A lifetime of fishing experiences can teach an angler the finer points of how to catch fish — what kind of bait to use, where the secret hot spots are, when is the right time of the day and of the season.

One learns this knowledge over the years by being on the water and observing all of these details time after time.

But to land a real monster, you also need a healthy dose of luck.

For Napa native Tim Berg, skill and luck converged on a recent outing to land him the fish of a lifetime. Tim owns and operates Tim Berg’s Alaskan Fishing Adventures on the Kenai Peninsula, where he has led clients to big king salmon for the past 31 summers.

But he took a break from guiding one day to help celebrate with his good friend, Terry Gonsalves, on his recent retirement from the Napa Police Department.

And what does a professional fishing guide do on his day off?

He goes fishing, of course!

Tim and Terry reserved a trip aboard the Grande Alaska with Captain Mike Schmahll, in pursuit of the Gulf of Alaska’s renowned halibut.

The port town of Seward holds an annual halibut tournament that runs through June 30, for which daily tickets can be purchased for $10 each.

First prize in the contest is $10,000. Tim doesn’t usually participate in the local tournaments, but Terry must have felt the luck that day and bought tickets for both of them.

Following a 3-hour boat ride to the captain’s recommended hot spot, they anchored the 37-foot boat in 160 feet of water. Everyone was set up with standard halibut gear, stout rods and heavy-duty reels filled with 130-pound test line.

No one had any luck after the first few minutes, so Tim decided to give a try for a salmon. He had brought along his newest salmon rod, a limber 10-1⁄2 footer with a Penn Torque 200 reel loaded with light 40-pound test.

After quickly rigging it up with a herring bait, Tim lowered his line over the side.

No sooner had the bait hit the bottom when Tim hooked into something.

The something didn’t tug or even move at all, so everyone else on the boat assumed it was a snag and chuckled at Tim for fooling around with his salmon rig. The captain urged him to cut the line and get back to fishing.

But Tim knew better. And after several minutes of suspense, he was proven right when the giant something made its first run.

The fish stayed deep and out of visible range for most of the fight, so no one was quite sure what kind of fish was at the end of Tim’s line. Certainly it was something bigger than the king salmon for which his gear was designed.

But slowly he worked the giant up from the depths, keeping the drag tight and cranking just a foot or two at a time. All of Tim’s years of experience battling big fish came in to play on this one.

After over 35 minutes of battle, the giant halibut came to the surface, the tiny salmon hook still embedded in its mouth. The crew quickly subdued the monster and gaffed it, and then it took three people to haul it on board.

The beast weighed in at 319.6 pounds, roughly the size of the average NFL offensive lineman! It measured 88 inches in length, which translates to 7 feet, 4 inches tall.

For anyone who has landed their “fish of a lifetime,” it is a feeling like no other. Nothing can erase the giddy smile from your face for weeks afterwards.

You give repeated thanks to Lady Luck for her generous gift to you.

It makes you overwhelmingly happy just to be alive and to have experienced such an amazing event.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game recognizes certified fish caught over 250 pounds with a certificate through its Trophy Fish program.

Tim will display his certificate next to his mount of the fish’s 24-inch wide tail.

Needless to say, Tim’s halibut easily won the Seward tournament and the $10,000 prize. He gave half of the prize money to the captain and crew of the Grande Alaska.

The other half was donated to the American Cancer Society and its prostate cancer research program.

Tim was diagnosed with prostate cancer three years ago, and is in remission today after undergoing numerous surgeries and radiation treatments.

His father and brother have also been hit with the disease. Prostate cancer strikes a shocking 25 percent of all males in the United States today.

Tim is currently spearheading an effort in Alaska to raise awareness of the disease and to garner matching donations from other local businesses.

Guy Carl is a CPA and partner with BDCo Accountants and Advisors in St. Helena (www.bdco

cpa.com).

Contact Guy at GC.outdoors@sbcglobal.net.