The Tale of the Halibut Circus
We had set up for halibut fishing and after sitting for about 45 minutes we started to get some hits.
We finally hooked up on a “chicken”, which we landed with ease. The weather was not working with us. The tides were coming in and the wind started to blow pretty hard. The wind was pushing us off our anchor. We were thinking about pulling up and seeking safer waters when one of the lines hit hard.
The halibut headed straight for our anchor line. After fighting it for 30 minutes, I could tell we were hopelessly tangled. I tried pulling the anchor in by hand…nope. We tried using the boat to pull up the anchor…nope. Finally, I could see the halibut right below the buoy. It was stuck and so were we.
Barry of Doc’s staff was in the area. I called to him for help. We were drifting into kelp beds. The wind was howling and we wanted this halibut. Barry & Downrigger showed up and assessed the situation. Barry coached me into pulling up to the fish using the anchor rope, shark hook at the ready. I timed my shot driving the hook in to the lower jaw and hoisting the 60 pound halibut aboard. At the same time the line broke.
We landed the halibut, kept all of our gear, and had a Doc Warner’s “Fish Tale”.
-This fish tale comes from a guest, Tom and Robin, during the third week (July 5 – 11) of the 2015 season. Do you have a fish tale to share? Click here.