Halibut
•
Salmon
• Shark
•
Lingcod & Rockfish
The muscles in your
arms are burning, the line on your reel is screaming
and your body is braced against the rail – congratulations!
You are in a first rate angling fight with a mighty
Alaskan Halibut! The largest of all flatfish, halibut
can grow to enormous sizes – with fish over
100 pounds being caught recurrently in Southcentral
Alaska. These large fish are known as “barndoor”
halibut or “shooters” – and landing
one is an unbelievable thrill! On average, most sport
caught halibut will average around 20 – 40 pounds,
but when it comes to these plentiful fish, the chance
of hooking into a barndoor is always there –
every time you drop your hook! In 2006, a 390 pound
halibut was caught in Prince William Sound –
and the state record fish is 457 pounds!
Halibut have a dark
upper side which tends to assume the coloration of
the ocean bottom, while their white underside tends
to blend in well with the sky when viewed from below.
These color adaptations allow halibut to avoid detection
by both prey and predator. As far as our barndoor
halibut or shooters are concerned, these large fish
are typically female as they grow faster and they
are larger than males of the same age. Most halibut
caught in the sport fishery are 5-15 years old. If
you want to know the age of a halibut you have landed,
you can estimate its age by counting rings on the
“otolith,” a bony structure in the inner
ear of the halibut.
Halibut are highly
prized by sport fishermen – both for their delicious
white meat, as well as for their awesome fight! Truly,
this fish is the ultimate for many anglers. No Alaska
Fishing Trip would be complete without setting your
sights on the prodigious Alaskan Halibut. In fact,
most folks will agree that it is an experience you'll
never forget. For those anglers wanting even more
of a challenge – you can try landing a halibut
on a salmon rod! Just imagine yourself on board our
yacht as we drop anchor for the evening in a secluded
bay and you spend the evening catching halibut into
the night. Imagine having a 100 or a 200 pound halibut
on the other end of your line with its incredible
swimming power and brute strength. As you are reeling
and reeling - your arms burning with exhaustion -
you begin to question whether or not you will ever
get this behemoth to the surface! Somehow, you find
the will – and the energy – to keep reeling.
This could be the best fishing story of your life!
|
