Sportsman's Quest

A monster halibut, left, was caught and put on display during a fishing trip to British Columbia and Alaska waters.

Right, Dan Simmons and Mathew Hill show off the ling cod and red snapper they caught in B.C. waters.

The weather is getting warmer, the geese have gone north and some of you snowbirds are following them. The rest of us are thinking, planning or dreaming of our summer destination.

Keeping with that theme brings thoughts of fishing along the British Columbia and Alaska coasts. It's the time of year for Big King salmon to start running -- the early Coho are abundant in some areas while the halibut and Ling cod are at their peak.

My favorite place this time of year is along the coast near Prince Rupert, B.C., and the area around the Queen Charlotte Islands.

A few years ago, while working in that area as a game warden and later teaching on one of the North Coast's isolated islands, some friends and I had many opportunities to sample the sport of bottom fishing, even becoming quite proficient at jigging, bobbing and bouncing for some of the local critters.

The thing I like most is the excitement of not knowing what type of creature will favor your bait and be tugged to the surface, and I do mean tugged! When you have a 50- or 60- pound Ling cod on the line or a 100-pound plus halibut, it's often not easy to discern the catcher from the catchee.

Here I shall share some of the finer points of jigging for these monsters, often in depths of 300 feet or more.

It's important to fish from one hour before to one hour after the slack tide because when the tide is "running," rushing in or out, it's almost impossible to get near the bottom without excessive lead on the end of the line. After all this is a sport, and the lighter the line and weight the greater the challenge and excitement.

There are many commercial jigs available but it's also rewarding to make your own. With some bar stock and a good hook attached (at the top so it won't snag the rocky ocean bottom as easily). A sizable "hoochie" (a plastic squid or octopus imitation) is securely tied to the hook and your ready to go.

The line spools out, it seems forever, then "thump" - you feel the bottom and quickly reel up six or seven turns before it "grabs" the bottom and you lose another rig.

This is where skill and practice come in: you can make the lure dance (therefore the "jig") or move it up and down in a slow rhythmical motion, perhaps with an occasional sharp jerk, always feeling for the lightest thump of the bottom. Yes, you'll lose a lot of lures perfecting the technique but you'll also catch the big ones.

The reward soon follows. You think you've snagged the bottom, until the bottom starts to move, your line screams and all you can do is hold on, hoping you have enough line to wait out the first long run, or your partner is quick with the motor and you are able to follow in the direction of the unknown beast.

He will eventually stop and this is when you can gain some line as you slowly pump him to the surface, where he will inevitably make another dive for the bottom after seeing the boat, and you see each other.

If you can get him to the surface again, you have a good chance of getting a gaff (or harpoon) in him before he makes another try for the bottom. But what do you do with a 100-pound halibut attached to you and your boat?

Do you really want him flopping in the boat with you, your partner, and all your gear?

Do you really want that large gaping Ling cod mouth, full of shark like teeth in the boat with you? Of course you do!

Your adrenaline-soaked brain is screaming, the hormones are raging and you haul him on board in wonderment and exhaustion - yours and his. After all he is the prey and you are the predator. Remember, nothing tastes better than baked or deep-fried fresh halibut or cod.

If you are looking for a comfortable and serene fishing trip, take on some nice rainbows or bass, but for excitement and fast action nothing beats ocean bottom jigging and it's not always the big monster. The excitement of bringing up from the depths one of the many types of unusual, interesting and delicious members of the cod family is something never to be forgotten.