23.5# lingcod - photos later

I've got to come up with a better stance...

40" - check this by finding an '02 Silverado tailgate!

This one's my favorite - that lingcod looks kinda average next to that little ab!  That's the 10.375"er I pulled.  This concludes my report - I'll put something on the tournees page too.

Uh oh.  That scale pin looks like 23# on the money to me.  This one is going to be close.  I'm thinking you and BrianG will have to split as it's too close to call.

-Allen

Regarding the shots of the scale:  the sun was higher than the scale, the photographer was lower, so the shadow vs the line of sight shakes out to 23.5#...

I know that's not the most precise analysis!  I am in the process right now of calibrating my scale with an electronic Berkeley unit.  I'll get back on here with some results, but I'll admit right now that my preliminary work on this before I was called in for dinner did not look good for me... 

Abking... I will say that your honesty and attempt to show the accurate weight is very commendable!
You could have called it a 24 pound ling to prevent this kind of controversy....  but you called it as you saw it on the scale - 23.5 lbs.

Since our Big Fish Pool rules don't require any type of certified scale, it is makes this type of contest difficult to judge fairly.  In the future, we may need to require big fish entries be weighed by one or more official scales.

Whew, tough crowd.  Great fish, great photos Abking.  Do your ever fish Shelter Cove?  It's been 20 years since I was there but as I remember, we launched our small boat from the beach and the fishing was out of control.  Maybe we've both changed since then...

Pete

I agree with Chuck... nice to see the good sportsmanship prevailing here both from Abking and Brian.  

I'm pretty confident that the margin of error on a 100# scale is probably greater than 1/2 pound... Looks more like a tie than a clear leader.  

Perhaps we can put it to a vote of those who entered the Lingcod pool as to what the decision should be.  I think that would be a fair way to do it.

Erik

P.S.  Abking... NICE AB ... that's a much more rare and difficult harvest than the 23# ling... great work!

I spent about an hour in the shop this evening, and after dinner I finalized my comparison and calibration.  With top hooks of both scales nailed to the floor and bottom hooks linked together I was able to show that my old spring scale is consistently about a pound or more light in its reading.  At first I was thrown off by hanging each of them and testing by pulling down or attaching my weightbelt, but I figured out that gravity and the weight of the lower scale were affecting that.  That's when I figured to put both scales on the plywood subfloor and link them in a direct comparison of pounds of pressure.  I pulled each in both directions too so I could make sure they weren't just stuck on a favorable reading.  I have photos of the process and results, but they're too high in KB to load at home.  I'll burn them and load them from work tomorrow where I can shrink them down.  Between that and Bill announcing on the tournee board that I'm in the lead I feel good about it.   

congrats to all you bad-ass ling catchers, bsteves, ling cod lonny, abking, john z,
lots of others.

very impressive, very inspiring.

This was all a great thread, however, Freddie and I are headed to a secret location on Thanksgiving, and plan to put an end to this discussion with a 30lb lingzilla. but I am pretty sure the Ab is going to stand as the record of the year. Maybe next year we can add a Abalone pool, but after seeing this post, maybe Abking can be an official Judge in the Pro class. The fish was impressive, but that ab, that is a monster hubcap. maybe next year on the ling Abking. I am the "future" leader in this pool!

The weather must be more promising up there.  Thanksgiving day is the last fishable day down here.........hence my attempt tomorrow......
Pat

Abking!!!  I don't mean to take anything away from your catch.  Nice catch and worthy of our praise.  Way to go bro!!!!

-Allen

plan to put an end to this discussion with a 30lb lingzilla. ... I am the "future" leader in this pool!

I would love to see everyone comes out and beat this lingcod. It will not be easy, but definitely possible. Go out as many times as you can before the season ends - only a few days left. Anyone?

Thanks, guys.  Go, Skyboy, Go!  Thanks for the compliments.   

Pete:  sorry I forgot to reply earlier.  Shelter Cove and areas around it are favorite destinations for me.  While the Cove area is kind of fished over within a mile or two of port, the Old Man and the Hat still hold their claims to fame as awesome offshore rockfish reefs.  I haven't gone there on my yak--too far, but I've scored plenty of nice fish near the Cove, including a 21.5# salmon last summer, and lots of 10"+ abs there and around there.

As for the remainder of this ling season:  good luck and I mean it!  I hope someone bags the big bucket-head and gets the report on here--that's what it's all about.  NOTE:  Wednesday's Cape Mendocino to Pt. Arena forecast is sounding VERY SWEET.  I don't know if I'll be able to fenagle another trip out of the WAF that I have (and I've been meaning to get someone to tell me WTF WAF is!!), but I will be doing whatever I have to in order to get a trip that day.  May go to Trinidad for Ling/Ab combo trip...

...and as far as an abalone pool for next year, sounds good!