30lb Halibut and Monster Cod! Alaskan Halibut Fishing - Juneau, Alaska! APRIL 2024

[@mdv2043]

Dude you gotta take one of those flounder. Gut , gill and scale. Butterfly the top open and stuff with a cornbread shrimp and crab stuffing anyway you like and bake or through it on the grill. You will thank me latter. I should be headed to Hommer in a month to smack me some butts,rockfish and salmon.

[@CaptainZac]

Hey @mdv2043 thanks for the tip! I've heard this preparation is amazing on east coast flounder which a little different than these arrowtooth flounder. Have you ever tried it with an arrowtooth flounder? Perhaps I could try it with a small halibut? Thoughts? Best of luck on your Homer trip and tight lines! Captain Zac

[@mdv2043]

@CaptainZac yes have done it with small chicken halibut and arrow tooth and southern flounder. It is a roll of the dice with arrow tooth as sometimes when you butterfly them open they have parasitic worms but if clean the flesh and eating is great. You can also fillet. Take the fillets and cut in half long ways and put stuffing on one end the roll them up. Place in cooking dish like pinwheels cover with a good amount of butter and garlic through a handful of panco bread crumbs and bake. When I doing like that I usually just suffer with straight crab,shrimp,scallops and seasoning. Dang I went and made myself hungry.

[@CaptainZac]

Wow sounds delicious! Thanks for the tip! Tight lines!

[@goodcitizen64]

Thanks Captain Zac! I definitely miss the hunting and fishing in Alaska! Tights lines and God bless!

[@CaptainZac]

Hey @goodcitizen64 thanks for the positive comment and I'm glad that these videos can help bring back awesome memories of fishing and hunting in Alaska! Tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@daveyJ213]

I'm loving the electric reel. I've often thought why no one has come up with the idea. Very cool! Dude, you and Mary are living the life. Good for you! Thanks for posting. Was Mary standing out on the transom? Scary. Be careful out there.

[@johngillen4331]

😅😊

[@CaptainZac]

Hey @daveyJ213 thanks for stopping by and I'm glad you enjoyed this early season action! Yes the electric reel is a very handy tool, especially for deep drops! Yes sometimes when I'm dispatching a fish she'll hop out on the transom or into the cabin to avoid the "splash zone." Thanks and tight lines! Captain Zac

[@markmaccani9411]

Zac and Mary, Great job on the Halibut and Cod. Early season has really been paying off for you guys. I can't wait to head back up that way on a couple of weeks. Good luck and tight lines my friends.

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Mark thanks for the positive comment! Yes indeed we have been fortunate to have some early success with halibut and cod. Best of luck when you return to Sitka in a few weeks! Tight lines! Captain Zac

[@jonslg240]

Does having an electric reel feel about like hunting with one of advanced those scopes that aims itself? I think it'd be neat for a little.. but I love actually fighting the fish

[@waynehillstead7424]

Another great day of fishing. Nice catch, beautiful scenery, and I'm really impressed by your constant positive attitude. Keep up the good work Captain.

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Wayne many thanks for the positive comment and I'm glad you enjoyed this early season action! The scenery is especially beautiful this time of year when all of the mountains still have a heavy snow cap! Thanks again and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@PeelingLine]

Sweet arrow tooth flounder. I need those for my lifelist. They have crazy teeth! Nice cod and halibut catches. 👍

[@CaptainZac]

Thanks @PeelingLine! That lifelist is very cool - do you have arrowtooth flounder down in your area? Tight lines! Captain Zac

[@PeelingLine]

@@CaptainZac I believe we do but I haven't seen many caught down here.

[@HowardFoster-ih5rw]

I haven't been subscribed to you very long, but y'all might make fun of how mary hooks up the fish but I thank she has a better ratio per bite than the rest of the crew. I know you're pros at fishing but I don't understand why you get that discussed look when you catch a flounder. In North West fla. We love them, and go gigging for them but better than that we eat em up Baked, grilled,fried , stuffed etc Well best of luck to y'all, and hope you get to do what you seem to love for a long time, cause I enjoy watching y'all PS I wish I could take them nasty flounders off your hands.

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Howard thanks for watching and I appreciate the thoughtful comment! Haha indeed Mary often out-fishes everyone in the boat! The arrowtooth flounder here in Alaska are not the same as the very tasty flounder in Florida. I agree the east coast flounder are awesome! These arrowtooth are very bony and have soft/mushy meat. With all of the delicious fish swimming in the local water here (halibut, salmon, rockfish, cod, etc.), most people throw the flounder back. Also, we are disgusted at catching these since they are bycatch while halibut fishing - hence we'd rather be catching halibut! Thanks again and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@ericwiegele7651]

Captain Zac and Mary Fantastic day on the water… Thanks for sharing…Keep them coming.. Tight Lines E

[@CaptainZac]

Hey Eric many thanks for stopping by and I appreciate the positive comment! Tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@howardlashbrook8500]

Thanks for sharing your fun. Where's Mary's electric reel? I miss Alaska, but, I get to see it through your videos. And fishing is one jerk waiting for another jerk. Stay safe and I'll be waiting for your next video thanks again

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Howard thanks for watching and I appreciate the positive comment! I'm glad these videos can help bring you back to previous Alaskan adventures! I offered an electric reel to Mary but she wasn't interested - she wants to stick with her spinning setup. Perhaps if I start landing some deep water halibut she'll get the itch to try it! Thanks again and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@philmccumbee6938]

Great cod guys. Do you ever keep any of the flounder you catch? Always good to see your video pop up. Tight lines.

[@CaptainZac]

Hey Phil many thanks for the positive comment! No we don't - the founder up here aren't very good eating (they are different than east coast flounder which are very tasty). With halibut in the area, I send the flounder back and wait for the BIG BITE! Thanks and tight lines! Captain Zac

[@waikarimoana]

Awesome fishing trip on a beautiful day and excellent catch for sure, Mary did well too,, tight lines and thumbs up and greetings from NZ,, Tony.

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Tony big thanks for stopping by and I'm glad you enjoyed this early season action! I appreciate the positive comment! Tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@JonBooks]

Thank you for the great content! Keep it up!

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Jon many thanks for the positive comment and I'm glad you enjoyed this halibut action! Tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@BillMikesAnglingAdventures]

Sweet 👍👍 man you got the life - Beautiful scenic shoreline

[@CaptainZac]

Hey Bill thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed this early season action, including the snow-capped mountains on the shorelines! If the fish aren't biting, there is almost always something cool to see if you just look around and appreciate the wilderness! Thanks again and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@Fishpassionbox_global]

Another great video!! Way to go guys, great day on the water

[@CaptainZac]

Hi @Fishpassionbox_global thanks for the positive comment and I'm glad you enjoyed this early season action! Tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@Fishpassionbox_global]

@@CaptainZac thanks, I’m headed out Friday the 10th for tuna, Marlin and anything else I can coax in haha. Set to be in Petersburg 8-15 July if you’re in the area let me know.

[@CaptainZac]

Hey there I hope you did well on your offshore trip! I'll be in Petersburg July 13-19 so we may cross paths!

[@Fishpassionbox_global]

Yea wish I knew how to post pics here. I posted some of my offshore catch to my instagram though

[@Fishpassionbox_global]

Cool about Petersburg dates too, I’ll keep an eye out for you.

[@bradleyeis7319]

Nice catch Zac. Why doesn't Capt. Mary have an electric reel ???

[@CaptainZac]

Haha hey @bradleyeis7319 I tried to get her one and she insisted on sticking with the conventional gear! Perhaps once I land a few more deep drop lunkers she'll be willing to give it a try! Thanks and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@johnbolton9957]

Nice!

[@CaptainZac]

Thanks John I'm glad you enjoyed this! Tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@NRALifer1]

Another Great Vid, Thanks again! Are the flounder good to eat or its just not worth draling with due to bigger & Better?

[@CaptainZac]

Hey @NRALifer1 the flounder up here aren't very good to eat - different than the flounder on the east coast which are very tasty. With halibut in the area, I tend to throw these flounder back and wait for the BIG BITE! Thanks and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@Cntrmass]

Mary,Zac thanks for another great vid! What skiff do you carry? And how you sorted that out ? Great early season trip.

[@CaptainZac]

Hey @Cntrmass thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed this early season halibut action! We are still in the process of refining our dinghy game. We have an inflatable Tobin Sports dinghy up there right now but it is a bit long and overhangs the radar. We may explore a Zodiac which is much more streamlined. Thanks and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@Cntrmass]

@@CaptainZac thanks, I have to find something for the Alaskan to get to shore with. Thinking an aluminum bottom. No davit.

[@AlanSprague]

That's a great day in my book! Noticed the scent botteles on the bait board I am fishing halibut down here in Oregon for the first time this year what do you recommend for bait scents to use?

[@CaptainZac]

Hey @AlanSprague thanks for the positive comment! I tend to use a some different ProCure scents - Butt Juice, Garlic Bloody Tuna and Herring (sometimes I'll just use herring oil). The oil can be put into a syringe and injected while the super gel is very sticky paste and goes great on a grub. Hopefully that points you in the right direction - good luck and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@randymutch5791]

how far do you normaly run to your halibut grounds

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Randy we've got some spots as close as 15-20 mins from the harbor and others that are as far as 60-90 mins away. Usually we make a call where to chase halibut primarily based on forecast and desired fishing style. Sometimes I'll run all the way down to Petersburg as part of a broader fishing trip, which unlocks lots of great spots along the way! Thanks and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@markleonard-pe3os]

Why don't you like the flounder? we love them in Fl. with crab stuffing.

[@CaptainZac]

Hey Mark these flounder are different than the east coast flounder which are very tasty. These arrowtooth flounder have a big drop-off in meat quality (soft/mushy/bony) compared to the target fish around here which is halibut. Hence, folks are usually disappointed when they catch a flounder around here since they were likely targeting halibut. Tight lines! Captain Zac

[@fredbrown8894]

Captain zack, I have a diwa megatwin 750. I wanted to know what you are using for your deep drop? If it's the same model that I have, where do you send it to be serviced because daily? What says they don't service the 750s anymore? Because it's been discontinued.

[@CaptainZac]

Hey @fredbrown8894 I'm using a Daiwa Seaborg 500mj. It is a new reel hence I haven't had to service it yet. I'm sorry to hear that they aren't servicing your reel anymore - how frustrating! Perhaps there is a fishing shop or reel repair service besides Daiwa that could try to service or repair your reel. Best of luck find someone who can help! Captain Zac

[@AKFish2023]

Why do you use spinning tackle for halibut??

[@CaptainZac]

Hi @AKFish2023 I find that the jigging motion on a spinning rod is a more natural "pull" than the upward "push" on conventional gear. That said, I carry both types of rods on board and will sometimes switch between them. Thanks and tight lines! Captain Zac

[@markleonard-pe3os]

How come Mary doesn't get the electric reel??

[@CaptainZac]

Hey Mark she chose not to! I offered to get her one but she insisted on sticking with the conventional setup. Perhaps once I catch a few big halibut on this reel she'll be willing to give it a try! Thanks and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@brianjure2683]

Just wondering, why are we not keeping the Flounder?

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Brian thanks for stopping by - these arrowtooth flounder are different than the flounder on the east coast which are very tasty. These flounder are very bony and the meat is soft/mushy. With all of the other great eating fish in this area (halibut, salmon, rockfish, cod, dungeness and king crab), most angler catch and release these arrowtooth flounder. Most often these are caught as bycatch when targeting halibut, hence the disappointment. Thanks and tight lines! Captain Zac

[@mustluvkatina]

Do you not keep arrowtooth floumder ?.

[@CaptainZac]

No I don't - those are most commonly considered less desirable bycatch around here. These are different than the flounder on the east coast which are very tasty. Anglers most typically target halibut and salmon. While halibut fishing, pacific cod and rockfish can be caught. Some anglers do very deep drops for black cod (sablefish). Tight lines! Captain Zac

[@AuSableAngler]

7-ounce flounder pounder :D

[@CaptainZac]

Haha the flounder pounder - that's awesome! Thanks for watching @AuSableAngler and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@greghertzberg6220]

Plan “b’s” in ak suck. Its tough when you get cabin fever and ‘need’ to succeed … then waves, current, wind or tides knock ya out to plan b😩