Best Way To Land a Halibut?

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Originally Posted by alanw

Dave is right on. I'm not an expert but the regs seem very clear to me on harpoons.
28.65. GENERAL. Except as provided in this article, fin fish may be taken only on hook and line or by hand.

So unless you find an exception like the one for sharks skates and rays, or the new for 2015 exception for Pacific Halibut, I wouldn't use anything resembling a spear or harpoon to take your catch.

It looks like you can use a bow and arrow (or crossbow) fishing setup though

You and Dave are raising the same kinds of questions I'm mulling myself.

Likewise, I don't at all feel comfortable assuming something is illegal just because we can't find specific language telling us it is legal. Legality or not should be by specific regulations we can understand, not by non-specific assumptions. If it's not specifically illegal, then it should be legal by default.

I'm not arguing. I'm trying to understand. I don't know the answers to these questions.

To understand the letter of the law which doesn't seem to be spelled out in the regs, we are forced to speculate about the spirit of the law which derives from broader sources.

Assuming guilt by default and unwritten law is a nasty slippery slope.

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Lets think for a moment again about 28.65 that you bolded above under "General" ....

How can we interpret this to mean that a hook gaff, flying gaff, game clip, or lip-gripper is OK for the final assist of subduing and landing a (California halibut/Pacific halibut) where an undefined "3 1/2' hand-held straight gaff with a breakaway tip" is not, .. and how such undefined tool may or may not fall under spearfishing rules for a hand-held spear with a breakaway tip that looks and functions in exactly the same manner?

Seriously, I'm not convinced that what we are talking about here is a "harpoon" any more than it is a gaff or a spear or in the category of a self-locking lip-gripper tethered to the kayak that clips itself through the main body of the fish rather than the lip. There seems to be a general consensus that the best way to gaff a halibut is to target the stomach rather than the shoulders, boney head, shoulders or gills. If the halibut's head comes out of the water and they go berserk as they often do, a lip-gripper can easily become a lip-ripper, with lethal results when the fish gets away with irreparable damage.

I want to be a good citizen and to do what's right by local law and the laws of nature. I want to follow rules that are put in place for the greater good, if I can figure out WTF they are.

I will also try my best to respect the sanctity of life and not unnecessarily damage or maim living creatures. Morally, for me, if I'm going to catch a fish and reel him in the task should be successful and I should eat what I catch and kill. It pangs me to damage a beautiful and healthy fish only to drop it back in the water as a cripple to die somewhere else. As one who respects nature and life, I want to avoid this kind of failure.

I want to do what's right. I want to successfully land what I catch. Before I pull a large, forceful, toothy halibut into my kayak between my legs, I want him to be safely subdued and sufficiently dead in a methodical and humane way.