Halibut Fishing

Once again they extended their plans. Dave booked one day of halibut fishing but they had such a great time that they decided to add and additional day. The top 2 pictures are of their first day out and the last 2 are of the second day. Alan caught the biggest fish on the boat both days. Don't worry though we can still live with him. It did not go to his head. He had a 130 lb (captain's estimate; after years of experience I guess they are fairly accurate) halibut on the line. They had the gun out and were ready to shoot it but then it was able to flip the hook and escape. They shoot the fish because they are so big. The guide had to have shoulder surgery a few years ago after hauling in some one's big fish. Alan is still suffering from that loss. He had been reeling the fish in for over 30 minutes.

Alan's first halibut weighs over 35 lbs. Apparently guides round in 5 lbs increments.

Alan and Dave with the line up of the biggest halibut on the boat. Some of these fish are not theirs; the biggest get hung up for pictures. Three of the big ones in the middle belong to Alan. The limit is 2 so Alan and Dave walked away with 4 of them.

Over the course of 2 days Alan caught 11 halibut and Dave got 5. The ocean was not too bad the first day but fairly rough on the second day. Some people were too seasick to fish. I was worried about Alan getting sick so I sent him prepared with motion sickness patches. They worked great for him. It is a good thing to-it would have crushed the kid to have been too sick to fish. He does not think that it is possible. Having been that sick on a fishing trip before I know better. It can be pretty bad.

They brought home 100 lbs of halibut. I went and bought a little freezer before they came home. I have been trying to talk Dave into one for a few months. I won out of necessity.