Halibut fishing with GSTOURS (Gary) in Alaska Aug. 1-8, 2017

[David Hall]

I am absolutely green with envy.  What a spectacular episode!  Better than game of thrones!

[Dominick]

Good time s and great fish.....but is someone gonna put a hurt on the Tank?  Bill

Patience young man patience.  You'll see. Dominick

[Steve-O]

Sunburn in Alaska?   Easy! Especially on the water. I got raccoon eyes when I was up there in the Icy Straits

And what lake was that you were fishing on again?

Gary for sure knows his home waters.

Fabulous outing! guys!

My duffel bag is packed and I've still got a month to go!

Talk about chompin at the bit....and this thread is killing me...in a good way.

Last hour before dinner of my first day there in June, 2011, we decide to reel up and my boat partner says I'm stuck on the bottom. Pull harder I says .

Big mistake. The 150# flattie on the other end didn't appreciate that one bit.

We got the same treatment as you guys did...a BIG smack down onto the rail and hold on for dear life.

20 minutes and several killer runs later there's big 'but in da boat.

The fish was shared with all at the lodge... 74#'s of halibut steaks all around.

Great report!!

[bhale1]

One word... AWESOME!!!!
Okay...two words, AWESOME, and  JEALOUS!!!! Great job guys, looks like a lot of fun!
Brett

[Rancanfish]

Man I love seeing my old Yellowtail Special kickin' butts! 

I believe the ProGear IS a bit narrower than the Penn version with the kit by about 3/16th's.

Obvious that with Gary's mods it can handle the job.

[Alto Mare]

I am absolutely green with envy.  What a spectacular episode!  Better than game of thrones!

I agree!

[akfish]

Thanks for keeping only the small ones!! All halibut over about 60 pounds are spawning females. And, while OK to eat, the larges ones aren't nearly as good as the small ones. Big ones are more wormy too...

[Donnyboat]

Yes great adventure men thanks for sharing, nice to see, hear the big breeders going back. looks like good time had by all, thanks again, cheers Don

[mhc]

Great report Wayne - and well done Gary, you have really looked after your guests and turned on the halibut fishing for them!
I hope this is the first episode of a new series "The tank travels the world with Dominick"
Mike

[josa1]

Wow!  Great pictures.  Love looking at those halibut fillets!  Lots of good eating there.

josa1

[El Pescador]

All right,     Kids, you are for the BIG SHOW???

Third and final day of fishing when the rod next to Gary LOADS up BIG TIME,

So much, getting the rod out of the rod holder was difficult, to say the least, but Gary is strong, and when he put the rod end against his craw, he says, "We GOT something here" and then the rod was slammed down against the rail.  FIGHT ON!!!

Gary fights the fish for several minutes, Dom is getting on his fighting belt, I pulled out both camera for what will be the BIG SHOW on this trip!!!

Check out Dom's face expression - FULL GRIT!!!







Our fish decides to head around the boat stern, Gary runs into the wheel house and raises the motor and screw out of the water.

Dom then hands the rod off to me, I clear the back of the boat, and we start pulling.  I must say, I've NEVER pulled harder than any other fish!  I often say, "Fish Hard, PULL HARDER!"  Well, I did, and made sounds that I don't want repeated!!!









Pulling harder than ever, I locked my knees into the gunnels, put both hands on the top rod grips, and dropped my butt to help raise the rod, gaining maybe 6'' to a foot on each pull, then grab the red reel handle and TRY to put the excess back onto the TANK.  Doing this I don't know how long the fight lasted, but then we see color, FISH near the surface!













How about some shots of Gary at work??





BTW, the wider paddles on the star drag made a BIG difference in comfort when spinning down the drag to almost bottom end.
Really like this style of star drags.



Here is a still shot off a GoPro video - Gary and Mary Jo are experts on using the GoPro, and the cutting & editing of vids.  Both are really good.

Gary used a 6' 3" rope hook as a measuring stick along side the big fish.  Dom was handling the rod, keeping this fish on the surface and along side the boat.

When Gary yelled NOW, I estimated the extra length beyond the rope hook to determine the final length of this HUGE Halibut,

I thought it was 6" - 8" longer, but when I hold our my hand, and extend all fingers to the max, the distance between my thumb and little finger is 9".  So, the fish could have been 9" longer, and each inch is an extra 20 lbs.

We thought the final estimated length was 84" (Seven Feet long) but it could have been 85" too.  Lenght is how they estimate the weight of the fish:  Check out this website:  http://www.piscatorialpursuits.com/halibutcharts.htm

We all agreed it was between 325 - 350 lbs.!!!!!

Either way, and HUGE fish and an #### kicker for a fight.  







We all needed a bit of a break, here's Gary enjoying a well deserved Lunch.



Motoring home after our last day on the water, satisfied with our fishing days effort.



Here is Gary showing us his custom Hand-crafted Halibut Hoochie.





It all starts with an 18/0 Circle Hook



Then a 10/0 J-Hook for the trailer. Gary has a special knot he uses to attach the nylon cord to the 10/0 and to the 18/0 - Ask him when you see him next!



He also uses this trimmer cord in place of 300 lbs. mono, it lasts longer and at a lower price. GO GARY!



Done for the day, and ONLY speaking for me, I was ONE tired Puppy!!!  Could not have asked for a better traveling partner and fishing buddy!!!  Thanks Dominick for the trip!!!!



That's it for now, more tomorrow.

Enjoy...  

Wayne

[Rothmar2]

Absolutely one of the best fishing reports I have read in years. Thanks for sharing Wayne. Hope you're filling that logbook out! The Tank has travelled! Don't think there are too many reels around that have been more than 43 degs north AND south. What a beautiful part of the world Gary lives in.

[Bill B]

Great report!!!....I read it three times for the full effect....Way Cool Beans   Good seeing the Tank getting a work out.....Bill

[Alto Mare]

Great job guys!
Gary, thanks for making this happen, love it!👍

[Marc Fong]

Holy Cow...er, Big Halibut. Looks like a great and successful time.