Syracuse.com - Baldwinsville man earns $10,000 for winning Alaskan halibut fishing tournament (includes audio interview)

[HuntingNY-News]

He's splitting the money with a fishing buddy, because even though the tournament-winning fish was technically his, they both hooked it in the mouth at the same time. Submitted photoRon White, left, and Mike Smiley, pose with the tournament- winning halibut.Call it beginner’s luck. Add in the fact that he was a gracious winner, and you have Mike Smiley’s recent Alaskan halibut fishing adventure.Smiley, 40, of Baldwinsville, recently won $10,000 for catching the heaviest fish in the month-long, 2012 Seward Halibut Tournament in Alaska. The fish weighed 196.6 pounds.He caught the fish on June 24, hooking it within 15 minutes of the finish of his trip aboard a charter boat with five other anglers. Although he didn’t have to, he’s splitting his winnings with a fishing buddy.Smiley said it was first time to Alaska and his first time fishing there.An electrician, Smiley said he traveled to Alaska to help get a 183-megawatt power plant up and running.“I was making sure every switch worked the way it should,” he said.Noting “you just can’t work and stay in the hotel,” Smiley said he took up an offer to go out on a halibut fishing charter with John White, formerly of Westmoreland, and now living in Eagle River, Alaska.The charter, ProFish–n-Sea with Capt. Woody Wedin, cost the two $352 each. Four other anglers were on the boat. Before they headed out, Smiley and White also paid $10 each to enter the month-long, halibut fishing tournament, which was scheduled to end this past Saturday.What the heck, they thought.After nearly 12 hours on the water, the captain told the anglers they’d be heading back in about 15 minutes, Smiley said. The four other anglers had already caught their limit of halibut and were sitting inside the boat’s cabin. White had his limit, but continued to fish for fun. Smiley said he had one more fish to catch to achieve his two- fish, per person limit.“So here I am, fishing to get my last fish,” Smiley said. “I suddenly get a 30 or 40 pounder and John says to throw it back, saying we can do better.”Moments after getting the fish off and recasting his jig, Smiley suddenly felt something “really big” on the end of his line.“My pole tip went right in the water ... and John’s pole did, too, at about the same time. I started reeling. I told the captain, ‘I got something big,' ” he said.It didn’t the two anglers long to realize they’d hooked the same fish.The fish fought for about 15 minutes. Once it was alongside the boat, it was shot in the head to kill it and then gaffed to bring it aboard. Both anglers were amazed to see their jigs in the fish’s mouth. Technically, with White already having his limit of halibut, it was Smiley’s fish.Smiley said the tournament ended this past Saturday. On Monday, he hadn’t been called yet but noted the tournament’s Web site listed him as having the biggest fish. Erin Lemas, event coordinator for the Seward Chamber of Commerce, confirmed late Monday afternoon in a phone interview that Smiley had won.As for taking all the prize money, Smiley said he “wasn’t out there to be greedy” and doesn’t mind sharing it with White.“We were out there for fun,” he said. “After New York State takes their share (in taxes) we’ll split what’s left. It’ll pay for the charter and leave us both a little money to play with.”Hear Smiley tell how he landed the fish:IC_A_001.MP3" />IC_A_001.MP3" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="170" height="25" name="AudioPlayer" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" />More on halibut: Halibut are among the largest fish in the ocean and the largest of all the flatfish. The fish is prized for its delicate sweet flavor, snow-white color and firm flaky meat. They can grow to more than 8 feet long and weigh as much as 700 pounds. Halibut weighing in at more than 100 pounds are often called “whales, “soakers,” or even “barn doors, “ according to www.fishex.com. The largest Alaskan halibut ever caught while sport fishing was 459 pounds in Unalaska Bay, the Web site said.

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