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View Full Version : Hungry for Halibut?



klocked
07-25-2008, 03:12 PM
I certainly am and that's exactly what we are having for dinner tonight!


Yes this post is long, I hope some of you are kind enough to read it:LOL:


Today, I am mighty proud of my son. He kicked his skills up a few notches by landing a legal halibut at 28". The only part he needed some help with was getting it out of the water. Heck, I even need help with that!!:Envious:

We got to the "spot" when the tide was "just" right. I set him up with an Owner Rip'n Minnow lure and for myself, an LCFM110. I directed him to stand on the safest rock(platform) that was close by me.

We both start throwing our lures out. A few minutes go by and I stop fishing to check on his technique and he hooks up with a little butt but didn't set the hook, just sort of wound down on it and the little butt came unbuttoned in the air. I explained to him again that he needs to set the hook a bit harder next time:Wink: "ok dad, I'll try"

So we continue fishing and I catch a shorty, back in the drink he went without so much as a photo op. An hour goes by and I get snagged:Shocked:
CRAP! I look over at my son and he's looking at me with this sarcastic grin on his face and then says "I thought that you said you weren't going to get snagged".

:Shocked::Envious::Envious::Twisted: Busted!!.... Before we started fishing I explained to him how to decide if he's hooked up to a fish or about to get snagged on a rock. All I could say was my idea doesn't always work but most of the time it does.

"Watcha going to do now dad?" he says. :Rolls Eyes: hmm, well....:Angry:I'm going to go get my lure back!! I tell him. I knew I wore shorts for a reason. So, off came the shoes, socks and shirt.....:Neutral:hmm, better put my shoes back on though, looks kinda rough down there. And at that, I jumped in, followed my line to the lure pulled it free and exclaimed "yes!!, I just saved myself 21 bucks!!" .... "hehehe, I can't believe you went in the water dad":LOL:.

Ok, so I was back in the game. I cut my lure off and retied and started the machine-like casting some of us know too well. Less than 10 casts later, I get hooked up to a butt of the size I like.... zzzZZZzzzZZZ goes the drag, couple clicks down on the drag and 5 minutes later.... 27.5" legal at my feet

Here we go:
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn39/klocked/july25th08/IM002743.jpg


I'm totally satisfied now knowing what we'll be having for dinner. But by now, my son has increased his focus, intent on catching a nice prize for himself. He's casting and casting and casting while I'm sitting on a rock watching him. A while later he stops and comes up to me and asks "dad, do you mind if I use your pole?" I say "sure son, I don't see why not!"
His excitement level increased 10 fold, he puts his pole down and grabs mine, puts a nice thick coat of scent on the LC and starts going to town.

Now, I'm watching him like a hawk, knowing at any time that my entire setup could be in the drink at any moment. He finally starts landing the LC into the sweet spots where I would of been casting. A minute later!!... zzzZZZzzzZZZZzZzZZZZZZ BIG BUTT!!!!!! hooked up!! yes!! AS soon as I saw the pole do its double dip, I yell to him "set the hook!!" And he does!!
SHWIngggg and it's on!! I know I was way more excited than he was, or at least outwardly. I started non stop coaching at this point and all he would say is "dad, I got it dad!" :Envious: Ok then, so I back down and let him do it all.

Watching my pole bent into the letter "U" was almost too much, so I said he should loosen the drag and let her run for a bit. He was able to do that almost as smoothly as myself. That also gave him a chance to have a longer fight with the fish. He made me proud of how he was able to guide the fish away from the submerged rocks during his fight. He certainly enjoyed the tug of war! So his butt tires out and once it's at the rocks, I grab it for him.

Here is my son with his biggest fish caught to date:
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn39/klocked/july25th08/IM002738.jpg

Here's the tape on his butt:
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn39/klocked/july25th08/IM002742.jpg

Another pic of him holding both of our fish:
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn39/klocked/july25th08/IM002740.jpg

The amount of time we spent on this fishing expedition was short compared to most other times we go, but the experience we had together was something we'll both remember for a very very long time.

I explained to him that I was proud of how he was focused throughout the entire time and of how he handled his big fish. It was a job well done and that he deserved some better gear for his increase in skills. Soon he'll be getting a new rod and reel and a few LC's. No birthday or Christmas neccessary. :Big Grin:

Klocked

tacklejunkie
07-25-2008, 03:18 PM
Right on little guy! Good job on the huge halibut! That's bigger than I've caught so far! Good job showing dad how it's done young man! :Thumbs Up::Thumbs Up::Thumbs Up:

Also, good going to the coach :Wink:

Those are the kind of reports I like to read right there!

bruce watson
07-25-2008, 03:20 PM
I want to borrow that son of yours. What a great job of catching. Those fish are our there, it just take a kid with more skills than I have to catch them.

r!der
07-25-2008, 03:27 PM
Great report! Your son looks so proud, AND HE SHOULD BE!

imd12nv
07-25-2008, 03:41 PM
Always great to see the kids out fishing good job!!!

otisdis
07-25-2008, 03:41 PM
Great report and great job out there.

Cangler
07-25-2008, 03:42 PM
Sweet !

Nice bit of gardening going on there too !

Wingnut
07-25-2008, 04:26 PM
Like father, like son. Congrats and job well done to both of you. :Cool: :Big Grin:

lalo56
07-25-2008, 04:49 PM
Awsome! Good job you two.

steve092
07-25-2008, 05:02 PM
Great job guys!

That dinner is gonna taste better knowing the work behind it!

Hog Caller
07-25-2008, 06:12 PM
Thats what I'm talkin about.

Great job on the halibut to the boy and great job dad. Thats something he'll never forget and he does deserve the new gear to keep him fired up.

Fishing is one of the best sports to support a kid with because it's something you can do together the rest of your lives.

H/C

SheepGun
07-25-2008, 06:32 PM
Look'n good on the sand, the grill and your plate!

Lucky to retrieve your lure to boot. Enjoy!

fish_sauce
07-25-2008, 06:37 PM
Congrats on the nice catch to both of you! 28'' is an impressive PB on the surf, and he's got plenty of time for improvement! :Wink:

Hope to run into you guys out there one of these days!

chris
07-25-2008, 06:47 PM
sweet report thanks, and congrats to you

fishindude420
07-25-2008, 07:57 PM
Great job out there man. Congrats to your kid for catching that toad!

flyngby
07-25-2008, 08:33 PM
I vote the pic of you son for FNN Photo of the DAY/WEEK!!!!!!!!!!::Applause::Applause:Not Worthy:

That is a short fishing trip in duration but will be remembered for a lifetime!!!!!!!!

If your son was not hooked before he will definitely be now!!

Congrats to Klocked and Son!!!!

Steve

fishshep
07-25-2008, 09:10 PM
Bringin on some good positive memories with your son!!!
Good -Goin "Dad" Priceless!!!
May it pass on from generation to generation!!! .
GOD-BLESS!!!

GeordyBass
07-25-2008, 10:30 PM
Nice Job little guy!Those are 2 times bigger than my PB Hali's(14")!:Cool:

Psileepr
07-26-2008, 02:11 AM
Nice job on the legals! Love these kinds of reports. :Big Grin:

jerryG
07-26-2008, 03:39 AM
Priceless! The excitement a child experiences from catching that first big fish is something he will never forget. It's always first big fish that really helps to raise an interest in fishing. I remember one day way back when, I was that kid who got caught a nice fish and was hooked. I have no hesitation in saying from that day forward this sport began making a positive impact on my life. I'm willing to bet for many of you reading this there was a day when that kid was you. Fishing has never brought me much fortune or fame but it has done more for me than I could ever fully explain. I'm sure many of you feel the same way.. Thanks for sharing..that was a great story..

JerryG

J-RODsmhs
07-26-2008, 12:48 PM
great job out there. :Big Grin::Big Grin:

BingJr
07-27-2008, 06:32 PM
For us dads, thats what its truly all about. I felt the same when when my sone landed his first cuda, and his first striper on his new casting reel. His only 10 and hes pretty good with it. Great job.

J12
07-27-2008, 08:09 PM
hey great to hear about your success out in the waters. You must be proud for teaching your kid how to lure fish at a young age. I'm sure he's going to be a great fisherman.

fatherof5
08-01-2008, 05:28 PM
Good work father and son team. I loved the part about going in to get your lure back!LOL

klocked
08-03-2008, 11:25 PM
Thanks for the replies everyone.

Also... It seems to me from reading another post that people think one should only go home with 1 legal so as to not abuse the ecosystem. I somewhat agree with this but, on this day, I caught my legal before my son caught his. To be honest, I didn't expect him to catch one. When he did, I was hoping to convince him to let it go. Once we had the fish landed, my son says to me "I cant wait to show mom!", I asked him if we could just take a picture and let it go. Well, he wasn't going for that and he had every right to that fish as I did mine. How do you tell your kid that he cant keep his 1st legal butt? I didn't.

My reasons for not wanting him to keep it wasn't because it would deplete the butt population, it was because I didn't want the fish to go to waste. Lucky for us it didn't. I found a great recipe on the net that made halibut taste so much better than the previous ways I've cooked it. I posted a link in the recipe section if you want to check it out. We had fish for dinner 5 nights in a row.

I'll tell ya though, next time he goes fishing for butts with me, I'm going to give him the first shot at it. If he lands another legal, we're going home. We wont spend another minute hooking up fish after fish possibly injuring them just to have fun. The butt my son caught had the flesh on its cheek ripped open from one of the trebles on the LC.



Klocked

troutdog
08-04-2008, 12:11 AM
One of the better reports I have read in quite some time, thumbs up to both of you on your legal halibut....that is awesome! Thanks for sharing the experience, looking forward to your next legal hali report.


TD