What am I doing wrong?

[Justl1keRaven]

So I have been doing research on surf fishing and over the past month I have been trying to find halibuts, and catch them on the LCs.

I've learned that halibuts like:
Calm water
Clear water
Sunny/warmer weather/water
Bait fish around with easy hunting and hiding grounds
High tide with moon before night.

I've gone at least 2-3 times a week for the past month and have come up empty handed. I try different spots, sometimes 4 spots per trip. I don't have the luxury to fish the whole day b/c i have work. But, still, not even a bite. And motivation drops and you become discouraged. I have the right gear (i think), and the right materials. I try to hit the surf in the right conditions. This has been a month of dry spell and I'm finally getting tired of being skunked.

I have never caught a fish with artificial...

What am I doing wrong? =/

[jerryG]

All I can say is don’t be discouraged. It will happen. I know Wingnut will probably chime in. I may be wrong but remember Wingnut posting about how he was having a hard time catching his first halibut from the surf when he was getting started. Look at him today. He never gave up and it paid off. If you keep at it good things are going to happen for you. It’s slow year over all but there are fish out to be caught. It's been hit or miss to with a lot more slow days than good days.

Some are lucky and have success early on with halibut in the surf but most have a hard in the beginning. The best way to sharpen your skills is time on the water. Let me if you can fish next week.

Jerryg

[vanillagurilla]

the best conditions for halis are clearish water (not all chruned up like a washing machine), a little current and i think overcast mornings are the best.

[calico killer kevin]

Whatever LC you have, add dots to make it look like a sardine. Trust me it makes a difference. For a beginner, I would recommend cherry beach adlacent to Belmont pier. Little waves and a few halis.

When fishing, try not to cast blindly. Always be on the lookout for structure such as trenches, rocks, kelp, or any other underwater structure.

[vanillagurilla]

ive never tried it from the surf.. mostly harbor inlets and channels. most beaches dont regularly hold halibut most of the time.

[Justl1keRaven]

Whatever LC you have, add dots to make it look like a sardine. Trust me it makes a difference.

I have metallic sardine, it comes with dots already. Is that the most recommended one?

[tacklejunkie]

ive never tried it from the surf.. mostly harbor inlets and channels. most beaches dont regularly hold halibut most of the time.
Nah I think some do dude. It's all about how the sand is laying and the tides and stuff. Really tricky to line everything up right and you gotta have a good spot. I've seen it and heard about it being done right off the sand. Just not as easy. Plus it changes often.

[tacklejunkie]

Keep it up Just Like Raven.
Dont' stop until it all pops on like a light bulb in your head and you have success.

Only then will you respect those fishes.

[vanillagurilla]

bro ive thrown the LC all day and didnt catch 1 fish and ive thrown the LC all day and have caught 10-15. like TJ said.... the stars gota be inline on that day lol. sometimes u just get lucky too.

[smokehound]

Just keep trying. Learn how to read structure.

Also, you must fan-cast, dont just pick a spot out at random and cast.

If you arent getting bites with a hardbait, then try a swimbait. Try Drop-shotting a pearl gulp swimming mullet. Halis LOVE those.

Halibut are dumb, they will strike anything that moves near them within swallowing size.

[Justl1keRaven]

Just keep trying. Learn how to read structure.

Also, you must fan-cast, dont just pick a spot out at random and cast.



I do fan cast, often standing in an area I cast about 5-6 different angles and move on. No luck still.

[Wingnut]

All I can say is don’t be discouraged. It will happen. I know Wingnut will probably chime in. I may be wrong but remember Wingnut posting about how he was having a hard time catching his first halibut from the surf when he was getting started. Look at him today. He never gave up and it paid off. If you keep at it good things are going to happen for you. It’s slow year over all but there are fish out to be caught. It's been hit or miss to with a lot more slow days than good days.

Some are lucky and have success early on with halibut in the surf but most have a hard in the beginning. The best way to sharpen your skills is time on the water. Let me if you can fish next week.

Jerryg

You're right Jerry... took me two months to catch my first Halibut and three months to get my first legal. I remember feeling dejected and saying to myself, "Arthur, stick to Perchin', that's all you're gonna catch..." :LOL: It has been a slow year for the Halibut action, but there are plenty out there to be found... you have to "invest" the time to FIND them. :Wink: Looks like you do have the right gear and the right "artificial". I commend you for making the choice to hunt the Flatties with artificials, that's a challenge in itself. :Cool: The LC is the first choice in my Halibut arsenal, but it's not enough. Add dropshotting & swimbaits to your repertoire and increase your chance for success. Try & try again... you get knocked down in the surf, get up... empty out your waders and try again. :Wink:

I'm far from being a Halibut expert. But the best tip that I can give anyone chasing the Flatties is one word... "location". Fish different areas during different tides, time of day, conditions... Just about EVERY beach has potential to hold Halibut, you just have to know what to look for. Trust me, if you fish a dozen different spots... chances are you will find success on at least half of them. Then narrow your focus on those handfull of spots and learn how to fish them more effectively.

You can have the best fishermen showing you the ropes. Read a stack of books and do all the research in the world... but the best teacher is and always will be time spent on the water. :Wink: I'm still learning myself...

[Justl1keRaven]

You're right Jerry... took me two months to catch my first Halibut and three months to get my first legal. I remember feeling dejected and saying to myself, "Arthur, stick to Perchin', that's all you're gonna catch..." :LOL: It has been a slow year for the Halibut action, but there are plenty out there to be found... you have to "invest" the time to FIND them. :Wink: Looks like you do have the right gear and the right "artificial". I commend you for making the choice to hunt the Flatties with artificials, that's a challenge in itself. :Cool: The LC is the first choice in my Halibut arsenal, but it's not enough. Add dropshotting & swimbaits to your repertoire and increase your chance for success. Try & try again... you get knocked down in the surf, get up... empty out your waders and try again. :Wink:

I'm far from being a Halibut expert. But the best tip that I can give anyone chasing the Flatties is one word... "location". Fish different areas during different tides, time of day, conditions... Just about EVERY beach has potential to hold Halibut, you just have to know what to look for. Trust me, if you fish a dozen different spots... chances are you will find success on at least half of them. Then narrow your focus on those handfull of spots and learn how to fish them more effectively.

You can have the best fishermen showing you the ropes. Read a stack of books and do all the research in the world... but the best teacher is and always will be time spent on the water. :Wink: I'm still learning myself...

I don't understand how you can stare in the water to see structure and stuff. I understand when wave breaks, there must be a bar or a trough, but how can you tell if there are rocks underwater or kelp beds? Every time I go, I see just waves and water. Sure, I can go on the pier and look down, and sometimes I'd see large dark spots. But then again, that is on the pier.

I guess, I am a novice at trying to find locations. I am not sure exactly what to look for, although I get the gist of it.

[Justl1keRaven]

I also don't understand what difference a LC color makes. Is there a particular day or time... or amount of sunlight... that dictates what to use? How do you go about figuring that out?

[Justl1keRaven]

Hey Wingnut, by any chance, did you keep a log or post from you back them when you had trouble catching a Halibut? Mind sharing if so? =)

[bsp]

I don't understand how you can stare in the water to see structure and stuff. I understand when wave breaks, there must be a bar or a trough, but how can you tell if there are rocks underwater or kelp beds? Every time I go, I see just waves and water. Sure, I can go on the pier and look down, and sometimes I'd see large dark spots. But then again, that is on the pier.

I guess, I am a novice at trying to find locations. I am not sure exactly what to look for, although I get the gist of it.

I know where you are fishing, and it doesn't really exist in that area. Halibut in the South Bay really relate to troughs, holes, and riptides. Look for areas where waves aren't breaking and focus there. You can ask a lifeguard to show you the riptides if you have trouble spotting them. Rips are a great structure to fish, so if you can't spot them you definitely should learn! Jetties are also good to fish near.

Rocks and kelp are obvious. You can see the kelp strands on the surface, and boiler rocks will be sticking out of the water. When they are under the water, you'll see the dark mass of kelp fronds waving in the water, or a motionless dark shape where a rock is. Cast the LC between the kelp/rocks and sandy patches for the best shot at halibut. Remember ambush points!

Drive to Laguna to get an idea of structure. You will see where rocks and sand mix, as well as be able to observe kelp beds from shore in some areas. This experience cannot be had in the South Bay, and will help you a lot too with learning to read structure. Your casting will improve too as you try to place your LCs right next to boilers and kelp beds without getting snagged.

Don't obsess about LC color at all. Most guys just use the same color all day and do very, very well if the halibut want to attack the LC. The color is very minor compared to the area and conditions of the spot, so until you feel confident with understanding those don't worry about color. Eventually you can start branching out by thinking about the predominant baitfish or water color in the area, but that will come much later. The Metallic Sardine color you have now will slay halibut once you figure out how and where to present it!

Stick to it and you will catch a halibut.

[dfisher]

Is it possible to catch fish at around 1am to 5am? Or is it a complete waste of time...

[calico killer kevin]

My two favorite colors are American Shad with dots for super sunny days and metallic sardine for everything else. Agree that the LC is not always enough. DS must also be incorporated. If the hali's don't bite the LC or DS, they're usually not gonna bite anything.

Structure such as kelp, boiler rocks are usually visible above the water whereas troughs, ditches, holes, rips are usually an acquired taste.

Everytime you hit the water, you should track down every piece of information that you can. I mean ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. Temp, swell, moon phase, tides, clouds, time, hot chicks...ANYTHING.

Oh and BTW, please, please don't EVER ask anyone else for the information that they've logged in their diaries. That's definitely a nono. They've usually worked hard to find it and would want you to do the same.

PM sent

[fisherman from long beach]

You're right Jerry... took me two months to catch my first Halibut and three months to get my first legal. I remember feeling dejected and saying to myself, "Arthur, stick to Perchin', that's all you're gonna catch..." :LOL: It has been a slow year for the Halibut action, but there are plenty out there to be found... you have to "invest" the time to FIND them. :Wink: Looks like you do have the right gear and the right "artificial". I commend you for making the choice to hunt the Flatties with artificials, that's a challenge in itself. :Cool: The LC is the first choice in my Halibut arsenal, but it's not enough. Add dropshotting & swimbaits to your repertoire and increase your chance for success. Try & try again... you get knocked down in the surf, get up... empty out your waders and try again. :Wink:

I'm far from being a Halibut expert. But the best tip that I can give anyone chasing the Flatties is one word... "location". Fish different areas during different tides, time of day, conditions... Just about EVERY beach has potential to hold Halibut, you just have to know what to look for. Trust me, if you fish a dozen different spots... chances are you will find success on at least half of them. Then narrow your focus on those handfull of spots and learn how to fish them more effectively.

You can have the best fishermen showing you the ropes. Read a stack of books and do all the research in the world... but the best teacher is and always will be time spent on the water. :Wink: I'm still learning myself...
he's right on the money,you just need to hang in there,sooner or later your gonna hit.ive never been a lure fisherman but reading on this board has changed me big time,im out at newport workin the docks ,or on my float tube workin mothers beach or newport.you just have to keep trying,when you finally get one your gonna be a happy fisherman,take care and good luck.fisherman from l.b