Kodiak Island Halibut Video (65lb'er)

I've been sitting on this footage long enough now.  Finally found some time to slice and dice it down to a reasonable length.  Which also gave me a chance to edit out all my stupid moves. 

Sorry 'bout the quality.  I still haven't figured out how to optimize fully for YouTube.



-Mark-

Mark,

Awesome battle and great video.  That's also a good lookin kayak you are "peddling".  Congrats on the big 'butt!

Nice fish Mark!  Looks like a shark hook might have been easier.

Mark,

Awesome battle and great video.  That's also a good lookin kayak you are "peddling".  Congrats on the big 'butt!

It was THE fight of the week.  When you look at the A2 buoy vs A1 , its a big difference. In fact, I was going to step up to an A2 buoy until I saw what it did to Spot's fish.  That much flotation combined with the power of the halibut really caused a good sized gouge in the halibut.  I'm going to stick with my A1 buoy.

I need to try and get better videos up for this fish.  Despite the awesome battle, it was just the beginning.  The weather really picked up as Spot was fighting the fish and it was pretty tough to get back where we needed to be.

A bigger fish was cuaght this trip, but this fish was by far the most impressive fight of the week.  Simply amazing!   Great job Mark!!!!

Nice fish Mark!  Looks like a shark hook might have been easier.

A harpoon has a much higher chance of screwing things up leading up to sticking it.  The harpoon once in hand and deployed properly for me has a much better chance of a solid connection with the halibut and holding.  Even with a harpoon, I'd feel a bit uncomfortable sticking a fish so close to the edge of its body like a shark hook. 

We lost a halibut to a shark hook that came out of a fish once it was stuck.  Seems like it could happen, we lose fish we hook all the time.  You start attaching handles and stuff to the hook and its just not going to hold like a harpoon head.  Just look at the difference in the retention "barb".  On a harpoon the "barb" is a sideways harpoon head measuring 4 or 5 inches with nothing working to pull it out other than a thin diameter steel cable.  A shark hooks retention barb is only a quarter inch long maybe?  And the weight of the hook is working to "pull" the hook out.   

I'm going with a harpoon.  I've deployed the shark hook three times, and all three times, I ended up landing it with something else.  Harder at first, but more reliable when it counts for me at least.

1st off, Does Rudy not have the most Bad Ass voice?  You ougth to hear it when he's pissed off!   

Thanks Cosmo, it was a hoot.  I'm not a paddle snob.  In fact, like I've said before, I'm not a kayaker.  I'm a fisherman who uses kayaks.

As for the hook:  I had the chance to use both methods on this trip and we, as a group, spent a lot of time assessing and discussing the pros and cons.  Rudy is dead on when he talks about the potential for failure.  I watched Bushy lose a nice fish because it managed to flop its way off of the shark hook. 

My take away was that the biggest benefit of the harpoon is that it lets you reach out to your prey.  The shark hook makes you muscle the fish right next to you, increasing the difficulty and also the likelyhood of injury (think flying lead-head or a slap from an angry 50+ lb fish)  If I'd known then what I know now, the two missed opportunities probably wouldn't have happened.  The stomach area is where I should have been aiming the whole time.

And, as polepole pointed out to me, there's nothing that says you can't use both.  Two points of control are better than one.

-Mark-

I see your point. No pun intended.   It would be devastating to see a fish like that get away.

As for the hook:  I had the chance to use both methods on this trip and we, as a group, spent a lot of time assessing and discussing the pros and cons.  Rudy is dead on when he talks about the potential for failure.  I watched Bushy lose a nice fish because it managed to flop its way off of the shark hook. 

Yeah, after watching Bushy lose that 45 pounder we thought a lot about this.  A relatively small barb and a rolling halibut = lost fish.  I'm switching to harpoon, even though I now have the coolest shark hook ever.  I need to find/take a picture of that thing.

-Allen

  I'm switching to harpoon, even though I now have the coolest shark hook ever.  I need to find/take a picture of that thing.

-Allen

That shark hook is as bad ass as Rudy's voice.  I've got some pics of it.  You should have access to them.

-Mark-

The biggest thing I have noticed with halibut is that once you stick them they completely change behavior.
The 85 pound fish we brought live onto the kayak was done with only holding the jig head and sliding the fish up on my lap. It laid there for a second then flopped a few times and slid off.

The other fish about that size that I landed and killed was only using a boga grip to keep its head out of the water till it stopped flopping along side the boat.
The 45 pounder that I caught this year was the first time I put a shark hook to a halibut. I did not let the fish get its head pointed down in the water and the boat side fight was over quick.

I have seen shark hooks fall out of fish. This is why I like holding onto the line. For a really big fish this is not really an option but I feel like it will work well for me for fish up to 100 pounds.

The biggest thing I have noticed with halibut is that once you stick them they completely change behavior.
The 85 pound fish we brought live onto the kayak was done with only holding the jig head and sliding the fish up on my lap. It laid there for a second then flopped a few times and slid off.

You still did NOT have that fish under control.

The other fish about that size that I landed and killed was only using a boga grip to keep its head out of the water till it stopped flopping along side the boat.
The 45 pounder that I caught this year was the first time I put a shark hook to a halibut. I did not let the fish get its head pointed down in the water and the boat side fight was over quick.

I have seen shark hooks fall out of fish. This is why I like holding onto the line. For a really big fish this is not really an option but I feel like it will work well for me for fish up to 100 pounds.

But what if you can't hold onto the line?  It's not always possible.  Once you have to let go, which would you have higher confidence in, shark hook or gaff tip?

-Allen

That fish was no where near under control. I was using that to illustrate that the difference between a calm and a halibut that has been stuck. From what I have seen halibut tend to be pretty calm at the surface until they get pissed off.
I have more confidence in stuck harpoon. I am more comfortable using a shark hook.
I would love the chance to fight a 100+ with a shark hook! =)

That fish was no where near under control. I was using that to illustrate that the difference between a calm and a halibut that has been stuck. From what I have seen halibut tend to be pretty calm at the surface until they get pissed off.

To be honest, those Foggy Bay butts seem calmer than halibut I've encountered in other areas.  I'm not sure why ...

I have more confidence in stuck harpoon. I am more comfortable using a shark hook.
I would love the chance to fight a 100+ with a shark hook! =)

I would love to watch you fight a 100+ butt rodeo style!!!

-Allen

... 85 is my closest .... Not many chances at 100+s =) some day

The biggest thing I have noticed with halibut is that once you stick them they completely change behavior.
The 85 pound fish we brought live onto the kayak was done with only holding the jig head and sliding the fish up on my lap. It laid there for a second then flopped a few times and slid off.

The other fish about that size that I landed and killed was only using a boga grip to keep its head out of the water till it stopped flopping along side the boat.
The 45 pounder that I caught this year was the first time I put a shark hook to a halibut. I did not let the fish get its head pointed down in the water and the boat side fight was over quick.

I have seen shark hooks fall out of fish. This is why I like holding onto the line. For a really big fish this is not really an option but I feel like it will work well for me for fish up to 100 pounds.

'

That is frickin insane!!! You are an ANIMAL Bill! I think I will vote for Bill in any big halibut tournament where you can only use a boca grip.  lol. I came unglued on a few guests that instinctively used the wrist strap on their boca grips.  That's a huge no no.

I learned my lesson 30 years ago.  Brought a fifty pound halibut into a 16' river skiff.  The halibut then proceeded to destroy the boat, the contents, and just about everything else inside of it including us.  We put dents in the bottom of the boat trying to club it and we didn't care.  We thought we were going to die!  It's funny now looking back on it.  But the three or four other fish we brought on board were pretty docile.  It only takes one....

If you never have caught a halibut, they are seriously more powerful than their size.  There is NO WAY I am holding on to the rope on anything larger than 50 pounds.  Watch Spot's video.  That A2 buoy with the drag is 70 pound of force being effortless ripped under the water for 30 to 40 yards.  I think Joel who caught the Greenland shark was using 50lbs of drag and I thought that was just nuts.  My release SG has 30 lbs of drag and that dang thing nearly about pulled me overboard on a medium sized king.

I let my halibut sit on the buoy after bleeding it for a while to calm it down.  I would not feel comfortable with a halibut just "hanging" off a hook.  Of course in theory, the fishing line and hook should still be int he fish as well. 

Obviously a lot of it boils down to personal choice.  But if I have a chance at landing something over 100 pounds, I am going to have to say that my personal preference without any hesitation is the harpoon over the shark hook.  STILL I wanna see Bill go for a rodeo  on a completely live fish!  THAT would be AWESOME!  I'd pay to see that!