PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles anglers Bobby Harrison and Leanne Price put in the time and the effort and were rewarded with a beast of a halibut in the waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca on Thursday.
The pair caught two fish, a 33-pounder early in their fishing trip, and a 155-pound monster late.
With rough weather in the forecast, the pair left home early in a bid to be on the water for as long as they could possibly fish.
The foul weather never really materialized, just rain and a 5-knot wind, but the flatfish did as the pair anchored up by 2:30 a.m. and hooked and landed a good-sized 33-pounder soon after.
“It was supposed to be nasty on Thursday but when we launched [the water] was glass,” Harrison said.
“We probably got into 5 knot winds, so it was beautiful all morning.”
They beat the tide for the first fish, but the tide pushed through, hampering their efforts.
Around 9 a.m., Harrison said Price started jigging to break up the boredom of watching the downriggers for the slightest movement.
“I said we will give it another hour before we head in,” Harrison said. “We’d been out for awhile and I could see she was getting a little tired.”
The hour was nearly up when the fun started.
“She started to get a little nibble and she told me ‘I think something’s biting,’” Harrison said.
“Then I could see my rod was getting bit, it wasn’t taking line, but I could see the movement.”
Harrison brought both of their lines up and saw they had both been cleaned of their bait, full herring.
“After we rebaited, I felt the strike and the fish took off and started peeling line. It probably ran off 200 yards from the boat.”
Harrison said they were fishing in the middle of the Strait, anchored in about 80 feet of water with a spreader bar, a 3-pound weight and full herring on the downriggers of his 22-foot boat, The Foul Hooker.
“It was the most epic battle of my life,” Harrison said.
“We knew it was big, but we had no idea just how big it turned out to be. The first time it surfaced I could see mouth coming up out of the water and it was big enough to swallow a basketball.”
Price and Harrison are smaller-sized people, and Price wrestled mightily to get the harpoon sunk deep in the fish.
“She hit the gill plate with the harpoon the first time and that only pissed him off,” Harrison said. “We got the fish up to the surface three times and on the fourth time she drilled it with the harpoon. I told her to jump down and put all her body weight into the throw.”
Harrison didn’t have a booey attached to the harpoon, so he had to grab the line and haul, a task he compared to a rodeo.
“Probably not the smartest way to do it, but we got it back to the boat and it looked like the harpoon was tearing through the fish.
“We were scared to lose it, so I grabbed the bow line and tied off its tail. Then we pulled with all our strength to get that fish in the boat.
“It broke a couple of rod holders and thrashed around a bit.”
Harrison and Price heard cheers when they had finally wrestled the beast aboard.
“A boat a little aways way had seen the fight and when we got it in they threw their arms up and yelled,” Harrison said.
“We sat on the boat for like 20 minutes just hugging each other before we headed in.”
The pair trucked it up to Swain’s where Price works, and the fish was weighed and photographed.
Harrison said the shared battle was one of the best moments they’ve had together in their relationship.
“We’ve been together for like 12-plus years and it was the most epic experience we’ve ever had.,” he said.
“She’s my new favorite first mate. But I told her she might have to gain a little weight to get those harpoons in.”
Harrison said if they ever hook into anything of a similar size, he’ll cut line and send the fish back.
“I wouldn’t have even kept one that big but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” he said.
“There were no worms in it, the meat was beautiful. We got the ear bones and the pearls. We utilized it. I’m going to get the tail mounted. The bones and guts went back into the water.”
And he said they’ve heard from many folks congratulating the couple and hinting at a halibut steak or two.
“We’ve been giving a lot away. But now I know what it feels like when you win the lotto,” Harrison said.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
