist season starts closer to July,” Cluberton said.

Prizes have doubled this year, with $10,000 going to the first-place catch, $5,000 to second and $2,500 to third. Anyone over 16 with a fishing license is eligible to participate.

Cluberton hopes the tournament attracts more female contestants this year.

“Obviously, the fishing industry demographic is more male,” Cluberton said.

You don’t have to catch the largest fish of the event to be a winner either. Many charters participate in biggest catch of the day contests, with seats for next year’s tournament awarded to daily winners.

According to Leslie Pemberton, captain of Puffin Charters, the halibut tournament is a big boon to the Seward economy, bringing in fishermen who might have gone down to Homer instead.

“Most people don’t think of Seward as prime halibut territory,” she said.  

But Pemberton, who has previously captained in Homer area, said the halibut fishing here is comparable.

Her charter trips don’t spend all day concentrating on the big fish but they do spend a few hours.

“The bigger ones are more finicky,” she said. “You have to be patient.”

It also helps to have scampi jigs, which she swears by for grabbing the attention of the big boys.

“The smaller ones have a more rambunctious appetite,” she said. “The bigger ones are more selective. They’re waiting for the captain’s plate.”

Such picky-eating plus-sized halibut can be found to the east around Montague, where a population hangs out around the shelf.

Pemberton doesn’t expect that higher gas prices will keep the fishing public away.

“Fishermen are gamblers,” she said. “This is like a trip to Vegas. They can’t not do it.”

Cinthia Ritchie can be reached at (907) 342-2428 or toll free at (800) 770-9830, ext. 428.