New Recreational Pacific Halibut Regulations In Effect for 2015

So far none of the halibut have gone more balistic then what I can wrestle with.

Try catching a big one.   

-Allen

Multiple 60lbers are no slouch.  Why don't you catch one without going to Alaska.  I didn't pay any guide service or outfitter to catch any of my halibut by kayak or by boat.

Show me the multiple 60 pounders you've caught from a kayak and gaffed.  I haven't paid for a guide service in Alaska since like 2007.   

-Allen

Kayak halibut rodeo

Yeehaw! That was awesome, thanks.

I didn't pay any guide service or outfitter to catch any of my halibut by kayak or by boat.

And to quote a wise one, "the irony is palpable".   

-Allen

I didn't pay any guide service or outfitter to catch any of my halibut by kayak or by boat.

And to quote a wise one, "the irony is palpable".   

-Allen

lol

I didn't pay any guide service or outfitter to catch any of my halibut by kayak or by boat.

And to quote a wise one, "the irony is palpable".   

-Allen

 

So far none of the halibut have gone more balistic then what I can wrestle with.

Try catching a big one.   

-Allen

Multiple 60lbers are no slouch.  Why don't you catch one without going to Alaska.  I didn't pay any guide service or outfitter to catch any of my halibut by kayak or by boat.

Show me the multiple 60 pounders you've caught from a kayak and gaffed.  I haven't paid for a guide service in Alaska since like 2007.   

-Allen

Depending on what weight your going by, I have landed 2 @49.5" and 1 at 49".  Round weight according to IPHC halibut weight table is 60.37lbs @50" and 56.5 lbs@49".  Close enough.
..but you still paid to be shown how to do it.  All I need in Alaska is the gear.  The fishing techniques aren't that much different.

All I need in Alaska is the gear.  The fishing techniques are that much different.

I beg to differ ... while I haven't caught a pacific halibut in CA I have caught them in Alaska, Canada, Washington and Oregon.  They are pretty easy fish to catch once you find them.

 

..but you still paid to be shown how to do it.  All I need in Alaska is the gear.  The fishing techniques are that much different.

You're not really saying that the experience one has is in any way lessened by using a guide or paying to be shown how to do it, are you?

Again, the irony is palpable.

-Allen

Are most of the butts caught around here pacific or Cali halibut?

All I need in Alaska is the gear.  The fishing techniques are that much different.

I beg to differ ... while I haven't caught a pacific halibut in CA I have caught them in Alaska, Canada, Washington and Oregon.  They are pretty easy fish to catch once you find them.

I'm not sure why you are basically stated the same thing I was saying.

Are most of the butts caught around here pacific or Cali halibut?

CA halibut south of Mendocino county and Pacific halibut in Mendocino county and north.

In my fucked up little world, catching fish is like getting laid. Theres nothing wrong with hiring a professional but it aint the same. In many ways it makes good sense. I could make dozens and dozens of trips up the coast and spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on gas, food and lodging or i could hire Rob to take me out and get the job done more efficiently. Who knows,.maybe he'll throw in a quick hand job on the beach. Either case, the meat tastes a little sweeter when caught un-assisted if you ask me.

I haven't paid for a guide service in Alaska since like 2007.   

It's worth stating this again, because obviously someone didn't read it.

..but you still paid to be shown how to do it.  All I need in Alaska is the gear.  The fishing techniques aren't that much different.

Off the top of my head, I can recall ~8 trips I've done to Alaska in the past 9 years.  I paid Howard McKim to take me on a kayak fishing trip on my very first trip in 2006.  Other than that, I did not hire any more kayak fishing guides, except if you want to count the Salmon Shark trip, but considering that they had never done that either, I'm not sure that I learned from them so much as we all learned from the experience.

3 of the trips were complete DIY.  One other was a media trips.  On one, I worked as a camp host on a guided kayak fishing trip.  One was just hanging around Ketchikan with friends.

I can say that the halibut fishing can be very much different.  For instance, I found that techniques used in Ketchikan are not that effective in Prince Williams Sound.  And even in Prince William Sound, the techniques that were effective off Hinchenbrook Island were very different than what was effective off Montague Island.  So until you've done it, I'm not sure how you can say that the fishing techniques aren't that much different.

But yeah, you're right, no one should ever pay a kayak fishing guide for their services lest they be subjected to unjustified ridicule on a kayak fishing forum by a "CA Licensed guide".     Do you get the irony yet?

All that being said, I would personally still choose using a harpoon. I didn't learn that from a guide, as Howard didn't even have one on the trip I paid him for.  Heck, I was in the shark hook camp until last years Kodiak trip, when I saw first hand the system failed.  And yes, anything in the less than the 50-60 pounds range, I agree, you can just gaff them and muscle through the thrashing.  But I've handled 80+ pound class fish in which I had to let go as the thrashing got too severe.  I must be a pussy.  Oh yeah, there was one memorable 25 butt, that thrashed at just the right time and I went for a swim.  It pulled me right over.  Ugh!  I am a pussy.

-Allen

All that being said, I would personally still choose using a harpoon. I didn't learn that from a guide, as Howard didn't even have one on the trip I paid him for.  Heck, I was in the shark hook camp until last years Kodiak trip, when I saw first hand the system failed.  And yes, anything in the less than the 50-60 pounds range, I agree, you can just gaff them and muscle through the thrashing.  But I've handled 80+ pound class fish in which I had to let go as the thrashing got too severe.  I must be a pussy.  Oh yeah, there was one memorable 25 butt, that thrashed at just the right time and I went for a swim.  It pulled me right over.  Ugh!  I am a pussy.

-Allen

Pussy.

Indeed, lol.......


Allen's trolling