I had a great crew today. None of which had ever caught a Halibut. There were six boats in the halibut fleet and we all have to fish together for safety reasons. I turned off at the last mile from the destination and headed off to my own secret spot a couple of miles away. It was not long before the first bite. The rods were going off every 5 minutes and for 2 hours we enjoyed many hits and a lot of smiling faces. We opted to release all the fish except the one that was gill hooked. I use #16 circle hooks so that you can release the small ones with little damage.
It is exciting to see that the halibut have returned to the near shore of Prince Rupert. The local population can reach these Halibut in 20 minutes. On a day like this I like to venture off shore to seek out the big guys.
Tomorrow the boat comes out of the water for the monthly maintenance check and service. Starting Monday I have quite a few fishing days in a row. The last thing a guide needs is to be behind on his maintenance.
