How to land a halibut

[lamb]

I posted this some years ago. When it took me 3 days to find it searching the forums, I figured it may not be bad idea to re-post it. I had people thank me in the past as they felt this stuff helped them land their first big halibut. With the brown moving in and all the new blood on BWE, I hope it may help prevent a major heartbreak for someone. Your margin of error on the kayak is very small.



By no means I invented this stuff. It's just what I try to go by - different folks may have different routine and preferences. I came up with this after years of practice on the skiff and on the kayak, learning on my own mistakes. Some stuff I read on fishing forums over the years, some I was fortunate to have an opportunity to learn from some folks with PHDs in halibut sciences.

• Make sure your drag is not tight. If the things go wrong, you want to make sure the fish can have a smooth and controlled run if/when it freaks out. This will also help bring barely hooked fish to the surface.
• Have your game clip ready – open and secured to your kayak with a rope, ready to be deployed. I do it on the beach before I launch so I don't forget later.
• Don’t panic when you see the big brown below. Keep control, keep the line tight with no slack…
• Don’t get their head out of the water – let them hang and linger by the boat, a foot or so under the surface. Keep them hanging upward, with their head above their tail; keep the constant tension in your line. They’re usually pretty calm. If the fish decides to make another run down, let it.
• Identify their lower jaw. Their belly is right below their head on that side.
• Gaff ‘em though the belly. It is their softest spot, yet strong enough to be lifted on board by your gaff. You don't have to hit them hard - just slide your gaff underneath their belly, and gently yet firmly pull up - sharp gaff ought to pierce right through. In my experience, 9 out of 10 times, they won’t freak out when you gaff them though the belly. They stay calm… like a lamb. It almost stuns them.
• Don’t gaff them in the head – it is their most boney part. It is hard to pierce though, your head gaff attempt is likely to be followed by a freak out…
• Attempting to gaff them though the thick meat on their shoulder is very likely to cause them to start thrashing. On a bigger halibut, it is likely you won’t run a gaff though them – they’ll freak out and probably yank your gaff out of your hand, or the fish will fall of the gaff.
• As you run the gaff through the belly, keep the fish in the water, don’t lift her up on board. Reach for your game clip and run it through the gills. I find it easier to enter through their gills, and come out with the clip through their mouth.
• Secure the clip, lock it. The game is over, destination dinner table is almost certain now.
• Put the rod in the rodholder and unlock the spool. The fish is on the leash, tied to your boat, all is good. It may save your rod.
• At that point, I cut their gills to bleed them. Some people smack them over their head; that works too, but I haven’t been doing it. You ought to do something, as they may stay alive for a while…
• Be ready for a post mortum freak out - they frequently do that. Move and secure your reels and anything else they may kick in the water if/when they start flopping on your deck.

It is up to you to choose whther you'll turn the fish so you have their toothy jaw between your legs, or their mighty tail while doing the happy paddle back in…

[kurt]

You skipped Part I: Hooking a Halibut. I need that one. Good tips.

[prowlerdude]

Being halibut challenged on the Kayak I hope to put these ideas to work

[Billy V]

Adi,

This is a very important and accurate piece of advise, as it differs from what we are used to while fishing for yellowtail.
"As you run the gaff through the belly, keep the fish in the water, don’t lift her up on board. Reach for your game clip and run it through the gills. I find it easier to enter through their gills, and come out with the clip through their mouth."

Show us your Trap Rig set up.
-Snelled live bait hook to the treble trap hook.
-----------------------

[GregAndrew]

Some good chit there. I could not believe the difference between belly gaffing and anywhere else til my Halibut Guru told me about that. Of course, if you are into on the water showers and hyperactive fish, then by all means, stick it somewhere else. Another good point my guru made was that you should bring the fish up on the side of the yak with your dominant hand. It is much easier to gaff and clip when it is near your most coordinated hand, and you are not reaching all the way across your body to do it.

[GregAndrew]

My Guru (Buttchaser) John dropped what he was doing to come over and get some pics while I was working a fish up. Little did he realize that he was going to be giving a free lesson on the proper way to land a big Butt. I have landed a couple of nice ones, but never so smoothly and effortlessly as with his coaching. And for his effort, he got a nice shower from the fish splashing after I had popped the gill on it. Here I am just after the initial hookup

John: You want to bring him up on your right side for the gaff if you are right handed." Ok.

John: "Get your game clip ready." Notice it on my lap already open.
John: "Now go for the belly with the gaff." Got it, although in my excitement I did lift him up a little higher than I needed to.

John: "Slide the clip up under the gill plate and out the mouth, then snap it shut."

John: Make sure your game clip is tied off securely before you take out the gaff." It will be soon as I attach the secondary cord.

John: "Ok, now remove the hook, then the gaff and pop a gill (Put your hand under the gill plate, grab a gill and yank)."

Now pose like you knew what you were doing the whole time.

By far the easiest Halibut landing I have ever had to that time. Just be ready for some fireworks when you put the head back in the water. New PB 40.5 inches and 24.13 pounds. For all his trouble coaching, all John got was a shower when I popped the gill.

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by lamb

I posted this some years ago. When it took me 3 days to find it searching the forums, I figured it may not be bad idea to re-post it. I had people thank me in the past as they felt this stuff helped them land their first big halibut. With the brown moving in and all the new blood on BWE, I hope it may help prevent a major heartbreak for someone. Your margin of error on the kayak is very small.

Great stuff.

One thing I'll add that I've found effective is that I use a small flygaff I've made for just gaffing halibut. That way I can gaff them let them hang in the water on the rope after I gaff them until I get a dive clip through there gills bleed and them.

Here's my mini flying gaff in action, as you can see it was not the best gaff shot right through the bone in the gill plate, but there she is hanging anyway.
I think that fish was like 28 pounds, and I'd already ripped her gills so in that pic so she's bleeding out.

Eventually I clipped it then actually ran a rope through the gills and tied it off, and by the time I pulled it on deck it was pretty dead.



One thing I should probably say is that my initial version of the gaff had a fairly small two inch gap mustad hook, which was great for gaffing halibut as it was very sharp but I upgraded that to stronger three and a half inch hays hook for for fishing yellows and seabass at la Jolla.

I also have spliced in a small stainless clip like one of these:



To a poly rope. The purpose of it is I just drop the clip into the halibut's mouth and then it falls out one of the gills. It then grab it and clip it back to the rope and it's roped good. Dive clips can pop open when a big fish twists around on deck but that rope system stays put.

I've used my little flygaff for Butts to thirty, and yellows to over forty, And I always let them hang on the rope until I get a clip in them, unless there are seals around.

The last thing I want is a big fish thrashing on my deck, so I leave them in the water till their bled if I can.

As to where to gaff them, like most I prefer to hit them where the gaff goes in easy and get's a good grab

I know some prefer the gut but if you don't get it deep enough a gaff there it can rip out. I've seen that happen first hand and it's a drag because not only do you loose the fish but you've killed it as well.

When I do hit them in the gut I prefer to do it forward right behind the gills in the toughest part.

My take is you take them where ever you can. It all depends how they come up and how they are hooked.

That said even a fancy gaff won't save you from acting stupid




I'm no guru but that's my two cents.

Jim

[-scallywag-]

Jim,
That's a sick action shot...i like the expression on your face . I'd like to name that photo "what if".......

Does anyone have any tips to landing a big hali without a gaff?

[Gino]

Does anyone have any tips to landing a big hali without a gaff?

Harpoon and Shotgun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF9OWPKH8X4

[Iceman]

Does anyone have any tips to landing a big hali without a gaff?

You can slip them right on the game clip or......

paddle in to the nearest beach .......or yell "GAFF!!!"

I have tried unsuccessfully to grab em by the tail

Adi, Nice new avatar...... that looks big brown and fresh!

[GregAndrew]

Years ago I tried to land a 14 lb Halibut with an old mono net from a float tube. Soon as I started to lift the net I could hear snap, snap, snap. Since the hook was caught up in the net I just had to make a quick flop onto the top of my tube, lock my arms over the top of the fish, and kick for shore. I got real lucky. If you are going to land Halibut with a net to be released, you need to use a net with the real tiny holes to not damage the tail. I have also tried a plastic style lip gripper, but fish over 30 inches seem to be too heavy for it to hold them. Some of the metal ones should fare better, but Halibut go pretty crazy when you try to put something in their mouth, so you have to be quick.

[blitzburgh]

Awesome post.

[lamb]

Good stuff. Greg, that is very cool. Some great pics of each step of the way... and NICE FISH!

Very often folks bunch up to help each other when the big halibut is ID-ed on the surface. With the adrenalin rush, it is really helpful to have someone by your side to help keep cool of a situation. It sux to lose her there, and many big halibut seem to find a way and pull that off.

Andy, she my new friend. The other side of LJ, out of paddling range from the Shores. Got to meet her on Saturday. Brought her up with a silk smooth easy drag - I was hardly able to peel her of the bottom. One of a few halibut i caught that freaked out when she saw the boat... she took a hard left turn so I had to follow her over the engines, got us all into other lines in the water.

Bradley "Calm Hand" was quick as a bullet and ran the bolt through her hearth and pulled on board.

It started trashing once it hit the deck... we had to step on her, she was pissed and was raising some serious noise...

Only then,

we saw she was fault hooked...



..trebble through the friggen' eye...

crap I forgot to take that pic

[-scallywag-]

Originally Posted by Iceman

You can slip them right on the game clip or......

paddle in to the nearest beach .......or yell "GAFF!!!"

I have tried unsuccessfully to grab em by the tail

Adi, Nice new avatar...... that looks big brown and fresh!

Good thread! There's tons of big butts around ready to wreak havoc on poor unsuspecting/unprepaired yakkers like me...read this thread carefully, it may save your fish!! and when you get that big brown yak side just yell GAFF!!!!

Thanks again Driftwood for letting me borrow your gaff....I tried to collar it, i tried to pass the clip, both attempts just pissed it off and produced crazy mouth opened headshakes with slacked line ....caught on a dropperlooped greenie in 110ft....

[Iceman]

Nice Beavah!!!

warming your feet up ?!

[driftwood]

bullfighting

the kayak matador.

Is this belly shot OK?

[Siebler]

Great job on that Write up Adi.

One thing I want to point out guys that I was reminded of by Adi's post about that fish on his boat....

Halibut when they hit the deck can go NUTS. I have seen them clear the rail of sportfishing boats when my coworkers set them on the deck to get hooks out (Big no no).

Let them hang and bleed out a little bit before you pull them on deck for your own safety. These fish are all muscle and will beat you up good if given the chance.

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by yani

Is this belly shot OK?

Looks perfect!! I bet you did not even have to bleed that one as it looks like you got him right in the heart

[steveooo]

Screw Technique. All you need is luck