Yesterday I helped my mother in law move and after it was done, I packed my gear and headed to water.
Got in about 4:30PM hoping to see what I had been seeing the whole week. Viz on the inside was good but as I moved deeper it got darker and murkier. There were some HUUUGE rubber lips around, some bait and eventually large Jacksmelt, cool because the hole week the ghost was hanging with Jack!
I repeated the same plan from the day before, look for bass and scan for halis once i a while but unfortunately, history was repeating itself and I did not get a shot at anything so I start heading back to entry point.
About the same area I shot the halibut on the day before I see this odd shape on top of the rocks and realize it's the tail of a halibut, directly underneath me and facing in the same direction...CRAP!
Ok Marcelo, relax and pretend you did not see it...so I keep on swimming and start pointing the gun at its head and praying that it does not bolt, as soon as I have a good angle on the shaft I pull the trigger and all hell brakes loose!
Halibut starts trashing around as I pray for my shaft to have gone all the way trough and not hit a rock when all of the sudden the fish swims away from me as fast as a jet but it starts pulling my float line...ziiiing I hear as it slides in my hand and I start to put some pressure on it but no help, the fish just keeps on going and I start to swim/get dragged after it.
After what seemed like forever, the line stops and I start to follow it only to find my shaft sitting on the floor next to some kelp. I feel a heavy weight inside me and realize its my heart sinking!
I start to gently pull the line and soon feel and little resistance and at the same time hell brakes loose again!!!
Trashing, sand getting kicked up, kelp getting wrapped around me and flashes of white come and go but eventually it all calms down again and I take a few seconds to catch my breath and relax because I can actually feel and hear my heart beating.
I go down again to look where the fish is and find it laying next to another kelp patch as I site there admiring this beautiful fish, I am planning on what/how am I going to get it so I try to grab the line but the fish wants none of it and puts up another great fight, once again I wait for the dust to settle and go look for it but this time I have my knife in hand, I dive over the fish and stick the knife in its head and flip it belly up as quickly as possible, by this time we are both tired and the is not a lot of resistance on the hali's side.
Hand goes in the gills, and with a firm grip on the fish I pull the knife out and stick it this time in it's brains, go in peace my friend, thank you for a great fight and the food you are going to provide my family!
That is when I noticed this big scar on the bottom...I wish there was a way for us to communicate, I'd love to hear how she got that...for a great fighter she was!
