Halibut
Identifying Features: Pacific halibut are the heavyweights of
Alaska's offshore waters. The halibut is dark brown or dirty
brown with irregular blotches on the top side. The bottom
side is bright or dirty white. The Pacific halibut's body is
elongated in shape, when compared to other members of the flounder
family, with its width at about one third its length.
The scales are small. The mouth is small, with
well-developed teeth on both sides of the jaw. Both eyes are
on the top (brown) side. The flesh is white, tasty, and well
worth the time and effort.
Halibut Life:
A halibut's life begins in an upright position, with one eye on
each side of the head, but during the first six months of a it's
life, a halibut goes through an unusual change. The fish's
form begins to flatten, and its left eye migrates to its right
side. At this time a halibut begins to swim flat on its side
along the ocean bottom. Halibut are bottom dwellers, for the
most part, feeding on fish, squid, crabs, clams, etc. They
are especially fond of salmon carcasses washed out into the
saltwater during August and September. Halibut are highly
migratory; adult fish travel more than 2,000 miles. Most
halibut are caught at depths of 90-900 feet; the lowest recorded
depth for a halibut is 3,600 feet. Halibut grow slowly; fish
estimated at 45 years of age have been recorded. Females
live longer than males, and are larger in size. All trophy
halibut are females; males rarely exceed 45 pounds.
Size: Pacific halibut are large -- the largest of the flat
fish. Fish 9 feet in length and over 500 pounds have been
recorded. Any fish over 350 pounds is considered
exceptionally large. The average size of most halibut caught
sport fishing is in the 20-50 pound range. Hundred pound
fish are very common, and fish over 250 pounds are caught every
year. The Alaska state record for sport-caught
halibut is 450 pounds.
Equipment For Halibut Fishing
If you're going to use a fishing charter to fish for halibut, they will more
than likely provide you with the equipment and bait you'll need. Ask about
this when you make reservations for the charter.
The "normal" halibut rod is a short, heavy action rod of between 5-6
feet in length. Some people do use longer rods, but in my opinion, it's
much more convenient to use a shorter rod on the boat. Toward the high
side of the price range are the Penn Tunasticks. A graphite, or composite
rod, is a good choice. Make sure the rod you buy has roller line guides at
the tip and next to the reel. I'm using a Daiwa graphite rod now,
but that's mostly because it was a birthday present. Shakespeare makes an
Uglystick in a similar configuration, which would probably be good too.
Most of these rods are thick and stiff, which is good for hauling up heavy fish,
but not so good when it comes to feeling smaller bites way down at the end of
your line. One guy I go fishing with regularly uses an 8 foot heavy action
salmon rod for halibut. He can even feel when tiny crabs are biting at his
bait. The bad news for him is when a large halibut is hooked. It
takes him a long time to coax it up on 30 pound line and a completely flexed
rod. I'd recommend a 5-5.5 foot heavy action offshore rod over a longer
rod any day.
A large capacity saltwater reel is a
must. Again, Penn makes some good ones, but so do other
companies now. I'm using a graphite Shimano reel. Most
people fish for halibut with anywhere from 60 to 120 pound Dacron
line.
My preference is for 80 pound test Tufline.
Other brand names are available, but small diameter is definitely
the way to go. It's thinner than the "normal"
braided lines, which is a big plus when the tide starts trying to
pull your line and bait across the bottom. This was
demonstrated to me very graphically a few years ago. I was
using a normal Dacron line. My buddy was using one of the
newer (at that time) "small diameter" lines of the same
weight. We started fishing for halibut at slack tide and
both had on 2 pounds of weight. As the tide started moving,
I couldn't keep my bait on the bottom. I pulled it up and
added another 2 pounds of weight. I still couldn't keep it
from bouncing along on the bottom, while my friend's bait was
still sitting where he'd put it. I'd put on a total of 6
pounds of weight to match what he was doing with 2 pounds.
The only difference was the small-diameter line he was using. I
was convinced.
The picture above is of my preferred terminal tackle
for halibut. It uses two hooks, each attached by 200 pound
wire leader material to two 3-way swivels. At the top a
snap swivel from my main line is attached to the top of a 3-way
swivel. At the bottom is
large snap swivel, which is where the weight is attached. I
also attach the hooks on swivels too, so that I can change hooks
from large circle hooks to j-hooks. These swivels are the
kind that you can rotate the hook into, rather than a snap
swivel. The wire leaders that attach to the hooks
have surgical tubing over them to help keep them from tangling
around the other wire leader materiel used in this setup.
With the weight resting, or gently bouncing on the bottom, the
bottom hook rests out away from the weight on the sea
bottom. The tide action helps move the bait out from
the weight. The top hook is suspended just a short distance
above the bottom, and is harder for small crabs, etc., to reach
and nibble on. I get two chances at a fish that may steal a
bait. I also get the opportunity for a double-header, a
halibut on each hook, which happens quite often when a school of
small to mid-sized halibut is in the area.
Other
terminal tackle is available: other rigs, jigs, lures and hooked
leaders. Pre-tied "halibut leaders", with single hooks on
either wire or mono, are available at local department
and sporting goods stores. Some people use a sliding weight
on their main line. This may have advantages, but I haven't
experimented with it. Of all the tackle available, I'd
recommend herring on leadered hooks with enough weight to keep it
on the bottom. The setup pictured above is what I'll use
just about every time. If they won't hit a bait like herring, they're
either not there, or they won't bite anything. (If you want
to try something else while your halibut fishing, that's
great. But be sure to also bring herring and a hooked leader
rig -- this is a proven producer.) As with salmon rigs, I prefer to make
my own. I use 120-200 pound wire leader material crimped onto
large swivels, and attach large
Gamakatsu circle hooks (or J-hooks). If you're making your own as a copy of
the setup pictured above,
don't forget to slide on the surgical tubing before crimping that
portion of the leader, and make it strong. It's no time to
find out how weak your leaders are when a huge halibut
is on the line.
Circle hooks are the norm for
halibut. A fish that is hooked will not get itself off of a
circle hook. It's harder for you to unhook them too.
If you find yourself releasing a lot of fish and having a busy
day, consider using j-hooks, or crimping down the barbs on a set
of your hooks.
My main line is normally tied onto a
3-4 foot coated 120 lb. wire leader. This leader is then
attached to the top 3-way swivel of the terminal tackle pictured
above. I use this additional leader for several
reasons. The bottom where you'll be fishing is often rocky,
and this extra wire leader helps protect the line. Also, I don't need to tie anything
on the boat. The 3-foot leader is already on my rod. I
just snap on the halibut rig pictured above, put on some bait, and
start fishing. If I need to change something, I don't have
to cut my line and retie; I just snap it off and replace it.
When I'm pulling up smaller halibut, I can grab, pull, and control
the fish by the wire leader. I can see the wire leader well
ahead of the time I can see the fish; it's an indicator that I'm
getting the fish up to the surface. Well, you get the
point... Using the coated wire leader above my hook setup is
a habit, but don't consider it mandatory.
The
standard halibut bait is herring. Get them large. It sometimes
seems like the larger the bait, the larger the halibut.
Eight to ten inch herring will do nicely. Make sure the
herring is firmly attached to the hook. Crabs and small fish
will often try to nibble at the bait. Other baits also work
well. Squid, pieces of cod or other fish, will get results
too. In most cases, herring is the easiest bait to find, and
it works.
Techniques For Halibut
Halibut fishing is not so much a big battle, as it is in just lifting the
fish to the surface. Big halibut are called "barn
doors" and that's how they feel. It's just a big weight,
that sometimes shakes, and sometimes heads itself back down to the
bottom after you've hauled it up part of the way.
Hooking
a halibut sometimes feels like you've snagged something.
Sometimes they don't move or fight or even try to swim back down
to the bottom at all. It's just a matter of hauling the fish
up to the surface. Since you'll be fishing in 100-200 or
more feet of water, it can take a while to get them up. Some
fish do thrash around a bit, and a normal reaction to being hooked
is for a halibut to swim back down to the bottom after you've
pulled it up a bit. The rare halibut will take off along the
bottom after it's been hooked. I had a big halibut do that
to me once. It took off and swam at high speed for several seconds. I hauled it back toward me and up. It
lurched itself back into action and headed back for the
bottom. We were in 150 feet of water at the time. I'd
pull it up over half way to the surface, and it would decide to
head back down, and then out across the bottom at high speed. My drag was at maximum
but it seemed as if
it was doing nothing, even with the rod bent over like a
horseshoe. It did this 11 times before I finally got the
fish to
the surface. That halibut weighed around 125 pounds.
I've caught bigger halibut, but that was the best fight one has
given me so far. Another time, I was fishing with a friend who hooked a
legitimate monster 300+ pound halibut. It took him almost 20 minutes to get it
to the surface, but that was more because of the weight than from any
big fight put up by the fish. Once the halibut was at
the surface, it looked more like an island than a fish next to the
boat. We were alone in a 16 foot boat at the time, and this halibut was
half the length of the boat!
To get back
to "fishing techniques"... put on your herring and your
weight, and drop the rig over the side. Release your drag,
and let it fall to the bottom. Control the reel so that it
doesn't spin out of control and tangle your line. Do this
with your thumb, or with a very light drag setting. Slow but
steady on the way down. As soon as your weight hits the
bottom, engage your drag and reel up a little. Your
weight should be gently bouncing up and down on the bottom, so
that you can feel it. If you can feel the bouncing, you'll
be able to feel the bites. If the sea's waves are making for
a big bounce let out a little more line, so that the weight is on
the bottom longer, but so that you can still feel it being lifted
and tapping the bottom occasionally. Then it's just a waiting game. You can even
put the rod down, with the line at the tight enough so that the
rod tip flexes down a bit as the waves raise the boat. You can visually see
when a fish bites by the tip's action. Stay within reach if
you're putting down the rod.
A bite from
a halibut can seem more like a snag than a bite. All of a
sudden it feels like you've hooked the bottom and the weight isn't
tapping up and down any more. You pull, and nothing
moves. This may very well be a
fish. Other times it's a pronounced bite. It's common
to feel a quick tug as a halibut tries to pull off one of your
baits. That's one reason for using a two-hook setup.
Be ready for it, or another fish, to return for the other
bait. Sometimes a halibut just seems to grab the bait on the way by and hooks
itself. Then it's a matter of hauling the fish up.
Lift with the rod, reel on the way down. If it's pulling out
line and heading back for the bottom, just hold your rod up (and
check your drag setting). Once it reaches the bottom, a
halibut will usually stop. Then start hauling it back up
again. Eventually you'll get it to the surface for keeps.
If
it's a fish of any size, once it's at the surface don't try to
lift the halibut out of the water. Big halibut should be shot, with a
22, a 410 shotgun, or even a .38, before being brought on
board. That's for sizeable fish of about 90-100 pounds or
more. (If in doubt, and it looks "big", shoot it
before you bring it on board.) Halibut are just about all
muscle. You'll notice that, and appreciate it, when it's
time to clean one. Big halibut can do damage to people and
to boats if they're not killed before being brought on
board. Keep the fish steady and calm at the surface before
it's shot. They'll thrash a little when shot, but normally
don't go anywhere. Use a gaffing hook to
pull it up. On huge fish it's often necessary to use two or
more people to get the fish on board. (If you're on a small boat
with a huge halibut, you can even tie it up alongside, through the
gills and out the mouth, and then slowly haul it back to
shore.) A halibut charter's crew will handle all of the
fish landing chores for you.
To recap: The idea is to
get your bait down on the bottom, and to keep your line tight
enough that you feel the bites. If you can get the weight to
gently raise and lower, tapping the bottom, you know that your
line is tight enough and that the bait is on the bottom.
Wait for the bite, set the hook and haul it up. There'll be
days when you get a few bites all day, no matter where you go or what
you do. Other days you'll be hauling up fish, releasing
them, re-baiting, the weight hits the bottom, and...another bite!
Good
halibut spots in Southcentral Alaska? Just offshore from Deep Creek (by Ninilchik),
Seward, and Homer. Off of Deep Creek, the water is fairly
shallow: 100 feet plus or minus a bit, and you don't have to drive
the boat as far to get to halibut. If you're there at the
right time, you can also troll for
salmon near shore as the tide's coming in. (See Calendar
Page.) The down side of Deep Creek is that you have to
either have your boat launched from the beach, or wait for a high tide to use the boat ramp. More halibut
charters, and larger charter boats, operate out of Seward and
Homer. Both locations have docks and easier access for
launching your own boat. It can take a longer boat
ride to get to your fishing spot, but the scenery is
outstanding, as is the fishing. Expect to fish deeper water,
and expect to catch other types of fish as well. All three
of these are down on the Kenai Peninsula. See the Maps
Page for a closer look.
Further Reading on
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