Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge - View Single Post

GregAndrew · 10-10-2015, 02:20 PM

The thread posted by Steveeeo in the 2nd post is a great resource. That being said, I have refined my contribution to that thread over the last 5 years.

The first mistake most people make is trying to horse the fish up. You will find many times that Halibut will be hooked by a little piece of lip or a piece of skin on the roof of their mouth.

The second mistake is not being prepared when you get the fish yakside. Have your gameclip/stringer, gaff and release tools easily accessible. If they are in your hatch, or you have to crawl out of your seat to get them they are not.

Fight the fish on the side of your kayak that your dominant hand is. You can use any hand to push the rod away from you to get the fish close. You want your coordinated hand on the gaff.

DO NOT PANIC! There is nothing that can be done quickly at this point that is not better handled deliberately. Loosen you drag a bit (not freespool or clicker only) so that if the fish should bolt you will be applying less pressure now than on the fight up. If you were fishing for WSB or YT when the Hali hit, it might be a considerable amount that you should have loosened it.

Identify what your are dealing with. Make sure you are only gaffing a certain legal fish. When in doubt lip grip it. Halibut are sensitive around the mouth, but they get desensitized quickly (you can probably get the gripper on pretty easy on the 3rd or 4th attempt). I prefer the plastic ones cause they disperse the weight over a larger area and generally do not puncture the mouth (and float). If it is definitely a release fish, then only gripper it if you need help getting the hook out. Otherwise pliers in the water always.

Ok, so now you have a Halibut that you intend to keep at the side of your kayak. The next step is to figure out how to maneuver the fish and yourself to give you a good belly shot on the fish without having to reach way out. I have had just as good of success when the fish was vertical as with laid out on the surface. Right side up or upside down has not been a problem either. It might be as simple as dragging it right along the side of your kayak. On windy days you might have to turn around so your rod faces down wind to pull the fish under you.

Gaff the belly firmly. The area behind the gill plate and the bottom (opposite side of eyes) 1/3 to 1/4 of the width of the fish. The bigger the fish, the bigger the sweet spot. A little too far back, a little to far across the width or too hard is where you will probably have issues with the fish going crazy. With a good gaff, you should only have to move your hand 6-8 inches when you gaff a Halibut in the belly. Gaff it firm, but do not make it bounce (they don't like that). Now that you are not going to make a reaching flail swing with the gaff, it makes it much easier to target about 1/2" behind the gill plate and a couple inches in from the edge.

Hold the head out of the water. Now that you have the fish on the gaff, don't make it think it is free to go by placing the head back in the water. Part of the paralysis that comes over a belly gaffed Halibut if from the weight supported by the gaff. However, if you support it too much it can work like bouncing them on the gaff shot. Your primary focus should have gone from your rod to your gaff as soon as it hit (keep it there).

Take care of business. Grab your game clip and slide it through the gills and out the mouth or vice versa and snap it shut. DO NOT LIFT the fish by the game clip at this point (see paralysis and weight above). If you already have your game clip tethered to your yak, then you can simply release it. Grab your pliers or other dehooking device and remove the hook. Then pop a couple gills with your finger or a pair of pliers.

Assess the situation. I like to bleed out all of my fish as much as I can immediately. Conditions (Sea Lions, Sharks Etc.) do not always allow that though. And Halibut, like Catfish, will stay alive a long time out of the water and bleeding. One thing I should have done long ago is to learn the divers spike method for Halibut in those instances. But just one of my legs on top of just about any Halibut is usually enough

. If you do decide to leave it in the water, then do not fix you game clip directly to your kayak, but tether it (fish can open fixed game clips but tethered ones are almost impossible). Now just keep your eyes and ears open for dogs and other signs.

As far as the legal side of many of these points, we had a lengthy conversation with a group of wardens 2 years ago at the Fred Hall just about the Kage. There was not 2 of they that could agree on if it was legal or not in Cali.?

10-10-2015, 02:20 PM	#11
GregAndrew Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 2,384	The thread posted by Steveeeo in the 2nd post is a great resource. That being said, I have refined my contribution to that thread over the last 5 years. The first mistake most people make is trying to horse the fish up. You will find many times that Halibut will be hooked by a little piece of lip or a piece of skin on the roof of their mouth. The second mistake is not being prepared when you get the fish yakside. Have your gameclip/stringer, gaff and release tools easily accessible. If they are in your hatch, or you have to crawl out of your seat to get them they are not. Fight the fish on the side of your kayak that your dominant hand is. You can use any hand to push the rod away from you to get the fish close. You want your coordinated hand on the gaff. DO NOT PANIC! There is nothing that can be done quickly at this point that is not better handled deliberately. Loosen you drag a bit (not freespool or clicker only) so that if the fish should bolt you will be applying less pressure now than on the fight up. If you were fishing for WSB or YT when the Hali hit, it might be a considerable amount that you should have loosened it. Identify what your are dealing with. Make sure you are only gaffing a certain legal fish. When in doubt lip grip it. Halibut are sensitive around the mouth, but they get desensitized quickly (you can probably get the gripper on pretty easy on the 3rd or 4th attempt). I prefer the plastic ones cause they disperse the weight over a larger area and generally do not puncture the mouth (and float). If it is definitely a release fish, then only gripper it if you need help getting the hook out. Otherwise pliers in the water always. Ok, so now you have a Halibut that you intend to keep at the side of your kayak. The next step is to figure out how to maneuver the fish and yourself to give you a good belly shot on the fish without having to reach way out. I have had just as good of success when the fish was vertical as with laid out on the surface. Right side up or upside down has not been a problem either. It might be as simple as dragging it right along the side of your kayak. On windy days you might have to turn around so your rod faces down wind to pull the fish under you. Gaff the belly firmly. The area behind the gill plate and the bottom (opposite side of eyes) 1/3 to 1/4 of the width of the fish. The bigger the fish, the bigger the sweet spot. A little too far back, a little to far across the width or too hard is where you will probably have issues with the fish going crazy. With a good gaff, you should only have to move your hand 6-8 inches when you gaff a Halibut in the belly. Gaff it firm, but do not make it bounce (they don't like that). Now that you are not going to make a reaching flail swing with the gaff, it makes it much easier to target about 1/2" behind the gill plate and a couple inches in from the edge. Hold the head out of the water. Now that you have the fish on the gaff, don't make it think it is free to go by placing the head back in the water. Part of the paralysis that comes over a belly gaffed Halibut if from the weight supported by the gaff. However, if you support it too much it can work like bouncing them on the gaff shot. Your primary focus should have gone from your rod to your gaff as soon as it hit (keep it there). Take care of business. Grab your game clip and slide it through the gills and out the mouth or vice versa and snap it shut. DO NOT LIFT the fish by the game clip at this point (see paralysis and weight above). If you already have your game clip tethered to your yak, then you can simply release it. Grab your pliers or other dehooking device and remove the hook. Then pop a couple gills with your finger or a pair of pliers. Assess the situation. I like to bleed out all of my fish as much as I can immediately. Conditions (Sea Lions, Sharks Etc.) do not always allow that though. And Halibut, like Catfish, will stay alive a long time out of the water and bleeding. One thing I should have done long ago is to learn the divers spike method for Halibut in those instances. But just one of my legs on top of just about any Halibut is usually enough . If you do decide to leave it in the water, then do not fix you game clip directly to your kayak, but tether it (fish can open fixed game clips but tethered ones are almost impossible). Now just keep your eyes and ears open for dogs and other signs. As far as the legal side of many of these points, we had a lengthy conversation with a group of wardens 2 years ago at the Fred Hall just about the Kage. There was not 2 of they that could agree on if it was legal or not in Cali.?