ORION CHARTERS - HALIBUT FISHING

If you want to target big 100 pound plus Halibut, you found the right charter.  Our Halibut Charter departs from Valdez and travels out into the Gulf of Alaska, on a daily basis (weather permitting) from April into September.  ORION CHARTERS specializes in long range, offshore, Gulf of Alaska fishing trips. We have fished out in the Gulf over 100 trips per year for the last 7 years.  Captain Dave Wiley has logged more then 1100 days sport fishing in the Gulf over the last 15 years.  You can rely on our experience not just luck, to put you on fish.

 
262.7#/84" halibut caught by John Swindell of Indego California 8/29/2006. Second Place  ($5,000.00) overall in the 2006 Valdez Halibut Derby.  First place week 15 of the 2006 derby.

We do not pressure our customers to retain small chicken Halibut.   We encourage release of healthy, undersize Halibut.   We like to target trophy sized barndoor Halibut to provide sport fishing excitement and to fill your freezer.  Normally, these big fish do not jump into the boat on their own, you have to earn them.   Most monster fish grow into monster size by living in areas that are inaccessible, undiscovered, or seldomly fished by commercial longline boats or other charter boats.  As another charter boat captain said "If you want to catch big fish on a consistent basis, you have to fish where nobody else fishes".

 
    Harvey Eckert's 233.8#/81" & 185.6# Halibut on 8/8/06                         231.4#/80" Halibut 8/1/06
                  First Place week 12 - 2006 Derby

    We also encourage our customers to participate in the Valdez Halibut Derby.  Many of our clients like the competition associated with the $15,000.00 first place derby prize. After the initial fight and landing of a big halibut, the speculation of how much the fish will weigh on the certified derby scale is on everyone's mind. It is always exciting when the boat is bringing in a big fish that will potentially place on the leader board or top the current leader. Some of our clients buy derby tickets for the chance of winning the new 4x4 truck. Of coarse, participation in the Derby allows sponsors to donate cash and prizes.  The more derby tickets that are sold the more cash and prizes that are available to the derby.  The more and bigger cash and prizes that are available, the more fisherman that will choose Valdez as their fishing destination.  Over the last several years almost 100% of our customers have participated in the Halibut Derby.  Over the last several years, Orion Charters has "landed" many of the weekly derby leaders as well as the following big fish:

     * 2006 - 2nd biggest halibut (262.7#), caught by John Swindell of Indego, California,
     * 2006 - 6th biggest halibut (233.2#), caught by Harbey Eckert of Fairbanks,
     * 2005 - 5th biggest halibut  (268.4#), caught by Dave Szczcinski of Pennsylvania,   
     * 2005 - 7th biggest halibut  (253.4#), caught by Steve Shepard of Delta Junction,
     * 2003 - 1st biggest halibut  (251.0#), caught by Joe Prax of Valdez,
     * 2003 - 4th biggest halibut (230.7#), caught by Dale Kaiser of Fairbanks,
     * 2001 - 1st biggest halibut  (322.6#), caught by Larry Davis of North Pole,
     * 2000 - 2nd biggest halibut (280.0#), caught by Kelly McGovern of Anchorage,
     * 2000 - 3rd biggest halibut (250.0#), caught by Paul Casey of Valdez.

      
                   226.3#/80" caught on 8/10/06  by Taylor Brown             214.5#/80" caught on 8/13/06 by Dallas Ferguson  
                Second Place week 12 - 2006 Derby                                         Second Place week 13 - 2006 Derby  
  

Our boat "Dan Orion" has the range (400+nm/day), speed (easy 30kt cruise), stability, and dependability (no breakdowns through two seasons) to run out into the Gulf and return safely on a daily basis. Dan Orion is equipped with some of the best electronic, navigation, safety, and fish finding equipment you will find on a 6-pac charter boat. 

We offer a variety of premium heavy tackle.  We normally carry multiple types of bait.  We have a big selection of "halibut" jigs.  We sometimes fish in adverse conditions.  We run farther and fish harder then other charters.  We put our clients on big fish spots, not chicken holes.  Most of our customers are avid fishermen who have been on the ocean many times before.  You should be in good physical condition to go on our charter.  This is not a charter for inexperienced  people, people with neck or back problems, elderly, or people who don't know if they really want to go or not.  There are plenty of other quality fishing charters for people with other expectations.

7/18/06 good day of fishing with 3 over 100# and a 171.5# Halibut

    
A good limit of halibut including Alex Verona's 203#/76" Halibut (front), 195#, 185# and some nice lingcod and rockfish.

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ORION CHARTERS
Dave & Frieda Wiley
P.O. Box 3577
Valdez, AK 99686

EMAIL:      dave@orioncharters.com or
                 frieda@orioncharters.com

PHONE:              (907) 835-8610                         

Check out these other pages for pictures and information.

MORE HALIBUT INFO:
200# CLUB, 1000# Catches, 2005 HALIBUT PICS, 2004 HALIBUT PICS, 2003 HALIBUT PICS,
2002 HALIBUT PICS, 2001 HALIBUT PICS,  2000 HALIBUT PICS,
HALIBUT ARTICLES 

OTHER FISHING INFO:
 Halibut, Lingcod, Salmon Shark, Rockfish, Salmon, Unusual Fish

PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND INFO:        
   Sceenery, Glaciers, Whales, Sea Lions

ORION CHARTERS INFO: 
 Catch Statistics,  Prices, Terms & Conditions, Boat Info, Politics

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This page was last updated on 10/05/06.