Dana Point hali hunt....success (video added))

I'm gonna keep this one short but might add to it later when I get in front of my actual compter....im doin this from my Droid.

Anyways, i've declared DPH to be one of the worst spotty spots that I've ever been too...no offense to fellow Dana guys. Ill keep trying for spotties but this place is all about the flatties. Last session i got 2 sub legals and every session before that ive caught hali's except for one or possibly 2 bad days that I got skunked. Ive caught more halibut in January than ive caught in the last few years combined....only because I actually target them...before it was all by catch.

Anyways i drifted live bait today behind the tube. Worked my "incoming tide" spot from about 0900 until 1000. At around 1030 i saw a big shift in the tide and headed to my "outgoing" spot. My spots are based off of where the flatties would go to ambush their meals based off of where the tide pushes the bait. I catch my first guy on my way to the outgoing spot. He measured 18 inches exactly and put up a nice fight on my bass gear (my curado can handle anything!).

I then work my way to another spot....a place I know there's a drop off and a stretch of sand....bingo! I feel the typical tap tap tap meaning a hali is mouthing my bait. The bait has been really big lately and i had a lot of raked baits last outing...so i give him some line and then set on him. Pull him a few feet off the bottom and then he begins his fight. All together he made 2, possibly 3 runs if my memory serves me right. The second time i got him close to the tube i had the net ready and he absolutely beat the crap out of my Curado....the drag was peelin and i was loving it.

I finally get him to the tube and measure him...it was hard to tell with the tape on my tube but i made absolute certain it was a legal fish. I measured him later on and he came out to 23" pushing 24".

I said a while ago that i would probably keep my first legal of the year and release the rest. I decided to keep him and unless i catch a really nice fish i will CPR the rest of my flatties with a possible exception here & there.

Sorry for the long post....i like talkin and could go on for ever. ALSO....if my gopro footage came out good and i find a way to edit my spot out i might post it.....some really cool footage. Hell, i might just post it anyways...i caught it at a place i see shore guys fish a lot and you need a tube or yak to really work it the right way.

Nice fish, congrats on getting one so early in the year. And thank you for keeping your really long report short.

Haha i guess it did come out long lol

wtg, nice hali you go there. I have never fished dana harbor but that is on the to do list for this year.

Nice fish I fished for halibut several times this year off the rock pile in PV and only came away with 3 legals. Each time is was when I had 4"+ bait.

Where do you get your live bait from in DPH?? Never fished there, but used to hoop net a LONG time ago.

Very nice! It must of been a killer fight! I love catching halibuts. Let's see the gopro footage and thanks for the short report. Lol

They have a bait barge right near the sport fishing boats and fuel dock...right off of Puerto Place.

I think ill upload it here no matter what....just dont wanna do it on the other forums because there are tons of guys who'll be out at my spot in a heart beat.

If Kona reads this he'll know where i was...right around the corner from his "drop off".

what hold up

let me read

Remember the area you said to cast in a 180? Well it was to the left of that (if looking from the water).

hell ya bra nice hali ya DPH is known for those heres another thing I learned if you park in the launch ramp side its free for tubers cause he always lets me in ..I hurt my back dont know how but im going to the Dr tomorrow it sucks cause I was hitting up Perris on thrusday but the shit keeps falling WTG on your catch hey if the dr give's me some pain meds I'll be out in the water lol

man you got a good memory

did you pack some heat for the seal lol

A good memory? Usually...i only forget things i dont wanna remember....like whatever my gf just said to me while i was typing this lol.

Sorry bout the back....mine is messed up again too...not as bad as yours. Back spasms and a lower back strain or something like that...im on flexeroll or however you spell it. The stuff is great before bed but it makes me drowsy as hell so i cant take it during the day.

Let me know when your back in action and we'll hit up Dana again...without parking fines. (I still havent paid mine and its past due.....ooooops).

Lol i want to but gotta look into the laws more. Dont think id ever do it though...just cause im sure if I did use it (in an emergency situation) it would back fire on me lol...no pun intended

I wonder if there are any cases of people being attacked by sea lions who werent provoking the animal.

Me neither bra in fact its sitting on top of my dash board and I will for sure I'll probably look over my tube and do a safety check the boys got me thinking

Aloha

MASSfisher wrote:Lol i want to but gotta look into the laws more. Dont think id ever do it though...just cause im sure if I did use it (in an emergency situation) it would back fire on me lol...no pun intended

I wonder if there are any cases of people being attacked by sea lions who werent provoking the animal.

I did have one jump into my skiff years back when I had it so I wouldn't put it past them to try something with us being in the tube. When I see them I just keep moving in the other direction. I have not had one follow me yet like what happen to you.

Im honestly not scared of them but they do make me nervous. Wild animals are unpredictable and should never be trusted....

So would a .40 stop a sea lion? And can you eat sea lion if you kill it lol?

sounds like a good time for bbq
I was always told if you kill it you must eat it.

Could i mount it? Bet nobody has a sea lion mount lol

And id love to rip one of their stomachs open to see what's inside...

my redneck buddys dad would properly do it just because hes one of those type of guys.

That would be cool, just like the jaws movie where they cut it open to see what was inside of it

there it is the one that i need to land i caught a big hali and had it up to my fins 3 time and the forth time it went down it unhooked and got a way it had to ha been aleast 30 inches plus i have never seen one that big up close and personal but i do have 2 witnesses tom and jason

but any way greaat job on the hali bro i am joulse or how ever you spell it lol