GS12 - Reports and pictures starting on page 24

Also a short video of some of our fishing.

GS is all about our stories and here's mine;
Got there early evening Thursday, and, as usual, I can't get set up with my neighbors all offering me up hellos, hugs and beers.  Later I found Eric and we collaborated on the meet time in the morning for his Halibut Clinic.  My fishing partner and I then got our gear ready and off to bed.  Friday morning we met Eric and the other clinic sign-ups and we got a great on-shore tutorial and details we were sworn to keep secret.  Ha!  On the water and Eric is coaching, encouraging and correcting his charges.  Out past Red Buoy and I hook into a Salmon.  My first in a Kayak.  It didn't get any closer than to tell it was bright chrome like a bumper!  Then Eric takes on to some more top secret honey holes, trenches and such that are known to produce the PacHali's and he cuts us loose to enjoy the rest of the day.  With 2 hours left, I caught and released 9 lings and kept two more.  A few blacks too.  Tournament morning, me and my 2 partners are on the water at first light and are off.  Past the splash rock and head out to sea between green and red cans.  Not quite to the imaginary line where we would cross green/red cans, we start to fish.  Within 20 minutes I've caught and released 2 legal lings, 25 and 27 inches and land a 30 inch salmon.  Measured, admired and released, we continue to paddle out past the green/red cans maybe another 1/2 mile or so until we hit 100+ ft of water, trolling and catching lings, rocks and cabs along the way.  Nearly out there and Bob is on the radio with a Hali that has him wondering how to get the damn thing in his kayak.  A dozen of us rush over and I get there just as he's got it across his lap, head and tail hanging over the sides.  He's beaned it with a 'fish-be-good', gilled it, got in on a hoop and the thing all of a sudden is possessed like the gal in The Exorcist, vodoing off the clip, off his lap and in the water, heading straight down as if he was perfectly fine.  I'm sure Bob has a great story so enough of that.  Inspired by his catch, we head back out to 100+' of water Eric taught us to seek and... I'm out of frozen bait!  I have one molested anchovy that I replaced after a Black chewed on it a little.  No head.  I rig that on my slip/mooch rig and wrap it 4 or 5 times to keep all the chucks together so it looks sorta like bait.  No head but gill collar is just stiff enough to hold the front hook so down it goes.  We head into the current at a little over 1mph troll.  I slow down enough that I'm in fact back trolling the current, using a 4oz banana weight, 48" of leader and a slightly chewed headless anchovy on a 4/0 slip rig.  After maybe 10 minutes, I get a hit.  Then a snag.  Then a head shake.  The power of the head shake from over 100' of line is impressive so I shout out to John, my closest partner, that I think I got something big.  He peddles over and has that look like it's just a snag, asshole, when there's another head shake.  John says, yea, you got something big alright.  I'm on my salmon pole with an ambassador 6500c reel, 30lb braid that is depth colored and 20' of 20 lb nylon top line.  I tighten up the drag a little and tug harder.  Then the big thing on the other end takes off.  ZING!  Colors flying off the reel; yellow, orange, blue.  Each representing 10' of line.  I slowly increase the drag until I'm scared the top line or slip rig will break.  It's enough to slow down the fish and it feels like it's setting on the bottom with about 150' of line now out.  I'm pulling, my pole is bent in a big U shape and it's not budging.  All the pulling and I'm slowly moving me and the kayak toward him.  With the blue braid now recovered, 10', this fish decides bull shit and peels off another 20.  I work hard to get this back and he takes 10'.  Over and over 20', 10, 10, 20 and it's back and forth until I'm back at the point of line where I started when he took the bait.  John is watching and figures it's a Hali alright and I'm not willing to jinx it to really say just yet.  Everything is exactly how Eric described it in his clinic though, so I figure maybe it'a a PacHali.  Slowly I am able to get this thing off the bottom and start working it up, but not without some more give/take of 10 to 20 feet at a time.  At my last color, blue, before the leader, I can see him; a big white slab, 30' down.  The water is very clear way out here. I'm slowing pumping him up, but he's heavy even as dead weight in the water.  Just rippling it's fins.   I'm at the top line now and John and I make a plan; no one else in sight, let alone close enough to help, we decide his gaff is bigger than mine so He hands his across, then clears his hoop stringer of his fish to make room for this one.  I've got the pole shoved behind me and my hand on the leader, hauling him up with that and just inches under water now.  I sit there looking at this thing wondering how the hell I'm to get this thing in my PA14.  It's so huge!  It's like someone opened up a white umbrella under water.  John says he's heard to gaff in it's middle to stun it.  I swung hard and hit the water, but the water resistance causes the hook to rotate just enough that it only rakes the Halibut's white belly.  This fish EXPLODES!  I'm stunned, knocked back into my seat and grab the pole.  But, he's had enough and is gone.  Nothing broke, it shot straight up at me and the slack caused both hooks I had seen in his mouth to release. 
Most would be upset to loose a fish of this size.  I'm just so ecstatic to have this thing this close to just stare at for a few minutes,  with it on my line, at my boat.  Eric warned me at the clinic it would be a miracle to land a decent sized PacHali without a net other than the Ling-sized one I had, so I was ready for the disappointment.   But I wasn't disappointed.  This was the greatest fishing I've ever had.  John tells me how sorry he is, but I am just so happy to have had this experience, I tell him I'm not sorry he need not be either.
Best fishing day ever; Ended up with 2 larger lings after releasing at least 8 or 9 others, A limit of large blacks, a copper (first for me), landing my first salmon after hooking my first salmon the day before and poking a Pac Hali that was the biggest fish I've ever reeled in. 
It was good trip! 
Thanks Eric, for the clinics; 2 years ago for salmon and this year for Halibut.  Thanks for putting on the event.  I feel blessed! 
Thanks for all the friends, conversations, sharing, food, laughs.

P.S
And Thank You John, Oldfart, my fishing partner.  For years, I've followed John, letting him choose where we fish, and he's always put me on fish.  Yesterday you outdid yourself buddy!   

Awesome story Jerry. Sounded like loads of fun we all missed from home.

Sounds like you had fun with that halibut Jerry. I wish I could have been there too. Maybe you’ll get another chance at him next time.

  ConGrats Ski Pro !!!

 Friggen Awesome,,,

     ya needed a " PISCEAN Harpoon ,,, "   

 For Such Occasion ,,,

 might be Illegal ,,,   

Looks like the weather gods were merciful. Down here it was blowin'! Glad it worked out up there. I missed a good time I know. Too much going on at home for me this time. Congrats to Matt. Not real surprised about that. Boyz got skillz. I'm loving the pac hali reports. Next flat spot in the weather after June 1st,  I'm heading up for a shot at em. A big bucket list item yet to be checked for me. Sounds like some chrome is in the area too. Loving it! The harpoon will be on board...

Hey everybody, thank you so much for all the props, this fish is a textbook version of "One more drop, then I'll head in". I launched with the intent of targeting Halibut just about all day being fairly certain I would catch enough lingcod as bycatch so get a couple keepers to turn in. I headed south of the whistle and started slow trolling large Herring on the bottom while letting the current take me farther south. I caught nearly 20 lings and a few rockfish while doing this and was at my turn around spot about 4 miles from launch south and to the west of Tolo Banks. I just kept my bait on the bottom and cruised about 1.2 mph for about 2 hours until I caught a 26" ling and decided to keep it since I only had 1 Herring left, honestly I felt defeated. It was about 12:00 at this point and I'm 2 miles out with only 1 bait, not looking good. So I drop down my last beautiful Herring and start trolling again, about 5 minutes later my rod loads up big time and I immediately feel a huge violent headshake, I knew what it was as I have felt this kind of power once before. Just keep the drag loose and start cranking, letting him run easily every time he wants too. By the time I knew he was coming up and it was time to say hello to one another in person instead of our long distance relationship I made sure I had everything ready, net in lap, game clip open and secured, some rope, my knife in my mouth, and rage in my mind. They come up vertical so all you see is a huge mouth and a body sticking straight down so you have to plane them out flat to net them head first, by slowly letting the wind drag me backwards I waited and pulled him toward me and shot the net straight under him and he went absolutely ape shit when he felt the net. Luckily I was able to hold on and lean way over the opposite side to counter balance this new addition to the kayak. Usually they will stop after a few seconds but he kept on going and going which made me stab him in the head quite a few times resulting in lots of blood loss and he was relatively done moving for a bit. The problem with nets is they get their teeth stuck in the net and it makes it extremely difficult to secure them, I game clipped him through the net and also put lip grippers on him to slide him in between my legs where I could more confidently get him out of the net and shoved his head under my seat to kind of wedge him stuck. After all the securing and having no doubts I was getting him to shore I announced what I had on the radio, finding out I had to peddle faster than I have ever done before to get to shore by 1:30.  Shelter Cove is an amazing special place and I try to get there every chance I get because you honestly never know what's in store for you. Thanks for all the hard work in getting this event going Eric, this is sure one I won't soon forget. 

What a beast Matt! Way to go!

Hey everybody, thank you so much for all the props, this fish is a textbook version of "One more drop, then I'll head in". I launched with the intent of targeting Halibut just about all day being fairly certain I would catch enough lingcod as bycatch so get a couple keepers to turn in. I headed south of the whistle and started slow trolling large Herring on the bottom while letting the current take me farther south. I caught nearly 20 lings and a few rockfish while doing this and was at my turn around spot about 4 miles from launch south and to the west of Tolo Banks. I just kept my bait on the bottom and cruised about 1.2 mph for about 2 hours until I caught a 26" ling and decided to keep it since I only had 1 Herring left, honestly I felt defeated. It was about 12:00 at this point and I'm 2 miles out with only 1 bait, not looking good. So I drop down my last beautiful Herring and start trolling again, about 5 minutes later my rod loads up big time and I immediately feel a huge violent headshake, I knew what it was as I have felt this kind of power once before. Just keep the drag loose and start cranking, letting him run easily every time he wants too. By the time I knew he was coming up and it was time to say hello to one another in person instead of our long distance relationship I made sure I had everything ready, net in lap, game clip open and secured, some rope, my knife in my mouth, and rage in my mind. They come up vertical so all you see is a huge mouth and a body sticking straight down so you have to plane them out flat to net them head first, by slowly letting the wind drag me backwards I waited and pulled him toward me and shot the net straight under him and he went absolutely ape shit when he felt the net. Luckily I was able to hold on and lean way over the opposite side to counter balance this new addition to the kayak. Usually they will stop after a few seconds but he kept on going and going which made me stab him in the head quite a few times resulting in lots of blood loss and he was relatively done moving for a bit. The problem with nets is they get their teeth stuck in the net and it makes it extremely difficult to secure them, I game clipped him through the net and also put lip grippers on him to slide him in between my legs where I could more confidently get him out of the net and shoved his head under my seat to kind of wedge him stuck. After all the securing and having no doubts I was getting him to shore I announced what I had on the radio, finding out I had to peddle faster than I have ever done before to get to shore by 1:30.  Shelter Cove is an amazing special place and I try to get there every chance I get because you honestly never know what's in store for you. Thanks for all the hard work in getting this event going Eric, this is sure one I won't soon forget.

Thanks for sharing.  Cool hanging by the campfire late Sat night over a beer and learning some pac hali tips  Congrats again!!!

--Ryan

Another great GS.
 Beautiful weather, great fishing, great food, and great people.

Congrats Matt!!!   Great job and write up.

Thanks again Eric , good times as usual.

Another awesome event.   Killer weather too!  I need to get back there to chase a pachali!!!  Good job everyone.  And thanks Eric.  This is the best kayakfishing event around!

Awesome!! Congrats to Matt!! Very well deserved. With that play by play with the knife in the mouth and going psycho on the thali was awesome!!

Major bummer I missed it this year...I couldn't find a dog sitter since all my go to dog sitter was out of town. Next year I'm going either way, bringing the dog if I have too lol

The weather looked to be amazing!! Good job everyone and looking forward to seeing all the great pictures!!

Pac Hali:
As Matt mentioned, it wasnt his first rodeo. props and congrats on securing the fish. Ive got a lot of homework to do. And by rodeo, he meant that literally.

Friday was a great day i wanted to do as much fishing as i could to take advantage of the nice weather because it could change on tourney day. A pair lings, a black limit, and mixed cabby and rf haul. sometime during the day i decided to troll a 8oz ultra minnow with a hoochie that i made. i was tired of jigging, so i decided to troll instead. dropped it to the bottom and gave the reel a couple cranks and was on my way. hooked on to something that felt quite familiar, but surprising at the same time. after a few pulls, it decided to give up and show itself. saw some silver and was thinking striper, but when it got to the boat, it showed it's chrome. Salmon! broke loose next to the boat. was happy anyway since it was just bycatch.

Saturday, tourney day, woke up super refreshed and excited to fish. launched into a lake. the weatherman was wrong! i knew i was going to fish hard today! took the same route as i did the previous day, hooked a few rockfish and released a few lings because i wanted lingzilla instead. had a mixed bag of 5 species of rf including black, blue, china, gopher, vermillion. they all sat on the deck. drift started to pick up and i decided im going to take a break from jigging and set up the hali rig that consisted of 50lb braid, carolina rig, 8oz sliding sinker, 48" of 40lb floro leader, with twin 6/0 hooks neatly stabbed onto a small herring. i figured if i drift it, i'd catch lingzilla if not the hali. Drift was going south east, landed on a big reef and fondled with a few bycatch rf/ling and as i drifted out of the reef, cranked up the rig to about 6ft from the bottom, set it in my rod holder so i can clip all the rockfish that were on my deck. thats the moment my rod loaded up, looked like a snag, but wasnt, i grabbed it and it took off like ive never felt! loosened the drag a bit and that's when i realized it was something big. but i wasnt sure what. the headshakes were huge throbs instead of quick vibrations like ive felt on cali halis, i was like WTF. so i radioed my fishing partner Murakami because i might need help, but he was too far away after delivering a bilge pump that someone has lost. i slowly reeled it in and after about 4 dives it showed color. The water was so clear, it was very easy to make out what it was. i could see the diamond shape body and the ugly face that only a mother could love. at that time, i knew shit was about to get real! thats when i switched from "possibly" needing help, to "for sure" needing help, but no one was nearby. everyone heard my voice on the radio and knew it wasn't bullshit. i realized how excited everyone on the radio was, maybe more than me, cus at the time i was actually more scared, not going to lie. based on what i see/hear, this is a crazy species, and i spent most of my life playing around with fish including giant arapaima, but this thing is just a beast! so a guy with a red tarpon kayak was the first to the scene to help, i am so sorry i forgot your name whoever you are, and first thought was to double gaff but wasn't sure, started to get a lot of chatter on the radio and mixed advice, so i tried to do what i thought was ok. i had the fellow kayaker hold on to my kayak so i wouldn't tip over, i opened my gameclip, gaffed the beast in the cheek, meat was ripping, so i quickly clipped it. after that, it got the wooden shampoo treatment about 30 times. it did not move. i cut its gills, it did not move. i took a couple breaths, and pulled it onto my lap. it did not move.... that's when i "thought" i had the cat in the bag, head hanging off the left side and much of the tail still in the water on the right side. mustve been over 48" long and 40+lbs. Radioed the crew! "I got him I got him!" about a minute later, as i was brainstorming my mission to secure him and bring him back to shore, thats when the thing gave me a lap dance got back in the water, stretched the gameclip out, pop! and he was gone. silence followed and the dozen kayaks next to me slowly drifted away. i sat there face down for about 5 minutes. Collected myself, and faced reality. paddled back in and tried to fish a bit more, pulled the crab pots and called it a day. when i got to shore, i felt like i was famous, hella people gave me hugs. didnt let it bother me, and went ahead with the rest of the day. the lost halibut didn't really hit me until today, when i was driving around, just thinking about what i did wrong. but there will always be a next time, and next time i will be more prepared! felt bad i killed the fish though. but it happens i guess.

overall great trip as always, with great conditions this time. its always fun at the cove, seeing new faces, as well as familiar ones. thank you so much Eric and and those who help to make this event possible.

you can see me smile in that kayak pic taken by eric, but that was before the Pachali ordeal.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Great write up, Bob. I was with both you and SkiPro3 Jerry when you guys lost your fish.  Hmmm, maybe I should stay away from halibut fishermen. 
I seem to remember a few understandable expletives before the following silence when you lost yours