Halibut are big, ugly, mean fish and it is not uncommon that people hauling them on to the deck lose fingers. They have a raw power that is craved by sports fishers throughout the world.
They are extremely tasty fish (under 50lbs) and grow over 550lbs, so heavy fishing equipment is needed to get them up. A sturdy boat rod and a reel capable of holding a few hundred meters of braided line at 0.90 diameter,with titanium trace is safe.
One extremely good method is trolling after them with large jigs around 7 to 15 oz. The jigs will entice them in very deep water too, but for trolling you should stay close to the coast and find water depths between 10 to 50 feet deep. During the summer months they come closer to land to breed.
They are clumsy fish on the take, so tie extra fishing hooks by looping one or two under the jig and setting the hooks in the silicon at the tail. This can help catch more than the single hook of the jig alone. Colors that work well are white pearl, fluorescents and dark with glitter speckles running through them.
Long Magnums and Crankbaits are the best fishing lures for Halibut. They are effective in most colors, but the brighter, more florescent, the better.
Trolling speeds have to be slow, between 3 to 5 knots and keep an eye on your depth whenever possible. The shallows can sometimes throw the odd peaks at you unexpectedly.
Halibut prefer lying around in shallow water but they often fly from time to time. At a glance these Goliath flatfish can reach over eight feet in length by five feet wide and are easily mistaken as schools of fish on fishfinders.
Nice blog, thanks for sharing the information. I will come to look for update. Keep up the good work
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