My halibut FAIL

Alright, here's the video of me getting spanked by a halibut on Monday at Pacific City. This is everyone's chance to play armchair quarterback and tell me what I should have done differently. Difficulty level: no gaff, small net, plastic lip grips, game clip with lingcod on it already.

Also, I'd love some estimates from those of you with experience regarding how long it was. I have my guess but it's hard to be objective when it's your fish  Some of the camera angles are more favorable than others.

I just think it's awesome you hooked a halibut! Where you targeting them or just lucky? I don't know what you can do when you don't have the tools. I would have been afraid to try and put it on my stringer. I would probably end up in the water.

Great video! What's the background music you added? Or was that music actually there as you were wrestling with the halibut? Many experiences would be more vivid if movie theme music was playing as you had the experience.

Start packing s*** when you fish.

I just think it's awesome you hooked a halibut! Where you targeting them or just lucky? I don't know what you can do when you don't have the tools. I would have been afraid to try and put it on my stringer. I would probably end up in the water.

I was definitely not targeting them. I was fishing for lingcod on rocks in about 85FOW.

Great video! What's the background music you added? Or was that music actually there as you were wrestling with the halibut? Many experiences would be more vivid if movie theme music was playing as you had the experience.

  Just some free dramatic music from the YouTube library.

Start packing s*** when you fish.

I take too much stuff already! Now I've got to pack for halibut, too!

That was epic! And heartbreaking! At least you got to see it, but I'm sure you're wishing it was in your freezer. Thanks for sharing/putting together the video

Should of passed the pole or game clip off to your fishing partner so you weren't fighting with both.  Of course once its on the game clip there's no telling what it would of done...

Did you have any rope with you?

Tie a loop in one end, tie another loop 3’ from the end loop, run the free end through the end loop to make a slip.  Lasso the tail with your slip end. Tighten it down until the fight is pretty well out of it. Run the free end through the gills and out the mouth, then back through the midline loop. Tighten it up. Now you have a hogtied halibut that can’t go apeshit on you. Not ideal but better than putting it on the game clip without a plan.

Looked to be about 50-60 lbs and about 50” long.

If you think it looked a little on the small side, keep in mind - that water is COLD !

Great video! Way to post challenging situations vs just the highlight reels.

Full armchair fisherman engaged:

I've been in a similar situation trying to get a huge hitchhiker lingcod without a net and could't manage it either. It's really hard to get a game clip in there while in the water, they clamp it shut if not totally subdued. That seems nearly impossible to even get it through, let alone what would happen when the fish freaks out.

I have not caught big Halibut from a kayak but it seem risky to have your legs in the water like that. That fish could have ran and wrapped around your leg it seems? Thats a pretty big fish to be uhh connected to!

What a great opportunity for a fair fight.  I definitely would not call it a FAIL... just that the fish got the better end of the fight.  Sometimes, that'll happen.

My experience says that was definitely at least a 50" halibut.  At 50" the round weight of the fish is estimated ~60#.  A 46" fish weighs 46# then halibut start packing on the poundage for the amount of length...they just get heavier once they reach that 46" inflection length.

What a great video.  I don't see anything that you did wrong.  Perhaps since your buddy had a harpoon, you could have called him in for the assist?  But those fish are so powerful, I think you'll be glad you were not successful on putting your stringer through it's gills.  Would have certainly pulled on that game clip and possibly capsized your boat or tangled you in the stringer retainer line.  It could have ended very differently if any of those things happened.  So, the fact that the fish got away is a happy ending. 

Way to go, Redbeard!

Great video.  Thanks for putting it up.

What kind of footwear do you have there?