Personal use halibut longlining

[winibezold]

So, have a fried of a fried who went out on another person's boat in whittier this weekend and engaged in what I would call Longlining. Essentially bouy with 1000' 550 cord and 5 hooks spread trying to get on some black cod. According to the chain of info they said this was legal as personal use or something of that sort. They didn't get any cod but landed a couple very nice halibut from the depths. Does anyone here have any info or links to the regs where this is discussed? I might give it a whirl but only if I can find the legality in writing.

[BrownBear]

Call NOAA Enforcement. They regulate the halibut subsistence longlining. There are stipulations about where you live. Might even be limits on where you can do it, but I dunno about that.

[polardds]

If it is a the State of Alaska subsistence long line they are attempting to use. (The five hooks is the max) They cannot keep any halibut caught this way. Even if dead when you bring them up. If it is a Federal thing I have no idea.

[agp]

Federal Halibut Management

subsistence halibut fishery questions 907-586-7344(Juneau)

[bairdi]

If it is a the State of Alaska subsistence long line they are attempting to use. (The five hooks is the max) They cannot keep any halibut caught this way. Even if dead when you bring them up. If it is a Federal thing I have no idea.

What he said. If they were federally qualified subsistence users, the rules are different in regards to retention of halibut. But if one is participating under state regs, it is my understanding that it is illegal to retain halibut. The NMFS enforcement folks are pretty serious about illegal retention of halibut. Saw them doing back flips and their heads spinning in circles one time out in Dutch Harbor when a boat fishing king crab commercially came back with just a few halibut mixed in with the crab in the tank.

[kasilofchrisn]

I put together a longline so my wife,stepson,inlaws and native friends could try longlining their subsistence halibut.
We have yet to try it as rod and reel has worked so far and we don't need a ton of fish.
https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/ram...ce/halibut.htm
I have heard you can use a longline for your personal halibut but with only 2 hooks on it and it must be attended at all times. This is what a friend told me so take it with a grain of salt.
Your best bet is to call ADF&G to verify the legality of any/all of this. This is always your best bet rather than getting it from some unknown random guy on the internet.

[Anythingalaska]

You must live in a rural town designated for subsistence halibut, or be a native tribe member. Here are the FAQs for the NOAA Subsistence Halibut Fishing.

http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/ram/subsistence/faq.htm

[winibezold]

right on, thanks for all the insight. i heard from a guy who knows a guy, so it wasn't too serious of a consideration. i can't imagine pulling up all that line with a string of 60-70lb'ers along for the ride. its hard enough to reel up a big one by itself.

[BrownBear]

i can't imagine pulling up all that line with a string of 60-70lb'ers along for the ride. its hard enough to reel up a big one by itself.

It's actually not all that tough. For some reason they're pretty docile on a longline, maybe from being on there a few hours and tiring themselves before you get there.

Long ago I crewed on a longliner in the pre-limited entry 24-hour "derby" days. All you can catch in 24 hours, but had to have the last hook out of the water at the end of the opener. We were down to our last string of 5 skates when our hauler blew its guts. No time to fix it even if we had the right parts. Pulled all those skates by hand as the boat backed down on them. Good haul with some big ones. If any got "frisky" at the side of the boat, you just had to bend the ground line over the gunnel or around a stanchion to take the strain until they settled down again.

No need for me to subsistence longline, but I've been alongside while friends pulled theirs. Even easier with a single short skate.

[Anythingalaska]

Hand hauling skates isn't so bad, unless you get hung up on the rocks. Usually cleat it off and jog it around until its free and continue pulling, never lost a skate yet. You know you have some meat on the line when you're pulling it up; and something pulls back.:topjob:

[tlingitwarrior]

My favorite part of fishing is setting the skate. A couple pics from my favorite long line trip ~ PWS in 2010