11/20/08 My First Hali

[Rabbito]

After about 32 times trying to catch I Halibut I finally did it.

I was fishing the MDR jetty but wanted to fish the very end of the jetty, but when I got there, there was like 6 people at the end of the Jetty so I fished for about an hour about 30 ft from the end. I had one bite during that hour not sure what it was. I finally decided I came all the way over here and I am going to fish where I came here to fish. So I just muscled my way in and made a cast.

1st cast I let the line drift to the bottom, I tighten my line and notice weight on the other end. I set the hook, thinking it is probably just a piece of seaweed...no wait its moving..I feel head shakes...could it be..could it really be .. it is!!!

I thought I was going to catch a bunch after that, I thought I found the honey hole but after another hour I gave up.

The fish was 18" not a keeper but not to small either. One problem with never having caught a hali before I didn't know how to handle it, normally with bass I just lip it but you cant do that with a hali, anyone have any suggestions of how to handle them to safely release. I had to gently put my foot on it to ge the hook out

Sorry I tried to post a pick but an error message keeps coming up, and I know the file is small enough

[fish_sauce]

congrats on your first halibut! The first of many, i'm sure.

there are many ways you can safely handle halibut on the surf without having to brave the jaws...for shorties around 18'' range, i usually bring them in and let them lay flat on the WET sand while i remove the hooks....some will want to jump and flop around...but you can try to apply light pressure with your hand to keep them still, but be very careful. I recommend removing hooks with pliers, as the sudden head shakes could easily drive a hook into your fingers. If you plan on safely releasing the fish, make sure you wet your hands first before touching the fish...this will minimalize the impact you have on the fish (by not removing too much of the fish's slime coat on contact) Do not use a towel! For smaller fish (10 inches or shorter) i just hold them lightly by the gill plate area....avoid sticking your fingers under the gill plates as it could harm them...and before releasing, i like to just hold them in the water for a little bit and run some water through their gills....this will sort of "wake" up the fish, and it will start to kick. As soon as it kicks, release. Try not to use your feet to restrain the fish, as it is harder to apply light pressure with your legs....and avoid dragging them into dry sand.

Good luck out there, and tight lines. :Cool: