Big butt and case of crabs

[TBinKodiak]

Since Kodiak is designated a rural community we are allowed to subsistence fish. This allows us to take 12 tanner crab a day with pot gear, gillnet up to 25 salmon and to take up to 20 halibut with longline gear. This is in addition to our sport caught limits. Anyway we went out last night and set the longline, which is about 100 yards long with 30 circle hooks off it. We then went and jigged for halibut for about two hours. We caught one small butt and a pile of rockfish that we released. The first hook on the longline had a small 10-12lber that went over the side, but the tugging told us there was something else down there. I gaffed this guy and hauled him in while another guy jumped on top of him and I subdued him with a billy club.

One more small one in the middle of the line and then we pulled one up about 100lbs not as big as the first one but still a fighter. Unfortunatley he wasn't hooked good and just as I was swinging to set the gaff he twisted and popped off. Sucks but we ended up with the 140lber anyway. It was only about 10pm so we decided to run over and check a couple of our crab pots. A decent showing with about 40 crab in the first pot with 6 legals. The second pot wasn't so hot with about 10 and only 1 keeper. All in all a decent evening with 75lbs of halibut fillets and 5-6lbs of cleaned crab.

 

[Oak]

Should be able to "subsist" on that! Nice!

 

[Nut]

Should be able to "subsist" on that! Nice!

I agree. Great pics.

 

[cornfed]

What do you like to eat more,the halibut or the crab?Tough choice?

 

[MarvB]

Dinner at TB's this weekend!!!

 

[Ovis]

I'll hang tight on dinner until TB pulls a few king crab. Mark your calendar for the end of Sept.

 

[Big Fin]

I'm hungry now. Can't wait to get there in July. Hopefully I can "subsist" while I am there.

Cool pics TB.

 

[Moosie]

Whats a legal crab ? And do you have a picture of the rock fish ?

Looks like good and wet times

 

[TBinKodiak]

What do you like to eat more,the halibut or the crab?Tough choice?

The crab needs to be cooked right after you clean it. So we usually stuff ourselves on it that evening standing around the crab cooker with a couple beers. Once it's been frozen it isn't as good. We've been catching them the past 5-6 weeks so I'm pretty sick of them now. That 7 crab pull was not very good, the first couple weeks we were getting 15-25 legals for two pots. They are starting to move on us a little now so if we want to keep catching them we'll have to start moving. Halibut is good to freeze and is a dense white meat so can be used in lots of things (batter fried, enchiladas, chowder).

Whats a legal crab ? And do you have a picture of the rock fish ?

Looks like good and wet times

Tanners need to be 5.5" across the caripice (shell) kings 7". We did have one king that night but it was a female so she went over the side. Only allowed 3 kings a year, but they are hard to find around town. I prefer fresh shell tanners to kings anyway not by much though.

 

[Ovis]

Time to restock the freezer with halibut, maybe if I'm lucky we will catch a fish or two while hunting Kodiak.

 

[ashersdad]

That makes my mouth water. Very nice catch.

 

[TBinKodiak]

Sorry no pictures of rockfish. We mainly get two kinds black and dusky (yellow eye are a type of rockfish too). The blacks run about 5-10lbs and the dusky's run about 4-6. The blacks usually pop their air bladder on the way up so we usually keep them. You can just make out the tail section of one in the white gillnet tub in the second photo with the halibut. They look like oversized smallmouth bass, blacks being black and duskys being dark brown with hints of rust around the belly and head. Mainly a pain in the ass because they don't put up much of a fight on halibut gear. I'll take some pics the next time I'm out. They are ok in beer batter, a lot like cod but a little fishy tasting. I give them away.

 

[1_pointer]

Nice!! Sure beats tuna in a can...

 

[TBinKodiak]

Flat calm yesterday so we took a run way out to a little pinacle near Ugak Island. We hoped to find some kings but trolling was pointless with all the rockfish around. Decided to jig for halibut and took our limit all between 20 and 45lbs. Also got two lingcod, but the season doesn't open until July 1st so we had to release them. Took a quick pic of the biggest one though.

 

[1_pointer]

Very nice! Those lingcod sure are some ugly suckers! IIRC I think we went in/through/around Ugak bay when I was there a couple of years ago deer hunting...

 

[mtmiller]

Very nice! Those lingcod sure are some ugly suckers! IIRC I think we went in/through/around Ugak bay when I was there a couple of years ago deer hunting...

Lickbag, we were in the Uganik area when we deer hunted. I was in Ugak Bay this last season for goats.

 

[mattobertin]

Nice halibut! How do you filet something that big? A sword maybe!

 

[1_pointer]

Thanks for the correction! You learn to use proper names from Rusty?