Halibut harpoon technique

I'd stay away from somebody who was waving a loaded speargun in one hand while fighting a large fish with the other hand.  And you'd need to devise a safe way to store a loaded speargun on your kayak.

+1.  Exactly why I ruled out a speargun as an option for me.  Also why I'm even hesitant to bring it up, lest it plant a seed in some crazy guy's head.

-Allen

I'm certainly not interested in using a speargun.  But I'm surprised more people haven't posted comments about using a handgun on halibut.  Discussions of revolver versus semiauto, discussions of loads and ballistics, etc.  Like, how many inches of water can my 10mm Glock penetrate with a Buffalo Bore Heavy Load 220 Grain hardcast bullet (my anti-bear load) and still be effective?  Let's not go there.

Very impressive harpooning video, Rudy!  How big of a halibut or other fish does it take to pull a Polyform A-1 buoy underwater, and how frequently does an A-1 buoy get pulled underwater?  How about with an A-0 buoy?

Seems like anything over 40 pounds takes the buoy down.  Anything under just bobs it up and down in the water.  Having said that Mark's fish was roughly 65 pounds and it took an A2 buoy down for 10 to 15 seconds.  Keep in mind most drags around 10 pounds.  That gets them to the surface so an A1 with 28 pounds of flotation pus the drag on the reel should be plenty.

Not sure about an A0 buoy.  That's what my shark hook is on.

Very impressive harpooning video, Rudy!  How big of a halibut or other fish does it take to pull a Polyform A-1 buoy underwater, and how frequently does an A-1 buoy get pulled underwater?  How about with an A-0 buoy?

Seems like anything over 40 pounds takes the buoy down.  Anything under just bobs it up and down in the water.  Having said that Mark's fish was roughly 65 pounds and it took an A2 buoy down for 10 to 15 seconds.  Keep in mind most drags around 10 pounds.  That gets them to the surface so an A1 with 28 pounds of flotation pus the drag on the reel should be plenty.

Not sure about an A0 buoy.  That's what my shark hook is on.

I kind of think the buoy lines we are using are on the short side.  Certainly shorter than what I've seen on many power boats.  If they were longer, the drag would stop the butts before they reached the end of the line, and I don't think we'd see any buoys dive.  But then that would take all the fun out of seeing the buoys go under!

-Allen

I'd stay away from somebody who was waving a loaded speargun in one hand while fighting a large fish with the other hand.  And you'd need to devise a safe way to store a loaded speargun on your kayak.

+1.  Exactly why I ruled out a speargun as an option for me.  Also why I'm even hesitant to bring it up, lest it plant a seed in some crazy guy's head.

-Allen

I'm certainly not interested in using a speargun.  But I'm surprised more people haven't posted comments about using a handgun on halibut.  Discussions of revolver versus semiauto, discussions of loads and ballistics, etc.  Like, how many inches of water can my 10mm Glock penetrate with a Buffalo Bore Heavy Load 220 Grain hardcast bullet (my anti-bear load) and still be effective?  Let's not go there.

Yeah, was not serious about the crossbow.  Just thought I would add some variety to the conversation. 

On a completely different direction, we should develop a Rum dispenser that can apply a significant amount of drunk juice to the halibut gills somehow. 
Get those gills absorbing the good stuff and knock it out happy.   

I had way to much line on my A2 float about 20 feet and after the float disappeared for a bit I towed the fish and the bottom was 20 feet or less and the fish was not putting any resistance on the float. I was lucky and the hook held so I had some control. As for firearms, I kept a High Standard .22 semi that was Parkerised on my boat and 1 or 2 shots to the head was enough to put the lights out even on a big one, though it took them a bit to know they were dead. I don't think I will have any firearm on my Kayak except a Snake Charmer if I am chasing sharks.

I had way to much line on my A2 float about 20 feet and after the float disappeared for a bit I towed the fish and the bottom was 20 feet or less and the fish was not putting any resistance on the float.

Yeah, I forgot, you guys got some super shallow water fisheries up there.

-Allen

Have you ever tried to lip gaff a butt?  Trying to hit a 2 inch spot at a particular angle to hit the lip is difficult.  Trying to do that when the butts mouth is shut is impossible.  Aiming for a 10 inch spot, is much easier.  Personally I aim for the belly.  I believe it has a more calming effect on a butt too.

-Allen

I have little experience but so far it's been easy enough to hit them underneath the jaw. Like the other guys said they've stayed pretty chill and let me take time to make the right shot. Good point about the mouth being closed.

With my 'but, I had to bring him up 3 or 4 times total, but when I knew he was tired enough to gaff, he just sat there while I did it.  About a second afterwards though, he went completely bonkers and drug the A2 under for about 20 feet, then it was pretty much over.

Start watching at 2:20 for the Gaff (shark hook)  You'll see the footage from my camera, then right after is the gaff view from Pixter's camera.

Who's gonna suggest shooting it?  Come on, you know you're out there.  Post your nonsense.

Damn, beat me to it...I think my Draco AK-47 pistol would be the PERFECT solution...what could go wrong?

Standard practice to shoot anything close to 100 pounds from a powerboat. But now that I have landed a few, it's overkill from a kayak. Now if you needed a dozen fish on one tide exchange, then shooting them is much faster and safer than bringing in a green halibut.  But bleeding the for 5 minutes on the buoy seems to take all life out of them.   If I pick up a firearm, in thinking a 410 snake charmer.  I would only use it on a MONSTER butt like over 200 or a shark.

Then it's a race to see what gets shot first. A fish, the kayak, or my leg.

How much penetration are you harpooners getting with your harpoons?  Is the slip tip emerging fully on the other side of the halibut, or getting lodged inside it someplace?

How much penetration are you harpooners getting with your harpoons?  Is the slip tip emerging fully on the other side of the halibut, or getting lodged inside it someplace?

All the way through.

-Allen

Easily pushed all the way through....except when you hit the spine.

What do you harpooners try to hit?  The gill plates and head, or meat behind the gill plates?

What do you harpooners try to hit?  The gill plates and head, or meat behind the gill plates?

I aim for the stomach.  You don't ruin the prime meat and it holds just fine.  If you're lucky, you'll hit the heart.

-Allen