Halibut Help San Diego/Mission Bay

[beef78]

I already asked over on the bloody decks forum and got a couple good hints, but:
I am having trouble catching Halibut. I have been using live and dead anchovies off the bottom. Only thing I have caught have been lizard fish.I have heard that lizard fish are indicators of halibut being around, but before I could catch anything worth a darn, lizard fish had taken all my live bait. I have ben fishing from a kayak and drifting with 6 ounce weights bouncing across the bottom and the bait line tied to a 3 way swivel about 8-12 inches above that and a 18" to 24" leader of 15lb to 30lb test with the anchovy hooked through the lips vertically.
Thanks

[ful-rac]

keep trying, fish sardines or mackeral, don't be afraid to fish bigger baits. Try to identify structure and fish close to it. They can be a bitch to catch sometimes, just keep trying you'll start catching sooner or later.

[crazyfishnfool]

try using sardines 6" to 8" that always seems to work for me. when using the bigger sardines i like to use a treble trap hook. hope this helps.

[Mobie Hobie]

When you get bit it may be very subtle. Be sure not to swing or try to set hook. Just start winding up very slow but steady. The rod tip will load up but still do not swing or try to bury hook. Just keep winding steady and get flat face moving up. You will be shocked at how nice size butt initially may seem like kelp with no head and tail movement. When they realize they are in trouble and run then hook will bury and you will get to know feel of butt.

Sharpen your hooks, drop back a bit and let butt swallow bait when you get tapped. I try to use no more then 15# fluro as leader!

So you may be getting butt bites but pulling the baits out or off hook! And of course some butts normally the smaller and younger just commit suicide and inhale your bait!

Try over by the shallow-rock markers by North Island. Been getting butts there for years. Remember they ambush baits in tidal movement. So they will be facing into the current just like birds face into wind.

What is really fun is when you get color, butt is ready to be taken by net or gaff and you see a second butt following up the one you are hooked up to. Take your first shot at unhooked butt if it looks legal and let hooked butt run. I use light drag and thumb spool so as to avoid disaster. You get a feel....Lots of fun...

Hang in there you are sure to get one soon!

[jaws197]

I'm heading out to San Diego bay tomorrow morning looking for some hali's if you want to join? Going to hit the bait barge and drift with the tide back into the bay.

PM me if you or anyone else would like to join.

[GregAndrew]

There are lots of opinions on things like rigs and when to fish where. Most of the rigs are tailored to the style and preference of the users. Most of them are successful if fished properly. Use a trap hook, I prefer a single Octopus type. Keep moving, and cover as much ground as you can because generally they are ambush predators. Try to keep your pace consistent so you will notice more or less drag on your rod tips (much of the time they coast along with you after they grab your bait). If you notice this, lift the rod to feel for weight. As soon as you feel weight, set the hook. Even if you pull the bait from their mouth, they generally come back after it. When you hook up, keep pressure on and the rod bent (because, like Large Mouth Bass, they like to shake a loose hook free). Don't horse the fish up, you will find lots of barely hooked fish cause of all the hard spots in their heads. Whatever else you do, gaff the fish in the belly. Then continue to support the weight of the fish by the gaff until you have it secured.

[steveooo]

I think a bigger factor for catching halibut is where you are are fishing, rather than what rig you are fishing with.

Halibut move more than people give them credit for. Try different depths. I've caught them from about 100ft deep, as shallow as 5 feet. As mentioned previously, they are ambush predators. Bait fish like the structure, halibut like the sandy flat bottom, but they need to eat the bait fish. Concentrate on fishing the sandy bottom areas near structure. These will be the areas that the halibut will wait to ambush the stray baitfish that strays too far away from the structure. When halibut fishing, I always try to locate structure fist, then find the flat bottom nearby.

[beef78]

Thank you every one for all the awesome help. I will get back at it again soon. Sadly, I have plans tomorrow, but I might be out at OB pier with a couple of non-kayaking buddies.

[FishNinjaY]

Originally Posted by steveooo

I think a bigger factor for catching halibut is where you are are fishing, rather than what rig you are fishing with.

Halibut move more than people give them credit for. Try different depths. I've caught them from about 100ft deep, as shallow as 5 feet. As mentioned previously, they are ambush predators. Bait fish like the structure, halibut like the sandy flat bottom, but they need to eat the bait fish. Concentrate on fishing the sandy bottom areas near structure. These will be the areas that the halibut will wait to ambush the stray baitfish that strays too far away from the structure. When halibut fishing, I always try to locate structure fist, then find the flat bottom nearby.

this makes some good sense.. good tips on this thread!

Yesterday at DP, I caught a pretty big lizardfish (my skunkbuster).. I should have pinned that on and tossed it out there! Same area, my son caught a decent halibut on a dropper loop anchovy, pretty close to the rocky shore. Last year, he caught his biggest halibut (about 19") on a 3" swimbait, only about 10 yards off shore in LB.

Here's a pic of some halibut rigs.. not my pic, but maybe useful..

[jbaker]

My go to Hali spot in SD bay is off the end of shelter Island. head out to the bait barge, fill up and drift back towards shelter island. there is a tower in the middle of the channel going behind shelter island and just behind the tower is a small hump. fish that hump going with the tide. if that dosent score a butt I'll head over to just off the tip of shelter and work my way towards the first moored sail boats. another good area is across the main channel, look for a small rock jetty before the big navy fuel docks. there is a small beach right there i have had success on. cast all the way up the beach and work a swim bait back out. the navy boats will ask you to leave but early in the am I've fished it for hours. another good spot is out of tidelands on Coronado. Behind the first bride piling, or between the channel and the moored boats. Watch your FF and look for the "steps". the bottom kind of goes from 46' to 35' to 20' to 14'. I like to drift one step at a time. again cover ground. I'll drift from the hotel dock to the bridge then reset 50' farther out and do it again. I've caught halis in about every corner of the bay but these two spots are my most productive. if your going to keep them I would suggest concentrating on shelter island out to the mouth. Ive got some nasty looking and smelling fish back by the bridge. (not always the case, they do migrate) Good luck and keep trying.

[beef78]

Nailed it! Thanks everyone. Fun fight, I think I need to get a gaff if I am going to land anything bigger than this one. I think it was right about keeper size, but I forgot my measuring tape and didn't want to risk having a short fish.

[theluckypig]

[Biggameaddict]

Originally Posted by beef78

Nailed it! Thanks everyone. Fun fight, I think I need to get a gaff if I am going to land anything bigger than this one. I think it was right about keeper size, but I forgot my measuring tape and didn't want to risk having a short fish.

Feels good dont it

[Jimmyz123]

Originally Posted by beef78

I already asked over on the bloody decks forum and got a couple good hints, but:
I am having trouble catching Halibut. I have been using live and dead anchovies off the bottom. Only thing I have caught have been lizard fish.I have heard that lizard fish are indicators of halibut being around, but before I could catch anything worth a darn, lizard fish had taken all my live bait. I have ben fishing from a kayak and drifting with 6 ounce weights bouncing across the bottom and the bait line tied to a 3 way swivel about 8-12 inches above that and a 18" to 24" leader of 15lb to 30lb test with the anchovy hooked through the lips vertically.
Thanks

If you ever catch a lizard fish in the 4" to 6" variety pin that on your hook and use it for bait. Halibut love them.