Have you ever been 'ignored' by a huge fish?

something happened on Wednesday that I never expected:  I hooked a fish in CoosBay and it totally ignored me.  This is how the day unfolded:

after last weeks excellent crab+lingcod outing, Pepper and I headed back to get in more big water practice and try for a rockfish+lingcod day.  the swells and surf were up significantly but tide was soft, my first hint of rough conditions came at the sheltered launch bay I use (for those familiar with the area- it's just past the DQ on the road to Charleston). the water is usually dead smooth in here.



once out, it became clear this would be an "ocean practice" day for us, it was rougher than the ocean conditions I normally fish in out of Sunset Bay, nothing unsafe or dangerous but a good day to leave the crab pots home.  this is a really short clip of us crossing the bay:



The swells/waves were coming over the submerged jetty and breaking in areas which made fishing almost impossible, I tried for 2 hours through the low tide, hooked one lingcod that felt like the ones I caught last week but it came off as I was backing away from the reef. 



So I decided to cross the bay, gave a wave to the CG boats heading for the bar, and headed to an area that almost always has some rockfish around it, not big ones but a good chance of putting a couple 1.5# coppers or blacks on the boat...that isn't what happened.

with a brand new 2oz Lancers jig (copper/gold 'WaterDog") on a 7' 'coho' spinning rod and 15# leader, in about 15' of water (with the 30' main channel nearby) over mixed sand and rock bottom, I get a 'bump bump' and think rockfish!  hook set and wow definitely bigger, maybe lingcod, wow, maybe big lingcod, and then things got weird. 

here is how I summarize the next 2 minutes:

me: "Right on, let's move this fight to deeper water"
fish: "DECLINED. I'm going the other way 50 yards and lay down"
me: "no, hang on, (tightening drag to max for my leader), where are you going?....OK, let's compromise- you go where you want and lay down but please don't go under any rocks.  Now get up and fight"
fish: "why don't you and your dog come over here on that silly little boat and make me..."
me: (pedaling and reeling in line like crazy): "OK tough guy, here I come..."
fish: "I'm going to move 20 yards this way and lay down again, I can do this all day if you like."
...repeat a few more times...
me (when the line finally cuts, doing my best Black Knight impression): "Alright, we'll call it a draw".

each time the fish decided to lay down and ignore me, it was like being snagged or connected to an anchor.  it wasn't until I got closer and was pulling more upwards that it would move off again...once the line cut I headed for our launch point still thinking it was a really big lingcod.  it wan't until later when I talked to a couple people (including a well respected member of NWKA) that it became clear that I had bumped into a really large halibut. 

I've had some really amazing days out fishing and they don't always include taking fish home with me, this was definitely one of them.  cheers, roger





 

Hali for certain! I've had the same thing happen a few times inshore by La Push and Cape Flattery. On light gear, there's just about nothing you can do. It's humbling to lose to a gilled creature every now and then.

Great story Roger.   Now what species of 'butt would be the better odds a Pacific, or Calibut? 

Haha, happened to me in Sitka.  We went up there on a charter years ago for Salmon and Halibut out in 200-400' of water.  Salmon was all kinds of fun.  Halibut we'd hook 'em, they'd either fight for about 20 feet then just give up and it was like reeling in an anchor, just dead weight, or they'd just kinda shrug and go wherever they wanted until we gave up or lost 'em.

Great story Roger.   Now what species of 'butt would be the better odds a Pacific, or Calibut?

it should have been a Calibut, they get caught to 50# in CoosBay now and then, but I have heard rumors of Pacific Halibut wandering into this lowest part of the bay now and then.  Calibut are legal to retain all year, any size.  Pacific can never be retained within a bay in Oregon. 

my wife's comment the next morning was perfect:  "so if you got a 50# calibut up to the kayak, what then?".  I hadn't considered that, my brain never made it past huge lingcod on the water.  Having just my smaller coho/lingcod net with me and no gaff or harpoon, I replied: "I would have put on gloves, opened my big fish stringer and tried to sweep it in the gills and out the mouth...and then held on with both hands for dear life...". 

Best thing I’ve read so far, while at work.
Thanks for the distraction.

Awesome big-fish story Roger!  That's one of the great things of fishing saltwater: never truly know what you might hook into.

Did you feel any of those telltale halibut headshakes?  Or was it more of a steady pull, like a train?  Reason I ask is because it's pretty unusual to hook into a CA halibut inshore in the winter.  They usually head offshore once the bay waters get cold.

In addition to a possible halibut (CA or Pac), another possibility is a big skate.  Those really big ones (6+ foot wingspan) can pull hard, and their teeth are surprisingly sharp.  Skate bodies are also covered with sharp denticles that can cut line.  A buddy of mine caught a skate with a 4-foot wingspan in ten feet of water in Humboldt Bay about ten years ago.  It was in late November.

Awesome big-fish story Roger!  That's one of the great things of fishing saltwater: never truly know what you might hook into.

Did you feel any of those telltale halibut headshakes?  Or was it more of a steady pull, like a train?  Reason I ask is because it's pretty unusual to hook into a CA halibut inshore in the winter.  They usually head offshore once the bay waters get cold.

In addition to a possible halibut (CA or Pac), another possibility is a big skate.  Those really big ones (6+ foot wingspan) can pull hard, and their teeth are surprisingly sharp.  Skate bodies are also covered with sharp denticles that can cut line.  A buddy of mine caught a skate with a 4-foot wingspan in ten feet of water in Humboldt Bay about ten years ago.  It was in late November.

there were some slow powerful head shakes but mostly it just went where it wanted, I was pulling right up to the limit of my leader (and it was 15# CXX xtra strong, notoriously over sized and strong stuff) but I really could not alter it's course at all.  and when it stopped, it was like an anchor, no give when I pulled until I got closer, then small headshakes to let me know I still was connected to a fish, and after pulling more upwards, it got annoyed and moved off 20 yards or so, stopping to ignore me again.

FWIW- I did hear that 4 other boats have reported a similar incident recently in this area, one apparently got it up close and claimed it was a huge halibut.

this was an hour after a weak low tide, sonar had the water temp at 52F.       

Such a great story!
Yeah, my money is on big ass halibut. 

That's awsome. I love those " what was that" fish. Total mystery
Till you can put eyes on it. Memories like that dont come around often. I had a similar experience like that at PC. What ever it was bent a 5/0 3x owner assist hook and 65lb braid.

Great story Roger.   Now what species of 'butt would be the better odds a Pacific, or Calibut?

it should have been a Calibut, they get caught to 50# in CoosBay now and then, but I have heard rumors of Pacific Halibut wandering into this lowest part of the bay now and then.  Calibut are legal to retain all year, any size.  Pacific can never be retained within a bay in Oregon. 

my wife's comment the next morning was perfect:  "so if you got a 50# calibut up to the kayak, what then?".  I hadn't considered that, my brain never made it past huge lingcod on the water.  Having just my smaller coho/lingcod net with me and no gaff or harpoon, I replied: "I would have put on gloves, opened my big fish stringer and tried to sweep it in the gills and out the mouth...and then held on with both hands for dear life...".

Where does it say that you can’t retain a pacific halibut in a bay?  As long as the inshore season is open and you have room on your tag you should be able to retain it right?

Not that it is likely to ever happen, but I did look for something that says they can’t be retained in Bays and didn’t find it.

Where does it say that you can’t retain a pacific halibut in a bay?  As long as the inshore season is open and you have room on your tag you should be able to retain it right?

Not that it is likely to ever happen, but I did look for something that says they can’t be retained in Bays and didn’t find it.

I pondered that after making the post. 

I always assumed it was ocean only since the perm. regs. say "Pacific halibut seasons are managed and enforced based on port of landing", which instructs that the only valid tag codes are 1 to 20:  "Ocean Harvested Fish Only".   Returning over the CoosBay bar would be tag code 13 (Charleston), a fish caught in CoosBay cannot use that code, it must use code 33 and I don't think there is any quota allowed for the bay/estuary tag codes.  The regs. then direct people to the annual "Oregon Sport OCEAN Regulations for Salmon, Halibut, and other Marine Species", which defines the zones, open days, quotas and that entire document relates to ocean fishing only.  For example, under the Pacific Halibut rules, it says "It is mandatory to have a descending device onboard when fishing for Pacific halibut, and to use it when releasing any rockfish species outside of 30 fathoms."  That device is only required when ground fishing in the ocean but they leave that word out in the document defining the halibut seasons.

So my conclusion was based on there being no defined season/dates/quota for retention of Pacific halibut within bays and estuaries.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

cheers, roger

You aren’t the first person I’ve heard say that. I searched ifish and it’s the common refrain there too. But I’ve never seen anyone point to the reg.

It’s probably completely academic, I’ve heard an unconfirmed report of one in tillamook bay and other than that I e never heard of one in any Oregon bay anywhere.

I guess it’s a question for ODFW.

The National Marine Fisheries controls and set the rules for Pacific halibut and the ODFW is the one to enforce them. If the All-Depth or Nearshore is open then it is legal to take a Pacific halibut inside the bay as long as you follow the rules for halibut fishing. The NMF considers all bays of the Western United States as part of the ocean for Pacific halibut. The ODFW controls and sets the rules for Cali. halibut which come under flatfish species(except for Pacific halibut)- no minimum size and 25 fish aggregate. Trust me been down that road of catching Calibutts in the bay when the Pacific halbut season was closed some few years ago.

It's so refreshing to know that the Oregon regs are written so clearly that a toddler could understand them.   

I wish they would revamp the system and make it online only, searchable, and very very clear. 
Then make their updates to the regs throughout the year into the actual regs, and not on 2-3 other pages that have to be found.