It's best to use fresh herring as it is tougher which will stay on the hook better &

The best bait is fresh herring, salmon bellies, or geoduck clams.I let Captain Don set the hook that first time and get it started then I became the ‘Auto Reeler’ (my nickname still to this day!) There is also an art to setting the hook because if you jerk up on the line before the fish has eaten the bait, you simply pull the bait - and the hook - right out of their mouths! Here's more halibut fishing tips - don't do that! You wait a few seconds, let them eat the bait, reel in a couple winds, then JERK up on the rod to set the hook into the hard mouth of the halibut. let him swallow the bait…now set the hook!”.“Keep the tip up”.”Reel quickly & steadily” Luckily for me, I was with professional charter boat captains with their GPS’ loaded with their favorite halibut holes!Īs I waited and bobbed my weight on the ocean floor, I was also watching the tip of the fishing rod which is usually steadily bouncing up and down with the rise & fall of the ocean, watching for the unmistakable tip dance that indicates the halibut has taken the bait.Īfter a few drops of the weight the tip of my fishing rod started bouncing like crazy and Captain Don yelled out FISH ON!!! Woohoo!!! Let the fun begin! Now Captain Don started yelling out instructions.More halibut fishing tips.“Wait…. If you study your marine charts & use a GPS, you will have no trouble locating ‘perfect’ halibut holes. They prefer deep waters, 200 - 300 feet deep, with piles of rocks and ledges to live on. Halibut are bottom feeders so you must drop the hook to the ocean floor. Halibut are attracted by scent and bouncing the bait will send the scent and vibrations out in all directions indicating there is food nearby. Once the weight hits bottom, you close the bail, and.wait! Every little while (30 seconds or so) you pull on the weight and let it fall back down on the floor. The bait is placed on the hook, usually herring, salmon heads and guts, octopus, cod and crab though be sure to check out my halibut fishing tips for the best bait! Then you simply toss the line over the side of the boat and open up the bail on the fishing reel to let the Guard Island in Ketchikan Alaska - gorgeous, huh?!

Halibut weight chart