How do you do it?
 

I have never caught the right kind off of a yak before, especially anything that needed to be measured. I have caught my fair share of tuna, yt, and dorado from a boat, but I dont get to LJ on my yak much. I am not a morning person, so thats why I love hooping.

But last night, there I was hooping, and I was trying to make extra bait before the first pull. Thats when my sabiki hooks into a halibut that I bring almost to the surface before it gets unhooked. To me, someone who has never landed a legal halibut ever (just really short ones), it looked more than legal. It looked like the size of a door mat, and thats not including the tail. I was shocked to see it, and didnt expect it at all. At least now I know for next time what it feels like.

So hear is my question after thinking about my experience last night. I know halibut have to be 22" in total length, but how the hell do you measure ones that are close before bringing it on the yak? And last night, I would have gaffed that halibut because it looked big, but what if my novice eyes were wrong? I would have felt like a real schmuck sticking a gaff into something that wasnt big enough for me to take.

So any tips or thoughts on how to determine size on a close one if it is legal before bringing it on a yak? Or should I just play it safe and release it? Bringing home a hali is almost as rewarding as bringing home bugs...cause the wifey likes halibut just as much as lobster.

mark 22" on the side of your yak or sharpie or put tape around your gaff at 22" for reference.

I have a stick on tape measure attached to my paddle shaft that I got at Bass Pro, but many places carry them. Some of them are even marked for salt water fish types. I use a Boga type gripper to grab Halibut up to about 30" but would not recommend them for anything bigger unless it being kept for sure. You can also assist the Boga by wrapping your thumb and forefinger around the base of the tail for measuring. It can be a little tricky timing the insert of the Boga, and the fish will not help you at all, so make sure you steer clear of the leader. It usually takes me 3 or 4 tries to get it inserted properly.

I agree with Iceman, I have a couple of marks on my yak for Bass, Halibut, Cudas, and WSB. If you bring the fish to the side where your marks are and eyeball it that will help. The other option is to get the Boga grips or some other other non-killing grabber. At least that way you have a handle on the fish, that's for if you need to measure that closesly. In my experiences though, unless the Halibut is 23 inches I'll let it go. I've known people who have measured legal halibut only to get back to the dock and have the fish measure slightly under and get ticketed for that. After you catch a couple of leagal halis you'll become more aware of the legal ones when you see them.

I have 13,22 and 28" marked on both sides of the yak.

release 'em
 

If it's big enough, no ones gonna blame you for taking it. But anything that isn't obviously legal (28" or more) I'm gonna release so it can get bigger.

Although in 2004, I paddled all around Chinese Harbor at Santa Cruz for two freaking days and the only fish I caught was a 22.5 inch butt. Had to keep that one..

I like this idea. Seeing how most of the fish I pull up on the boat are on the port side I should have marks there also. Oh, those stick on rulers don't stick too well to the kayaks, at least the one I got from BPS did not or the Rapalas either.

Thanks for the info.

I like the gaff idea. Then I wont have to grab the gaff after I measure it.

Now to find a fish big enough to measure.......

If all of us were only so lucky to catch so many that you can throw back anything under 28". I've always tired the fish out, brought him to the side and grabbed them by the back of the head(opposite of the mouth!)nice and firm. It's the spot that will hold them for sure and it's a great leverage point for you. Bigger fish...no. Hot fish...heck no.

Yep, this is what I do on anything 30" and under, definitely not recommended above that size. When first getting serious about halibut fishing I would net anything close (with a nice promar net, not the tail-splitting kind) and measure... then after a while it was easy to tell what was legal or not. Now I will not gaff anything that I can release safely, about 30" or less. Trying to figure out a way to release bigger ones, perhaps with some mule tape around the tail and a boga grip? I almost lost a few fingers and my dignity a few months ago when about a 31" hali I was trying to release with the "shoulder hold" method went ape-chit, I almost went over the side with him.

Anyway, if you want to keep a legal you need a good halibut-safe net (search up on this) and just start netting and measuring them (take your time!) It's easy to mis-measure a halibut even with a nice loose measuring tape when he's flat on your deck, let alone when he's at the side of your yak.

Don"t make things harder than they need to be, use a net. That's what the damn thing is for. Plus if you have any fish on board that has a minimum size you legally have to have a net any way. mike

Ditto...mine are marked as pictured but they're actually 1" longer

12" is actually 13", 22" is actually 23" and so on and so forth.

My gaff is about 25 inches long. If a halibut is obviously longer than my gaff, I keep it.