GS12 - Reports and pictures starting on page 24

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.

Much respect, Bob.  Dealing with a fish like that is far from easy.  You now have some strong fuel in you for future pursuits, and I'll bet you'll think of that fish every night when you go to bed for a long time.

     ya needed a " PISCEAN Harpoon ,,, "   

 For Such Occasion ,,,

 might be Illegal ,,,   

They are definitely illegal.   

Question: Pacific halibut have become a sought-after sport fish out of Eureka and Trinidad. I have a question about landing large Pacific halibut, particularly in a relatively small boat. Many people use a type of harpoon with a head that comes off and is tethered to the boat. This prevents the fish from heading down while a rope is run through its gills for hauling it aboard. I was told that harpooning them this way was possibly illegal under rules governing harpooning fish. In this case the fish was caught with normal hook and line. The harpoon is used only to land the fish safely, similar to a gaff but more secure. Is this legal? Are there better methods? I have heard many tales of big halibut doing serious damage to fishermen if they are brought aboard too early and without steps taken to control them. All ideas are welcome. (Tom P., Eureka)

Answer: Harpoons cannot be used to “take” halibut, and landing the fish is an integral part of “take.” So just because you get the fish to the surface, it does not mean it has been “taken” until it is landed (secured). Most fish are lost at the surface, so take has not been completed and a harpoon could not be used at this point. Harpoons are only allowed for the actual take of all varieties of skates, rays, and sharks, except white sharks (California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 28.95).

While the use of a harpoon to “take” halibut is not authorized, the use of a “spear” to take halibut is legal, but you have to be “a person floating or swimming in the water” (CCR Title 14, section 28.90). Use of a gaff, including a gaff with a detachable hook, is authorized to land the fish as long as it is legal size. So the best option and the only one that is legal for California is to use a gaff with a detachable hook, sometimes referred to as a flying gaff. The description of a gaff can be found in CCR Title 14 section, 28.65 (d).

Source: https://californiaoutdoorsqas.com/2013/06/06/wrangling-pacific-halibut/

The regs have changed and they are definitely legal 100% for pacific halibut.  §28.20(d)(2)

Also "integral part of take" is made up BS that appears exactly nowhere in any regulation or fish and game code.

The regs changed on harpoons a couple years ago. California finally caught up and allowed them to assist landing a legally hooked fish. Here's a copy of the reg.

Methods of Take: When angling, no more than one line with two hooks attached may be used. A harpoon, gaff, or net may be used to assist in taking a Pacific halibut that has been legally caught by angling. See California Code of Regulations Title 14, Section 28.95, for additional restrictions on the use of harpoons. Take by spearfishing is allowed pursuant to California Code of Regulations Title 14, Section 28.90.

I for one am looking forward to doing battle with one of those beasts!! I have thought it out and feel well prepared to do battle. I've made a harpoon, a looped cable leash with heavy duty stainless steel clip to tether  him to the yak and a hatchet to clobber him with. A few years ago I helped land a beast and learned many lessons from the experience.
1) most small gaffs we carry are pretty futile against them.
2) a lead filled pipe is not enough to cave in his skull. Mine bounced off and hurt my hand every time I took a swing with it. Now I carry a hatchet.
3) a good sized harpoon with a buoy attached to a rope to tire him and haul him in with.
4) A rope with oversized hook to hog tie him with.
Now I just gotta get the hookup...

Hog tie big butts and double clip em.

Thank you so much Eric!!!  It was good to be back up there to fish and see all the folks. The format had changed sine #6 so it was much easier to concentrate on what to do. I first caught a 29in ling and put it on the clip. Then I caught my PB vermillion at 22.75 inches. Various rockfish and smaller cabs and well over 25 lings until I caught a 32 inch ling. What to do? After pondering for a second I decided to keep the 32, fish for a bigger rockfish or a big cab fir one hour then paddle out to where they had hooked up on pac Hali’s by the red can. Some more smaller fish then I caught the biggest ling I’ve ever caught. Never measured it. Allen came over and took a couple of shots then she went back down. I knew then I had made the wrong decision on retaining the 32. Lol. Time was running short by that point so I stayed on the hunt for the winning side bet fish. The verm was close to 7 lbs but not enough. It was so good to see everybody and not be working my ass off at an event. Hehe. I sat down at work today in my chair creeper and with the help of a co worker tried to replicate the position of my arm and body. Measuring from my lap to three inches above my outstretched arm. 45-47 inches.  What an awesome day.

That's a nice beast ravensblack. Congrats

That's an Alaskan sized ling there Craig! WTG.

Oh like Sin Coast said. I also made a hog tie rig consisting of a huge hook tied onto a piece of rope long enough to reach from mouth to tail plus a couple feet to wrap the tail after bending it into a bow...

The regs have changed and they are definitely legal 100% for pacific halibut.  §28.20(d)(2)

The regs also say harpoons can also be used for sharks excepting Great Whites. Good idea if you are chasing Thresher Sharks

Bob, Sorry to hear it got away. Thanks a lot for sharing the story.

Knew that once Danglin's  pic was seen there would be questions.
Guys, a few years back when Pacific halibut became known as a target in Cali, the regs were adjusted closer to what they are in AK and the PCNW.
DO NOT confuse these fish with California halibut, a completely separate species, which are still off limits to harpoon.

No clue as to whether or not the harpoons I've made would hold up, but I'd sure like to know.
The hog tie method SinCoast specified is how to secure them, as it removes the fish's greatest leverage.

If you are planning to target these fish, or fish in areas where they may show, read through this thread and do your homework, as these fish are no joke. They are tougher and stronger than just about anything we'll catch here in the Golden state, save sharks, sturgeon, or Black seabass. landing them is a realm away from our usual suspects.

these were some great stories, and I've learned some new things from them!

I have a video of certain someone that love the Karaoke. Should I post it? 

Wow! Looks so fun. Alot of happy faces and fish porn. I am happy for all of you. And the Halibut
GS13 here I come, well maybe