Fishing for buts in Neah Bay

[ouchfoss]

Heres a few pics of some halibut fishing trip I did out of Neah Bay on May 22nd. That is actually the first halibut Ive ever caught and it was definetly fun plus damn good eating.  We caught a few a sea bass and got our limit of lings everyday for the 2 days we were out in Neah bay and Sekiu fishing. Crappy thing is, we caught a beautiful 9 lb yelloweye which was pretty much dead from being pulled up from such deep water ( about 200 feet) and had to toss him back and watch the seagulls eat him.  Kinda sad considering how long those fish live.

[GoldTip]

Some good looking eating right there.  You can't keep yelloweye out there?  That seems like a ridiculous damn rule, since we all know there is no way to avoid killing one if you happen to catch it.

[ouchfoss]

Nope. Yelloweye have to be released no matter where you catch it in washington. Thing is if you caught one in shallower water there is a better chance of the air bladder not getting ruined and a better chance it would live if you released it. Im not sure what depth is really the deciding point at which he lives or dies though.

[lokidog]

Nice halibut!

I purchased a venting tool from Cabelas for about $20.  They are required to use them in the Gulf of Mexico when releasing fish.  Most of my rockfish this year have not been bloated too much to swim back down. 

The one Yelloweye we got was so I tried the tool and it worked great, he swam right back down after a bump from my rod tip.  It was well worth the cost to not see that fish eaten by gulls or sharks like happens more oout on the coast.

[carpsniperg2]

yeah i watched  a show on the venting tool they said it takes the survival rate to like 85% of fish pulled up from the deep. they were using them on groupers.

also great fish

[ouchfoss]

Nice halibut!

I purchased a venting tool from Cabelas for about $20.  They are required to use them in the Gulf of Mexico when releasing fish.  Most of my rockfish this year have not been bloated too much to swim back down. 

The one Yelloweye we got was so I tried the tool and it worked great, he swam right back down after a bump from my rod tip.  It was well worth the cost to not see that fish eaten by gulls or sharks like happens more oout on the coast.

We actually tried to pop his air bladder with a fillet knife and tossed him back but he must have been too far gone by that point. I will definetly have a venting tool on hand next time I go though.

[MtnMuley]

Very nice!  I am jealous.

[Whitenuckles]

Sweet!

[lokidog]

Nice halibut!

I purchased a venting tool from Cabelas for about $20.  They are required to use them in the Gulf of Mexico when releasing fish.  Most of my rockfish this year have not been bloated too much to swim back down. 

The one Yelloweye we got was so I tried the tool and it worked great, he swam right back down after a bump from my rod tip.  It was well worth the cost to not see that fish eaten by gulls or sharks like happens more oout on the coast.

We actually tried to pop his air bladder with a fillet knife and tossed him back but he must have been too far gone by that point. I will definetly have a venting tool on hand next time I go though.

Did you pop the thing sticking out of his throat?  That is actually the stomach which gets pushed out by the expanding bladder.  Puncturing the stomach, even if the fish is able to swim down, will probably kill the fish by infecdtion, just like a person with a herniated bowel.  A knife cut, placed in the correect position (45 degree angle toward the head an inch and a half behind the pectoral fin), will not heal as quickly as the needle puncture and also increases the risk of hitting other organs.  Worth a try I guess if nothing else is available.

It also helps to try to revive by moving back and forth if they have been out of the water long or are worn out.
Good fishing!

[ouchfoss]

Yeah, we did poke the thing sticking out of his mouth.  Just assumed that was the air bladder.
Im kinda surprised there isnt anything in the fishing regs that talks about this type of situation considering how many people probably reel these fish in while they are halibut fishing in deep water. Im sure alot more of these fish would survive if it was common knowledge and a common practice to bring a vent tool with.
I dont fish saltwater too often so this is all kinda new to me.

[robodad]

I use an inverted weighted milk crate attached to 50 or so feet of line, it works really good most of the time, not so well when the tide is rippin it just don't sink fast enough, but all you do is drop the crate over a floater and let it sink to the end of the line and just leave it for about 30-45 seconds perhape a minute or so then just pull the crate back up and usually the fish is gone.

I also have a really short stubby pole with a crap reel on it and a 16oz lead head barbless jig and the line is attached to the eye but then half hitched to the shank of the hook, then I just hook the fish in the lip and send it down then when it gets near the bottom or so I just stop the reel from free spooling and wait till the tugging stops then just reel the jig back up !! Works really good and I think better then the milk crate !!!

[lokidog]

Robodad, good idea with the jig.  I think it mentions the milk crate idea in the regs. 

Still a bunch of crap that they shut down the coppers, seems to be more of them around here than four years ago, though I know the waters a bit better as well.