|
Ten minutes of pulling from every angle had failed to dislodge
my halibut jig from the bottom, 340 feet below. Being stubborn,
and of some Scottish ancestry, I wasn't prepared to sacrifice this
jig just yet.
Stuck
"Herb, get the boat right over the top and I'll wrap it around
my arm and try to get it loose or break off." With the line
wrapped, I tried to work the jig free, but no amount of effort was
going to shake that hook. My arms were sore and the sweat was dripping
that July afternoon. I unwrapped the line from my arm. "Herb,
we might as well just wrap the line around the cleat, and use the
motor to break the heavy line." Suddenly the stout halibut
rod took a sharp dip and the drag was screaming. The hairs rose
on the back of my neck.
Pulled free
Here I had strained for the past 15 minutes trying to free the
jig, had wrapped that line around my arm, and all that time I was
hooked up to this monster halibut. If the fish had taken off when
the line was wrapped on my arm, the line would have cut through
the flesh or pulled me over the side. The fish ran about 100 feet
when the hook pulled free. I sat down, drained of energy, thinking
about the consequences of the line wrap, and vowed never do anything
that stupid again.
Big fish
That was my first introduction to truly big fish, and by big fish,
I am talking fish that come with a little bit of fear attached.
On the next drift, Herb hooked up to a barn door halibut, possibly
the same fish, and almost two hours later landed a 6' 6" 300
pound, two meter 136 kg. fish. Since then we have hooked many large
halibut. On a later solo trip I hooked a fish at 5:00 PM and at
9:30 PM was three miles from where I started, the fish had 400 feet
more line out, it was dark, and I still had to set up camp. I recalled
Ernest Hemingway's story "The Old Man and the Sea" and
wondered, if I tried to hold on, could I still have this fish by
daylight. I hated to do it but I cut the line.
Huge
Halibut can grow to unbelievable proportions. Commercial fishers
have reports of halibut 365 kilos (800 pounds). The world record
sport catch is 207 kg (456 pounds). Most halibut over 36 kg. (80pounds)
are females.
(All previous issues are stored in the ARCHIVE
for your convenience)
|
As such, your catch of very large fish should be limited to a couple
per year, so these big females can spawn.
Catch
Halibut are relatively easy to catch if you fish where
they live. Where do they live? There are many well-known hotspots
that are consistent producers of halibut on the BC and Alaskan coast.
A little detective work can dig up some of these spots. Marine charts
will show you the structure so you can locate the plateaus, drop
offs and bottom type.The best type of bottom is designated SG which
stands for sand-gravel. Other symbols show M-mud, Sh-shale, R-rock.
Scent
Studies show that the addition of scent to your halibut
lure can quadruple the effectiveness. Halibut are scent feeders.
When you drop your jig or bait, they pick up the vibrations as your
offering bounces along, but like a bird dog they home in on the
scent trail. You can add smell to your lure by applying Butt Juice,
or one of the other scents available at your sport shop, marina.
Hooks
Hooks of course must be sticky sharp. Since the introduction
of circle hooks the International Pacific Halibut Commission statistics
show a huge increase in the catch rate. When you first look at the
circle hook, you say to yourself, it is impossible for that shape
to catch fish. I was skeptical too, but after using the circle in
side by side comparisons, I use nothing else. Circle hooks definitely
increase the hooked up and landed rate. You very seldom lose a fish
once hooked on the circle. When using circle hooks you have to learn
to let the halibut set the hook. After the bite, let the fish run
and pull the hook back into the corner of the mouth. If you have
a quick fuse and strike immediately you will be frustrated.
Team sport
Halibut fishing is a team sport and requires close
cooperation between angler and captain. The jig or bait must be
kept at the vertical and needs constant correction as the drift
progresses. If the jig is pulled at an angle you will lose lures
and miss bites. With scent the lure only needs to be picked up and
set down.
Big halibut are best landed with extreme care. Big halibut should
not be pulled into the boat. Angry halibut in the boat have destroyed
boats, broken arms and legs and in some instances killed anglers.
The big ones should be harpooned and kept out of the boat. A baseball
bat can dispatch them, and when safe, we cut the tail on both sides
to bleed them.
More of Bob's photos on the Photo
page
|
.gif){kind=spacer}
