Fishing for Halibut

[taggermike]

I'll add my 2 cents here about light drags for halibut. My technique or philosophy about landing halis is different than for every other fish I target. I fight other fish to the boat; I guide halibut to the boat. I have found the harder I pull on a hali the harder it pulls back and those fish often go completely nuts. Now I try to gently guide them to the surface. I use a softer rod and do not pump or horse the fish in any way, just easy-like-sunday-morning winding all the way to the gaff. I've had fish come up so gently they never really know some thing was wrong, no runs or head shakes, until the gaff or net is on them. I also exclusivly use very sharp light wire circle hooks so I don't even need to set the hook, just smooth presure all the way up. It doesn't always work, some halis do fight hard. But most respond well to this technique. Lastly, many halis come up barely hooked so light steady presure keep them hooked. Mike