SD bay report and halibut heartbreak
 

Fishing in San Diego Bay near the Coronado Bridge excellent right now with a good tidal movement, 67 degree clean green water and lots of bait. Used 3-5 inch swimbaits and grubs on 10 pd test for close to non- stop action on spotties 10-13 inches. Hooked a fish that ripped line like a bonito until I saw it was a bonefish my first ever.
My heartbreak story is that after a 15 minute fight I landed a halibut about 30 inches long maybe 10-12 pounds thought I had dispatched and layed it in the space underneath my yak chair with a towel over it. I was so proud of myself because it was the biggest halibut I have ever caught on my kayak. Suddenly it came back to life and was flopping around like crazy! I tried to put my foot down on top of it but some how It managed to flip over the edge and swim away! I am still depressed!

Wow. I fee your heart break. On one of my first trips to La Jolla I had a game clip full of a few really good sized rockfish and bass and somehow my game clip came off my yak and slowly made its way to the depth. Heartbreaking lol. It might take time but you’ll get that hali back.

Welcome to the forums my friend! We all had the one that got away but never after landed and on the boat LMAO!!! Great story and I promise one of these days we will hook up in SD!

Yup
 

That's why I carry a hali-bat. You have to hit them till you feel the death quiver. They will play dead, and go berzerk when you least expect it. I gaffed a 18 pound hali for a friend, put it on a game clip, had him whack it, passed it to him so I could get a picture, got it back, went to put it in a gunny sack, and suddenly it went bonkers! luckily it was on the game clip. Another round with the hali-bat finally settled it down.

Another way to humanely subdue and dispatch a halibut is to bleed them. It's easy to cut the gills by punching a short knife through the "seam" in the middle of the cheek.
As Kirk said, get them on the game clip ASAP!


https://pbase.com/schutze/image/167896556.jpg


I'm sorry for your loss. I know it's a heart-breaker. Been there, done that.
As halibut get in the larger size brackets, they have remarkable strength and determination that should not be underestimated.