Hi, <BR>First time on the forum, got a question for those<BR>of you who float tube.<BR>What do you do with the Lings and Halibuts after you catch one? Do you use a stringer? <P>Thanks for your input.<P>Jerry<BR>

For some reason halibut have a way of biting me just about every float tube trip I catch them. It's like they wait until I have just the tip of my finger in their mouth trying to unhook them and chomp. <BR>I put them on stringers, actually a piece of rope. That works just great. <P>-Rob

Rob,<P>I've been wondering what you do with the legals you catch in the tube. I haven't been bit yet - knock on wood. Glenn Cantello (used to own the Fishing Station) said that he always used a Burlap Bag to deter the sea lions. Have you ever had a problem with sea lions? The last legal I caught was the first time I tried using a Burlap Bag and it was a pain in ass to deal with (not to mention that it acted like an anchor). What about white seabass? When you were catching the legals a couple years back in the harbor what were you doing with them?<P>Thanks,<BR>Pete<P>P.S. Congrats on the engagement!

first of all, welcome to the forum.<BR>as for the fish problem, i don't know what i'd do if i caught a ling cod in my float tube, to be honest. i usually carry one of those metal stringers. what i'd probably wind up doing with a ling is putting one stringer loop through the gills, like how i would normally do it, and then take the next loop above it and push it up through the bottom of his jaw and out the top (like baiting a sardine). that way it would deter him from getting any teeth snagged in my float tube, or biting at me legs or something (i wouldn't be surprised). you could also probably bind his jaws shut with mono if you had to. i don't think there's too much of a chance that a fish would actually puncture your float tube if that's what you're asking, but with a fish like a ling or a cuda or something, it's probably better safe than sorry. <BR>pete-<BR>instead of using a burlap bag, try one of those mesh laundy bags with a drawstring top. rob used to use one for BNT tournaments until we fashioned our chicken wire (poultry netting..=).) livewells. but, yeah, you can get them at like k mart for around 5 bucks or so. they work pretty well, i'm sure you could find one big enough for just about any size butt you're gonna catch in the harbor, but i'd bring a stringer just in case. <BR>rob-<BR>as for your slammer obliteration yesterday, all i can say is you are insane. maybe i should consider switching out the split rings on my slammer... anyway, looking forward to this weekend, i'll check out the stairs and see if they're still barracaded off. if not, maybe we'll be in luck and be able to fish for some goleta halibut. later on.<BR> -Brian

Brian,<P>The stairs are still barracaded off. In fact, they put these huge pieces of wood to try and stop people from using them - then people actually cut doors in the wood and painted pictures over them so you couldn't see the doors - then they got wise and replaced the wood. What a joke! It's amazing that they waste all this effort instead of just fixing them in the first place. I've been parking at Goleta Beach and walking out to the stairs. It takes me about 8 minutes to walk - not too bad and usually the current is moving the right direction to carry you right back to your car (of course you have to get out at Goleta Beach instead of near the stairs which usually has a larger surf).<P>Pete

pete,<BR> yeah, i checked em out this afternoon. that is so weak. the original barracade wasn't that much of a problem to get around, but now that they have the gauntlet installed on the stairs, there ain't much hope of getting a float tube and a 9' rod down there. i don't see any major structural damage to the stairs in the first place. i mean, they're missing a couple steps here and there and i'm sure a couple steps could use replacing, but that's what, like a half day job. i could be wrong, and maybe the whole thing needs to be rebuilt, but from what i can tell, they look pretty sound besides some steps here and there. i am sure that if only a couple steps need replacing, they spent longer putting up the fuckin barracades than it would take to repair the stairway in the first place. i don't know. i'm sure they could talk to a couple fishing clubs and stuff and get enough volunteers in a day to get the stairs back up and running.<BR> -Brian

Yeah wassabe with that??? The stairs were so convenient. We used to walk up and launch when they first closed them but then we just started jumping the fence or walkinig out to the point and launching there if it was calm enough. Oh well. <BR>As for the split rings, I replaced all of them on all of my 7" slammers. I also rigged up some serious gammie stingers on the stocker trout. Next time those bass are going to get it.<BR>

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Just used the big split rings. Heavy gauge. The hooks hang further down that way anyway.

Not to mention all the surfers and students that use (or used to use) those stairs. I used them all the time when I went to U.C.S.B. It's a total drag now that I'm float tubing there.

Thanks for the advice. I have a mesh bag, from<BR>when I use to scuba dive, I am going to try. I<BR>will take a stringer along, in case.<BR>Have any of you killed the fish before bagging/<BR>stringering them? I know in alaska they actually<BR>shot halibut before they bring them on board.<BR>I'm not thinking of bringing a gun, but is there<BR>a good way to kill a butt?<P>Jerry<BR>

as far as shooting halibut in alaska, first of all, the flatties up there i believe are pacific halibut which get A LOT bigger than californias. those fish up north will actually do damage to the boat and injure the crew. even big california halibut can be dangerous, but not nearly to the point where you need to shoot them before bringing them on board. i personally have never had the need to kill a fish before storing it on my float tube. i figure if i get a fish that big, i'll be happy to just put it on a stringer and pull it shore and call it a day. (that's what rob did on sunday). unless you hook up with like a 20 pound fish, it ain't gonna do much damage while it's on the stringer or whatever. ok, i don't think you'll have to worry too much about a fish puncturing your float tube (unless you swing it into the boat and it starts thrashing around with a hook in it's mouth, rob did that on tuesday...) so, i think a stringer and a bag will be just fine. i just bring a stringer and it works.<BR> -Brian

Brian,

When I got the legal seabass last Sunday I attached him to a stringer. When I got home and was cleaning it I noticed how strong and sharp the spines on the first dorsal are. It swam under my tube and stuff several times when it was on the stringer. I know they usually swim with that fin folded down but it freaked me out anyway. I had a largemouth pop a tube with it's fin one time when I was floating down a river in Virginia. I was trying to get the hook out when POP! I was instantly underwater (not a float tube - just an inner tube).

Anyway, I think if I catch and keep another legal in the tube I'm going to snip off the ends of those spines before letting it dangle.

You can't catch tomorrow what you kill today - please practice catch and release.