Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge - Catching a Halibut and a Calcutta 400

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- - Catching a Halibut and a Calcutta 400 (http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/showthread.php?t=34179)

Catching a Halibut and a Calcutta 400

Butt Persistence finally paid off yesterday...
After hooking two strong 20" fish in a small area, I really concentrated on working that spot hoping that those smaller guys were males near a big breeder...sure enough... she couldn't resist it and finally ate the Sardine, She swallowed the bait and was a nice runner then stubborn on the up and down...I was Lucky the front hook held as the rear treble had just broken off and I had replaced it with a fresh water treble...the only one that was small enough in the tackle kit. ...I was fishing 15# leader with a trap hook so I couldn't really horse her in.
Sometimes I'd rather be lucky than good...LOL...:notworthy:

There were so many sand fleas on her that I think she must have been half buried in the bottom.

She was 30' and a little chubby...the first fillets will be slit and filled with fresh basil then wrapped in Procutto ham and the cooked in olive oil for tonights dinner :luxhello::luxhello::luxhello::cheers1::cheers1:

OK...now the Calcutta 400 story... :bigear: :bigear:

Last Saturday I was fishing the same area for Halibut and rigging a second rod when I snagged something with one of the rigs and it flipped right into the water before I could react...a brand new (well 6 months old is new to me LOL) Shimano Calcutta 400B...Needles to say I was BUMMED...I dragged the bottom for about an hour with weights and metal jigs for no avail...I tried again on Tuesday to snag the pole or line...again No Luck...:linesnap:
Finally after catching the big girl and while working the area, I snagged some spectra that looked like mine...with a snelled trap rig that I had tied...YAHOO...as I pulled on that line up came the rod and reel...:cheers1::cheers1::cheers1:
What a day...nice legal Butt and my rod and reel back on the kayak...:you_rock:

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/a...1&d=1559325980

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/a...1&d=1559326331

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/a...1&d=1559324994

awesome. that is crazy to find your setup days later.

side note; I met your nephew while working in Huntington Beach.
I asked if he fished. he said no, my Uncle is a killer fisherman though.

an hour later he mentions you are a kayak fisherman than he really got my interest.
turns out it you, haha.

Great catch you really did it right. I’ve bent several 3x treblehooks and now with Vmc4x even 40lb tends to break before bending even on a size 6! Had a hali hook back onto itself last week and the 40 floro gave out on the stinger and the hook was buried in the face. Retied and g2g! How lucky to get your gear back without snorkeling!

Great catch, but I would have to say the better one, was the rod and reel. Congrats Jim.

That is a pretty lucky day of fishing! Amazing.

Time on the water Jim you earned it

Nice fish and rad story on the recovered gear!

Congrats on retrieving your rod and reel....the fish also lol but damn those sand flea bites would scare me and I'd toss the fish back. I need to get out on the water on the yak, but damn boat purchase has me sidetracked. The stupid weather is the real bummer as we need a good week of warm weather.

Nice snag! Hope you didn’t keep her on yer lap too long or you might have some splaining to do with the wife with all those fleas.

nice report and great double catch.

Congratulations on the nice Halibut! The cooking recipe looks delicious! Cool fish story about retrieving the lost outfit -- valuable catch! Something similar happened to me while fishing on the Freedom on the back side of Catalina. One weekend a guy lost his rod. The next weekend, I snagged it on a jig and squid while fishing winter Calicos. The same guy was on the boat, so I gave it back to him. He was thankful and gave me a finder's reward.

Way to go on keeping the sea floor uncluttered with rod and reel combos! Yay!!!:luxhello: