Now that’s a big one!
- Share via
Homer, Alaska, is called the halibut capital of the world, so it’s fitting the winner of its annual fundraiser was a 352.6-pound whopper.
Don Hanks of Sparks, Nev., nabbed a $51,298 check on Friday after besting the catches of more than 18,000 participants in the Chamber Of Commerce’s halibut derby.
Caught June 29, the greenish-gray halibut is so huge that, like other monster fish, it had to be shot before being hauled into the boat. The runner-up was svelte by comparison, at 334.4 pounds (though both fish would tremble in the presence of a 419-pounder a Danish man reportedly caught off Norway in July and hauled away with a forklift).
The derby, says coordinator Linda Winters, is one of the biggest lures in Homer, population 4,000, up there with the Shorebird Festival and the high school’s “The Nutcracker.”
Raising $70,000, the five-month event embodies the town’s other moniker: “A quaint drinking village with a fishing problem.”
-- Ashley Powers
Sign up for The Wild
We’ll help you find the best places to hike, bike and run, as well as the perfect silent spots for meditation and yoga.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
