Halibut and Harpoons
- Thread starter Tailwalker
- Start date
Sculpin
Well-Known Member
I'd like to hear how Serengeti does it, Bear Cove, and Richmake. Just curious guy's is all 
. You folks get into way bigger fish than us normal mortals 
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Mikep put up a pretty good post IMO and got shot down. He has probably pooned more big halibut than all the posters on this thread combined lol
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. You folks get into way bigger fish than us normal mortals .Mikep put up a pretty good post IMO and got shot down. He has probably pooned more big halibut than all the posters on this thread combined lol
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SpringVelocity
Crew Member
Stirring the pot.........hell ya!!! LOL
stop it lol
Sculpin
Well-Known Member
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SerengetiGuide
Well-Known Member
I'd like to hear how Serengeti does it, Bear Cove, and Richmake. Just curious guy's is all
Mikep put up a pretty good post IMO and got shot down. He has probably pooned more big halibut than all the posters on this thread combined lol
Captain Immortal here...
Used to split the fin but now go for gut as use a buoy so it won't pull out. One thing I do differently when getting a measurement on a bigger halibut than the video previously posted is aI put a gaff through the hook hole when lifting the halibut as that way doesn't separate any vertebrate, especially with the larger halibut. Next shoulder season we should be able to try out some of the poon techniques on any size halibut if sfab and it's members really lives up to their goals and priorities listed in their 2014 halibut document...(taking Sculpy poo's lead...lol)
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Tyeefisher
Member
spring fever's story is very similar to mine. The halibut was well struck through and through and I turned just in time to meet the scotchman coming straight for my head and it might have bounced off my bald skull and kept on going, unfortunately it was still stuck in the plastic dairyland crate that it lived in and I woke up an hour and half later being ministered to by a very nice female paramedic who had just happened to have taken a sunday drive into the wilds of Fair harbour.
wolf
Well-Known Member
I will say though ever since I went to the 2 arrow poon head ive never had a poon head fall out , there is one on the market that is just a round tip and have pushed it thru only for it to come straight back out and even after stuck fish and its taken off the have all of a sudden came flying back out........ about 20 years ago we modified the straight one that we welded our own single foot on the back end of one never had an issue then.
Then arrow one came out and bought that one right away the arrow one cant come back out as the feet on the back wont let it.
Good luck Wolf
Then arrow one came out and bought that one right away the arrow one cant come back out as the feet on the back wont let it.
Good luck Wolf
scott craven
Well-Known Member
I always found it easier to poon the big ones ie 150# plus because they don't move as easily when you him them hard. The 50-100 fish would usually be the largest pain to harpoon. You would be amazed how easy it is to kill a 180# halibut with just a gaff. If you have them right beside the boat you can hit them really hard with a salmon gaff right on the side of the head above the eye 2-4 times and they are toast. You know you did it right when they do a little funky chicken quiver at the side of the boat. Typically I would just bleed them out on the side of the boat or haul them in and place their head over a scupper and let the blood drain that way. I agree with wolf the arrowhead poon tips are the best as they hold waaaayyy better. We just had the small cylindrical heads to work with and if you went for a belly shot there was a good chance the tip would come back out with the harpoon. I always cut the small rubber "O" ring off the harpoon as those stupid heads liked to get hung up on it, nothing more embarrassing than going to poon a big fish and just repeatedly stabbing it with a harpoon whose tip refuses to come off. Always remember when dealing with a big halibut to calm down, relax, take a deep breath and plan you attack. I only used circle hooks and bait so 90% of the time once the fish was beside the boat the hook wasn't coming out. Bring the halibut up beside the boat and let it hang a foot or so under water, it will just chill there for quite some time. This time will allow you to assess the situation and decide how you want to deal with the fish. The problems occur when you bring their heads above the water, they can go bonkers and it just makes the process so much more difficult. If you do find yourself and crew on a big hali and can retain it make sure you have a bit of a game plan chat while reeling it to the surface. It is key to have your strategy in place with who is doing what when the time comes, work together and thing will go smoothly. If you get to excited things tend to go wrong with head halibut heading to the bottom, hurt fishermen and sore feeling between friends.........my 2 cents....
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SerengetiGuide
Well-Known Member
Well said mikep. Although I don't like the two arrow poon tips. Least favourite ...
What kind do you prefer, I usually take some of the flare out of the arrow and make sure they a super sharp. All of that being said I don't carry a poon any more and probably never will. Any halibut I want to keep can be easily handled by cedar salmon gaff and meat hook as the salmon gaff can bend out on the lift over the rail.
Sharphooks
Well-Known Member
Back in my commie days we kept a ball peen hammer readily available on deck for the biggies. Just above the eyes as Mike said. It was considered really bad form to stick a gaff (or any other sharp objec) into ANY part of the fish other then the head (market value went off a cliff with bruising etc)
One morning while hauling gear, we had a greenhorn stick a metal gaff into the belly of a 200 # fish. When the fish came over the gunnel, he lost his grip on the gaff---the fish came unglued and that gaff flying around almost broke the guy's leg.
Good advice: have a game plan on who is going to do what with a bigger fish. Stunning the fish before he comes on board is a big part of that plan
One morning while hauling gear, we had a greenhorn stick a metal gaff into the belly of a 200 # fish. When the fish came over the gunnel, he lost his grip on the gaff---the fish came unglued and that gaff flying around almost broke the guy's leg.
Good advice: have a game plan on who is going to do what with a bigger fish. Stunning the fish before he comes on board is a big part of that plan
Tailwalker
Active Member
That is what I TRY to do when I gaff them. There was a guy who did a dissection of a halibut to identify the location of its brain and spinal cord (Google halibut brain). It is just above and behind the lateral-most eye, almost in line with edge of the gill plate. Saw a video where the crew gaffed the hali at that spot and it immediately went limp. Still, pooning them seems more fun....
Humpbubble
Active Member
[xi9-8FypHIE] http://youtu.be/xi9-8FypHIE
I wouldn't have a gun in the boat for dispatching halibut, too many things can go wrong, from shooting the line off, to shooting your partner, also heard stories of people shooting their halibut after it went nuts on the floor of their boat. Around 30lbs and less you should be able to handle it with a gaff and net, after 30lbs start thinking about a harpoon. After 30lbs I would hog tie it before I brought it into the boat. A rope around the tail, and used my gaff which had a rope loop on the handle to push the other end of the rope through the gills and out the mouth, then pull tight till you get the head and tail as close as possible and tie. The halibut is now safe to handle and won't wreak you or the boat when you pull it aboard. Halibut are a bit like chickens, I have chopped off the head and thrown it overboard while the body continued to flop....a bit scary and dangerous with a big one.
vetteman
Active Member
A buddy of mine tried to wrestle one with no float last year and he ended up with a broken arm for his trouble. I fish with my wife so we always use a float.
Dave
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