Best Way To Land a Halibut?

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Originally Posted by jorluivil

You'll never figure it out sitting behind a keyboard

Mañana Mañana ... :P

Today I had to work.

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by Mr. NiceGuy

Mañana Mañana ... :P

Today I had to work.

Good luck!

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by Mr. NiceGuy

Mañana Mañana ... :P

Today I had to work.

Welllllllllllllllllllllll?

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Originally Posted by jorluivil

Welllllllllllllllllllllll?

Sorry, I had to work again today.

:big sigh:

Tomorrow is a 40/60, Tuesday is a 60/40. Between now and the end of Wednesday will hopefully be 100%

F-it. Sometimes we just have to drop what we're doing and go fishing.

---

However, I finished my new home made gaff set today with my morning coffee before I went to work.

[ful-rac]

Originally Posted by Mr. NiceGuy

Sorry, I had to work again today.

:big sigh:

Tomorrow is a 40/60, Tuesday is a 60/40. Between now and the end of Wednesday will hopefully be 100%

F-it. Sometimes we just have to drop what we're doing and go fishing.

---

However, I finished my new home made gaff set today with my morning coffee before I went to work.

Are you still trying to figure out how to land a halibut....?

Now you have a spear...? Looks like you did a good job...minus the zip tie holding the cable to the shaft...


Mr.niceguy....you are still seriously over thinking this. Just gaff the fish and game clip it...! No spear, no ka-GAY, no 55 gallon barrels....Just a perfectly timed and placed gaff shot...GAME OVER.

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Originally Posted by ful-rac

Are you still trying to figure out how to land a halibut....?

No. I think that has been covered pretty well. Thanks to several excellent contributions to this thread.

My only concern is losing a large one the next time an opportunity presents itself. That's what I have been mulling as I linger here and visit with kindred spirits. I want to reduce my risk of failure to as close to 0% as I can get it.

This place also serves as a social and networking environment, and not a bad one at that. I like meeting people and listening to all the diverse ideas.

Please start the next topic

Originally Posted by jorluivil

Now you'll have a halibut on your deck that can go ape sh*t at any moment with a hook in its mouth, a spear in its body and a gaff jammed in it?

That would be a neatly tethered and surgically placed spear tip only, not a spear. No need for a flailed hook gaff in this case.

The next one will be sufficiently dead, bled, unhooked and on a game clip before I pull him or her onto my lap.

[ful-rac]

What's a large halibut to you anyway?

Whether it's 20 or 50, 60, 75 pounds, it's not gonna be much different in the way you land them. What's gonna be different is how you keep them.

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Originally Posted by ful-rac

What's a large halibut to you anyway?

Whether it's 20 or 50, 60, 75 pounds, it's not gonna be much different in the way you land them. What's gonna be different is how you keep them.

I'm a noob. I'm learning my way through these things. I lost a very nice halibut at the beginning of this thread when I tried to gaff him. His head-shake snapped my 25# Blackwater shock leader like it was nothing. I'm learning from my mistakes. I'm also blessed with rip-roaring ADHD so I tend to hyper-focus on challenges that excite me

You already know what the sizes are for the top 1/3 category of local halibut. You probably know some of the local guys who can target and land them consistently. I want to join that club. I want to do it from my kayak.

I like the pictures Paul posts ...



Life is sweet, eh?

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Originally Posted by ful-rac

What's a large halibut to you anyway?

For those of us who are curious, here's how the average length and weight numbers line up for halibut:

22" legal minimum is about 4 pounds

30" is about 12 pounds
36" is about 20 pounds
40" is about 30 pounds
44" is about 40 pounds
47" is about 50 pounds
50" is about 60 pounds

[Harry Hill]

Originally Posted by Mr. NiceGuy

Sorry, I had to work again today.

:big sigh:

Tomorrow is a 40/60, Tuesday is a 60/40. Between now and the end of Wednesday will hopefully be 100%

F-it. Sometimes we just have to drop what we're doing and go fishing.

---

However, I finished my new home made gaff set today with my morning coffee before I went to work.

How long is the handle on the gaff? What is the best size for kayaking?

[jorluivil]

Now you'll have a halibut on your deck that can go ape sh*t at any moment with a hook in its mouth, a spear in its body and a gaff jammed in it?

[summers in kuwait]

Originally Posted by jorluivil

Now you'll have a halibut on your deck that can go ape sh*t at any moment with a hook in its mouth, a spear in its body and a gaff jammed in it?

Ha.
The triple threat.

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Originally Posted by Harry Hill

How long is the handle on the gaff? What is the best size for kayaking?

Opinions will vary. It depends on the size of your boat and the distance to the water. I like exploring ideas and building things from scraps laying around my workbench.

For my Outback, I like 32" total length for a normal hook gaff, with a 2 1/2" (2/0) hook. It's compact enough to tuck out of the way on my kayak and it comfortably gives me all the reach I need. I tend to grab that one at the end of the handle with the wrist strap. 1" or 1.25" makes a stout pole size, depending on the size of your hands. Shovel handles work well for strength and the tailored shape fits the hand nicely. I would shave down the excess bulk at the hook end, unless you also want to use the back side of the hook end as a club. Personally, I don't like the idea of clubbing animals. I would rather put them to sleep gently by bleeding them.

Squidco has nice gaff hooks for about $6 and they are nice people. You can get 100' of 550# paracord from amazon prime for $9. That's enough cord for 2 to 4 gaffs, depending on how much ornamental wrapping you want to do. If you only want to wrap the hook, that much paracord will last until you get tired of making gaffs.

I've never made a straight gaff before. This one turned out 42". It balances nicely at the bare wood area between the paracord wraps. If it was any shorter it would feel point heavy from the stainless steel hardware. The zip tie is only to keep the cable from flopping around as the varnish hardens. The large swivel hooked to the zip tie will clip to a nylon cord or other lanyard/leash secured to the kayak.

When my previous gaffs bounced around in the pole holders of my kayak, it knocked off the varnish finish where they stand on end. That's why I added the butt caps to these two.