when life gives you smelt......

[sdfisher]

....catch HUGE halibut

hit la jolla for some afternoon fishing, the plan was to get smelt and then go fish for halibut, the plan was a success

http://sharing.theflip.com/session/3bbe9a076f5b68781dac7d62c407b2f5/video/14443920

measured 51 1/2 inches, 53lbs on the digital scale, my first fish on the kayak after fishing la jolla for a year, now i get to replace the skunk smell with halibut smell

[Gino]

Nice Fish bud

[wade]

nice 1!!!:cheers1:

did it have a 3 oz. glow egg sinker swinging from his head by any chance?

[kurt]

How much did it weigh? Awesome fish! Tough one to best.

[lterrero]

Nick, I'll email you the pics Asap, Nice fish!:notworthy:

[Billy V]

Congratulations on the Halibut, #53 is a Trophy Fish.

[blitzburgh]

Holy sheet!:luxhello::luxhello::luxhello:

[baitcasterboy20]

good for you but a year sounds like a long time. but i'm not from that area so i woulnd't know what it's like:you_rock:

[Matt]

Nice one!!! If you went a year without catching and this is your first, you most certainly earned that one!!!

[deepdvr]

Holy crap that is a big ass barn door!!! You're one of the few people on this planet that has a bigger PB fish than the darkhorse. :you_rock:

[Socalrobt]

Nice fish!!! Congrats man. Nice work!

[Holy Mackerel]

Good luck topping that! That might be a IGKFA record at 53lbs. :notworthy:

[frady]

Nice Fish! Did you catch that beast north of the pier or out by the kelp?

[Gino]

The California angling record stands at 58 lb. and 9 oz. caught by Roger W. Borrell at Santa Rosa Island on July 26<SUP>th,</SUP> 1999.

72 lb. and 8 oz. halibut was speared at Santa Cruz Island

Could be a Line class record though! That fish is probebly 30 years old. Since they have banned the gill netting those fish have the chance to grow big like that.:cheers1:

[sdfisher]

Wade- there was no glowing egg sinker hanging from it, go back and get that one you lost!

this thing put up a hell of a fight, surprised i didn't lose it, missed the gaff shot twice and had to take pauses in fighting it so i could paddle out of the surf zone

I went from excitement to nervousness when I saw how big it was, filleted it up last night and threw some on the grill, very tasty.

I will probably never catch one like this again but that is one hell of a fish to have as my first

[aftahour]

nice monster.. so whens dinner :)

[ratdog]

very impressive, congrats.

[bigbarrels]

congrats! I was parked next to you on the beach with the white Tundra who was taking off......good to see somebody hooked into something:)

[tattuna]

:notworthy: That's a lot more than just a nice fish, that's a fish of a lifetime! Incredible catch man :cheers1:

[ken aguilar]

Wow thats a fish! congrats!

[Dan]

WOW

[Holy Mackerel]

The California angling record stands at 58 lb. and 9 oz. caught by Roger W. Borrell at Santa Rosa Island on July 26<SUP>th,</SUP> 1999.

72 lb. and 8 oz. halibut was speared at Santa Cruz Island

Btw, I was referring to a made up name IGKFA, International Game Kayak Fish Association. :p

Is this the biggest Kayak CA Halibut?

[Gino]

Biggest from a kayak I think is 53lbs 8 ounces, caught by 2 guys on a Tandem yak Outside of Cardiff reef.

Josh's Fish last year was the biggest from a solo kayaker if Im not mistaken.

[tattuna]

I think Rhino has the biggest solo yak 'but at 52 lbs. Looks like you may be the new record holder :luxhello:

Edit* Rhino's was 50 lbs. even and 54"

[dos ballenas]

Holy Halibut Batman!!! Nice fish.

Just for reference, be sure to measure all fish with their mouth closed, people have been ticketed for fish they thought were legal because they measured the fish with the jaw open like that... not that that you were worried about it being legal or anything though...

damn nice fish!!!:you_rock:

[Tman]

Wow...:eek:

Congratulations indeed, incredible flattie...:cheers1:

[bluesquids]

...

[bellcon]

HOLY ----

Now that's a big butt
Congrats on the score:luxhello:
Fish of a life time?
I never cared for that expression,
your still alive, so keep on fishing!
You never know...you just might get it's 60lb sister!

But that is one helluva trophy for sure
I can only imagine the adrenaline rush at color!
:cheers1::cheers1::cheers1::cheers1:

[dfroggy54]

thats a big ass barndoor...

[Billy V]

But that is one helluva trophy for sure
I can only imagine the adrenaline rush at color!
:cheers1::cheers1::cheers1::cheers1:

Ain't that the truth.... You go from excitement to a little afraid when you see its a big halibut rising up toward your kayak because its far from over.

-Its when the battle begins.:)
----------------------------------------
It very well might be the kayak record. The only other #53+ was caught from a tandam kayak. Some guys here have landed 50's and 52's, but I don't recall a #53 fish being caught.

Ask Josh about his fish it was right around that number, he would probably would know.

[Aaron]

-Its when the battle begins.:)

Ain't that the truth. Completely different kind of battle, one that I always have "weapons" at the ready for after being bitten, slapped, and hooked by those glorious fish.

I'd love to hear the longer version of this story of how it all went down.

[DESTROYER]

RUG!:cheers1:

[sdfisher]

for those that want the long version

it was on the first bait i put down, got to where i wanted to fish, paddled north a little bit then headed back south to a area that looked good on the fishfinder, had the rod under my leg with the reel engaged so I could watch the rod tip and see when I had a bite----that was unnecessary,

this thing smashed the bait and started screaming off line, pulled me out a little bit and then started pulling me straight towards the shore, I thought I had a shark on by the way it was pulling, luckily I was able to turn it away from the shore and start gaining some line on it, when I got it to color I saw the white bottom and then the brown top and knew I had the right kind......

then I realized how big it was and recalled all the stories of how halibut freak out, have sharp teeth and can possibly tip you over, so when I got it boat side I gave it a meager gaff attempt and missed, then this thing took off back down, I looked back towards the shore and realized i was about 20 ft from the where the surf was breaking and had to start paddling with this fish hanging off my line,

the whole time i was certain it was going to break off, because I had to keep taking a break and paddling away from the surf, I guess I dont have to worry about if my knots are strong anymore, I missed the second gaff attempt and fought it for about 15 more minutes hoping that it would be tired by the time i got it up again, this time I sunk the gaff right in, quickly put the game clip in it and started cutting gills with the gaff to bleed and kill it,

surprisingly it didn't freak out or have any last minute attempts to get away, but I wanted to make sure it was dead before i put that huge mouth with sharp teeth anywhere near my jewels so i had to paddle with 50+lbs of fish hanging off the yak and against the wind and swell, I finally was comfortable with it being dead and tried to get it on the yak, that fish took up most of the room, i sat on it's head and paddled it in

Leo and Val were on the beach, Leo had a nice WSB, I think val was headed out. Lots of high fives and pictures going around

[Oolie]

epic fish! congrats

[steveooo]

Nice! Put some of those lemons on that fatty all cooked up! That is a BIG ASS HALIBUT!

[Aaron&Julie]

Sweet, very sweet! And worth the wait.

[Spyder]

My hat is off to you. Many congrats on a fish of a lifetime. I'm going hunting for one this weekend.

[yakpappy]

SWEET:reeling:

[fishinkid2010]

Holy crap that thing is huge... Now you've got to get back out there and find its fat sister!

[Whizz Bang]

Damn, now I know what I am fishing for on Monday. Well done.

[deepdvr]

i sat on it's head and paddled it in


That's freaking hilarious. I don't care how dead that fish is, my jewels will never be that close to those teeth if I have anything to say about it.

[PaddleHP]

Sick fish. Congrat's on the catch.

[jbaker]

has any one ever heard of cutting out the cheek meat on huge halibut? i fished up in Alaska a few years ago and they were all about the cheeks when the fish got much over 50lbs. sorry to steal your thunder, that's an awesome fish i cant wait to get out to lj and get my own.

[fishinhb]

Humongous :luxhello::reel:

[cowboybill]

That is a beauty! I love when your Mom (?) says holly SH*T!!!

:luxhello:

[buttchaser]

WOW ! Great Job Nick , :notworthy:

[sdfisher]

I cut out the cheek meat on this one and grilled it that night, it has a different kind of texture than the rest of the meat,

all my buddies were laughing at that part where my mom says that, if you know her it is even funnier

thanks for the praise guys, glad I could add something more to the reports then it just being a great paddle on the ocean

[yani]

Wow, Wow, Wow. That's an incredible fish.
I can't believe you handled that monster.
:cheers1::cheers1:

[Stoneale]

grats.. thats a lifetime catch right there.. :sifone:

mind I ask what kind of rig you were using? # test.. hook, setup, etc.. :)

[sdfisher]

http://sn105w.snt105.mail.live.com/att/GetAttachment.aspx?tnail=0&messageId=8673e360-6b6e-11df-a3a3-00215ad823d4&Aux=44|0|8CCCD92774076B0||

http://sn105w.snt105.mail.live.com/att/GetAttachment.aspx?tnail=6&messageId=8673e360-6b6e-11df-a3a3-00215ad823d4&Aux=44|0|8CCCD92774076B0||

[lamb]

Beautiful fish, big time congrats :cheers1:

[THE DARKHORSE]

Records are meant to be broken. Good on ya', mate! When I caught my monster last Summer, I was under the impression the the IGFA record was close to 60 lbs. When my fish went 51 lbs 5 0z I was stoked, really stoked, but I thought it wasn't even close to the record. Later, I found out the IGFA record is right around 53 lbs (I think?) and I should have rushed my fish to a certified scale after being caught, instead of letting her rest in ice for two days. My fish was caught with 20 lb Seaguar fluorocarbon and I thought I missed out on a possible IGFA record.

Really though, no matter how you cut it---we'll both be chasing these fish for the rest of our lives. The only cool part about that: when we farm a Halibut that's 40lbs+---who cares?!? Sure, I might spew a few choice words, but I'll get over it.:sifone: