NORTH BEND – Many an old fisherman will tell tall tales of the “big one that got away.”

But 11-year-old B.J. Willing already has a story for the big one that didn’t.

While fishing with his family in Port Townsend Bay, B.J. reeled in the biggest fish he ever caught, and perhaps ever will catch, on July 12.

Like any fishing story that ends in glory, everything was leading to an uneventful day on the water in the Willings’ 22-foot boat. B.J. was trying to catch bottom fish and was using a jig his older sister had picked out because it was prettier than the others. Then, the line started to tug.

“I thought it was just stuck on the bottom,” B.J. said.

But once it started to move back and fourth, B.J. realized it was something else altogether. He fought the line hard and learned that whatever was on the other end was big. His father, Jim, started to help him bring it in, while the family waited to see what could cause such a struggle.

When the sea beast came to the surface, the whole Willing clan was astounded to see that 78-pound B.J. had caught an 85-pound halibut that was not going to give in without a fight.

The fish continued to thrash the side of the boat and needed to be stunned before it was pulled out. B.J. and his father held the line while his mother, Tammy, tried to lasso the tail of the fish Many anglers bring mallets and guns to stun halibut so they don’t tear up the insides of boats with their thrashing once they are brought aboard.

After about 45 minutes of battling the fish, which included skewering it through the mouth with a Seattle Mariners souvenir bat to get a better hold of it, B.J. triumphantly brought in a fish that amounted to another passenger.

Catch and release? Not a chance. B.J. eagerly watched his father fillet the fish on the back end of a pick-up truck and in the past weeks the Willings have treated themselves and their friends to halibut steaks about 2 inches thick.

“It tastes good,” B.J. said.

He plans to catch more fish next summer.