angel huerta's 74 pound opah!

angelh · October 22, 2016, 05:40:19 PM

Caught the fish on 10-20-16 a couple of days ago in the Monterey Bay 75ft down, 200 feet out at a ridge of about 2,900 feet of water slow trolling a dead Sardine, cedar plugs were on the other rods.

When the clicker went off I had to just keep pressure on the fish so the guys could clear the lines and down riggers, but very soon the fish started swimming towards the boat, so I had to keep pace, but still try to keep it out because lines were not all the way in yet, it swam in a few circles up close to the boat and then took a dive so we thought it was a Blue Fin until i brought it back up and it was laying sideways, we were all surprised as to it being a Opah, that's when we all flipped out and had to get it in! The fight was quick 10-15 minutes..

Quote from: Cortez_Conversions on October 22, 2016, 05:07:51 PM
Looks Tasty!
How was the fight? Looking at the fish, it looks like it could be difficult to turn?
Tom

Fishy247 · October 22, 2016, 05:52:56 PM

Sounds like you had the right gear for that fish and, more importantly, know how to pull on one too! I've seen guys pull on opah with albacore bait setups(20#-30#) for an hour+....Atta boy!

David Hall · October 22, 2016, 05:55:01 PM

Did you try for live bait before you headed out? They have been scattered and hard to locate this year.

Bill B · October 22, 2016, 07:39:07 PM

Congrats on those good looking fish....gonna have to add that to my Fish Bucket List....Bill

angelh · October 22, 2016, 08:15:47 PM

We marked bait when we first left the harbor, but no luck on snagging any.. didn't see any bait far out.

David Hall · October 23, 2016, 02:52:13 AM

Quote from: angelh on October 22, 2016, 08:15:47 PM
We marked bait when we first left the harbor, but no luck on snagging any.. didn't see any bait far out.

Exactly what I found on Friday, when I got back in I spent some time looking, finally found small schools of good sized macks near shore in less than 90' of water.

angelh · October 31, 2016, 03:25:22 AM

I just want to say something.., I'm having to deal with other people that were on the Sara Bella that are claiming to have "Caught" the Opah.... as I mentioned in the beginning of this post, I was lent Marvins gear, due to the reason that I left home without my trolling rod, Marvin set us up on the troll, But I fought the fish and boated as they gaffed it.

SO IF YOU FISH ON THE SARA BELLA AND THEY REQUEST YOU USE THEIR GEAR BECAUSE IT'S ALREADY SET UP, BE PREPARED SOMEONE THAT OWNS THE GEAR TO TAKE THE CREDIT AND CLAIM THE CATCH, EVEN THOUGH THEY DIDN'T FIGHT OR REEL IN THE FISH...

I JUST DON'T LIKE LOOKING LIKE A LIAR. ...

I guess I just expect more from people...

David Hall · October 31, 2016, 04:32:12 PM

Quote from: angelh on October 31, 2016, 03:25:22 AM
I just want to say something.., I'm having to deal with other people that were on the Sara Bella that are claiming to have "Caught" the Opah.... as I mentioned in the beginning of this post, I was lent Marvins gear, due to the reason that I left home without my trolling rod, Marvin set us up on the troll, But I fought the fish and boated as they gaffed it.

SO IF YOU FISH ON THE SARA BELLA AND THEY REQUEST YOU USE THEIR GEAR BECAUSE IT'S ALREADY SET UP, BE PREPARED SOMEONE THAT OWNS THE GEAR TO TAKE THE CREDIT AND CLAIM THE CATCH, EVEN THOUGH THEY DIDN'T FIGHT OR REEL IN THE FISH...

I JUST DON'T LIKE LOOKING LIKE A LIAR. ...

We know you did Angel, there's a class of strange people out there! I was on a boat in Maui and one of the passengers landed a 458lb black marlin, It was an amazing fish, I steered the chair for him. When we got back to the dock and hung the fish to weigh it people were asking to take their picture with the fish, some of them wanted to hold a rod for the picture? Claiming to have caught a fish of a lifetime not only discredits the angler who caught it but also deprives the person making the claim of the joy and experience of ever actually catching a fish like this.
That is an awesome catch Angel, one of a very small group ever to have caught one in our local waters.

I guess I just expect more from people...

Mudman · November 01, 2016, 04:24:51 AM

Sorry to hear that Angel, great catch though! I've never seen one in person or eaten it.

angelh · November 02, 2016, 02:45:41 AM

The meat is Delicious! !!!

, the red meat I Seared really quick and ate it raw with soy sauce, the white meat was cooked in a pan with butter and minced garlic

Mudman · November 02, 2016, 02:51:09 AM

Looks tasty indeed! Guess I'll have to add that fish to my bucket list. Congrats again

Ron Jones · November 02, 2016, 04:10:30 AM

It is one of my favorites. The first time I tried it was on a shore call at Pearl. As it happened, it was my first wedding anniversary and I got the whole week off. Alison and I had Opah at a place in downtown Waikiki. Fantastic fish, sort of like a halibut and a yellowtail had a baby.
Ron

Shark Hunter · November 02, 2016, 05:37:31 AM

Congrats on that Catch Angel. We know you caught it.
You are the one eating it, so that should be enough for the ones that claim your catch.
Good Job my Man.
Any Friend of Alan is a Friend of mine.

That wasn't the only Opah caught that day Steve-O.