Halibut Gaff Setup

What is the choice location to attach sharp pokey hook into said pissed off door mat?

-Head?
-Belly?
-Tail?
-Back?


Thoughts on towing a boogie board behind ya for two reasons?

-Use as the floatation device to tire out the halibut.
-Place to strap said dead halibut for transport back to shore.

The boogie board could be lashed over the rear tank well while launching.

I'm just thinking outside the box here, and by no means trying to improve on what has already been proven to work.

The head seems to be the easiest target. Avoid the cheeks if you can... them be tasty!
I don't think a boogy board is going to do you much good in the transport department. If you can get a 71 pounder in the back of the yak you would only need to drag a 100+ and trying to strap a 100 pound fish to a boogy would be a hell of an undertaking out at sea.

I aim for the throat/belly when gaffing butts.  A heart shot will stop them cold.  This weekend I went fishing for Calibuts down here out of Santa Cruz.  Got a decent 20 pounder with a heart shot.  She slid right up on deck nice and quiet!  Not even a whimper.  My buddy got a 17 pounder that he lip gaffed.  It jumped right off the gaff.  I swooped in for the collar gaff and got the job done.

Shoot, just aim anywhere in the general vicinity of the head/collar/belly and the get the job done.

-Allen

Hello from Tahoe, guys.

The rig I used to gaff Fishnut's hali' last year was a spur of the moment affair just before packing the rig.Pretty similar to Rory's. I used some heavy PVC pipe because it was within eyesight (which I'll replace with wood, pretty soon). Otherwise the only big difference is that I attached my line directly to the eye of the shark hook, using a brass snaphook. I had horrible visions of the handle breaking off, leaving me with a float and line and no "but.

Long handle, short handle? 

Would a longer handle give the 'butt a mechanical advantage to pry against with the luck of popping the hook free, or would it be a non issue due to the barb? 

I see no reaon for anything longer than two and half to three feet and you will probably be fine with 12 to 18". You want to sink the hook it with a fair bit of force and that might be tough from 4 feet out. All Hali that I have caught have come right alongside the boat mouth up.

Mine was on the long side (about 3') because I was working out of my wherry, which has a 4' beam. On a yak, you would be a lot closer, so I think I would rather have something in the 18-24" range.

I'd shoot for 2-3 feet like FG says.  Butts come up hanging horizontally.  You'll need a little bit of length to get an angler on it for a good gaff shot.

-Allen

Here is an interesting site which details on how to brain a halibut, which results in immediate death.

http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=79781&highlight=sciencemike

Spiking sounds like a good idea. Nice find Nick.

Yes thank you i was wondering if that was the way to go for butts

I ended up with a set up like Rory's.  Worked like a charm except my aim was bad first time around due to the jitters.  Funny how not wanting to screw it up real bad make's you screw it up real bad, the hook did catch in the gill zone but game out and somehow ended up in the tail, it was snagged there well, but I think that was probably the worst possible place to put it.  The bouys tired it out enough to make it manageable none the less.  I beat it in the brain zone for at least 30 seconds and it never moved after that.  The next 2 were small and I was able to stow them in the hold, only smacked them a few times and they fluttered all the way in.  I tried driving my knife into the brain of the second one because the intermittent smacking on the hull is a bit disconcerting at first but I guess I missed.