Fishing For Halibut

February 25th, 2010 | in Fishing | Leave a comment

Do you like fishing? Wait, what am I saying, of course you like fishing. What I meant to say is do you like catching monster fish that you will tell stories about for years to come? Damnit, there I go again asking stupid questions. So, you said yes to both of these questions, and I just have one more to ask. Why haven’t you tried halibut fishing yet? You see them all the time at the grocery store, but have you ever stopped and wondered what it would be like to catch one? Well, wonder no more my good friend, fishing for halibut is simply an article away. I will give some very nice halibut fishing tips and I hope it will inspire you to plan the trip of a lifetime catching these huge fish.

First off, a little background information about halibut. A halibut is a flatfish from the flounder family. The halibut is the largest flatfish and the average weight is about 24-30 pounds. However, it is not uncommon to encounter halibut that are pushing 100 pounds. The world record currently is a monstrous 470 pounds and 2.5 meters long (8.2 feet). Now, imagine seeing that thing on the end of your line. I would probably have a heart attack. Now, on to the good stuff.

My first tip for you is to research halibut fishing charters if you are new to the game. Finding a good charter will make or break your trip and this decision cannot be taken lightly. This goes for all kinds of deep water fishing like tarpon fishing, shark fishing, and tuna fishing. Since you don’t know anything about halibut fishing, you are going to rely on your captain for all the necessary information as well as good fishing spots. As for halibut fishing gear, your charter captain will have all of that set up as well, so don’t worry about spending a fortune getting the gear necessary to reel in these huge fish.

My second tip for you concerns bait. I read an article one time where a captain took out some people fishing for halibut and they were using the standard bait of herring and having little luck. Then, it happened. What is it, you ask? Well, it happens to be a ling cod one of the fishermen pulled up. Now, it wasn’t the cod that was the big deal, it was what the cod had in its mouth. It had an octopus in its mouth. Upon seeing this, the captain immediately thought of a conversation he had with an experienced halibut fisherman on what type of bait is best for halibut fishing. Without hesitation, the fisherman responded with octopus. He went on to explain that the octopus’ thick skin made it very hard to come off the hook, and that octopus was like candy for halibut. Eager to test out this theory, the charter captain gave a piece of octopus to one client and left the other client with the herring bait. Well, 20 minutes went by and the client with octopus had landed three 40 pound halibut and the guy with the herring had nothing. The morale of the story? Use octopus when fishing for halibut.

Tip three is location, location, location. Alaskan halibut fishing is very popular as well as various British Columbia and California locations. It is up to you to choose which one would be the best for you, but some of the best stories come from Alaska.

Now, if you want the fishing trip of a lifetime, go research some charters, start saving, and go halibut fishing!