BIGGEST BUTTONS!!! by Montana Grant

Sport fishermen love to catch big fish. The main theme of many of their fishing stories is how long, how fat, how beautiful or how big their fish was. In Montana, the biggest fish could be a sturgeon, chinook salmon, lake trout, paddlefish or a big pike. These fish can weigh 100 pounds or so.

To catch the biggest fish, we have to travel. One of my fishing buddies, Geoff Cerrelli, loves to chase Big Butts in Alaska. He loves Big Butts and he can’t lie. Geoff used to live in Bozeman but has since moved to pursue his dreams. His nickname was “Limit Gitter”.

Last week he was fishing with Captain Zac in Petersburg Alaska. Capt. Zac has a great Alaska boat and they traveled from Juneau to Petersburg and stayed at the Green Rocks Lodge.

Captain Zac posts videos regularly on YouTube on Facebook. You can watch this trip and all of his trips on videos on his website. Captain Zac sells Big Jigs which are perfect for Big Butts and other fish. Zac’s educational videos are excellent. If you are planning a trip to Alaska, check out his website.

Captain Zac anchored in 60 metres of water in Sumner Strait. Both used salmon scraps as bait while using 16 oz. and 24 oz. jigs. His jigs have a light-up plastic for deep visual attraction. “Jig, Jig, Thump, Thump,” and the bite was on.

He had hooked something BIG! Big halibut are attracted by scent, sound and sight. Sometimes it takes a while for a scent trail to develop and a big butt to be attracted. Geoff was jigging when he finally got a bite. He let the bite go and then looked cross-eyed.

The battle was on and Geoff pulled, twisted, pulled and slowly pulled the contraption off the bottom. 200 feet is a long way when the fish is pulling back. The battle was raging and Geoff had to tag the captain. After a few turns the fish came closer. They couldn’t confirm if the fish was a big butt or a giant ray. Whatever it was, the beast didn’t make it easy.

Finally they could see Deep Color. The beast was a huge halibut. When they get that big they are called “barn doors” and Geoff was about to open this barn! Captain Zac is an ethical sportsman and knows that halibut over 200 pounds are usually breeding females. These giant butts are not the best eaters but are responsible for maintaining future fish populations.

This beast was to be released! So how do you get a 16oz jig back without getting a 300lb+ butt in the boat? How do you even measure a fish like that without injuring it? They tied a length of string to the line and let it flow behind the fish to its tail. That length would be the gauge. With the string tied and marked, the gaff was placed in the large open mouth, allowing Cat. Zac to unhook the jig. With the jig free, he simply slid the gaff away and the Barn Door slowly slid back down into the depths.

Large buttocks are measured to confirm weight. In this case the Butt was 85 inches long and weighed 336 pounds! That’s a BIG BUTT!

Giant Halibut can reach a mammoth size of over hundreds of pounds. This beast would become Captain Zac and Geoff’s personal record.

After the fish were released, they both headed back to the sweet smelling bottom. More fast action began and the day’s limit was welcomed aboard. The best butts to eat are called chickens. When the pen was full, it was time to head back to Green Rocks Lodged for a cold beer and some Tylenol!

Great fishermen tell great stories!

Montana Grant