So I'm just trolling along Bass fishing
 

Out fishing for myself doing my bassin thing outside Boston harbor on Sunday.

One rod starts screaming but in the 1 second it took me to get to it the fish was gone. As I reeling it in to check the bait. My starboard rod starts a slooow bend. I thinking crap I got the bottom. But its pretty deep. So the boat goes into neutral and I grab the rod....

YUP its stuck alright. I am tugging and pulling and it feels like I am lifting something off the bottom. I'm thinking its an old gill net, pot line or something. Then I feel the shake. Its a fish???? WTF??? Maybe a bass caught up in some old junk?
But, I can barely bring it up. I get it half way or so and it sounds a second time. Finally its tired and coming up. At this point I just want to see what I've got. It does not feel like anything I've caught before. And its not.. I get a look at it and say to myself..."""Look at the size of that flounder""" 22 lb Halibut. Nasty teeth and one extremely slimy fish. Snapped some pics with ny cell on the deck and then went over to a buddies boat and he snapped some of me holding the beast up (coming soon).
Never would I even imagine catching this species around here (especially while liveling for bass). Plus it had to come up to take that bait it was not that near the bottom.

Like last year's Tresher shark its another strange catch on Karavi Charters.

Way to go Van. I've heard several have been caught recently, maybe good news for the return of a historically important fish: eastern halibut! Maybe this will save me RT airfare to Alaska?

Legal size is 41", limit 1.

I think we overheard that discussion on the radio (I was out on Freak's boat) Sunday about what the likelihood of catching a halibut in the area.

wicked Nice Van- Great story

Wow!!! That is a very distinctive catch. It would be great to see you hold it for scale.

S hit I would have thought it was a big fluke & tried to sell it :smash:

Van that,s cool ><><>:fishin:

Jeez van thats awesome.
You've got the lucky boat. The thresher, the cow bass, now this !
What's next for you??
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great catch van, thats pissa

Thats crazy. Definitly gunna make a few drifts over the bottom.
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Good to see. Imagine if that fishery was restored!

Hard to imagine with our seal over population problem

That is so cool!

DITTO!!

Well done Van, that's awesome.

Cool stuff. Congrats!
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Very cool. Congrats on a rare catch!

There are surprising numbers of them close to shore a little bit north during the end of the summer- I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. I just don't think anyone targets them, otherwise they'd clean up. Still very tough to get a 41 incher though (I have a hard enough time getting a 41" bass, let alone a 'but!)

What's next I hope, is a 23 Y.O. MERMAID, with a pension plan and a fat 401K.
:uhuh::uhuh:

You can use this to catch your mermaid

Your killing me.... I went halibut fishing a few times a long time ago and have never got one. Nice by-catch!

This fishery is yet another example of the utter failure of DMF to manage commercial activity before it gets to the point of a disaster situation.

Van, when do the tarpon come in to the deer island flats? Looking to set up a trip. Maybe do some cobia later on in the day?
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:soon::soon::hidin:

very cool even if you did have to through it back. i was out on jefferies ledge sat and sunday and i heard one of the boats chatting they got a 40 something lb halibut.

There's always that wayward manatee?

I remember a few years back there were a couple of 200+lbers caught on the banks on cod charters.
The first (and largest) was caught when it followed a 20 lb. cod that had been hooked.

Based on my memory, the captain saw the shape rising under the boat and told the mate to have the angler drop his line back down a little, and WHAM!
The fish was well over 200 lbs and 7' with 1 foot thick.
I'm sure the pics may still be in the archives here.

It would be a REAL boost to the fishing industry if they could be sustained, but we all know how the fishing industry works in this region, so I wouldn't waste time dreaming of that happening.

I just read that we are on year 8 of a 52 year rebuilding plan for Eastern Halibut. 52 years? How could it possibly get that out of control???? I bet it was the rod and reel guys once again who did it!!!
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Nice going Van,

How deep were you fishing and how much line did you have out i.e. how far off the bottom do you thing that fish came up to grab the bait.


Tim,

I believe this was not on the bank but a bit down the back side off Peaked Hill in early May. They were nice fish, like 210 or 230 about.

Pretty sure it was about 70 feet deep. Maybe I had 100 feet of line out. Can't say for sure how far it came up, I think the first hit was the fish taking my deep mack. It might have lost it then saw the second one on the troll. I am guessing it came up to mid water column.
Thats also the strange part. I was nowhere near the bottom. But once the fish took it, man did it head straight down. And stuck there like a giant suction cup.....

we got a small one on Jeffrey's a few years ago.
my buddy reeled up a good 20 cranks off the bottom and went inside to get a sandwich. we had just drifted off a ledge that dropped off over 100 feet, so the jig was at least 100' off the bottom.
The halibut hit a dead sticked cod jig more than 100' up!

They're pretty agressive

the HALIBUT QUEEN - YouTube

good going Van!!

A older friend of mine said they use to be on Stellwagon some 40 years ago, he got one at 103# said it was a fight of a lifetime!

I have never caught one but i have had a few 10 + pound Fluke take a live Scup while trolling for bass, up in the water column like you describe. Pretty weird.
again congrats!

pics
 

From my buddies cell phone.

Just before the release !!!!

Yep, you got that right! Halibut were pretty much done long before there were powerboats and nets. They were severely overfished by rod and reelers of all kinds.

Amazing, I was being a sarcastic wise guy. Crazy that much damage was done by rod/reel. I assume Halibut have a long recovery and slow groth rate???

On a side note, I have "Storm Warning" by Homer hanging in my office. Great painting of an old fisherman in a dory with a fat Halibut..........