Halibut Fishing Questions

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Will-C

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Hi,
I wondered typically what kind of rod and reel combinations do most folks use for fishing halibut in Alaska around the Elfin Cove, Icy Strait area? Do they use rods in the six foot range? How much weight? What do the usually use for bait or lures? Happy Fathers Day!
D.D.
 
Off the west coast of Vancouver Island I use a short stiff rod and trolling reel. Troll bouncing your cannon ball off the bottom with bait or just a plain large white hootchie about 12' behind the ball.
Works for me.

Davey :smiled
 
Generally, a stiff, heavy duty rod about five to six feet with a stout levelwind reel. On the bottom, deep, 150 to 350 feet with hering on a curved halibut hook and one to several pounds of lead depending on tide and seascape. lots of other ways too.
 
Hi,
Thanks for your replies, so I'm thinking a Penn 114 with 100 pound braid on a 5'6" stand up tuna rod will work. Number 16 circle hooks one to four pounds of weight, tuna cord and good swivels. Do a lot of people use two speeds reels or are they for just the rich people? Do you need an Alaska fishing licence to fish the salt water? Once you get a Halibut up to the surface do give them a thumping before you bring them into the boat. Do a lot people carry bang sticks? I would let anything big go as I'm not killing a barn door for a couple dinners I'd have a limited amount of space to keep fresh fish. Just wondering about the fishing in the Icy Strait Elfin Cove area.
Thanks,
 
Great reel. You don't need a fancy one, or a 2 speed. Senators are bullet proof and very popular for halibut. 5 1/2 or 6 foot rod, personal preference. Either will work great. When we lived in Kodiak, we never used a leader, just tied a big ball bearing snap swivel right to the Spectra. The 'but don't care.

Yes, you need a license.

The shooting of big halibut....I personally don't know anyone who shot their fish, but I've heard that some folks do. Totally unnecessary, IMHO. Just give 'em a good rap between the eyes and cut the gills to bleed them out. We always put them on a rope stringer and let them hang off the side to bleed out, bringing them aboard only when we were moving or heading home. I made up a harpoon, which is handy on bigger fish, but really a good rap and a stringer works great for us. They'll thrash around a bit once in a while, but they aren't going anywhere but the freezer. :lol:

I'd never keep anything over about a hundred pounds again...that size, they're all females and breeding stock. Kept a 200 pounder once...never again...too hard to maneuver when filleting it. I think the perfect size to keep is anything between 30 and 60 pounds.

Never fished the area you're asking about, but generally what I described here and in that other thread will work for hali's anywhere. We never fished deeper than 120 feet, but some places you have to fish deeper. It isn't rocket science. If they're down there, they'll eat your bait.

Rick
 
Agree totally, let the big hens go. Anything over a hundred is a good story but lousy meat.
 
Rick,
Thanks for the info, I have that stuff so it's nice to not have to spring for new gear except for the weight and the # 16 circle hooks. I guess they use tuna cord so the line does not get chafed on an extended battle? I've never seen it used on the east coast.
D.D.
 
Another method is jigging, but it's hard to do much deeper than 200' unless you're at slack current.

We use 9-foot salmon rods with salmon-size or a tad bigger reels, and 8-16 oz lead head jigs with Kalin's Big'N 10" grubs on 40-50 lb braid. We tip the jigs with squid, octopus, or white halibut skin. Max size caught with this setup about 240lb. Many 40-100lb. Lots of fun on a light rod.

100lb braid seems like way overkill to me. The skinnier line is less affected but the often strong current. This is really important when jigging with moderate weights, maybe less so if you're sitting at anchor with a 3lb weight.

Sent from Sitka, absolutely beautiful this morning.
 
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