Wintertime Iron fishing....

[-scallywag-]

We got a gentleman’s start saterday and launched around 7am to light offshores and ankle slappers. There was tons of sardines and bait sized macks around feeding on the surface but, with no signs of predators, and the chance that there was still squid on the 3/4’s, I didn’t waste much time with the finbait.

Once out past the condo I could see the tell tale signs of the gulls lazily lingering above the area that was holding squid last week. After a couple drops with the 6x I finally snagged one, and sent it back down on the dropperloop while I filled the tank using the iron.

About three hours and a few hundred drops later, I felt a violent thud follow by a few solid shakes, then nothing but dead weight. About thirty seconds later I was eye to eye with a 40” halibut wondering how I was gonna retrieve my iron from those snapping jaws. I definitely had second thoughts about sticking the gaff in this green fish, cause with halibut the fight doesn’t start until they are to the boat. Lucky after watching a few videos by MrGregAndrews, I was able to keep the head under water, get the belly gaff and slip the game clip through without entering into hand to hand combat with this dinosaur. Trying to get good pics of a still fresh fish is by far the sketchyest part. 40” 31lbs.





While some may doubt the legitimacy of the California Halibut’s high point value in the west coast whopper’s, I feel its more than fair. These fish are just as stubborn and hard to catch as the YT and WSB, but lack the WFO bites that make the YT and WSB such an easy target for a few weeks a year. While it may not not take heavy gear/tackle to fight these monsters to the surface, once yakside the fight truly begins and doesn’t really end until you have that fish on dry land. They simply refuse to die!!

Hopefully the WCW will resume again this year in a very similar format, if anything changes I would like to see points awarded for the TOP TWO fish in slam for that month....and maybe bump up the minimum submittable weight (after all this is The West Coast Whoppers!!!!). Its wintertime, have faith in the iron!!!

[mtnbykr2]

Wow,
that's alot of halibut steaks excellent job, thanks for the report, enjoy the fish steaks

[Billy V]

Nice fish you got there. :Halibut Icon:
I surely hope people are not thinking about changing the WCW rules about Halibut.

IMO Nothing else will give you Yakside excitement like a Halibut - except maybe a Mako.
At this point I think everyone knows that these fish can wreak havoc while they are along side you during the process of landing the fish. Even after gaffing and game clipping them, its still no guarantee they will stay on your kayak.
- Lets just say I have had it happen - but was lucky enough to re-gaff and haul it aboard. (I was told it was entertaining to watch )

-I have also had a big one pull the gaff apart while along side the kayak. If it weren't for a fellow kayaker (Jason) tossing me his gaff I would have lost that battle - but I didn't. Live and learn....

-You can't grab them very good, and they are slippery sob's. They also want to bite you. (yellowtail and sea bass don't do that)

-They are arguably the best tasting fish we have in our local waters and deserve their place in WCW. Its not easy to catch one, regardless of what you might have heard.

These fish create nervous anticipation when you see that brown and white flash coming up from deep color. You never know what the hell is going to happen.

[steveooo]

Awesome fish Looks pretty rough out there

That really is one of the prettiest halibut I have seen.

[krmaxima]

Congrats on the Monster

[driftwood]

I was there saturday and we saw alot bird action. Came back emty handed. I'm glad someone scored!!

Make sure that clip is good and tight... those things can break clips.

[dmrides]

Nice fish. I imagine that guy was a lot of fun yakside after a 30 second fight!

[pingpangdang]

Nice hali. White and blue 6x? Patience definitely paid off. Did you have a bunch of little macs or other small fish hitting the 6x? Fun at first but becomes a chore after a couple.

Jeremiah,

Way to go! Personal Best??
Wish I was there...

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by -scallywag-

Fantastic Fish!

I love those big winter halibut. Most people think fishing's dead in the winter but I've seen more big halibut over thirty pounds caught in the winter especially in January then in any other time of the year.

I'm sure you know this but get back there and keep working that spot. If there is one there is more and though you might have to put it right on her head with this cold water keep at it and you may well get another one, or even her big sister.

Congrats on a great catch and thanks for the report.

Jim

[-scallywag-]

Thanks guys!

Yani, yes!! its a new PB!! it seems like it was right around this time last year when I was taking pics of you with a similar beast....so I'm sure we'll see a few more on that side of the pond this month.

Moyer, your right....more like a few thousand drops (and a worn out anti-reverse roller bearing) since the last real fish.

Bob, that link Adi posted is a good one....not sure why but if you keep the head underwater, and belly gaff'um they are pretty chill....having the game clip (or two) behind the seat and ready is a must. Once you start handling them out of the water is when godzilla attacks!!!

pingpang, yep, b/w mac pattern 6x.

And to answer a few PM’s, no I was not targeting halibut, 110-120' and yes I was occasionally metering a solid mark or two just off the bottom which is why I stayed in the area for HOURS. It's belly was full of squid/beaks. Here are some tips and techniques I use when fishing the iron on the squidbeds.

Always fish #40 mono and bring a few different irons....here are some of my favorites

6x sr. - sumo or salas.... the big daddy, b/w, b/w mac pattern, scrambled egg. I like fishing these bigger jigs when the squid is around for a couple reasons. They're size helps keep the macks/bottom critters from biting, you can retrieve them much faster without spinning, and the hooks are much better suited for big fish and #40mono (6xjr's hooks are a little weak). If you’re still having a problem snagging macks/bottom feeder/squid eggs try an iron with a Jhook. Also a sharp jerk or ten will usually release those pesky macs/eggs so you don’t have to reel it all the way back to the yak.

Sumo jr + C2 - For the smaller jigs I like the tady/sumo jigs...much stronger hooks, and the glow back seems to mimmic a flashing squid pretty well....the down fall is that if the macs are around they seem to hit these a lot more, also expensive.

I'm sure y’all are familiar with the drop and grind technique and how to make the iron "swim" instead of spin. This is pretty important when mimicking finbait and why the 6xjr shape is so popular (they swim well). When the squid are around I'm not overly concerned with swimming the iron....I want to get in to wherever the squirts are and mimic them, which is generally on the bottom.
Much like live bait, the longer your jig is in the zone, the better you're chances. On the squidbeds this means dropping down to the bottom and " swim it like a squid". I like to use much slower movements and pulse it up from the bottom, usually only a couple feet (half to one crank) then slowly move the rod tip up/down occasionally tapping or resting on the bottom. If you are occasionally snagging squid by the tentacals then your doing the right thing in the right place....even the squid think you jig's a squid!!! I will generally keep my jig down as long as possible until the current or wind get me to far from the jig. Once you get feel for when a squid hits your jig, you’re in business....hold the freshly snagged squid a couple feet off the bottom and let it flip out....imagine the squid hooked by a tentical, inking and squirt’in to get free...if there is a fish in the area, you will get hit!!. After a couple minutes I usually remove the squid and put it in the tank...I find the bare iron or a freshly snagged squid to be the most effective when targeting YT.
IMO nothing is more exciting then getting slammed by a YT while fishing the iron, and in my experience the iron is at least twice as effective as live bait, especially if you consider the amount of time the iron is in the water compared you’re bait. In fact the iron is so productive for some guys, that they consider having a bait out to be a liability, it just gets in the way WHEN you do hook up on the iron.

See ya on the water!

[chris138]

So this guy scallywag gets back from vacation in Cabo, first day back fishing at home and snags this donkey on the iron. You got some nerve! Nice one jerry!

[old_rookie]

Originally Posted by -scallywag-

Thanks guys!

And to answer a few PM’s, no I was not targeting halibut, 110-120' and yes I was
...snip...
See ya on the water!

Thanks for the lesson!!

One thing you didn't mention, but I can see in the pic, you were way out there - at least by my solo comfort level. The condo in the background is just a small block.

[TCS]

Scally,

Thank you for the tips and congratulations on the cool fish. I do have one question though, why to you use an iron instead of a squid jig?

Thanks, Tom

[Nic D]

nice fish and great report.... have a report on how she tasted?

[Aaron&Julie]

Very nice indeed. Looks beautiful out there.

[Whizz Bang]

A big thank you from AFG. It is great to see a real report from home sweet home. That is a beauty, and on the iron....simply awesome. Thanks for the knowledge as well, I am getting rusty out here.