Halibut landing

That video never gets old. Love that!

Great music choice in Harry Manx too!
T2

So far this summer I've landed 4 halibut, and have followed the advice I got from Howard. Who's a better teacher about landing halibut from a kayak? From my experience I can share what I've seen happen on the average.

First, once I have it to the surface and I think it's calm, I give it a whack and it'll likely make another run.  Good security measure.

Once I decide to get the bucking-bronco part of the event underway, I use a solid gaff - for good reason.  Once I gaff it, it WILL fight.  I always keep at least the head, as far back as the gill plates, out of the water -- more is o.k. if it's smaller, but it's easier with at least the tail in the water.  It significantly decreases the amount of power the fish has, as most of the force it exerts is upward, pushing it's own mass out of the water.  They can throw around some weight, but it's over a small distance as they don't flex very far.  It's more like a violent shaking than a strong pull.  It'll still rock your boat, but not like a powerful fish that has it's entire length in water and is horizontal.

Once calmed down enough, its time to bleed it -- either through the gill covers, reach under the gill covers, or even into the mouth and slice (with a long enough knife, that is).  Any of these will work, I just make sure to do it while it's beside the boat.  You want it to pump out blood at a huge rate, and before it calms back down -- take advantage of the accelerated heart rate (get that lactic acid out before it settles in the meat).

It's after this thrashing and bleeding has begun that the fish goes on the game clip.  It can be a little tricky, but it's the right time to move off the gaff.  The game clip is a nice, huge, strong interface with a good handle and makes it's way through the gills to the mouth easily.

It's always satisfying to see a plume of fish blood in the water    

This also is a moment where it can take on another thrashing, usually only momentarily, but the replacement of the gaff with the game clip is much safer and more secure.  I do have the game clip leashed to the boat, and it has a snap-clip inline if I ever feel the need to ditch it (hasn't happened yet).

I wait a few more minutes, re-organize my gear, stash sharp pointy things away again, and just let it bleed.  Once the blood plume is slowed down to a trickle, I get some photos.

I've had no problem handing the fish to clients at this point.  The fish has very little left, and if it thrashes, it's very weak and short lived (and it's leashed to my boat in case anyone feels the need to drop it).  Remember, no blood means no oxygen, and muscles don't work well in this condition.

After the photos, it goes into the footwell, with it's mouth facing me, and it's tail arched upward.  I've been operating my Hobie without mirage drive for most of the summer, so I have a nice deep big fish storage spot right there.  The reason I want it facing me is so that I can see it's mouth.  Before it tries one of the legendary "it should be dead" thrashings, it will open it's mouth slowly.  Just remain aware of it, and you'll know when to throw your feet on top of it to suppress it (not tough to watch the mouth, as it can be pretty close to the family jewels).  They've never had much power when they do these last thrashings, so I don't concern myself overly about sharing the space with the fish.

My feeling, and it's a guess, is that the danger in long-line fisheries for halibut is that lots of fish are coming on board quickly and they can't be handled as meticulously as a halibut in a kayak.

I think the most important thing to do is be prepared, and think it through.  The first thrashing once you gaff it is going to be the worst.  If you have a good hookset, I recommend taking the time to let it run that one extra time.  I also take more time bleeding it out the larger it is.

Here's the link to the movie my beat up old Olympus got of Howard landing a nice chicken for Allison.  You'll see how the shaking went, and how he bled it by stabbing through the gill covers.  

Thanks Brian,

You should know better than any of us by now. I'm still jealous as hell over your situation. If I was a single man and didn't sign away my life to the Air Force, I would have fought you tooth and nail for that job. I hope it's been an amazing time for you!!

   One lesson I've learned, however, is that when you teach people how to kayak fish every day, you don't have the same drive to go fishing on your time off.  I think most guys who have guided or have worked charters would agree.  I'm still taking classes at the same time, so I'm losing my fishing in Alaska time rapidly.  I need to get to work! or is it play?

I hope its not bad etiquette to resurrect an old thread but didn't want to hijack the general ling and halibut thread.

I was a little surprised to see everyone using gaffs.  the thought of gaffing a 75 pounder next to my yak and being in direct attachment seems a little insane.  But I guess its been done.  My plan was to use a telescoping harpoon that we use anyways from our powerboat.  Attach the line to an A0 buoy and some extra length of rope to hold on to if you wanted to, maybe one size larger buoy  Hit the fish, try to get a knife in for bleeding, then just let it go.  Kinda like in Jaws. lol.

I've seen a bunch of different strategies over the years.

For chickens, up to the 40# mark, I've had success with netting. I've also had a 25lber go ballistic and blow through an old net and break me off. (Fortunately, I had another NWKAer nearby ready to make "humorous" remarks. )

I've heard of people getting them to the surface, applying the "wood shampoo" (repeat, if necessary) and then bleeding it out with a knife to the gills (while it's still in the water). I think this is how Howard McKim has handled big ones, up to~180#.

I've heard of people doing a hog-tying routine on 'buts, but haven't witnessed it myself. I'd be reluctant to shove my hand down the gullet of a big one, especially if it was fresh. They have substantial teeth!

I know of guys in skiffs that just lasso the tail and then tow the fish in, backwards. Supposedly it drowns the fish.

I like the harpoon idea and made my own DIY version, but haven't had a chance to test it.

A good gaff shot to the central nervous system can calm a fish down, but I'm also leery of a lap dance with a big 'but.

Good luck with whatever method you try. I'm envious, as I think you've got a much healthier population to fish, than we do down here.

Here are some pics showing what I've rigged for handling halibut. Anything up to about 25 lbs, i figure to net them. Over that, gaff them and keep their head up ala Yak monkey. Anything of really serious size, I hope to use an adaptation of the halibut spear system. Most sporties around here use the spear with detachable head connected to a line tied off to a cleat or to a bouy,more line and then a cleat. I've changed this by using a big shark hook instead of a halibut spear (the spear being too big and awkward for the yak) and the 20 ft of line after the bouy goes to a small fag end bouy that will float up to the surface to be grabbed. (do not attach the end to your kayak!)The large bouy would act as a "shock absorber" by the bouyancy slowing the halibut down as it sounds. (think of trying to push a beach ball under water) So the sequence(as yet theoretical) would be as follows: halibut comes to the surface and landing method decision based on size is quickly made. If the hook and bouy method is to be used, bring the hali alongside the boat and sink the sharkhook in hard as you can and let go. As Yak monkey says--once they are gaffed, they will sound! The hali sound and the line (Which you have VERY carefully looped around the bouy) whips out, taking the large bouy, then more line and finally the small fag end bouy. The halibut is now fighting the bouyancy of the large bouy. You are still connected by your fishing line and are watching the surface for the small bouy to pop back up. when it does, grab it and try and control the fish with the rope but be prepared to let go again. Here is a pic of the shark hook, 15 feet of line tied to the bouy:


Here is the large bouy to fag end bouy.


And here is the set up coiled into the container and ready for use.


Finally, here is the containerwith setup in my kayak.

Although I have never caught or handled a halibut from a kayak, I have had a lot of experience catching (and mostly releasing) Halibut from a troller. It's my experience you have about 5 seconds after their head breaks the surface before they go ballistic, so try and keep their head in the water. If any one has some advice, I'd appreciate it. i hope to turn the theoretical into practical at some point this season.
Cheers,
T2

Having no experience landing a large hali from a kayak (but wanting some) it would seem to me that a harpoon would be a better choice than a gaff. The motion for a gaff is upwards, and a harpoon is downwards. So with  a gaff you'd have to have pretty good control of the fish, which you don't always. And you can only gaff the outside, but you can stick a harpoon anywhere.  I mean in an ideal situation I'd gaff around the head, but we're on kayaks. If I hook a 70 lb hali my priority is to not lose it, and a harpoon attached to a float seems like a less risky way to go.  Again I am definitely no authority here.

Good thinking, imho.  I like the hook, but would want to be very certain that legs were in, the line and floats were in the water and everything was all clear before I pinned the fish.
I haven't tried to retain a fish that big, so I am just hashing it out.

I also have a honking big shark hook, that I haven't had a chance to test. Since I'm usually sitting in my rowboat and I'm not so close to the water, I lashed it to a short pole. (I'm also not too sure I want to be very close to any hooks that might be swinging around.) I have my buoy line clipped to the eye of the hook and the line and buy are also coiled into a bucket. I got that detail from reading Moby Dick when I was a kid.

While I don't have any empirical evidence, having netted the halibut I hooked out of my rowboat, I am comfortable with the idea of gaffing, rather than harpooning. Most PB anglers gaff their 'buts and they don't have the benefit of a big barb. Actually, if the fish is lightly hooked, I'd probably be more comfortable yanking up on the gaff, instead of driving down with the harpoon and maybe knocking the hook out.

We really need to hookup with some halibut so we can test our ideas and see what really works. I'm trying to work my schedule so that I can have the weekend of 5/14-15 off and over on the OP.

Not having ever landed a Hali, this idea probably sounds idealistic, but if I were to catch one, I would try the "Jaws" on a float thing:

1. catch fish
2. net fish
3. rope/stringer through gills that is tied to a crab float or larger
4. cut thegills
5. release back to water to bleed out and die

The flaw I see with this is mostly opportunistic furbags.

Erik

I like the idea of a "flying gaff" ie shark hook. I am not sure if a handle is necessary but the added length may help in getting the hook sunk.
I don't think I am going to try the buoy option as that is a lot of extra bulk to carry around in the kayak.

My gut is that I wont encounter anything over 50# or so and if I do catch a BIG fish it will be quite the battle to get it to the boat and the fish should be quite tired by then.

I plan to run about 10 feet of para cord with a small dink float on the end. Pulling straight down at my hip the yak is very stable and in the event I have to let the fish run the small float should pop back up first or if the hook falls out I can retrieve my gaff. 

My thinking here is that since I feel comfortable breaking 50# spectra straight off my hip I should be able to control a good size 'but if I can control it's head. A key element here is not bringing a super green fish to the boat either.... Who knows may be it will be good for practicing my self rescues 

Having no experience landing a large hali from a kayak (but wanting some) it would seem to me that a harpoon would be a better choice than a gaff. The motion for a gaff is upwards, and a harpoon is downwards. So with  a gaff you'd have to have pretty good control of the fish, which you don't always. And you can only gaff the outside, but you can stick a harpoon anywhere.  I mean in an ideal situation I'd gaff around the head, but we're on kayaks. If I hook a 70 lb hali my priority is to not lose it, and a harpoon attached to a float seems like a less risky way to go.  Again I am definitely no authority here.

It would be really hard to get good leverage and a good angle at the fish when you have it yak-side in order for you to really drive home a harpoon.  In my limited experience, when halis come up, they come up vertical and tend not to lay flat like a lot of fish do.  Once they get flat, they take off back down.  It takes a long time to tire out a decent sized halibut to the point where it would lay flat and just chill.  The shark hook is a really good idea.  The best shot you have at pinning a line and buoy on a big hali is through the mouth.

Same thing for me here, I'm trying to simulate how do deal with a big halibut from a trout lake in the BC interior... all theory and no proof so please take my comments as conversation as well.

I also worry about the ability to get a harpoon through the fish when they aren't horizontal in the water from a sitting position. I know this has been done from a yak but it still doesn't seem ideal to me.

When I ran the shark hook and bouy setup past a veteran halibut guide from Winter Harbour at the home show last week, he seemed to think it was a good idea but then recommended using a 40 lb (rated) life jacket instead of the scotchman. He said it would stash in the tankwell a little better as it would fit around things and not roll around, would compress less when the halibut sounded with it, and would create more drag. Interesting thoughts...

The shark hook through the mouth seems great except for the fact that you will have a sharp barbed hook to look out for when it thrashes around. That makes me nervous. I was considering a swim hook to do this without the barb until I saw how much it would be to get one, plus they still look like they could stick you :O

http://southchathamtackle.com/Tuna_Swimming_Hooks.htm

If there was a way to get that shark hook through and still have protection from the point, that would be great.