Lost and found

    Somebody lose a halibut in the last 48 hours?


    Well I finally did it. I found this fish about an hour before sundown in a sand pocket in the eel grass. He was so well buried that I did not realize that he had a pretty big tear in him from a previous spear encounter, until I shot him and he went ape. You can see the big gash on the left (his right).


    I dove with Darren and took out a neighbor who is comfortable in the water but hasn't snorkeled in about 13 years. Darren saw the first fish, swam around to approach him head on and popped him while I watched. I later swam back in with my neighbor friend who was feeling the motion sickness and needed to chill. I found this guy in about 8 feet of water and was pretty much nose to nose with him. It is my first halibut and so it was a real big deal for me. it went 29" and about 8 lbs. The tear didn't seem to affect him too much and I believe he may have survived it. I found two more border line fish after that. I also noticed that all the fish including Darren's were oriented int the current. Is this usual? I would guess so.

    Way to go Stephan:thumbsup2: and thanks for the photo-shopping the background.
    Most of the Halibut I have shot were at the islands, and there they seem to just face out to sea or at the base of a kelp stringer or edge of a reef. Halibut Mike is the guy to ask I bet he shots more in a month than I have in 30 years.


    Cheers, Don

    "Great mother ocean brought forth all life, it is my eternal home'' Don Berry from Blue Water Hunters.


    Spearfishing Store the freediving and spearfishing equipment specialists.

    Nice fish again steve, you've defiantly put your time in with that one. This is shaping up to be a pretty good season for you...now let's get you a yellowtail!

    Quote from Stephan

    Somebody lose a halibut in the last 48 hours?


    Well I finally did it. I found this fish about an hour before sundown in a sand pocket in the eel grass. He was so well buried that I did not realize that he had a pretty big tear in him from a previous spear encounter, until I shot him and he went ape. You can see the big gash on the left (his right).


    I dove with Darren and took out a neighbor who is comfortable in the water but hasn't snorkeled in about 13 years. Darren saw the first fish, swam around to approach him head on and popped him while I watched. I later swam back in with my neighbor friend who was feeling the motion sickness and needed to chill. I found this guy in about 8 feet of water and was pretty much nose to nose with him. It is my first halibut and so it was a real big deal for me. it went 29" and about 8 lbs. The tear didn't seem to affect him too much and I believe he may have survived it. I found two more border line fish after that. I also noticed that all the fish including Darren's were oriented int the current. Is this usual? I would guess so.


    Big Congrats Stephan..... long time in coming. Look at enough sand and you'll find um...


    Fish are tough..... I've taken a lot of halis with well healed spear or gaff tear outs................ and a couple with what were probablay shark bites (too clean for seals). (angel sharks eat halis).


    Re current.... Near shore... relatively shallow water.... most common they face in with incoming tide and out with out going tide.... - they really are just moving into the shallow water at with incoming tide to feed...... but they also "fit" themselves into any spot ...


    After the 1964 Good Friday earthquake in Alaska and the following tsunami that hit CA..... we had a strong "river like" current running S down the coast......... most of the fish and every halibut I saw that day was facing into the current...... just like trout in a stream..


    Re shooting from the nose..... ie head on........... I know there are a lot of posts from guys that prefer this..... I really dont think it matters. Just take the shot that works for the setting.. Im reasonably sure none of the pics in the Good Friday 1964 pic below were shot from the nose!


    Interesting about the gaff tears. I hadn't thought of that and the more I think of it it seems more probable to me. But well never know.


    Cool pic Mike.

    Nice fish man. Halis are one of the most rewarding fish to shoot. A lot of people argue they are the best tasting fish we can take as well. If you ever want to come down to North County I'll take you somewhere that I know has them every now and then.

    Quote from Stephan

    Interesting about the gaff tears. I hadn't thought of that and the more I think of it it seems more probable to me. But well never know.


    A lot of halis are lost at gaff..... they flop with a lot of force..... and the cattleboats have regularly been fishing near where you got the fish.........(as well as private boaters)........... they may come to the surface on h&l with little resistance.... then explode when hit with a gaff..

    Nice score! Good to see they can still survive after tearing off, at least long enough to get shot or gaffed again :D

    Quote from ascendv6

    That was a fun dive. Congrats on your first hali. Hopefully there will be many more to come!


    :toast:


    Agreed. Its nice that we both came out of the water with fish that we were proud of.:thumbsup2:

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