One minute of pure....

[klocked]

32 minutes ago, I caught AND LOSTTTTTTT the biggest halibut I've ever caught. Caught me completely off guard. This thing was huge!!!! My jaw nearly detached from my face when I saw it. Being on the jetty didn't help either. I have alot to learn about handling extremely large fish

[Troutman65]

You will get him next time

[hbomb]

awww man almost, would've loved to see that pic...

[lngbchfnhnter]

That's the worst feeling!!!! next time,bro!

[dfisher]

ouch, that sucks.. next time take a picture of it before losing it.

[deanhall32]

People want you to take a picture of the fish you lost?? Good luck man.

Must have been an awesome sight to see the monster!! Keep puttin the time in on the water and you will get another shot!!

[bsp]

It's annoying and you probably don't want to, but figure out what you did wrong and be sure to not make that mistake next time. Once you have a big fish on, it helps to take a few breaths and make a plan about landing the monster. Figure out any obstacles that the fish can bust you off on, make sure your drag is set, and decide on how you will land it. Just stay calm, and don't let the shock/adrenaline take too much of a hold.

Hope you find this helpful. I've summarized everything I plan to remember when I hook another monster halibut. We'll both get ours next time!

[TShaffer]

How did the situation play out? Did you make an attempt to land him or did he just bust you off?

[Jaysuuun]

Dude sorry to hear about that. The big ones always seem to bite when you're not ready for them. Did the fish come off the hook or did he break you off?

It's annoying and you probably don't want to, but figure out what you did wrong and be sure to not make that mistake next time. Once you have a big fish on, it helps to take a few breaths and make a plan about landing the monster. Figure out any obstacles that the fish can bust you off on, make sure your drag is set, and decide on how you will land it. Just stay calm, and don't let the shock/adrenaline take too much of a hold.

Hope you find this helpful. I've summarized everything I plan to remember when I hook another monster halibut. We'll both get ours next time!

bsp, I couldn't agree with you more. Having a game plan for the next monster goes a long way. However, sometimes there are some things we can't control. For example if a fish decides to take you around a piling or comes off because they're barely hooked by the skin of their lip. God knows how many times that's happened to me. I do believe that by learning from our mistakes though, we can minimize our losses.

[sansou]

Lots of great advice....but the reality of it all is that if you fish enough, that time will come again where you will lose "the big'un"....all you can do is shake your fist at the sky.

Better luck next time! You'll get'em eventually!