50 lbs. is my limit of boating a live hali. This is due for mainly two reasons.
1 - These critters are one huge muscle of fish!. They freak out at a factor of 10 as soon as their heads are lifted out of the water and any thing much larger on a gaff, your risk of loosing it before hauling the beast over the gunwales increases dramatically.
2 - Anything larger than 50 lbs won't slip fast and neatly in either fish box on my boat. Having one of them thrashing on the decks is just begging for trouble. Weather it's a tackle box getting dumped or boat fixtures being broken or worse , it knocking someone of their feet... Something is going to happen that will impede getting your hooks back down on the bottom for her 'mama'.
I like to error on the side of safe.
I as well tend to use a harpoon on the larger fish. the medium sized critters I'll likely use a shark hook. Remember, harpoons also need maintenance. Replace the crimps on a regular basis and sharpen the tips as well.
A friend of mine put this idea in my head last year. Think he might be onto something.
You know how them triple digit critters always come straight up, heads first, w/ mouths wide open?. Have your harpoon (or broom handle) rigged up w/ a large treble, shark sized hook, and ram it down it's gullet as far as you can go before releasing. That fish isn't going nowhere!. <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>
Some like it rough...
Others just puke!.
Mr. Dean