The great NCKA goes to Ketchikan story...

This is the kind of story that legends are told about. It is a tale of extreme talent and skill. This is the story that will not be forgetton, at least anytime soon. I will never again be known as the guy who just likes to sleep in.
I apologize for the delay on telling the story, but been crazy with work and the grape harvest.

I think it was day 4 of the remote trip. Allen had located a nice halibut hole that kicked out a couple of smaller fish. I was fishing with the prefered bait, salmon belly with 2 16/0 circle hooks on a silder rig.  We really worked the baits up there by constantly pulling the bait up 10 ft and then dropping back to the bottom.

On a typical pull up, my rod loads up.....and big time. I reel down and set the hook hard. At first I thought it was the bottom, it wasn't coming up and I couldn't put anymore pressure on the line. Then I start gaining line. Less than a foot per lift. This thing was heavy!

The fight was pretty easy until about the 200' mark. I stopped gaining line and the drag was slipping a little. There were no real head shakes yet, but it felt like some type of movement on the end of the line. Allen convinces me to tighten the drag some more. I was worried that I would over adjust the drag, it was getting touchy after being in the rain and water for several days. After that i beat the 200 foot mark and the fight continues up around the 60ft mark. I was worried about it being a big green flattie and going crazy at the surface because there were no runs at this point.

Tim, Allen and Dave were all around at this point and I instructed them to slap the water and make some noise to wake the big heavy thing up. I thought it was better to make it run while still deep than on the surface. After some paddle slapping on the water, there was still no run. At this point I figured it was a big ole rockfish with its mouth open like a bucket. Finally, I bring it to leader and we can't see anything. In disbelief my response was : " Well if we can't see it then it must be a halibut, because it was obvisouly not a big yellew eye at this point. At last we see what given the great fight:

A big old rock!!!!!! Unfortunately I would have kept the rock but I didn't get the proper sport stamp.
So a word from the not so wise....beware of those ALASKA FIGHTING ROCKS.

-Brian G  aka  DA ROCK

Wow dude, great story. Did you id it? Those rockfish can be hard to tell apart, maybe this will help:



 

And the even more amazing part is that he hooked the rock with circle hooks.  Somehow the hooks, yes both of them, managed to curl around the rock just right and snag it.  I'm not sure I could do that if I tried, circle hooks are just not made for this sort of thing.

-Allen

WTG!  I once pulled up a rock attached to the kelp frond that I snagged - I thought it was the laziest big-ass lingcod in the ocean!

Rock on!  

In baja last year, I thought I had a fish, and after a long "battle" I brought it up.  When I finally got it on board I realized I had a rock.  Or did I?  After looking at it closer it turns out I snagged two nice sized rock scallops from about 150 ft deep.

Brian should be so lucky.  He is trying to play it down as during the fight the rock DID take line in the original telling.....before we gave him sooooooooooooooo much grief.

"The rocks don't care if Brian sleeps in"!

the question is....did you release it 

You should have "gifted it" to Howard....maybe he could have used it as a paper weight in his office. It wouild be a great "story piece" for his future clients "

"...yeah....this dude from Lodi fought this rock for nearly an hour.....he and few of his buddies were slapping the water with their paddles in hope that the rock would come to life and start fighting like a real fish .....those idiots" 

Brian,

I feel you are one "STONE" away from catching the giant flatty 
\

Great story! You are now officially a Stoner!!! in my book. :

I almost guessed that it was a rock. My dad once caught one, while we were on a party boat out of HMB. But in his case it was some slimy sort of eel that grabbed the shrimp fly, and then wound itself around the rock in such a manner that the hooks caught.

After heaving this thing up to the surface, his rod just shattered too. And then the deck hand just cut the line, so we didn't even get the rock as a trophy...

So, you are definitely not alone. You are one of an elite brotherhood.

Regards,
Scott

BrianG.... Charlie Brown would have been proud of you!
Nice report. 

this dude from Lodi

Give Brian a break Mooch there are not a lot or rocks in Lodi. That's too funny, but heck I am still jealous what a nice place to catch anything.

You rock my world, Brian.  I caught a nice one in Monterey last month.  Nothing like and ALASKAN rock, though, I'm sure.

Allen

the question is....did you release it

He released it so quickly there wasn't any time to take a picture!! 

-- Dave

I had an old timer tell me one time if your not catching any rocks your not really fishing.

Rock on Dude.  wait I mean fish on no wait rock on.

Either way, I am jealous of an such an awesome trip.