tubber
Well-Known Member
I went to Ukee 6 times this year. It was worth every penny but not cheap, so the name of this recipe no longer is applicable. Over the summer I managed to troll up 3 small halibut and drifted for 4-5 hours for zero more. I trolled the bottom for hours with huge baited turds and caught more and more Chinooks, sole, baby lings, and a few small rockfish. On the last day of my last solo trip, I went to get a couple lings before pulling the boat for the trip home. I got a cabezon, then a big ling on a jig, so I thought I would throw some bait down on a second rod for the next drift over a bump. The tide was moving fairly fast so I ran upstream a ways. The reef was about 65'. In about 120' of water I hung a small piece of 3 day old salted salmon belly on a 3 foot leader with a glow hootchie and two 9/0 octopus hooks below a sliding weight holder with a homemade 10oz dink weight.
My intent was to put the rod in a holder and wind the reel a bit as the bottom came up on the drift while I jigged the other rod.
I must have dropped the bait on her head because I hooked up immediately. There were three characteristic runs back to bottom, while I dug around in a storage tote for a shark hook that I knew was on the boat somewhere. I managed to find it, untangle it from all the other crap I can never find, undo the coils of line, tie the end to the rail (no cleats on my boat), and get the fish near the surface. I got the big hook in the mouth and back through the jaw. The fish didn't enjoy that, soaking me and the boat as we wrestled. I didn't want to tempt fate and let go of the line to see what would happen when it came to the end of the tether, nor did I want to see if I could hog tie it and mess with it solo, so into the boat it came. A couple whacks with a retired kid-size Louisville slugger seemed to calm it down. I felt the need to bleed the fish right away so I cut the tail and a gill. Mistake. A shower of slime and blood splattered my sunglasses, seats, tackle bags, downriggers, sounder, vhf, etc...
I was back at the dock by 8:00am with a cabezon, a ling and a 125cm halibut.
Recipe for thick, coarse grained halibut.
cooking liquid
1 gallon of water
3/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup rock salt
2 tablespoons old bay
2 bay leaves
bring to a boil
dipping options:
we used 4 small oriental dishes
butter
lemon butter
mayo with chipotle powder stirred in
seafood/cocktail sauce
cut the hali into 1-1.5 inch cubes
drop them in the boiling water and put the lid back on.
Some recipes say pull the chunks when they float, but that is too long.
3-4 minutes was good
Fish them out with a Chinese fishing net
Eat with the dips.
Straight butter was my preference.
Easy and very good, and very mildly lobstery
My intent was to put the rod in a holder and wind the reel a bit as the bottom came up on the drift while I jigged the other rod.
I must have dropped the bait on her head because I hooked up immediately. There were three characteristic runs back to bottom, while I dug around in a storage tote for a shark hook that I knew was on the boat somewhere. I managed to find it, untangle it from all the other crap I can never find, undo the coils of line, tie the end to the rail (no cleats on my boat), and get the fish near the surface. I got the big hook in the mouth and back through the jaw. The fish didn't enjoy that, soaking me and the boat as we wrestled. I didn't want to tempt fate and let go of the line to see what would happen when it came to the end of the tether, nor did I want to see if I could hog tie it and mess with it solo, so into the boat it came. A couple whacks with a retired kid-size Louisville slugger seemed to calm it down. I felt the need to bleed the fish right away so I cut the tail and a gill. Mistake. A shower of slime and blood splattered my sunglasses, seats, tackle bags, downriggers, sounder, vhf, etc...
I was back at the dock by 8:00am with a cabezon, a ling and a 125cm halibut.
Recipe for thick, coarse grained halibut.
cooking liquid
1 gallon of water
3/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup rock salt
2 tablespoons old bay
2 bay leaves
bring to a boil
dipping options:
we used 4 small oriental dishes
butter
lemon butter
mayo with chipotle powder stirred in
seafood/cocktail sauce
cut the hali into 1-1.5 inch cubes
drop them in the boiling water and put the lid back on.
Some recipes say pull the chunks when they float, but that is too long.
3-4 minutes was good
Fish them out with a Chinese fishing net
Eat with the dips.
Straight butter was my preference.
Easy and very good, and very mildly lobstery
