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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFisherman opts to keep massive, 231-pound halibut
Dirk Whitsitt, a construction worker from Kansas, caught a fish of a lifetime only an hour into his first fishing trip in Alaska, and he wasnt about to release the monster, not even for a $250 voucher for another day of fishing.
You cant blame him, really. The Pacific halibut he hooked in 370 feet of water in Cook Inlet out of Homer, Alaska, and fought for 45 minutes wound up weighing a whopping 231 pounds.
Once the decision was made to keep it, the prized fish needed to be subdued, which is no easy task with a halibut this size.
Towards the end of the fight, the fish headed back toward the bottom and we had to release the anchor to follow the fish, Capt. David Bayes of DeepStrike Sportfishing explained in an email to GrindTV Outdoor. We shot it three times with a .38 special and used three gaffs to pull it aboard.
Using a gun to subdue halibut is common practice in Alaska. In fact, it is recommended on any sizable fish over 100 pounds because big halibut are nearly all muscle and can do damage to people and boats if theyre not killed before being brought on board.
http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/nature/post/fisherman-opts-to-keep-massive-231-pound-halibut/
WCGreen
(45,558 posts)JVS
(61,935 posts)A HERETIC I AM
(24,367 posts)"WE HAVEN'T STARTED YET!!!"
Hassin Bin Sober
(26,325 posts)Hassin Bin Sober
(26,325 posts)dionysus
(26,467 posts)notadmblnd
(23,720 posts)pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)xfundy
(5,105 posts)Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)My brother lives in Homer and has a boat. We go halibut fishing often. The 30-40 pound ones taste the best, but these big ones certainly give bragging rights.
Ed Suspicious
(8,879 posts)That's a lot of high priced seafood dinners that guy is trapped under.
Orrex
(63,203 posts)Wait. What?
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)Actually my biggest halibut, caught at Redondo Beach pier in CA long ago, was WAAAAAY smaller.
But it was the BEST halibut EVER! Broiled with onion and dotted with butter and bread crumbs...YUM!
Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)And there are a million ways to fix it.