Birthday Fishing Trip Yields Lifetime Double-Catch
OutdoorHub Reporters 08.04.16
Some of the greatest stories in fishing involve getting a two-for-one deal. It may be rare, but it does happen, and it recently happened on an epic scale to Alaska resident Dick Wyland.
For his upcoming 84th birthday, Wyland’s wife gave him a guided fishing trip aboard Seldovia Fishing Adventures. Aboard this trip, he hooked a yelloweye rockfish and started reeling. During the process, however, Wyland’s fishing rod started to bend even more, and it was revealed that another fish had grabbed onto the yelloweye. That fish turned out to be a 245-pound halibut, and the battle to bring it aboard begun.
“We were in real deep water, and I had to work on him,” Wyland said to Alaska Dispatch News. “We got it about 10 feet from the boat, and it didn’t want to come any farther. I was tired, and my arms were sore. One of the guys took over, and that was a big battle.”
The combined effort resulted in success with the yelloweye being freed from the halibut to give Wyland both his catches. In just this one battle, he was able to acquire a yelloweye plus his year’s supply of halibut, as well as enough to share with family and friends.
Sounds like a tough birthday to beat!
