The first couple of days were pretty routine, limiting out on king salmon and halibut. Nothing spectacular, but far better than most people find anywhere else, for sure.
Grandpa had mentioned to me that his goal was to catch a halibut weighing more than 100 pounds. That is a lofty goal, but very reachable in our area of Alaska. He had made several trips to Alaska but the big monster fish had eluded his bait each time.
Day three arrived and after a short time of paperwork at the dock we were racing towards Cape Edgecumbe. The weather was good allowing us to fish anywhere on the ocean. That is a big key for catching fish. Bad weather can pin us down in areas where there may not be many fish, but if the ocean gives us those flat calm days we can usually put some good ones in the box.
We limited on the big King Salmon and raced to a good halibut hole I had fished many times this spring. I had not caught any big fish there yet but it is a place where there are some really good ones lurking around.
I dropped my anchor in 425 feet of water and baited the circle hooks as heavily as I possibly could. The more bait on a hook, the quicker the fish find us.
We relaxed chatting and enjoying the day as we waited for the halibut to show up. I heard the hopeful plea of grandpa for the 100 pound halibut.
We boated a few small keeper halibut in the 30 pound range. In our area in South East Alaska we are on some very tight length restrictions. We can only keep halibut if they are under 43 inches, or if you happen upon a monster that is over 80 inches long. A 43 inch halibut weighs about 40 pounds. The 80 inch halibut tips the scale at 276 pounds. There are not many fish caught in the over 80 inch class each summer, for sure.
Fishing time is running our for our day. We need a couple more halibut for a full boat limit when the grandson's rod bends over.
"Crank, crank, crank!" I shout to the grandson, wanting him to get a good hook set in the halibut. I can tell it is a nice fish but who knows how big it really is.
The young man is cranking like crazy to get the circle hook into the fish. I am watching his rod throb in huge up and down sweeps. Line is burning off his big two speed halibut reel. He is not aware of what is really happening as he has his head down and is cranking the reel handle with all his might.
"You've got a big fish on there, my friend," I tell him. "Let's see if we can get it all the way to the boat. You will be working this fish for quite some time!"
The others on the boat stop fishing to watch the battle.
The grandson has the big fish off the bottom after quite a tussle. I am watching to see how many times it will run back to the bottom once it starts coming up. The larger the halibut the more times it will run all the way back to the bottom. Of course, it also depends on how strong the angler doing the reeling. Young people tend to bring a big fish up much quicker than older clients.
This fish does not want to leave the bottom. Each time the grandson is able to get the fish up about one hundred feet, the big fish rushes back to the bottom. Hard fought line strips off the reel like there is no drag setting.
I ask the grandson to stop reeling in order to check his drag. I tug on the line and it just about cuts into my gloved hand.
"Oh man! Your drag is set very tight," I inform him. "That means this a truly a big fish."
While the grandson is reeling on the big fish I am getting the deck ready. I am fully aware of what a powerful fish can do. I place all sharp object out of the way, move the bait buckets, deck hose, and the gaff hooks. I do not want this fish to come on board and start flinging objects with its massive tail.
I lash a shark hook to the nearest cleat and feel I am ready to do my part of the battle with the monster.
After a very worthy battle the big fish comes into view. It is huge.
"Ok, do not let its head break into the air before I get this shark hook in its jaw," I tell the grandson. "If it does it will go crazy and we may not get a picture of it."
I ease the line up with my gloved hands, shark hook poised. The instant its mouth breaks water I hook it with the shark hook and hang on.
The huge halibut goes crazy. In massive water splashing surges it thrashes back and forth. I am tossed around like a rag doll. I hang on for dear life! Everyone is leaning over watching the battle at the rail.
"Oh my goodness, look at the size of that halibut," I hear several times.
When the fish is done thrashing, I ask for help sliding it over the rail and on board.
It hits the deck with a thud of heavy weight.
We high five and admire the fish as I dig out a tape measure. We quickly string a tape and look in the back of the tide book for the live weight.
"Ok, take your guesses as to what it weighs," I shout out the door while writing the weight on a card. They each take a guess at the weight, but none are close.
I bring out the card and place it on the halibut. It reads 206!
"Two hundred and six pounds," I exclaim to the stunned guys.
The grand son poses quickly for pictures and then we release the monster back into the ocean. With a throb of its huge tail it races back to the bottom.
"Well, you didn't get your 100 pounder I told the grandpa back at the dock as he and his grandson departed.
"Oh you know this was far better," he stated the obvious. We all laughed knowing how true that was.
The dream of the grandpa came true, not for himself, but in some ways, more fulfilling than he imagined.
grandson posing with his giant halibut
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