The presence of yelloweyes is a good thing, Big Halibut Don says, because where the yelloweyes go, so do the halibut.
"The yelloweyes are more prolific, so you're going to get them first because they're kind of everywhere," he said. "They get there and start ganging up and stuff, and then the halibut come in to check it out and they run the yelloweyes off, and then the big halibut run off the smaller halibut."
Sure enough, the yelloweyes suddenly disappear. One of the rod tips starts bouncing up and down; then it dips sharply. The passenger pulls up fast and reels down, giving the fish no slack.
He then starts the classic halibut battle which, it soon becomes apparent, is a lot like reeling in a garage door from 300 feet.
Eventually, the fish shows beneath the surface: it's about a 70-pounder. Big Halibut Don is not impressed. He sticks it with the gaff, lifts it over the rail with one hand, clubs it with the other, slides it into the fish hold and slams the door.
The activity steadily picks up; the fish coming up are bigger. The anglers are moaning and groaning, having the time of their lives. (A chiropractor could make a killing in Sitka.)
Big Halibut Don says these fish--the biggest a 150-pounder--are nothing. The other day one of his clients hooked into a real monster.
"We're just sitting there and all of a sudden his rod buckled over," he says. "I said, 'Whoa, that looks like a big one.' He couldn't handle it so I took over and grabbed the line and it just smoked through my rubber glove.
"The line finally goes slack and I'm thinking, 'Man, this thing is coming to the surface, and then this humpback whale comes shooting out of the water with this hook in its mouth. I put my finger down [on the line] and broke him off.
"They called me Big Humpback Whale Don for a few days, but they still call me Big Halibut Don."
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Kingfisher Charters can be reached at (800) 727-6136.
