halibut derby

[Cornfed]

Some of you may have heard of John Beath. He has studied halibut for the past ten years: feeding characteristics, sight acquisition, breeding cycles. He said that the 130# plus female butts do not reproduce and that their eggs are sterile. Are there any biologists out there that can confirm this?

I don't know if I whole heartedly believe this after watching his "Secrets of the Pros" video where he fishes by himself at Rivers Inlet with 6 poles in the water and it takes him 20 minutes to land a 20# fish on 6# test line. Not my style...what secret was that? Sorry John.

Also....what were the baits and rigs of choice for those big butts?

 

[yammy5]

Doesn't the South Island commercial halibut fishery catch big halibut? The commercial guys have quota licenses so if a particular boat has a 10,000lb license then he has all season to catch 10,000lb of halibut. Are there size restrictions or can they just fill their quota with whatever they catch?

 

[yammy5]

Last year the commercial halibut fishery landed 11.7 million pounds. Approx 55,000 pounds were sold in Victoria, 150,000 pounds were sold in Vancouver, 486,000 pounds were sold in Uclulet, 1.3 million pounds in Prince Rupert, 4.9 million pounds in Port Hardy and 3.2 million in Port Edward etc..

 

[Tips Up]

My comment was not to start a debate about this subject. Just to note that this thread was highjacked and was about the derby. This subject has been discussed many times before.

My appologies.

I am doing my part for hali concervation this year. 6 trips... no butts [:I]

Tips

 

[Barbender]

quote:I am doing my part for hali concervation this year. 6 trips... no butts

Ha ha ha....nicely done. For the record I am doing my part for both Salmon and Halibut. No one can accuse me of not being a conservationist. Albeit not by choice.

 

[wolf]

Sorry to hear that Tips but thats my point axactly when i first started the halibut trips (18 years ago)before GPS LOL i would line up certain skyscrapers and just drop the anchor and get them all the time now it is very hard to get them out there as you know it is dwindling at a fast rate I keep a record and over the last ten years its not a pretty picture so in 5 years dont tell me I didnt warn you!!!!


Wolf

 

[yo mama]

I'm with you for sure Wolf. There is no need for 2 fish a day 3 poss. Drop it to 1 a day and we can enjoy this fishery a lil' longer. With the popularity of this growing by the day it won't be long at all till the numbers get down there with the East Coast steelies. The one thing about halis over the salmon is that nobody has a clue on just how many there are out there because you can't count them like salmon spawning in a river.

 

[scottyboy]

very much with wolf. nice fish but kinda sad actually .scottyboy

 

[yammy5]

It is sad and I have to agree with Wolf too...just don't ask him how many hali's he's bonked in the last 18yr. I’m kidding. I know he's one of the best local hali fishermen and I know it's his livelihood and I certainly don’t criticize him. We all rely on DFO to manage our fishery and sadly we know from experience that they bend to the pressures put on them by the commercial industry. According to history, change only occurs when it’s too late…Atlantic cod were wiped out and will soon be followed by Pacific Herring, Pacific salmon, Pacific smelt, Pacific Black sea bass, Pacific rock cod, Pacific Halibut, Pacific Ling Cod etc not to mention the hundreds of bottom fish populations destroyed by the commercial dragger industry. It’s an absolute disgrace.

 

[tubber]

Yammy, the sky is not falling yet. Granted, DFO has issues in many areas, But there are many indications that we are in for another good year.

Clearly there is too much pressure on Victoria area halibut stocks. The use of technology for both finding fishing locations(gps) and sharing knowledge(internet) is a huge factor in increasing the catching ability of the fleet. Derbies are not helpful, even if part of the proceeds go to fish-friendly endeavours.

I'm no expert, but the stocks of halibut coast wide are generally healthy and this is one fishery that DFO can take partial credit for creating stability in. People seem to have done well on chinooks over the winter and feeders lately. There will be nice numbers of Fraser pinks and sockeyes this summer.

This year's herring fishery wasn't great, but the isolated nature of small area openings allow for plenty of wiggle room in closed areas.
The RCA's are another positive step
I look forward to a fishy summer, good luck to all.

 

[yammy5]

You know it's funny, I'm not a synical person but as soon as I start typing about fish management...well you've read it. I'm a relatively young guy and as a kid (20yr ago), the waters around the breakwater were literally black with schools of herring frantically jumping every few minutes escaping the attacks of salmon, bass and ling cod. It was really exciting. Nothing like today.

Lots of us used to fish for 20-30lb chinook where the cruise ships now dock (at the old meat packers beside the breakwater). The technique was to snag a herring from the black schools below with a 3 prong and a few split shots and let it swim injured amongst the school...the chinook would race thru the herring in front of your eyes, and once in a while they'd swallow your bait. Mostly they would just miss - but talk about an adrenaline rush! Lots of people just stood there and watched these giant chinook feed on the herring below. Really amazing.

 

[dohboy]

now one more thing to ponder, what about swiftsure hali, with the amounts that come in daily out there look out, i am sure some of those fish migrate to victoria waters, it is only a matter of time before it is all gone, and i dont hold a grudge on any guide or joe blow for fishing his limit, but we all must realize it is only a matter of time with current reg's that the fishery will be done,

this fishery has only really become popular (crazy like) in the last 5or so years, who knows how long it will last, i am with wolf not long

as far as the big tourney goes , the guys fished legally so what can you do, but maybe island outfitters will make some new regs for the tourney like only fish under 75lbs(or something) will be weighed in and an agarate for the wkend will decide the winner, instead of $20g's to the first big mamma over 200lbs

that's my rag for the day
tks doh[:I]

 

[Ringostar]

Hey Guys I fished live Halibut commercially and they are a tough fish catch and release is a great idea with very low mortality. but they should do a slot limit like they do in fresh water. any fish between 25- 35 pounds released and any fish between 60-90 pounds released that way males and females would be allowed to reproduce at their most productive years. Also as we know halibut weight easily transfers to length so it would allow the fisherperson(s) to self regulate easily. Allowing all of us to have a good fishery for a long time. I think the sooner something like this is started the better.

Ps for the tournement due hidden weight for top prizes??

 

[porcupine]

A photo album of the Halibut Derby has been prepared and is currently available for viewing at Island Outfitters. There is a duplicate of each photo in the album, so if you want a photo of you and your fish, it's there for the taking.