Editor’s Note: Robert “Wingnut” Weaver is a famous Santa Cruz longboard surfer with a “glass is half full attitude” who enjoys the challenge of halibut fishing from his standup paddleboard (11 feet long, 31 inches wide). On Sept. 5, he had a lovely fish day, landing a 44-inch halibut weighing 35 lbs. Here is his story, as told to Jondi Gumz.
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We‘ve got a group of friends who love to fish, from 26th Avenue Beach to New Brighton State Beach.
Recreational, not commercial.
The 44-inch halibut was “willing to bite me,” Weaver said.
It’s very good year for halibut — we all have theories on why, but none of them will be right!
We’d gone 10 days, maybe two weeks, without seeing a legal-sized fish. That’s 22 inches.
We fish off standup paddleboards — you have to try to land the fish while standing. We laugh in disdain at people in boats.
Saturday morning, I had caught a 26-incher but it was so hot I went out hunting again.
The water was very calm.
Not 100 yards off the beach, in 9-10 feet of water, I got a bite.
You just get a tug — it almost feels like you hooked the bottom.
Two cranks of the reel, the fish came up where I could see it — I knew it was something special.
The neighbor’s sons were in water and they came paddling over.
I asked myself: How am I going to land it?
(He had a gaff, a pole with a sharp hook on the end, used to stab a heavy fish, ideally under the backbone, and lift it out of the water.)
The halibut nearly eluded Weaver’s grasp.
I don’t like to gaff a fish and put a hole in it.
I missed it the first time.
It went down.
Two cranks and he came up to the surface and opened up his mouth.
I’m down my knees.
I was so terrified of losing this fish.
We’ve lost plenty of them — we lost enough to be absolutely terrified when you get one this good!
I can’t get him out of the water. He is very unhappy. I’m hanging on with all my might.
He is willing to bite me — I’m not willing to bite him.
I hold him close. I have a string of line tied to the deck of my board.
The lure is in his mouth but he gets off the deck. I had to use my rod to get him back in.
If you’re lucky, you flip him so his eye is down on the board.
That puts him in a fairly calm state but two strokes in, the fish goes off the board, and I fall down.
I bring him back in and put my knee on him and paddle in.
Others were there to help but it wasn’t until I got to the top of stairs I felt I had the fish.
I had to put him on my skateboard to drag him home
Fifteen people have feasted off the catch that day — it was fun!
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Photos Courtesy of Wingnut Weaver
Robert “Wingnut” Weaver is all smiles, showing off his standup paddleboard catch, a 35-pound halibut measuring 44 inches. Weaver said the halibut provided a feast for 15 people.