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Topic: 40 Inch Club: NorCal Lings, Butts, Salmon, Stripers  (Read 47650 times)

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Bushy

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I've never joined, either.  Didn't really get  tape on this one, but I think it's somewhere north of 40"

Bushy

ps:  the skipper on deck was 6'5"

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crazyfisher

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I've never joined, either.  Didn't really get  tape on this one, but I think it's somewhere north of 40"

Bushy

ps:  the skipper on deck was 6'5"

what is that Bushy? thats in a different club in itself, godzilla club perhaps :D


native

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Is that a salmon shark? Are they edible? Do they taste like salmon?


BigJim

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You guys and your monster sharks and WSB and YT!

 :smt007  :smt002

Below is why I chose Lings, Butts, Salmon and Stripers for this NorCal "club" rather than any fish over 40 inches.

As one of the guys responsible for verifying AOTY and DOTY submissions I spend A LOT of time looking at fish pics and AOTY/DOTY entries both past and present.

Some entries and reports have stuck in my head and inspired me...the BIG fish over 40 inches have always haunted my dreams....both for the sheer impressiveness of the fish, and for the fact that I have seen/caught/shot so few fish that big!!!

I have heard mention and talk of the "40 inch club", but thought it would be cool to have a thread (hopefully stickied  :smt002) where people can share and post their stories of their entries into "The 40 inch Club".

Seems to me that the species up here that should qualify for entry into this club are Lings, Butts, Salmon and Stripers...WSB seem to be mostly over 40 (only one entered in AOTY under 40), sturgeon are too big  :smt002, same with wolf eels and sharks.


Anyway, stoked to see such big, beautiful fish getting posted on here!!

The 43 inch Striper I got over the weekend is my third entry into the club...



Now I have a 40 inch Ling (2012), 41.25 inch Butt (2014) and 43 inch Striper (2016).

http://doty.norcalkayakanglers.com/catches/133

http://doty.norcalkayakanglers.com/catches/1168

http://doty.norcalkayakanglers.com/catches/2310

 :smt004

 :smt006

Sincerely,

Jim


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HappyClam

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Something to aspire to!


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BigJim

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My second entry in the 40+ inch Striper category!!

This one was 42.75 inches and 31 pounds.

Got this one and a 33.5 incher in less than an hour of diving in the surf.

So stoked!!! Can't believe I was lucky enough to get two 40+ inch fish within one week (7/3 and 7/10)!



 :smt006

Sincerely,

Jim
« Last Edit: June 16, 2017, 12:43:59 PM by BigJim »

~GS4  2010-1st~
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Bushy

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Is that a salmon shark? Are they edible? Do they taste like salmon?

yes, sorta, no

Bushy

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It's been awhile since I could renew my membership in the 40" club. 43 inches, 29lbs, horsed it in because I thought it was a shark, whoops!
aMayesing Bros.


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Fish,hunt,eat sleep REPEAT
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BigJim

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What a beast Matt!!

 :smt007 :smt007

And tie for biggest CaliHali ever entered in AOTY!!

http://aoty.norcalkayakanglers.com/speciesleaders/list_by_species/4

Congrats dude!!!

 :smt006

Sincerely,

Jim

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Live2Fish

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Congratulations again Matt!


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Nice butt Matt!!!

I'd also like to renew my membership for 2016. New PB CALIBUT.  31 lbs., 42.5 inches


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BigJim

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What a beauty Jason!!

 :smt007 :smt007

Congrats dude!!

Great video too!!!

 :smt006

Sincerely,

Jim

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*DOTY: 2012-5th~2014-5th~2015-4th~2016-7th~2017-4th~2018-5th~2019-5th~2020-2nd*


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I posted a report and video already last week, but I thought I'd add a few more details in case anybody is interested...

Launched early and had a lot of trouble finding any desirable baitfish. In particular, I was hoping to get some sardines as I’ve had the best luck with those. After about 90 minutes, I'd gotten to my “secret” spot, but bait-wise, all I had was 6 spanish mackerel, and those were mostly small. Regardless, it was time to start fishing, so I got 2 baited lines in the water, along with the sabiki. Nothing happened for the next hour, then the sabiki went crazy and I pulled in 4 sardines. Game on!

I immediately reeled up and traded the spanish mackerel for sardines. One of the 'dines looked particularly bad---small, bleeding, one eye missing. That one obviously wasn't going to last long, so I put it on and gently lowered it to the bottom. I also put a nice big  lively sardine on the other line. Just as I got everything setup and settled in for the long haul, I noticed that the cap had fallen off my bait tube, and all my remaining bait had escaped. Bummer. Now it was just me and my 2 sardines, one of which was probably long dead already (the scrawny sardine, that is, not me).

After about another 30 minutes, I was getting perilously close to the lingcod zone, and figured that my bait would get mauled by one of those guys any minute. Just then, the rod with the sickly sardine went bendo in a big way. It was definitely something heavy but it wasn’t really fighting much, just sort of stuck to the bottom. So I was thinking it might be a ray. Eventually there were a couple of head shakes which gave me some hope. Then it settled into a long, slow tug-of-war---it was 30 minutes before I got a glimpse. Yes, it was definitely a halibut, white side up, about 8’ below the kayak. The fish then powered its way back to the bottom and it was like starting over from scratch. My arms and back were getting tired, so I put the rod in a holder and pedaled to keep the pressure on and hopefully wear out the beast. About 55 minutes after hookup, it surfaced again (still upside down). I tried to get it into position for a decent gaff shot, but it wouldn’t cooperate. After what seemed like forever, it was finally close, although still not in ideal position, so I gave it a shot. I missed pretty badly and the gaff ending up hooked thru the side of it’s jaw. Fortunately, the fish was tired and I was able to subdue it. It was far from a textbook landing.

I’m thinking the reason it took so long to get it to the surface was because it was swimming upside down. It makes sense to me that a halibut would be more powerful when swimming up (in it’s usual orientation) rather than down. So, if the fish stays right-side-up, it’s going to be fairly easy to bring it to the surface, but if it decides to go upside-down, then it’s going to be a lot more work. The advantage to the upside-down fish is that it’ll be way more tired and easier to land once it’s at the surface.

Anyways, I stopped by Bayside Marine to get it weighed---the scale showed 37.55 pounds. And I measured it at 44.5 inches.

The wife seemed to think that we had enough halibut in the freezer, so she gave most of it away to her friends. They all now think that I catch fish like this all the time. If only...
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