Sky-Guy's 15 minutes...

...are right now! Fishing with Irish Rogue, Sky-Guy just reeled up a 72" 225# flattie!

Fish on...

Todd

...and here it is:

Dem's some eats, right there.

Fish on...

Todd

Gunna need alot of beer to go with those chips and if its a poundage based quota there went a big chunk of it. Nice Fish!

Wow....Go Sky-guy, thats right up there with my 15 minutes !

Darn , and I haven't even had a chance to go yet.

Steve

Crikey, that's a BIG hen!

Would that qualify for an Orygun 20?

Geez... Ryley, you can bring a chunk of that over if you like.

Maybe Sky Guy can BBQ a bunch for the WSC Banquet next weekend?

just a question why is it ok to kill a fish like that but not a wild steelhead. big fish like that are not the best eating and she would make a lot of babies.

Awesome fish Bro!!!

.....and as for you LB.....don't be a hater

JD

Rylee-----Bet that hat won't fit your head now. Nice!
Chuck

i am not a hater i just think a fish that big and rare should live on to reproduce but to each there own

i agree, but only kind of. i think i'd allow myself one of those in a lifetime to bring home. it would feed an army, certainly would not go to waste. bringing home a big nate would give you a bbq with a few of your buddies, and shame--that's pretty much it. i've never caught one like that, but they certainly aren't as rare as a 30# steelhead. enjoy the feast, ryley



willy

Great job! Congrats. Bet your arms are tired.

Saw this on FB earlier thanks to Irish Rogue. Riley your a beast and so is that fish you caught! Good Job!!!!! Cant wait till Wed. to get out to Lapush for a four day run!-TBJ

WOW

Nice one Riley!!!!

Nice butt.

FD

Nice fish (that would be a state record...by a long shot...in Orygun. And at least an Orygun 25 at that!)

"I like big butts and I can not lie"

I went down to the marina to help them deal with the behemoth...took three of us just to hoist it up well enough for a decent full length pic...Ryley will post up all the pics when he gets a chance, I took pics with his camera from the time I got there until it was in all the coolers...quite a project, to say the least.

I've got a big hunk in the oven as we speak...eating it up in about ten minutes

Extra-super congrats to Irish Rogue for his first few days of halibut fishing in his somewhat-recently acquired boat...three days, two 30's and the barn door...not a bad way to break in the boat!

The beast had an almost empty stomach...besides a bunch of already digested stuff, I found a rock about the size of a golf ball, a sea urchin (!), and both 9/0 hooks and the black label herring...all were in its stomach by the time we butchered it.

The cheeks were the size of $60 Porterhouse steaks!

Yummy. I got a tiny chunk, and it will feed us for three days.

Thanks, guys, for letting me come down and participate in the chop shop...I enjoyed it and could feel your excitement like I was there when it happened.

Larry, without bringing up a thousand other reasons why, native steelhead taste like sawdust, and a halibut tastes like, well...halibut.

Fish on...

Todd

Thanks for the help Todd.

75 inches total- 225 on the chart I heard. I don't know, It is just friggen huge.

50 inch long 5 inch thick filets

If you were fihsing for three days and only had two 30 pounders in the boat until this fish came along you would bonk it too.

Meat is awesome, I'll be drinking beer and vacuum packing until midnight.
Pics later.

http://www.iphc.washington.edu/halcom/pubs/bulletin/lenwtimpchart.htm


Yup 225 #'s Nice fish!

That's the spirit...

If need be Ryley, I can swing over and take a couple of chunks off your hands. .. . that way you don't have to pack up as much. . . .

Don't you still owe me for that Maxi-Pad incedent? ? ? ?

Congrats Ryley,
Nice poon shot, about where I aim. As for taking out a breeder, IMO she's been around 30-40 years and laid millions of eggs, she's done her job. I'll stick with the chickens though for dinner!

Good Stuff!
See you at the WSC banquet.

Butt-Guy
Did Nelson measure it the second time? 72-75


Kajeekies kick butt

Incredible day! Art -- Todd typed 72, but it was absolutely 75". We measured it twice! We'll probably have to go document it from our picture (above) where you can see it on the floor of my Arima -- which has a 8'6" beam (and I'd guess maybe 7'6" foor... This thing was 6'3", 225. Essentially we caught an NFL Linebacker today!

Great job Ryley! So glad I got to share it with you, my dad, and Spud + Cathy + Mad Money/Anthony. Simply an amazing day.

cool beans. Just need to give Ryley some crap. can't wait to see more pics. Herd the news shortly after it happened. Spud called Kelly then Kelly called me.
Hope he saved the tail for a mount or at least got a good measurement of it.

Never broke 100 my self so I can't imagine boating that beast. Gilled a 75 by hand once with no gaff, harpoon or net in the boat. Grabbed him by the throat and beat his head against the side of the boat for about 10 minutes before dragging him over the rail.
Congrats to all involved. Even Ryley. Something you all will remember every time you hear the words Big Fish

Maybe even more impressive is that Cathy was in the same area and didn't beat him to that fish.

Nice work Sky Guy!

EXCELLENT work!!!!!!!!!

That is one helluva flattie! Congrats Ryley and crew!

Nice. How long did it take you to get it in? How did you lift it over the rail?

I at about two pounds of it last night...it was tasty. I'll be having more tonight

Fish on...

Todd

http://www.iphc.washington.edu/staff/stevek/recipes.htm


Here's some recipes from IHPC site, sounds like he's going to need a few with a 165#'s of meat.

Lets be clear on this, "I" only hooked the fish and reeled it up. "We", being Brian, Marv, and I "caught it". It's a team effort to the tenth degree, and landing a fish like this requires being prepared for it. Luckily we were ready to dance when this chance bit my herring.

We picked this fish up on a mound northwest McCurdy Pt. between Dallas and the Yellow can in 180 F.O.W. Fish bit a Black Label herring with a Silver Horde 10 inch Splatterback Hoochie skirt over the herring, 125# test leader off a spreader. SPUD gave us a pack of herring because we had ran out and that seemed to be what most were hooking up on. Last I heard I owe him $50.00 for that pack of herring he gave me out on the water

When the fish hit it felt like a bite but then nothing. I could feel a headshake right at the start, but then she acted like she didn't even know she was hooked. I did a few big pump and reels, and looked over at Marv to see if he wanted the fish. I had already landed a 30 earlier in the day and said I was handing any fish off to him if I hooked up.
He surveyed the situation...watched me pump up hard and reel down a couple times...with carotid arteries popped...and said no thanks... it's all you Ryley!

It took +/- 12 minutes to get color, at which point it looked like a 7x9 Karastan carpet in the water. We couldn't believe what we were seeing, and an eerie silence fell over the crew as the situational gravity set in, and we prepared to stab this fish with a harpoon.
Brian (IrishRogue) is a great captain in terms of preparing for whatever may come, and we've been talking about this trip for a couple months. He made a breakaway harpoon setup and a new gaff, and had it at the ready when the fish got to the surface. With a grunt and all his might, he drove the harpoon home perfectly right behind the gillplate and fin. I immediately loosened my drag and the fish did what she was supposed to do, which was sound about 50 feet in 5 seconds. She took the buoy under water for about 30 seconds while I retrieved her. The 50 feet of harpoon line helped stop the run..it was cleated off..we thought it was long enough

When the fish came back to the surface, I asked Marv to get my .45 from the cuddy because we weren't going to attempt bringing this fish aboard with any life left in her. I shot her right between the eyes once, which ended the fight pretty quick. At this point we just got her positioned so that I could hand the rod to Marv and both Brian and I could each use a gaff to grab her and pull her over the rail.

Silver Horde hoochie and a Black Label herring did the trick. The fish inhaled the bait 12 inches into it's gullet.




Here's a shot back at Edmonds:


A few shots while fileting the fish:






A little Halibut Assemblage. The fish had a Lamprey, a rock, an urchin, and a 45 slug in her ;):


A truly epic, incredible day, ...& a huge thanks IrishRogue for hosting me for the weekend and putting me on this fish. He has graduated from a greenback to an experienced old salty captain very quickly over the last couple a years ...by putting his time in on the water, networking with and listening to more experienced captains, and staying in the game.

Here's a shot of his 30# fish we caught Thursday night after only fishing for an hour or so:



Thanks 'Rogue!

Very Nice !!! Halibut Cakes everyday for a year...

Whoa. Awesome fish, Ryley!

I think that fillet alone is still about 5X bigger than any 'butt I've ever landed.

Never seen a PS 'butt, let alone hook one, but I did get to witness "something" yesterday that inhaled a 6-ounce jig, made a headshake, and snapped the line in about that fast. Right afterwards, Rico started swearing and saying something on the lines of "I knew I should have used a wire leader on that jig......"

Gotta love fishing with RVRRico! Heard lots of great stories about Toff, too.

I still don't think there are halibut in Puget Sound. I was just happy that the North River I was in was fully operational and that the motor didn't die on us.

Nice that you got to pull your Kimber on that 'butt. It would have never even dawned on me to bring it out yesterday.....not to mention that our boat didn't even have a gaff.

Congrats on the fish of a lifetime Ryley! And congrats on a perfect harpoon shot Irishrouge! We herd about it on the water yesterday and was fishing about a mile SE of you. Suprised we didn't hear the pistol. Nelson told me the story on the beach last night (his version) and showed me the incredible pictures he took from his flybridge. That 22 Arima was looking like a very small boat with that animal in the cockpit with you guys. There was also a 163# landed into PT.

Good for you guys!

PS fish of a lifetime, great work boys!

Beautious fish guys ! ! Good to see you finally found a use for that Kimber. . . . .

Nice butt.

Unbelievable! You got good big fishy ju ju. Nice job Riley. You know I'm only a few minutes from you if ya feel like ya can't handle all that premo meat.

I ate some of it again tonight...and it's still pretty damn good!

Fish on...

Todd

You definitely should have "socialized" some of that halibut..."redistributed" some of it to your cooler

Thank Allah that fish is ok under Sharia Law.

Fish on...

Todd

What an incredible day...

What an incredible fish...

Ryley has already told the story well -- for my part, there was one singular experienceI will never forget: harpooning that fish...

You have to understand how nervous I was getting ready to harpoon her... First, I've never harpooned a fish IN MY LIFE. Second, I had made the harpoon myself only a week before--in preparation for the trip--so it's not exactly tried and true... As Ryley worked the fish up I cleated off the far end of the harpoon line, tied on a buoy, and re-checked the knots on everything ... Next I double checked the anatomy on the fish we had in the box to be 100% sure I knew where the stomach was so I was sure not to hit it... Okay I'm ready...

Then we get color on the fish... It's kind of on its side at first... The shape even reminds me of a shark with a white belly. Then it rolls flat -- holy cow -- it's HUGE. "That's no moon, it's a space station" goes through my head... Okay, we're close... Think it through -- right hand on top, drive straight down I tell myself... Ryley reminds me I have to go through the WHOLE fish, and I wonder for a moment -- did I make the metal shaft long enough to go through this giant fish? Can't fix that now, so forget it. Just swing hard.

The fish is surprisingly docile at the surface... Good god it's a beast. We're about 10 seconds away from my shot... It's turning towards me.. I'm really nervous... Don't blow it. Don't hit the spine. Don't hit the stomach. Swing hard...

Five seconds to go... "POON IT BRIAN!!! POON IT!" comes blasting over the VHF... It's Anthony/Mad Money on the boat next to us who's watching this all in his binoculars. I want to scream "Shut the F#@!@# UP DUDE!"... 2 seconds... 1 seconds...

I raise up and swing HARD... I'm surprised at how quickly and easily it goes.... Down -- then Up... Fish hesitates for a moment then EXPLODES and sounds.. Buoy goes under like the first buoy in Jaws as he dives... Rope spooling out through my hand until he takes all of it and pulls tight against the cleat... And stays tight...

Holy cow, I think I did it... We start celebrating about a half minute later when the buoy surfaces, reminds me of Jaws again and I grin... Wow.

-----------------------------

I should add that I've been thinking a lot about how lucky we are, and specifically how lucky I am. I know enough to know that we were recipients of a great gift... There are many who've worked these banks for more hours, more days, more years than us. Tonight I tip my cap to all of you -- for while we learned some of your lessons, that is not why we caught the fish. It was necessary, but not the reason.

We caught the fish because we are lucky son's of bitches... And we know it.

Please be blatant and obvious soon. ....if you have that seed I need it as I'm late getting it planted!

FishRanger gets a healthy chunck out of my share for hooking me up at Sand Island and bringing both my forgotten fishing license and sleeping pad down. Vedder gets a cheek cause I need to pick up some starts from him.
I'm sure my list will grow..all the sudden I have new friends coming out of the woodwork

When you guys return my coolers, I won't complain if they have a few more chunks in 'em

Fish on...

Todd

Well, my coolers didn't drive themselves up to Edmonds yesterday when they were done fishing...neither did my fillet knives, come to think of it

Fish on...

Todd

I'm starting to think Hank's right about you.

Fish on...

Todd

Wow!! That is one Big Butt!!!

I heard about the Big 'But last nite from Art. What a great story and fish guys! That's a dandy 4-sur! Congrats!!!!

Oh my...

Holy crap, Ryley. Well done indeed!

Helluva fish there Sky Guy and crew. Congratulations.

Nice butt.Way to go.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

Nicely done on the fish guys!

What type of bullet? Kind of disappointed in the expansion there.

Me too Andy. I was wondering if it had to do with the target, but it shouldnt have mattered.
Round was a Hornady 185gr Critical Defense HP. I've seen one other spent round of this type out of my gun before and it had great expansion.

Gold Dots.

Excellent fish.

Thanks! I still have a third-molar grin stuck on my face

I believe the bullet traveled a bit through the water before hitting the target...might that have had something to do with it?

Fish on...

Todd

The Ultra-Compact Snake Charmer

.410 Gauge Stainless Steel
18 1/4 " Barrel 29" total length
00buck

The Snake Charmer also charms butts.

FD

Awesome fish dude. The excitement in your voice on the phone was actually felt. Good job on the harpoonin' Brian. Totally cool.

Super cool Boys. Way to get it done!!!

That's a perfect sized butt for that chowder recipe of mine that I cooked up @ Rips that night (let me know if you need a copy).

Nothing like a big Butt to put a smile on a guys face!!

You are a TOOL!! Anyone who would have caught that fish including you would have killed it so a simple congratulations is due. It is ok to kill a fish like that because they don't always taste bad and the way washington structures their seasons there are more than just a few of those big ones. She most likely had already spawned but either way if you don't like it move on and keep your opinion to yourself. Nice fish Bro grabbed the link from bloody decks to see it should have posted it there awesome fish.

Wrong, I've caught a dozen or so halibut from 100 to 300 lbs. over the past 20 years and released them all, biggest I ever kept was around 55-60 lbs., just what I prefer to eat.
Some of my clients also choose to release big fish.
Just my $.02 worth

I was wondering when this was going to start Nice fish.

Matt

Will be releasing a bunch of those next week up in Yakutat, releasing only because we will land plenty and I don't want to fillet them that big!
Kept one last year that was around 180lbs. with a Mountain Dew can in is belly!

I bet you probably kept one of the first big ones you have ever caught, right Scott? Most folks would.

Brian and I discussed the very topic of releasing a big hen on the way up to Port Townsend Thursday night. I brought it up, and said I think we should consider a release in the event we hooked a big one.



When we did hook one, only our fourth hookup after three days of fishing, all we wanted to do was get it in the boat because we wanted the meat. The topic didn't come up, and that's just the way it went.

We'll honor this fish by eating every last morsel of her, which by the way is premium meat and tastes great.

I think almost everyone would keep a fish like that if it was their first big one. I kept my first monster halibut, but would not keep another that big if given a chance.

For one it was not all that good eating and for another I have done that now. But damn few anglers woud release their first truly monster class fish.

Why is his halibut diffrent then a 30 lb steelhead? Because the halibut population appears to be well managed and there is no reason to worry about their extinction as there is with too many steehead runs.

Way to go Ryley. Get a tail mount done and keep smiling every time you look at it.

Good for you sounds like you have had your fill of some big fish in your lifetime. That is very commendable but me personally would have no problem killing that fish I don't think I would kill 2 of them but 1 for sure.

Actually, the year before I started going to Ak I made a trip to Ucluelet with a couple buddies, 1 of them caught a 140 pounder and everything else were paddles. We split everything evenly and I got a decent amount of the big fish, maybe it was just my poor cooking abilities but I tried 3 times to make a decent meal out of it and couldn't, ended up giving all the big pieces away and kept the small stuff.
The next year (1st in Ak.) very first fish I hooked was probably around a 120-125lbs. halibut, I knew I didn't want to eat it and I would of had to clean and process it if I killed it which I had no desire to do, grabbed my knife and cut the leader. As I said before, biggest I've personally killed was 55-60, true story!

This is the last big one I killed. 207 lbs it tasted ok if you shaved the meat. Lots of parasites in this critter. The most exciting part was seeing it come from the depths. Handling it at the side of the boat was a battle I don't care to repeat.

Great job guys on a once in a life Puget Sound catch.

Matt

Damn Matt
looks like you were real fond of that fish. Any pics taken after that one should probably be posted on the Dark side or better yet not at all.

You ever felt the throat on them things...smooooooooth

Oh yea baby

Cod bellies are better.

Just using average age, fecundity, and size charts, a 75" halibut is probably around 20 years old, has spawned about nine or ten times, and started out laying about 500,000 eggs when first mature, to nearly 4 Million eggs at 200 or 250 pounds...which means this fish has probably layed somewhere in the neighborhood of 18 to 30 Million eggs over her lifetime.

Killing a wild anadromous fish that pretty much spawns only once in its life kills it before it ever spawns.

Fish on...

Todd

Dang! I finally opened this thread after a nice looking blond woman on the ferry boat told me that some friend of a friends older friend had caught a sturgeon over 6 feet long in puget sound!!! This must have been the fish and older friend she was speaking of
Way cool stories fellas. Experience of a lifetime for sure! Congrats.

Matt, did you get that in the Iverson Hole? That grass looks familiar

It actually sounded like a couple of bears fighting or something.... Scared the living bujeezus out of me!

I believe such a catch is a crew effort.

Way to go guys!

Very Nice!!

So cool, you will remember that fish forever.

Nice barn door !

...and I thought these monsters were typically caught on PSA Sno-King outings...



size is related, but does not dictate age. A big slab that eats well can outsize an older slab that does not.

Great fish guys. Too bad you didn't save the tail...