Observations and questions (halibut)

[Mr. Adventure]

So last Thursday I went out bound and determined to catch my first Halibut.

I had the van loaded up and when I got off work at midnight, drove the van down to Newport and slept in till like 7. And boy were the reports off. Wind was about a steady 10mph all day. I get out and could NOT make bait, I would meter some and by the time I dropped I was away from them. I made one little mac, and one sardine and paddled down to the north end of crystal cove.

My plan was to troll the back of the surf zone, but that was clearly out of the question. It seems like he kelp has grown since I was last there, right up to the surf zone and the surf was pumping. SO I tried tossing my 1.5oz leadhead to bounce it along the bottom to see if I could get some action but the wind and current just weren't working for me.

So i got back in like 50ft of water and trolled back to the harbor. A question, on a day when the wind and current are ripping you just need more weight to stay on the bottom right? I was using a 5 oz and couldn't stay on the bottom. So more weight right? And what should be the angle of the dangle of my line, no more than 45 degree right?

When I put on like an 8oz sinker I have a hard time keeping it right, either every swell pulls more line, or I have to put the reel in gear and back off the drag to get it to tug along I totally get why lever drag is used for trolling, just don't have one right now. Trolling between 1-2 mph am I going to fast on this.

I also thought I was a clever devil by gooping my ducer at the prow of my yak thinking I would meter stuff and be able to drop on it quicker. Well don't do that, all day I was being slammed up and down and every time my bow lifted out of the water the finder would loose contact and take a 10-30 seconds to get a good reading again. It was really frustrating and maybe contributed to my not finding bait.

I REALLY want to land my first Halibut, I've heard that spring time in Crystal Cove is bananas for Halibut. But I've also heard the kelp around Dana Point is great too, maybe I'll give there a go next time.