A Picture is Worth 182 Pounds!
Carl “Shooter” Sundell nailed this halibut 40 miles out in the Gulf of Alaska while fishing with Dave Friez and Paul Glinski on the Pro-Fish-N-Sea on Thursday, August 17th. When it was weighed in Seward six hours after capture, it tipped the scales at 182 pounds and measured 5′ 10″ . Savants at the weigh-in indicated that the fish had lost 10% of it’s weight in the interim. As phony as the result may sound, you do the math…. The “Shooter” that’s now my middle name derives from the fact that any halibut too large to be taken alive onto a boat safely is shot with a .410 to the brain before being brought aboard. A fish that size is also referred to as a “barn door” for obvious reasons…. Just to lend a sense of proportion to the size of the fish in a comparative way, if this fish had been entered in the Homer Halibut Derby, the largest fishing derby in Alaska, it would be the second largest fish thus far for the month of August. However, please note that the leader weighs 312 pounds!…. All this must be considered from a number of perspectives. Try these on for size. Scenario 1: Sundell is an able angler who puts in his hours on the water and earns his luck. He researched available charters carefully, and chose wisely. With aplomb and finesse, he enticed the halibut to the hook. He played the fish with considerable skill and panache. It’s not at all surprising that someone of his competence caught this lunker. Scenario 2: Dave planned the Alaskan journey; Charmi booked the charter; Cap’n Kevin put the boat over fish and baited the hook; Carl did manage to identify there was something making his rod jiggle and did reel (very slowly) the fish up most of the necessary 300 feet; however, he was kindly assisted by Dave Friez and received moral support from Paul; Cap’n Kevin administered final rites and hauled the fish aboard, with some help from Carl. In summary, Sundell is one lucky son of a gun who could barely hold on to the rod!….. Please comment to the blog and register your vote— or alternative scenarios….
Hilly
Looks like you died and went to heaven
Pinky
Comment by Pinky — August 22, 2006 @ 11:53 am
Having witnessed this catch, I will attest that everything that Carl said about the halibut is correct.
Many other stated facts about other events in previous blogs do lead to questions regarding the veracity of said statements.
Comment by PAUL GLINSKI — August 22, 2006 @ 2:33 pm
Finally Sundell catches an impressive fish and amazingly it weighs about the same as all his previous inflated stories, many of which gained weight as the writings progressed. Your honesty in the method of catch(luck)would humble the president and his staff if they were able to understand the term “truth”.My hats off to you Carl. Send me a can. Frank
Comment by Frank Rusczek — August 22, 2006 @ 6:48 pm
Here’s the unvarnished truth on that hungry halibut. I was hunkered down in the bow of the boat with what I thought was a bare hook. A few minutes before it appeared that my bait had been stripped. But because I didn’t want to have to haul a halibut up, I was maintaining a low profile and hiding from the Captain. Then, the magic moment began…..
Comment by Carl — August 23, 2006 @ 11:29 am
This is actually a comment by Dave sent via Carl’s computer. To set the record straight: the guide was young, but quite experiencd and a good judge of character for his age. When he exclaimed that I (Dave) was “skilled” as I hauled in a grossly undersized fish perfectly hooked on large tackle, it shamed the portly Polish prince(no names please) as he had just landed a white fish which the guide named “the carp (garbage fish) of the Kenai.” Soon after, as I (Dave) successfully landed a 23-1/2″ Dolly Varden, the guide was heard to exclaim that I (Dave) had hauled in a trophy fish. Meanwhile, the portly Polish prince pondered his predicament to no avail. Sworn and attested to by Carl, this date.
Comment by Carl — August 24, 2006 @ 12:49 am
Let’s be honest about the facts. Neither the supreme halibut fisherman nor this author needed the guide on the river to tell us when a fish was on. The conversation went something like this: Dave, you have a fish on , no I don’t, yes you do, no I don’t. Carl and I turned the hearing aids off after the 2nd no I don’t. Needless to say, there was a fish on, Albeit, it was eagle fodder. That was the one that the guide said was amazing that a hook could fit into it’s mouth.
Someone could not differentiate between a fish and bottom. The guide continuously told that a certain person, the the only thing he had was bottom. As previously stated, when he finally hooked one, he didn’t realize it.
I will await further distortion from someone other Carl(who always speaks the truth) to again set the record straight.
Comment by PAUL GLINSKI — August 24, 2006 @ 1:01 pm
A nice fish. But it occurs to me it may not be the largest you’ve ever caught. While I no longer have the scars to prove it, there was the time you hooked my face on Mike’s boat. I don’t recall my weight at the time, but I might have given that fish a run for it’s money! Didn’t have to reel me up 300ft though, so I’m sure the halibut put up more of a fight.
-dan
Comment by drs — August 25, 2006 @ 12:08 am
Yeah, Dan, I sure do remember that. It was too close to your eye for comfort! I also remember trying to hurry you to the emergency room, but as we got to the dock, Mike Bartolotta decided to take a swim, though he was later to claim he slipped while trying to make a quick landing. If it hadn’t been such a hot day, I would have believed him!!!
Comment by Carl — August 25, 2006 @ 12:25 pm