Skiff report
 

I thought you might be interested in this rare catch.

Fished LJ yesterday in snotty conditions, decided to fish some heavy cover for WSB.

As I passed a GPS waypoint that has been productive for Halibut in the past, I dropped a large bait to the bottom and was immediately slammed by this 24 lb. Halibut. \ caught on a carolina rig with a 10" Spanish mac. - no trap.

After landing the Hali I spun the skiff around to repeat the drift. My friend Jim drops down the same rig as above and gets nailed hard, he got wrapped up down low in the kelp. He worked the fish for several minutes and it finally came up. A huge Calico.

We immediately went into overdrive in an attempt to release this fish. I jumped out on the swim platform and down to the water line. Unhooked the fish and began to revive it. It had a tail beat and swam down, but as we drifted away it popped back up. I repeated this process 2 more time getting completely soaked with full boots. It was unnerving to watch as a knot head was circling near by with bad intensions.

Finally after several attempts the decision was made to harvest the fish. The scale teetering on 10 lbs. and a certified weight of 9.9 lbs. @ Dana Landing
Pic as per his request: Caught by Jim Tarantino 4/27/12 on a carolina rigged 10" Spanish mac.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a2...D720/ry%3D480/
My #24 Hali. just average in comparison to the Calico above.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a2...D720/ry%3D480/

Bummer that Old Fish Died but nice job trying to revive it Billy. WTG on the Hali.

Reebs and I obviously fish a lot of bass and we bought one of those air release instruments cause we can't have fish die in tournaments. They work well on deep water bass and rockfish. Cheap and a good investment. You should mount that fish right there.

It's sad to see fish that you're trying to release not make it, but great job for trying. Way to go on the halibut as well, and thanks for sharing.

Matt,

Please PM me any info you may have on mounting shops. It was not an easy decision to take this fish. I was literally in the water dealing with it, and knew the Dog was waiting for me to let it go.

Billy

PM Sent.

All you can do is try. How deep was that fish?

I estimate the fish was suspended at 40 ft. We were fishing in 62 ft. of water. It was caught at 1 pm.
I just PM-ed the specific GPS location.

The fish is now packed in 60 lbs. of ice and I have a call into Global Fish Mounts.

Billy

Kudos on the attempted cpr:luxhello:

Thats a beautiful calico.....................

Always a bummer to see big bass die. But, you tried your best. WTG. Nice butt too.

Trophy size calico and steak size halibut. Congrats.

Damn!!! That is a beautiful fish!!!

I've never seen a Calico that size with that shape. It's got a huge head and shoulders for it's body mass. Additionally it's got that beautiful full tail. Most of the big ones I have seen are breakwater fish caught wallbanging. They tend to be thicker, more built like a brick and usually have worn the upper part of their tail off on the rocks. A little better fed that fish could of been 12 or 14 pounds. It's cool to see a huge open kelp fish like that. Has he considered getting it mounted? I'm not big on mounting bass but that fish is so cool, and unique it's worth thinking about.

Jim

Right on, that's going to be a hell of a mount.

Jim

That thing already looks like a mount:D

An attempted C n R is as good as a actual C n R......I applaud your efforts:luxhello::luxhello::luxhello:

You did all you could, thats all you can ask for.

Very Nice Hali :D

Try to get a hold of a taxedermist named Kevin moreau. I think its called KWM taxidermy he does the best calicos around hands down.

Well done on both fronts. Had a 6lb Sandie caught in 50' that could not be revived even when sent back to the bottom.

Things happen bro no matter how hard you can try sometimes it has to happen and it did for a reason gives you a perfect reason to tell your wife her hellow kitty pictures has to come down for this beautiful wall mount haha but props on the hali and attempt c&r!!!

Excellent job Billy
 

Congrats it was good to meet you at Charkbait and then to see u again in lj

Hey Billy the best taxidermists hands down are Lyons and Ohaver in La Mesa.There not cheap but they are true artists no question. And thanks for the shark pics you da man.

Valiant attempt at saving a breeder.

Still a beautiful fish!

Nice going Billy!
Huge calico!!! :cheers1:

Thanks Guys.

The Fish is going to be mounted and receive all due respect. Everybody deserves a tomb stone when they die.

Owyn will be getting the carcass for some testing.

- It's being served tonight with a tradition Thai Chile Lime Sauce.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a2...D720/ry%3D480/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a2...D720/ry%3D480/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a2...D720/ry%3D480/

DUDE! That is a BEAST!:eek: You did way more trying to release that beauty than most people and gave it the tribute it deserved!:luxhello:

Damn bro.. thats huge. I've been pulling17 and 18" checkers out of the surf but nothing even close in comparison.

Post pics of the mount when you get it.

That is a beast Billy, nice attempt on the release.

Since when did BWE have a Skiff section???

Valiant effort on the attempted release of that hog...gotta love how those bigger models go all black and multiply their girth ahead of length. Put him next to a 14" and it will look like he could eat him...

Hey Martin...the alarms work!! My ears are still ringing!!!!:eek:

Beautiful fish. I killed a calico just over 9 lbs in December the week before the closures came into affect in Laguna. I felt bad so I mounted it to have the memory forever. I must recommend that you take it to living designs taxidermy in costa Mesa if you want it done right. Global fish mounts just sends the molds to china to be painted and they don't even look real. The guys at living designs take pride in their work and hand paint all their fish. It does take them some time to finish however. Worth the wait if you ask me.
I'm having a 61 lb WSB mounted now. Jeez, I can barely wait!!
Congrats again.