The fish in the picture flipped me in a pro angler 14 in 1 foot waves. I lost over a thousand dollars in gear that day.  It is not a big fish.

Do you care to share how that fish caused you to flip?   I would love to learn rather than find out for myself.

Halibut are a different creature.. a cautionary and comical story.

My first halibut was from a surfboard in Monterey Bay, off Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz CA. I was fishing for rockfish and sea bass in the kelp beds and apparently drifted between the rocks and over the sand. The halibut (which I assumed was a huge seabass) took my swimbait and towed me about a 1/4 mile out to sea before I was able to land it. I had never handled a halibut before, and even though the fish was only about 17-18 lbs., having no idea how to deal with it was a problem.

 First, I tried to string it on my surf leash with my other fish to tow it back to shore, but getting the leash through its toothy mouth ended up with my hand getting sliced open. Now I was bleeding. The fish was flopping around on the deck of my board, which I was straddling. It's mouth was aimed directly at my crotch. It began flopping and snapping and got a couple teeth into my wetsuit crotch-just enough to make me leap back and into the water to avoid castration by halibut.

Now, I am in the water holding the middle of the fish with one hand, the fish is on the deck of my board and I am trying to kill it with the butt of my rod. I probably hit it 20 times in the head, and all that happened was it got very bloody. I later learned I should have hit its tail to stun it, then knife its brain.

Finally it seemed to give up the ghost and I was able to thread the leash though the gills and get paddling back towards shore. I was about 3/4 mile off the beach. As I was paddling, and the fish and I were bleeding I noticed a dark shadow in the water that was on the move. I tried to not panic, and thank goodness it was not a shark but a very large bat ray, beating it's wings and circling me and my halibut and the rockfish I had caught earlier.

I was able to get into the small surf and ride a wave into the beach without the ray taking my fish!

The morale of the story: Halibut are a different creature. Make sure you learn enough about how to deal with this delicious species before you go out and catch one!

I posted this at NCKA about a successful halibut trip last summer. Pickle will probably always call me the halibut noodler.

The ocean laid down, and on a weekend day when pacific halibut is open!  The usual suspects gathered at the beach in Trinidad in the predawn hours.  Pickle and I left first, before 5, with dreams of pacific halibut and an afterthought of salmon.  We headed WNW and got out past 200' by 6:30 or so and dropped out halibut offerings.  No more than 20 minutes later I was hooked up.  I horsed it up to about 20' and it must have seen the boat because it went on a head shaking screamer.  A  total of 3 runs and I had it next to the kayak.  I chose to net it, which might have been optimistic.  I wrestled with it for a bit then hog tied it, tail lassoed, on the game clip, ran the rope through the gills, ripped the gills, then buttoned it up tight.  Hog tied pac hali can't go apeshit on you.  I brained it, put it in the burlap, tied it off to the kayak, and tossed it in the back of the revo.

I gave my godfather rig to Pickle and he dropped down.  We hadn't even finished a celebratory cup of coffee and he was hooked up with my fishes twin.  Same story, three runs and boatside.  I helped hogtie it and hat is where I went wrong.  Pickle lassoed the tail, put it on the clip, ripped some gills and passed the rope through the gills to come out the mouth.  I reached in the mouth to grab the rope and at that exact moment, Mr. pac hail decided it was time to chomp.  I was up to my wrist and a million teeth buried into me.  I waited, didn't panic, didn't try to retrieve my hand, just waited.  a few tense seconds later, it relaxed and I pulled my hand out along with the rope.  I gave the rope to pickle, he hog tied and stowed it while laughing his ass off at me while I bled. 

We trolled for several hours for salmon for a few silvers, then headed back in, totally spent but happy, and I am happy to report I have all of my fingers relatively intact. 

Epic day on the water!

I spent a day at Neah Bay (Marine Area 4) last year and got a small halibut.  I did not go out as far as other Anglers but I was happy with what I pulled up including red snappers.  I am no expert as I only have a three years experience in kayak fishing but I do enjoy going out in the open water.  I am hoping to head out there again towards the second half of May.  If any one is interested or anyone going, I'd like to go.