Halibut Gaff

I recommend skipping the club all together and just cutting gills and waiting till it bleeds out.

Cut the gills then club away.  Come on Bill, the clubbing is the fun part!

-Allen

You left out the best part.   Here's the right way to kill a halibut!   

Kick his @$$ sea bass!

Dino Abulencia
HOW-NWest

I recommend skipping the club all together and just cutting gills and waiting till it bleeds out.

Cut the gills then club away.  Come on Bill, the clubbing is the fun part!

-Allen

I don't think I've ever brought a club on the kayak ..... Find them kinda pointless.

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So, is a flying gaff necessary?  Is it a "nice to have" piece of equipment?  I need to decide if my hay hook will do the trick or if I'm taking it back tomorrow.  It is sounding like it hold only be useful in handling a dead hali...

I didn't see the tickling video. That would make for a hilarious GIF.

I would say that a flying gaff or a harpoon is necessary for landing a fish over 50. It is possible but definitely not easy.

You want that fish to be almost completely dead before you stick it with a gaff. IT WILL FREAK OUT! 

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I recommend skipping the club all together and just cutting gills and waiting till it bleeds out.

Cut the gills then club away.  Come on Bill, the clubbing is the fun part!

-Allen

I don't think I've ever brought a club on the kayak ..... Find them kinda pointless.

Clubbing is the fun part.

You can sell me the gaff. Lol. If you think about it you'll have the pole in one hand and will not have both hands for both those tools.

I'm not in the same class as Rory or Bill, but I've landed a 45# lb halibut with pure dumb luck.  I just tired that fish out thoroughly, and it towed me around Cook Inlet for a spell before I gaffed it with a hand-held fish picker and brought in on board.  I credit the use of a circle hook with keeping that fish on thoughout the fight, and exhaustion with the fact that I was able to boat it. I'm not terrifically strong or skillful, just lucky. Still,  this year I'm heading out with a flying gaff when I'm targeting halibut.  I used an Aftco flying gaff hook (6") on the contraption, and it was kind of spendy. Hope it does the trick if I get lucky again....

I recommend skipping the club all together and just cutting gills and waiting till it bleeds out.

Cut the gills then club away.  Come on Bill, the clubbing is the fun part!

-Allen

I don't think I've ever brought a club on the kayak ..... Find them kinda pointless.

Clubbing is the fun part.

I got a laugh out of that 

Lee - Tori is such a trooper!

I picked up a cheap ($25.00) halibut spear at Sportco - now all I need is a big butt. 

Thankfully, noone has mentioned firearms - seemed to be a favorite thing for the locals in Juneau when I worked up there.  Every year we heard stories of someone bringing a halibut into the boat - then shooting it - whoops!

I recommend skipping the club all together and just cutting gills and waiting till it bleeds out.

Cut the gills then club away.  Come on Bill, the clubbing is the fun part!

-Allen

I don't think I've ever brought a club on the kayak ..... Find them kinda pointless.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

A properly placed club strike will stone a fish.  Some might say more humane too.  Some might say it result in better meat as the fish dies instantly instead of a slow bleeding out.

-Allen

You can slip a knife into the brain and kill it instantly too.  Here's how:

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

Halibut harpoons are easy to make.  Even easier if you buy one of the replacement spearpoints from Sportco.  The replacement spearpoints I've seen at SportCo have a 3/8" ID, so your rod should be 3/8" OD.

http://www.demonick.com/kayak/Halibut.Harpoon.DIY/Halibut.Harpoon.DIY.html

You can slip a knife into the brain and kill it instantly too.  Here's how:

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

Halibut harpoons are easy to make.  Even easier if you buy one of the replacement spearpoints from Sportco.  The replacement spearpoints I've seen at SportCo have a 3/8" ID, so your rod should be 3/8" OD.

http://www.demonick.com/kayak/Halibut.Harpoon.DIY/Halibut.Harpoon.DIY.html

That second design is pretty cool Demonick.

I've said this many times now ... but I'll say it again.   

I think using heavy leader and big hook, the kind you can't crimp the barbs down on because they are so thick, are more important than whatever end game (club, gaff, harpoon, kage, knife) you choose.  Leader heavy enough that you know it's not going to break, 100  pounds  breaking strength.  And for the big hook, I tell you, lodge that thing anywhere in a halibuts mouth and it isn't coming out.  Of all the halibut I've brought to the kayak with these big barbed hooks, I can't remember one where the hooks come out easily.

Now that you know you're not going to lose that halibut when it comes yakside, take your time and secure by whatever means you've chosen.  Or just haul it up on your lap like some goofball I know ... http://s429.photobucket.com/user/davezig/media/Alaska/bigbut.mp4.html
-Allen