SC from the Harbor 7/3 report

Hey guys it was cool to hook up with you all this morning. Great day!

So, here my fish tale: OK I went out in my kayak and fished for rockfish and lingcod (or anything) this morning. Caught a rock fish BUT I hooked into the biggest Halibut ever!! It must have been 40 pounds. Almost broke my rod. Played it for 10 minutes before it broke off my leader. Ugh. But now I know. So stoked.

Alternate story: guys said I hooked a rock. But I swear it was moving!!

Thanks for the report

Thanks for the report.

I was out there too---started the day trolling for salmon but had some technical difficulties, so I switched over to halibut fishing. No luck with that, but it was not for lack of trying (total of 6 hours and 9.4 miles). Got a few (nice) incidental rockfish, and let them go.

"Good guys wear black"

Good to see you out there Mash!  We recycled a steady stream of rockfish and underlings.  Mr Matt took home two keeper ling.  I had an minor adrenaline spike when something massive (Like 6-8 feet WIDE) passed under the nose of my yak, about 6 feet down.

67 fow east of buoy, great variety of fish. Small blues, medium canaries, brown/bolinas, Olives.    Lots and lots of bait size anchovies just outside the harbor, and schmelt as well. The schmelt work really well as garden fertilizer. I think they were bush schmelt.



Sansano saw a salmon jumping just outside the buoy.

Lots and lots of bait size anchovies just outside the harbor, and schmelt as well.

Understatement!  There anchovies stretched several hundred yards long packed from top to bottom.  It was unreal.  I dropped down for them a few times on the way out and was rewarded with a handful of nice fresh dead bait.  Wish I had brought the live bait well.

-Allen

How big are the chovies? Like tray size bait?

How big are the chovies? Like tray size bait?

Yup.  Tray bait size.

-Allen

I had an minor adrenaline spike when something massive (Like 6-8 feet WIDE) passed under the nose of my yak, about 6 feet down.

I think it was the monster halibut that broke off my leader 

Mash.....I am so sorry.  Tough love here.  That day in the future when you get a 40-pound halibut hooked up, or even a 20-pound or 16-pound flatty, there will be very little chance of ambiguity. 

Rocks , sometimes with seaweed and junk on them have fooled all of us and will continue to do so.  Swell and wind waves might make your rod tip bounce when you're snagged, and the bottom junk might make your line twang.  But a head shaking furious 40-pound halibut leaves no doubt. 

Acid test: keep your thumb on the spool and go to free spool. If it's a big halibut, It likely will pick up and move over ten or twenty feet, and your reel will zing.  While it's still moving (off the bottom) engage and reel.

For snags like that, check the angle of your line which will show you which direction you have drifted.  Paddle straight up your line and past the vertical point.  Keep paddling and the snag may come off on it's own, or you can pull from this opposite direction.  I've done multiple 360's around a snag before finally rescuing my rig (or snapping the line).

In the spirit of humility, I will addd that the giant something that passed beneath the nose of my boat was very likely a BIG leatherback turtle.  I've learned in the meantime there is one spotted out in that area recently.. Guess I will go with that. 

The adrenaline rush is real, though isn't it?

haha

If you arre available weekdays, let's buddy up for another try while these halibut are moving in.

Bushy

Sounds good! And thanks for the newbie love. That's why I'm here, to learn and have fun!

Shaping up to be epic.  Thanks for the report!