Dutch Harbor – Alaska, The World's Best Halibut Fishing!

I set out for Dutch Harbor Alaska, this my third year, with my father and mother (dad fishes but mom doesn’t). We always stay at the Grand Aleutian Hotel. A five star hotel in the middle of no where. It’s a real pleasure to come back to fine service after a day of fishing. With the weather in the mid forties to mid fifties dressing warn is the call for fishing attire. We have always fished with Far West Outfitters and Captain John Lucking aboard the Suzanne Marie. Selecting the right captain is very important in the Aleutian Islands. The weather can change from flat calm to 40-knot wind and 20 foot seas within hours. Fishing in the passes, as we do, also takes a knowledgeable captain.

My first year in Dutch Harbor I spent learning about fishing for Barn Door Halibut. The second year I started my quest to set a new 20# IGFA ladies line class record. I learned a lot in my 2^nd year, but most of all I gained a tremendous amount of confidence. I came up 3 pounds short of breaking the record last year. This built an even larger fire in my determination to find the right fish. Now with the confidence I needed in hand, I just needed to hook the right fish. I knew if John Lucking (the captain of the Suzanne Marie) could put me on the fish, I had a really good chance of landing it.

Having only fished two of the five days scheduled (due to fowl weather) last year, I was more than grateful for the flat calm seas and the lack of wind that we found ourselves in this year. The first two days of fishing this year proved to be a good warm up, but no giants were found. On the third morning of fishing we found our way, to “The Spot”, by radar due to very dense fog. I was grateful for all of the electronics on the Suzanne Marie, without which we would have had to stay home. I prepared myself as usual that morning, hoping this would be the day.

I took my Calstar 700L rod that Leon had sent with me and attached an Accurate TDR 6 reel that Jack had sent with me. On the TDR 6 I had wound on 550 yards of 10kg Izorline. I then tied a bimini in the 10kg Izorline and tied a torpedo sinker to my bimini. I attached a section of 200# Izor mono leader with a 16/0 circle hook bait setup. Having sent a diagram of my entire leader setup to IGFA, I was confident I was fishing within IGFA standards.

On my second drop of the morning I hooked into, what would turn out to be, a 285-pound Pacific Halibut. At first I felt I had miss set my drag because the fish was peeling line off of my reel at a very high rate. I have never had a Halibut take a run as long as this one. About 300 yards later she stopped (male Halibut never get over 40 pounds) and I started to get my line back. Checking my drag pressure at this point I realized that I had all the drag pressure 20# test would take. The smooth Twin Drag system the Accurate reel has makes all the difference in the world while fishing for Halibut. As jerky as these fish are, it really helps to have an Accurate Twin Drag reel.

I gained almost all of my line back and John could see the fish at deep color. Then, something spooked her and she took off again. This time she would only run about 150 yards. I gained about half of this back and then everything came to a stand still. She didn’t run again, but I could no longer gain any of my line back. This stalemate went on for about 10 minutes. I was grateful at this point that I had one of Leon’s great graphite rods. The 700L was flexible enough in the tip to give with the uneven pull of a Halibut, and it had enough backbone to hang tough in this stand off.

After about 10 minutes I started to gain line as she came to the boat. At this point I still hadn’t see the fish, but John had informed me that this was “The Fish”. John put a flying gaff in her and subdued her with a club. John and Trevor (the mate) then pulled her into the boat and hog-tied her to insure that she could not harm anyone. This ended a 45-minute battle.

The flood of relief, when I realized that I had achieved my 2-year goal, kept my feet off the deck for quite some time. I couldn’t stop jumping up and down. I gave my Dad a big hug and was happy that he and I could share yet another great fishing adventure. If there could possibly have been anyone happier than I was at this point, it would have to have been my Dad. He and I have spent many years at the rail together. Without him I would have never learned to fish. I hope fathers out there realize that girls like to fish too.

Thanks to Izorline for making incredible line to with stand not only the type of pull a Halibut puts on line, but for withstanding the 37 degree ocean temperatures. Thanks to Calstar and Accurate for making incredible products. All of these products step up to the challenge of a vast variety of fishing styles. From Giant Halibut in frigid waters to Giant Tuna in tropical waters. You all make a fisherman’s time on the water much more enjoyable.