Halibut addiction

[jruiz]

Originally Posted by Billy V

Over the last month I have been fishing halibut 2 or 3 times a week. I have been experimenting with various techniques and leader size with some surprising results....

I mostly use a 3 way swivel with 4 ft floro 25 lb. leader to a single 2/0 or 3/0 hook - and the line to the sinker at 2 or 2 1/2 ft long. This works well fished in freespool feeling for bites.

But I have had several bites on dropper loop rigs fishing for yellows.
3 ft long 40 lb leader to the 3 way swivel, with a 5 ft. long drop to the torpedo sinker.

What gives? Heavier line and shorter leader seems to get lots of attention higher up from the bottom ...
------------------
I have had good success fishing 5 ft long 20 lb. fluro leader and single hook to the 3 way swivel, with a 3 ft. drop to the torpedo sinker.

What are you Halibut gurus using that produce best?

I'm confused with your use of a 3-way swivel in a dropper loop. Do you mean a barrel swivel?

[Iceman]

one thing is for certain with halibut is nothing is for certain

[sdfisher]

Ditto to what the Iceman says!

[Mr. NiceGuy]

QUESTION TO EVERYONE: If you don't have live bait, what are your favorite backups for targeting halibut?

I've tried Luckycraft's, hard plastic artificial trouts, soft plastic swim baits, curly tails, chrome diamond jigs, big weighted plastic glowing rubber squids with LED lights, hoochie skirts, and random other things. I don't have any favorite backups to live bait.

For me, halibut can be a by-catch when not expected. When targeting halibut in SD Bay, it's not so easy to avoid collateral damage to bass that suck down the trap hook

[rossman]

Originally Posted by Mr. NiceGuy

QUESTION TO EVERYONE: If you don't have live bait, what are your favorite backups for targeting halibut?

I've tried Luckycraft's, hard plastic artificial trouts, soft plastic swim baits, curly tails, chrome diamond jigs, big weighted plastic glowing rubber squids with LED lights, hoochie skirts, and random other things. I don't have any favorite backups to live bait.

For me, halibut can be a by-catch when not expected. When targeting halibut in SD Bay, it's not so easy to avoid collateral damage to bass that suck down the trap hook

Gulp Saltwater Curly Tailed grub. Nuclear Chicken. Boom!

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Originally Posted by rossman

Gulp Saltwater Curly Tailed grub. Nuclear Chicken. Boom!

Thanks! I'll try. Is this what you mean?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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• Wide swimming tail for greater action and visibility
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• Measures 6-inch length and package contains 4 count

$5.59, free shipping, Amazon Prime

[seck66]

It may be splitting hairs, but if I don’t have any live bait, I will use one of my dead bait that either died in the bait well or was molested in a hookup that got away. I’ve had some reasonable success with dead greenbacks.

A point from earlier in this thread about setups...

I don’t have any experience with bay fishing so my logic is as follows. If I’m flylining or slow trolling live bait, I’m a huge fan of fluorocarbon as your bait is somewhere ~near the surface and you get the added invisibility. However, if I’m fishing the bottom in 80+ feet of water, I don’t believe it makes any difference at that depth. Further, if you hook something bigger on the bottom (such as a halibut) with a large live bait, I want the added stretch of mono...

In either case, I’ve been using 40lb leaders. Too many times I’ve had my heart broken because my leader was bitten through or snapped...

[stevie951]

Originally Posted by rossman

Gulp Saltwater Curly Tailed grub. Nuclear Chicken. Boom!

The San Q Killer

[rossman]

Originally Posted by stevie951

The San Q Killer

San Q, San Onofre, San Diego, San Luis Gonzaga and even some unsaintly places.

[YakDout]

Originally Posted by Mr. NiceGuy

QUESTION TO EVERYONE: If you don't have live bait, what are your favorite backups for targeting halibut?

I've tried Luckycraft's, hard plastic artificial trouts, soft plastic swim baits, curly tails, chrome diamond jigs, big weighted plastic glowing rubber squids with LED lights, hoochie skirts, and random other things. I don't have any favorite backups to live bait.

For me, halibut can be a by-catch when not expected. When targeting halibut in SD Bay, it's not so easy to avoid collateral damage to bass that suck down the trap hook

For artificial I like a drop shot with a small torpedo weight. 1-2 oz and a 4” MC slug. I use a Vmc inline hook and I tie two separate knots to the eye of the hook instead of the Palomar knot with a long tag for your weight. The inline hook with two knots keeps the bait from rolling as opposed to the palomar knot where you have the plastic rolling on the side and looking un natural. This is especially successful in the surf and I do very well with it. My go to color for halibut is white with a second choice in a smelt pattern. The action on this setup is incredible with even a little current.

I think the biggest key to halibut fishing is finding their depth. If I’m on my yak, in open ocean, ill start shallow because it’s a closer paddle, and make multiple drifts no longer than 30 minutes at that depth then work my way deeper about 20-40 feet at a time. Learning the behavior and knowing when they come shallow to spawn is an invaluable lesson.

[Billy V]

Originally Posted by YakDout

I think the biggest key to halibut fishing is finding their depth. If I’m on my yak, in open ocean, ill start shallow because it’s a closer paddle, and make multiple drifts no longer than 30 minutes at that depth then work my way deeper about 20-40 feet at a time. Learning the behavior and knowing when they come shallow to spawn is an invaluable lesson.

I agree - once I find a depth that draws a bite I mark it, and repeat the drift over that area several times.

I will tell you I have no problem fishing 20 lb line, I will also put out a 15 lb rig to "test an area"
- If there is a fish in the area - you would think 15 lb test will coax her to bite.

[GregAndrew]

Billy, Contrary to a lot of published material, Halibut will travel high and far for a bait making the right moves. You can fish pretty high off the bottom for Halibut if the visibility is good. Unfortunately most people do not know when the visibility is good near the bottom. Even when it looks great at the surface, it is probably not so good on the bottom. Of course the opposite can also be true . I have seen Red Tide days, where the bottom was very clear. Most harbors are going to be pretty low visibility nearly all of the time.

Most baits are going to take full advantage of both the sinker and hook leaders too. They use most of the length to stay above the bottom. Generally, longer hook leaders should be combined with shorter sinker leaders. Keeping your bait in the "Zone" means keeping it where a target fish is likely to see your actively struggling bait. And that is not just the fish directly below it, but the ones off to the sides. The lower you keep it, the better ground coverage you get on the average day. Although the tradeoff is that you pick up a lot more snags and debris that way.


Overall, I would guesstimate the average visibility of our inshore fishing here in SoCal to be about 5-6'. Generally, the deeper you go (and further from surf zone), the better the visibility. Obviously other factors will effect the visibility like runoff, current, surge etc. The later (in the morning) you go, the better the light you will get reflecting off your bait (extending your range). Even though you can catch the fish away from the bottom, most anglers are going to bet on the conditions favoring lower presentation.


All that being said, the visibility has been pretty darn good all over for several weeks now And a low presentation can be a bad thing for some of the nicer fish to bycatch

[Billy V]

Thanks Greg.
All my fish were in 90 and 100 ft of water this month off Mission.

- There is something else I might mention... I ran into some bycatch...eating macks.
Everything you need to know is in this pic. I'm sure there is more in La Jolla proper.

[Ohiostreetz]

[Billy V]

Originally Posted by jruiz

I'm confused with your use of a 3-way swivel in a dropper loop. Do you mean a barrel swivel?

No, not a barrel.

A 3 way swivel is how I tie my dropper loops.
https://www.spro.com/ProductDetails....ode=STWB%2DALL