Have seen a couple that were jumpers over time. two rather memorable...
Took a fellow commercial fisherman out for hali's one afternoon. In had a bum back, so was insisting that he and another Buddy play all the fish. Had the first fellow well into a chicken of ~ 40 or so pounds when a second rod went off. I grabbed it and instantly knew this was a bigger fish. Back screaming I handed the rod off as quickly as I could. Landed the chicken, then when the next one was boatside, the commercial lad had one look and said "
I can gaff that".
Huh? OK then Tough Boy, Fill Your Boots! [^]
He hit through the hard part of the head with the gaff, upon which that halibut cleared better than 8 feet of water! Managed to twist the gaff out of it on the way up and so prevented it from going over. When we winched it back out of the mud, I harpooned it the next time. No jump then, but a Good Tussle! Weighed in at 75 pounds! Way to much to gaff IMHO!
Had another load of Newbies that same year, none had ever seen a halibut, let alone played one. The usual fare came aboard initially, ranging from 25 - 35 pounds. Then a damn GOOD hit bending the rod until I thought it might snap! Good scrap, and when it came boatside I could see there was some good weight. Always like to put on a good show for the riders, so pulled out the harpoon and made ready. Aiming very carefully, I planted the harpoon right through it's inward eye.
Explosive</u> reaction! That flatty left the water 4 or 5 times with excellent clearance until it subsided! Excellent display for my Troops and high-fives all round!
Just a note: I've had more jump when harpooned through the inward eye than any other hit. I can recall off-hand at least a half dozen that did the leap when so impaled. Want to surprise and delight your anglers, give it a try. You'll likely be impressed! 
Cheers,
Nog
PS: Osama you Retard! Give me a shout! I've got an itch for flat ones happening! [}
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