Halibut!

I got the opportunity to fish with Jack again last Friday. We launched the boat and grabbed bait at the receiver then headed towards the headlands. The weather was predicted to be nice but it ended up being cold, windy, and rough.

We headed north of the Ritz Carlton and drifted for halibut in 65 feet of water. We started with 2 ounces of weight on our dropper loops but as the wind picked up, we had to add a couple more ounces. The sun came out shortly before noon and the water warmed up to 66.5 degrees.

I caught a nice sand dab, a short halibut (the size of the sand dab) and a sandbass that could only swallow half the sardine it bit. Jack, on the other hand, caught two legal halibut just over 28 inches and a nice calico bass. I almost lost Jack's first halibut when I netted the fish, dropped the net and fish back in the water when it kicked, then lunged for the net almost going in myself. At least the fish was saved!

We fished late then had to buck the chop and swell from the strong south wind to get back to harbor. Jack suggested I clean the fish while he cleaned the boat which I was only too happy to do. Jack was so generous, he shared his halibut with me. It was delicious too. It was a great day on the water!