Flatties... your 2 cents
 

I was fishing a large Mac on the bottom in 80 ft with a small trap hook. Didn't feel any bite but next thing I'm on with something over 40. Had him on for about a minute, felt some head shakes and he shook the small trap hook. The large Mac came up bitten cleanly in half.

Can big flatties bite through a large mac or was it a big Thresher?

I say either a shark or a seal. Halibut will tend to rake a bait, not completely bite it in half...at least that's my opinion.

Shark

x2

Hard to say. But in my opinion, halibut have some of the strongest jaws out there. Wouldn't wanna get my hand in a 30 lb halibuts mouth when it snapped shut. I think a halibut that big would have no problem snapping a bait in half. But like it was said before, could have also been a shark or seal.


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exactly what i was thinking... no way a flattie or sea bass can bit a big mac in half like that. Phew!

It was a chupacabra fish

It was Candy

I actually had my baits bit clean in two twice in the last month. The difference was that I landed both fish. One was a 30 inch ling and the other was a 22 inch sand bass. Both in 70 to 80 ft of water. Both times the bottom 2/3 of the Mac was gone.

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Kelp.


99% sure.


1% it was a sea lion.

Here's what I've seen and what I believe could be the culprit

bait is not raked but skinned = bass
bait is raked, rakes have gaps = halibut, ling or any fish with large teeth except a GWS
bait comes up with head still attached to the hook, everything behind the gills is missing = seal

Mack cut in half is almost positively not a Halibut. They do have a good bite, but their teeth are for gripping not cutting. A Sardine or Anchovy, on the other hand, might cut themselves almost in half struggling to get free. And a shake of the head of the Butt could finish the job. But the skin on a mack is going to hold it together against a Halibut bite. Lots of sharks around that could do that though. Thresher as you suggested, as well as Leopard, Soupfin and Seven Gill just to name the most likely. By your description, I would think leopard. They will sometimes do something similar to a Halibut "Soft bite". And it can be hard to tell the difference from a Butt fight some times.

Ross, if I were a betting man, I would bet the bait got bit in half before the Sandbass picked it up. Easy for a big Ling to do it though.

Could very well be Greg. I was definitely on an area that has been yielding a few lings for me

You could have had one of my 60lb halibut experiences.

Hooked up
Fish runs and settles
Big head shakes
Heavy fish
More big head shakes
Heavy fish coming up slowly
Big big headshakes
Struggling to bring up 60lb halibut
WE'VE GOT COLOR AND IT'S WHITE AND BROWN!!!!!
my 60lb halibut turned into a batray that was hooked on one of It's wings.

I've caught my share of big flatties and this thing behaved exactly like one - sat on the bottom with big weight for about 40 seconds, then a short run on the bottom, then big time head shakes.

just really hard imagining a big flattie chomping through a big mac like that...

If you had it hooked up for a while, Its even more likely that it was halibut and rather than a guillotine slice, think of it more as a clean laceration


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Ive caught many a big halibut as well...and every once and awhile ill be 100% positive i got a big hali and they end up turning into a shark or a ray...:eek: you never know until you actually see it.

Leopard sharks like to sit on the bottom as well...they will definitely fool you.