Halibut fishing is extremely popular for two reasons. One, that its white flaky meat makes for good eating. Two, these fishes are huge - and we all know catching huge fish makes for good story telling. Seriously speaking though, trying to land a halibut can be an exhilarating affair. Alaskan species can grow to a staggering 400 pounds, while its North American counterparts (particularly those that grow in Californian waters) grow to a size that is not that far behind. Spending the day out to catch these really gorgeous fishes can certainly yield great results, if you know how. However, fishing for this odd-eyed beauty is not as simple as tossing it a line and crossing your fingers. There are certain tricks on how to tickle the halibut pink.
Choose your bait with care
1. First of all, halibuts are opportunistic feeders. They will try to take a nibble (or more likely, pounce) on anything that looks remotely edible. This is the reason why many people will try just about any lure to get the halibut to bite. However, some fishes will certainly get to biting, but not that often as you might hope for and the bigger prizes will most likely stay away. So how to you coax the sand dwelling, heavier-than-normal halibut to bite more often? Well, you have to consider the delicacy of the moment. Most predatory water feeders will lose caution if they are offered something that they are currently enjoying.
For example: some Californian halibut species may have been feeding on squid for the past few seasons, and squids remain bountiful in the area. Any lure that resembles these aquatic creatures will most likely get a bite than those that resemble tastier looking "treats" like a small fry on hook or a dripping mackerel head. The same is true when it comes to Alaskan halibut species. Some may be literally gorging on the abundance of marine crabs.
Any brightly colored lure that moves like a crab will very likely coax the shy giants to have a nibble. It's easy enough to figure out what the fish is going for at the moment. Simply take a general survey as to what the most abundant smaller marine life is in one area. The more plentiful these "baits" are; the more chances that you will get more bites and a heavier catch.
Keeping the catch or not
There are some anglers who like to keep their catch, and there are those who prefer to have a few pictures taken and return the fishes to their watery domain. Depending on where you are currently throwing your lines, catches are sometimes limited to 2 per person. This allows for a sustainable sport fishing practice, and helps keep the area stocked with large halibuts.
If you are the latter type of angler, it would suit the fishes better if you use circle hooks (as opposed to J-hooks) to land a bite; and fine meshes as nets when you are hauling in the catch. The circle hooks will make the fishing process less damaging to the mouth parts of the fish. The fine mesh makes it less damaging to the delicate tail of the halibut. Any injury in those areas will mostly likely cause the halibut flesh decay, and the fish is bound to die in the water sooner than anyone wishes for.
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