big fish (or how to fill your freezer in one go)

[tsquared]

These guys caught this halibut the other day near Victoria. You want to harpoon that puppy before you even think about getting it on board!
T2
http://www.fishtactics.com/FishingReportImage?writtenFishingReportID=2190&picNum=2

[FLBentRider]

WOW! How _did_ they get it onboard ? or did they ?

[tsquared]

There are a couple of ways to do it. One way with a halibut over 60 lbs is to use a harpoon that has a detachable  metal head with a woven steel line attached tied to a rope. 20 to 25' up the rope you have a big float tied in, then more line attached to a cleat on your boat. When you bring the fish up on the fishing line next to the boat, one guy harpoons the halibut, pushing the head through the fish and withdrawing the handle of the harpoon. The fish usually takes off and the harpoon line pays out and the big float hits the water and acts as a brake. (remember Jaws? same idea) You can then haul the fish in beside the boat and hog tie him and bleed him out. You always let a biggie bleed lots before you bring him in, unless there are seals or sea lions or blue sharks around who might steal your fish.
T2

[pensrock]

Thats a nice sized 'barn door'. Can you imagine how hard it would be to haul something that size in? I'd love to try sometime!  :)

[westexasmoker]

You know that buoy thing didn't work to well in the movie!  :o "We need a bigger boat"!

C

[beefmann]

that is a hollyweird bouy trick... all fish and sharks are unable to keep something that is more boyant than 1/4 then there  weight under water for any length of time... im not  saying it  cant  be  done though if you are a 200 lb man just try to keep something with 50 lbs of  lift  under water by yourself for as long as you  can


mythbusters has busted this myth of the bouy shark in there  show...

and that is a mighty nice looking fish... wanna smoke it?

Beefmann

[Kummok]

Up here, anything over 100 lbs +- gets whacked with a 410 'Snake Charmer' before bringing aboard. Like many big fish, those guys (actually most 'buts are gals if over 100 lbs!), can actually kill someone and/or sink a boat, so no chances are taken by smart catchers. There ARE the occasional 20 pounders that get whacked with the SC, but that's just to make other boats in the area think you're catching barn doors when they keep hearing shots!!  ;) ;)

[FLBentRider]

Up here, anything over 100 lbs +- gets whacked with a 410 'Snake Charmer' before bringing aboard.

I use mine for Snakes!

[tsquared]

If you look closely you can see the harpoon line and detachable head still hanging from the body of the halibut.

can actually kill someone and/or sink a boat, so no chances are taken by smart catchers

My favourite halibut story comes from a Quebecois kid I hired as my deckhand when I was still commercial fishing. When he was 15, he and his 18 year old brother bought their first commercial boat to fish the Gaspe coast. It was an east coast style open dory that was so rotten they had to be careful to walk on the ribs or the keel rather than the planks. Frankie said they fished it profitably all season til near the end of the summer when they were out fishing for halibut. They caught a barn door, hit it over the head a few times and made the rookie mistake of hauling it on board. It woke up and started to take their boat apart. Frankie was a big boy, 6'4 and over 200 lbs and he said he sat on top of this thing trying to keep it quiet while his brother had their clapped out 35 hp evinrude cranked to the max heading for shore. They pulled up beside the jetty, threw their gear and the outboard on the dock, put a line threw the gills of the halibut, watched the dory sink around it and called it a season.  :D  They grow some crazy Frenchmen on the Gaspe.
As for that snake charmer, Kummok, these boys could have used one of those on Tuesday up at this marina I frequent.
www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=a7fd4848-1868-44bf-a5f7-8e2cfe045b57
T2

[Kummok]

Dang....I want friends like this guy's "bear mauler" rescuers!! Thumbs down however, to those officers for not checking things out when they were first advised!  >:( This type of "non-responsive" public safety officer agency is why many of us up here sometimes take things into our own hands.

[tsquared]

Yeah, I think he owes those boys a drink of whiskey once he's out of the hospital.
T2

[dcpendarvis]

Another common method is to rig a gaff with nylon line that has a piece of heavy surgical tubing as a shock absorber (you use form a "D" in the line where the surgical tubing is the straight side) and tow it back behind the boat.

I think the record halibut was right around 700 lbs.  At that point once you get it to the boat there is a question as to who is going to eat who.