10-year-old fisherman will be eating for life

In local fish lore, this tale’s a whopper.

All of 10 years old, Christian Cernich of Corona del Mar managed to catch a California halibut Saturday, a 52-pounder about as large as himself. His haul was one pound shy of the biggest recorded rod-and-line catch of that type of fish, according to the International Game Fish Assn.

Christian is a fourth-generation local fisherman, his father Eric Cernich said, and a sixth-generation Orange County resident.

“What was really funny is that he had asked my dad specifically to go out and go fishing for halibut,” Eric Cernich said.

Christian went out in the morning with his grandparents, Mark and Joy Cernich of Beacon Bay. Mark Cernich is a member of the venerable Avalon Tuna Club.

After a couple hours of trying, Christian got bored. His grandfather asked if he wanted to fish somewhere else, while beginning to reel in the line.

“As I said that, the rod just bent and hooked that fish,” Mark Cernich said. He immediately handed the line to Christian. “Then, my wife and I couldn’t believe our eyes when he pulled it up.”

“It was like pulling a barn door off the bottom of the ocean,” Eric Cernich said. “Twenty minutes later, they had landed this big monster.”

Christian said patience is an important trait for kids to have in situations like the one he found himself in. He’s learned lots of tricks and tips from his grandfather, he said.

“He teaches me different secrets about where to go for different fish, and how different lures work better for different fish,” Christian said.

“My first job as a boy was selling bait on the Balboa Pier,” Mark Cernich said. “I worked on fishing boats all the way through school.”

The early occupation became a lifelong hobby, and Mark is happy to have a grandchild as passionate about the sport as he was.

Christian’s grandfather made the lure, which the boy used to land the monster halibut. The fluorescent rubber squid-style lure, which Mark Cernich calls the B2 Bomber, was about a half-foot long.

“It bounces in the water and it makes a sound, and makes sand pop up. The halibut can see it and hear it, and it starts following it and thinks something’s going on,” Christian said.

The lure was attached to a 20-pound test Dacron fishing line.

When the family arrived back at the Balboa Angling Club, Christian’s haul weighed in at 52 pounds and measured 56 inches — nearly mirroring his own measurements. He’s 53 inches tall and weighs 54 pounds.

People who saw the fish arrive at the dock didn’t remember ever seeing a halibut that large, let alone one caught by a 10-year-old, the family said.

“The tail of it is bigger than Christian’s shoulders and his body,” Christian’s father said. “You just don’t get stuff like that around here.”

The Balboa Angling Club’s record was 46 pounds for a California halibut, Mark Cernich said.

According to the International Game Fish Assn., the largest California halibut in their records was caught in 1988 off of Santa Rosa Island, one of the Channel Islands off the coast of California.

The halibut weighed 53 pounds, one pound more than Christian’s prize catch.

Last year, a youth from Rancho Santa Margarita landed a 49-pound, 14-ounce California halibut off the coast of Mexico, winning the world record for the junior boy’s division.

The previous record was set in 2005, with a 36-pound California halibut.

Christian’s catch likely won’t be entered into the youth record books, as his grandfather had touched the reel, but the glow still remains.

“There’s people who spend their whole life waiting to be in the 50-pound halibut club, and they just don’t get there,” his father said.

“I wish I would have caught it,” Mark Cernich said, but added that he was happy for his grandson.

The lifelong fisherman has caught fish in the past that weighed more than 100 pounds.

To celebrate, Christian said he wanted to have a fish fry, so the entire family gathered with neighbors for a huge barbecue last weekend in Beacon Bay. The halibut was put on the barbecue, and prepared with lemon and garlic.

A Cajun-style version also was made.

Christian hopes to go out fishing again soon, and plans to take on different fish like marlin or swordfish.

By The Numbers

Halibut’s length: 56 inches

Christian’s height: 53 inches

Halibut’s weight: 52 pounds

Christian’s weight: 54 pounds