ARW - 4/12

Started off this morning around 7.  I trolled a CM out past the end of the second wall on the last of the outgoing.  No takers. 
When the tide turned, I switched over to drifting some smelt. 
It didn't take long, maybe an hour into the incoming, and the smelt gets WHACKED.  No playing with it first, no nervous smelt twitch of the rod, just BAM!, I'M OUT!  Picked up the rod and let it finish its run, and worked it back pretty easy.  Then the fun began.
Until today, I've never had any trouble netting a halibut.  I've heard about them magically flying out of nets and all that, just never seen it.  I guess my time had come, cause this fish flew out of the net on the first try, back into the water to try and bolt.  Managed to keep from breaking off, and brought it around for another try.  This time it waited till it had been netted and brought into the yak to flop out.  Right on my lap.  It was flopping around, and I had to reach over it to grab the club, and I could hear its little jaws clackin'! NOM!NOM!NOM!NOM!  Got the club, and a well placed thump dazed it long enough to clip it.
I didn't get a full measurement (just know it passed the hali mark on my kayak), but the DFG survey dude was at the launch, and he weighed it for me.  Just a tad over nine pounds.  Might have been ten, had it not been for the big chomp taken out of it!
 
This is the most raggedy, beat-up, sad looking halibut I've caught.  Besides the big notch bitten out of it (which looked to be healed for some time), its fins were all torn up, and its head wore what looked like a more recent bite mark.

Good job Nate. Wanted to be out there with you was to hungover. Still have a bunch of smelt and shiners gonna make a run Mon.

Good thing you put it out of it's misery... often times the best fight is in the boat!

Might be raddedy but that's one beautiful fish.  I like the scarlet hue around the gill plate.   

I don't want to appear completely stupid but , where is ARW?  I have tried to find this out without going to the Board but with little success. 

You can also look at it like that was one bad ass halibut, survivor of many incursions behind enemy lines, winner of congressional medals of honor, a seasoned warrior who finally met its match......

Well there goes the theory about being very very careful when releasing small halibut. That is a big ass scar.Thats not even a scar its a fricking chunk. Very cool Bungle Very cool. Paradise was,,,,,, well I will report what happened over across the bay from you.

You are the big but master of ARW...sweet warrior!!!

I don't want to appear completely stupid but , where is ARW?  I have tried to find this out without going to the Board but with little success. 

Alameda Rock Wall....near Encinal High School.

WTG on the halibut Nate. Did you catch your smelt first before heading out this
morning? With sabiki or cast net?

Jedmo

Nice!

Nice fish and great post,

I experienced the hali out of the net thing last year with the only one I got to the boat, unfortunately he left the hooks in the net and got the chance to fight another day. (I have a bigger deeper net this year).

On chunks and scars, over the years I've caught and speared some pretty wartorn fish, life is rough out there, they must spend most of their life looking over their shoulder.....

Right on.. Bungle!
That old scar looks like it might be from a botched gaff job by some rookie angler.
A butt is a butt and I'm sure it's just as tasty as a pretty fish.

You can also look at it like that was one bad ass halibut, survivor of many incursions behind enemy lines, winner of congressional medals of honor, a seasoned warrior who finally met its match......

That fish was pretty badass, complete with a badass bag of tricks.  I was a little harsh on it in the report.  

Did you catch your smelt first before heading out this morning? With sabiki or cast net?

Yup.  High tide with the cast net.

A butt is a butt and I'm sure it's just as tasty as a pretty fish.

This is true  It definitely made some interesting looking fillets 

I was also out there on Sunday too. It was a good for most of the morning but the bite came in the afternoon when the tides turned. Hooked up with two butts. One broke off and took the line...ate the whole bait!

The second butt made a couple of runs on me...about a 25-26 Incher. Reeled it to the top and netted it, only to have it jump "OUT" of the net and dash away! .... Came home empty handed...I need a bigger net?!*** Hit both of a frozen herring behind a white hoochie. Good weekend, now I gotta just get the job done.

Keith