From Josh & Natasha aboard N52 SAMBA.:
We caught this beautiful halibut in Glacier Bay in the EXACT spot where we caught a 60 pound halibut in 2006. Thought we’d try our luck there again. Dropped a jig with half a herring and in minutes got an enormous hit. After an epic and joint struggle Natasha and I got the fish to the swim step. We took out the harpoon we’ve carried unused for all these years and harpooned the fish behind the gill plates. We tied off the line to the point to a cleat and waited. Then we made a lasso and used a boat hook to loop it around the tail, pulled hard and used the davit to lift! The halibut measured 69 inches snout to notch in tail which equals a 170 pound fish with 125 pounds of filets.
Natasha did a surgical job on the filet work.
Maybe we should have a charity auction for the GPS coordinates of our fishing spot!!!
Josh and Natasha
Oh how exciting! We have decided to sell our farm and buy a live aboard vessel and start our adventures. Ever since we made this decision we’ve been watching every video we could find on different vessels and we are currently looking to purchase our dream boat. Any suggestions or advice will be most welcome. Cant wait to be posting our own pictures.
Beautiful big breeding fish. The smaller fish are tastier.
Nice catch! The bottom of the southern end of Glacier Bay is covered in 100# – 300# halibut in spite of getting pounded on by the commercial guys. The private boat recreational catch (non- commercial, non-charter) is < 1% of the total catch. The big ones taste just as good as the smaller ones. When fresh, there is little difference in the meat from a 20# or a 200#. A different story after freezing; the small ones end up a little mushy and the big ones get tough/chewy. Ideal weight for eating quality after freezing is ~40# – 60#.