Butt Hunting

As some have probably heard me say already, my goal for 2010 is to catch a halibut. 

To that end, I've done a lot of research and even begged for crumbs from people who know where the near-shore gravel shoals are. Sure, I could explore the outter reaches of PC but the more northern reaches are my stomping ground.

So, armed with some fresh intel a couple of shad and an array of big hooks and big weights, I made the solo trek a couple of miles offshore to the promised land.  OK, the promising land. 

Did I score a Butt?  No....  Did I catch anything?  HELL YEAH!  And what's more important, I managed to mark a couple of way-points where the halis definitely roam.  I even pulled up an anemone that had attached itself to a gravel bed.    Proof positive of the potential from what I've read.

Oh yeah, my camera battery was dead so I didn't get any pics of all the fish I released.... 
The final tally for the day was:
- 1 big Blue Ling
- 1 Gi-fricken-normous mama ling
- 6 or 8 barely legal size lings
- 3 Yellow-eyes (2 were eaten immediately after release by a sea lion that decided to follow me like a fat man following his favorite roach wagon)
- 1 hefty Black
- 1 5lb white sea anemone with a clutch of gravel hanging from it.

The green one would have been a nice upgrade for me.  The monster made it look like an underling.


Lingzilla came in at 36.125".  I'm guessing it was on the high end of the 15 to 20lb range.  I sure wish I could have gotten a glory shot with that girl!!



-Spot-

Fark man, that ling musta put some serious beno in your rod. Nice work. Sounds like a cool adventure.. and looking forward to the Butt.

Z

Nice fish!  Only a face a mother ling could love!

what a piggy!  great consolation prize.

Damn, man! 2 miles out from where? how deep was it? was there boats around? did you get the big one on the shad? Inquiring minds want to know...

Wish we lived in closer proximity i would have been there in a heartbeat.

I might have to strike out on a solo butt hunting mission soon...

what a piggy!  great consolation prize.

Damn, man! 2 miles out from where? how deep was it? was there boats around? did you get the big one on the shad? Inquiring minds want to know...

Wish we lived in closer proximity i would have been there in a heartbeat.

I might have to strike out on a solo butt hunting mission soon...

I was sure that lingzilla was a halibut.  She made two runs back to the bottom before I got her to color.

2 miles out from where?    
    - Two miles out from the beach.    A hint:  You can see the grounds from Neahkahnie Mtn. on a clear day.
how deep was it?             
    - Between 150 and 200ft.  Made bait checks and doubles a serious pain.
was there boats around?  
    -  There were a couple of boats working the area.  Most were having the same kind of results I was but I did see one land a butt for sure.
did you get the big one on the shad?
    - The big one litterally swallowed a 16oz jig head with a 10" curley tail tipped with a shad fillet.  Even with pliers, I had to stick my hand into that mouth.   


I sure coulda used that fish last week!

-Spot-

Nice Job Mark!  Would have loved to have witnessed that.

Scott

Nice ling!  Give me a shout if you ever need a wingman for "long range"  halibut trips.  I've got lots of gps spots to try out and all the lead and homemade spreaders etc. someone searching for "White Gold" would ever need

Yeah Mark give me a shout next time too, we don't want you to risk your life venturing out so far from shore solo.

    - The big one litterally swallowed a 16oz jig head with a 10" curley tail tipped with a shad fillet.

Jigging 16 ounces from the seated position for any amount of time sure will put the hurt on you, huh?

Valiant attempt!!!  And good luck on your continued quest.

-Allen

Sounds like a good day.  If your fishing where I think your fishing it's only a matter of time before you catch one.

Those are awesome.

I think Spot needs to be nominated as the Halibut group leader.  I'll come along as support.

Those are awesome.

I think Spot needs to be nominated as the Halibut group leader.  I'll come along as support.

Doesn't he need to catch one first, before he can be a "leader"? 

-Allen

Leaders don't have to be successful.

LTC Custer

 

I've tried sending multiple shout-outs each time it looked like the weather window was opening.
Unfortunately, nobody's taken me up on it yet.  Thus, I was flying solo again yesterday.  


As I was loading up yesterday, one of the surfers asked if I'd done any good.  "I got a couple of nice lings" I replied.  
"Oh yeah?  I got a nice ling up at the cove last night" he says.
At this point, I heft my burlap sack into my trunk with a grunt.
Both eyebrows raise and surfer says "Dude?  Can I check it out?"
"Sure".................
As the bag opens to reveal the toothy head, surfer chokes out "Holy $#!T!!!!  Guys!" he says waving his arms to his buddies, "Come here!  You've gotta check this out!!!"  
I pull the fish from the bag and hold it up to a round of explatives.  At which point, the 1st guy mutters "Damn, that thing could have swallowed mine whole."

I give him a year before I see him offshore.  

Bravo Spot!  Amazing ling and a great story to boot. 


What rod were you using to jig 16oz on?