Grunion = halibut?

[Kongo10]

Hi guys,

I always hang out at the fresh water post (castaic) since all I knew was LMB. Just recently, I meet a buddy that turned me on to salt water fishing. since then we been hitting up LB, NPH, and Del Ray. I have no clues as to what I'm doing out there in the surf (I have a lot to learn...), but I'm determine to catch my first halibut this season.

I just read a post by Marc about halibut fishing (damn you guys are awesome on surf!!) and saw a comment about halibuts come up shallow while grunion's are running. Can anyone offer me some tips as to how to fish while they are running? I live near hermosa beach and am thinking about going out there the next 3 nites just to get more knowledge. I got some zoom fluke for DS and some LC (dont know what type of dept I need, the one I have got some big lips). planning on using my fresh water setup, 10lb fluoro on a 7' mid power ex-fast crucial. Is this setup OK?? how wet do i need to get to fish for the hali? what part of the beach should I concentrate on?

any tip would be much appreciated, as I'm a noob at this.

Thanks!!!

[Lipripper93561]

The halibut come into the shallows to feed and spawn...major spawn runs april and june.... The LC's most are using are the 110 size pick up a zebra sardine...or any of the saltwater patterns...all seem to be good. Wade out knee to waist deep depending on surf conditions..then let her rip. Slow roll the LC looking for pocket waters, troughs, etc..rips are good areas too as well as any physical structure. Don't worry about the grunion runs, there is plenty of baitfish present to keep alot of the smaller halis in the shallows....spooked a nice 30 incher in about 2 feet of water last week. good luck

[bones]

The setup you have is perfect for a beginner.
The spot where you live is ideal also for the beginner and the bite in the southbay has been good also. The beaches between Torrance and Manhattten offer easy access to the surf too. I call that area "trench fishing" because there is hardly any other structure other than trenches. Look for spots where there are outside breaks (sandbars) which usually meens that there are trenches in closer. These trenches/holes will be your target areas. More often than not trench fishing meens alot of walking but when you find a hole where you get bit.....There are usually a few flatties there. Other species are constantly running in these trenches as well. So just fan cast and walk until you find them.
The perfect LC to toss for flatties is the Flash Minnow 110 series. Don't get to picky about the color but just make sure it is a flashy pattern.The saltwater series have much stronger and durable hooks so if you purchase a freshwater lure ....swap out the hooks to the Owner ST (super tin) hooks.When halibut are feeding....They will attack just about anything.
Welcome to the FNN and good luck in your endeavors.
Hope to see a report from you soon.

Private Message Sent.

Mike--------<><

[Kongo10]

Thanks guys for the quick reply!!

I'll head on out for a few nite recon sessions. I'll let you guys know how it goes, hopefully i'll have some pics for you guys!

Mike, since i'm new to the ocean. what do you mean by outside breaks? are you referring to where the waves break early? and how to spot rips? If I got some mid diving LC, do I let it run through the sand? I have some 3" big hammer w/ 1/4oz heads also, but never really know how to present those in the water (feels like they just drag the bottom, and no action with the tail).

Other than grunion time, do people fish for halibut at nite?? or is that more of a day/morning time fish?

[kzhlin]

The SWAT team has lots of reports that you can check out in the "socal bay, pier, etc. reports" section.

[oakboy]

Thanks for Posting this question Kongo. Like you said these guys on here are full of info. I will hopefully bit be hitting up south OC this weekend in my pursuit of flatties.

<><
KP

[vanillagurilla]

3" hammers on 1/4oz heads are perfect and have great action, cast out and let it sink out, then lift off the bottom a foot or two and reel slowly, every 10 cranks or so let it settle back down so you know your near the bottom. Often times i like to hop it or even drag the bottom. if its real ruff or to much wind try a 3/8oz.

[smokehound]

they have a grunion pattern BH too.

[bsp]

Go with Pearls if you need soft swimbaits. Local guys who constantly are pouring colors to match what is along the coast now get my vote. They're cheaper in the long run too since they lost for a lot more fish. I'm just working through all my Big Hammers before making the full switch to Pearl. T&C Lures Calikillers have also been great to me. I got a custom pattern poured up, but they have a grunion pattern. Check them out if you want a different option to the standard swimbait. Main thing though is to chuck the bigger baits though (why I prefer the calikillers). 3in Hammers get bit, but if you bump up to 4in (regardless of brand) you'll see a jump in the quality of fish you catch with regards to halibut. 3in BHs get big perch though. Big bait on 3/8oz head has a nice flutter fall instead of plummeting straight to the bottom, and you can't replicate it with a smaller bait since the weight needed is too light to prevent it from being tossed around in the surf. Plus they put out a bigger kick that draws in more fish. Slow roll right on the bottom most of the time, maybe pause to let it sink occasionally. Bigger fish will chase it if slow rolled, the smaller guys like the erratic hops more.

South Bay beaches don't require you to get soaked by waves. By all means go ahead and take some waves over your head if you want (I do it!), but if you time your arrival with the tide that let's the structure be within easy reach you can stay pretty dry. The South Bay is really reliant on trenches like Mike mentioned, so get down there at different tide cycles to see when they look good. I generally like the tide to be low enough that the outside break is breaking on the sandbar and leaving the trench nice and calm. Outgoing or incoming doesn't matter too much. As for fishing during the run, target those same areas as well as the areas where grunion are present. Halibut will follow the grunion in, and will stick around for a few days afterwards.

The gear you have will work for now, but if you get serious you'll want to switch to a mod fast rod for the LCs. Ex fast will work well for the dropshot. 3/8oz-5/8oz dropshot weights are what you'll need, and the 10lb fluoro will work really well for both.

[gletemfeelsteelgary]

Though I don’t fish out of the surf very often, I do hit the surf zones off jetty’s etc and fish the harbors often..
U mention the big hammers which are good but try the gulp alive 4” minnows, I slay them flat fish on it all the time..

¼ round head jig with extra strong hooks with light line will help U get ur slay on…

Be sure not to use those fine wire jigheads as a good size flattie will straighten those out in a heartbeat.

I use Gamakatsu oversize hooked round head ¼ ouncers…others will work but make sure U use a strong dense wire hooked version.

Pop twitch stitch, drag, hop retrieve pattern…hopping across the bottom !

If U feel like it’s snagged…SET THE HOOK !

Many times the butt will fire up off the bottom and grab the lure and immediately go back to the bottom and just sit there…making it feel like ur snagged.

SET THE HOOK when in doubt !

Hooksets are free…Use as many as U like !

Also try a crocadile in chrome prism and mack pattern, I’ve done well on those too and I love seeing them come up and fire on it !

The LC’s always are a good choice as mentioned earlier…

Try the jetty areas too where the sand meets the rocks in anywhere from 8’ to 16’ or so…


Hope this helps..

Good luck

Gary

[Kongo10]

Marc and Gary, thanks for the tips, i'm heading out tomorrow nite to try those technique!

Gary, I know you are a regular at castaic. I might of seen you out at the goon during a nite recon (too dark, couldn't tell thou). but I'll be sure to say what sup next time i see you at the goon!! has the water gone down more yet?? The goon is tuff right now, but i know the big fish cruise to the weed to feed at nite.

see you guys out there!! will let you know how this surf fishing goes!

[DockRat]

Halibut at night ? How many Halibut reports have you seen being caught at night ?
Anybody ?

Halibut sleep at night, you can dive up to one and touch it then it will wake up.
In the daytime when you dive up to they take off right away when you get close.

When guys talk about the grunion run that means the 2 - 3 days before the run starts all through the days of the run. The Grunion start 'staging' and hanging out days before the actual run. They hang out in the surf till the tide is right the go ashore to spawn.

Day fishing the night of a run can be very affective.

Anybody catch Halibut at night ? Tell us your story.

Check out these sleeping Halibut, dude man dives right up to them making noise shining his light till the wake up and split. In the day you can not do this very easy and when they take off it is alot faster then the sleepers.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnMrO8LleZI

Check out this Halibut at 3:30 Asleep.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRjgc1Nmnj0
DR

[Jaysuuun]

Halibut at night ? How many Halibut reports have you seen being caught at night ?
Anybody ?


DR, Tess and I have caught quite a few halibut fishing NPH at night. As a matter of fact, that's when she caught her first ever legal halibut. :Fishing Catch:

[gletemfeelsteelgary]

Halibut at night ? How many Halibut reports have you seen being caught at night ?
Anybody ?

Halibut sleep at night, you can dive up to one and touch it then it will wake up.
In the daytime when you dive up to they take off right away when you get close.

When guys talk about the grunion run that means the 2 - 3 days before the run starts all through the days of the run. The Grunion start 'staging' and hanging out days before the actual run. They hang out in the surf till the tide is right the go ashore to spawn.

Day fishing the night of a run can be very affective.

Anybody catch Halibut at night ? Tell us your story.

Check out these sleeping Halibut, dude man dives right up to them making noise shining his light till the wake up and split. In the day you can not do this very easy and when they take off it is alot faster then the sleepers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnMrO8LleZI

Check out this Halibut at 3:30 Asleep.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRjgc1Nmnj0
DR
Like I mentioned earlier, I don’t fish right OUT of the surf often but I fish the surf zones and in the harbors at night (and day for that matter) pretty regularly.

I catch Halibut all the time at night, they are very nocturnal, in all honesty, I’ve never researched any sleeping halibut mainly due to the fact that I catch them at night in a very high degree of regularity.


On another note:
It is my belief that fish do not sleep ….

at least not per say in the way that humans do…

Again, I haven’t put any research into that but it’s been my belief for 30 some odd years…

I’d STRONGLY suggest trying for the butts at night…VERY NOCTURNAL : )

Not suggesting that ALL fish have a strong night feeding pattern...just saying the Halibut does..

[5150fishn]

DR, I too have caught many hali's at night from the Newport and Balboa piers. I haven't caught a legal one in about 2 years but lots of shorts. Man I need to start hitting the surf! Kongo10 they are out there at night you just need to find them. The SWAT members are giving you quality info. and they would know.

[gletemfeelsteelgary]

Marc and Gary, thanks for the tips, i'm heading out tomorrow nite to try those technique!

Gary, I know you are a regular at castaic. I might of seen you out at the goon during a nite recon (too dark, couldn't tell thou). but I'll be sure to say what sup next time i see you at the goon!! has the water gone down more yet?? The goon is tuff right now, but i know the big fish cruise to the weed to feed at nite.

see you guys out there!! will let you know how this surf fishing goes!

The goon should switch on STRONG anytime now....some spawners but mostly the post spawn feesh...which are cruisin heavilly since their internal feed mechanisms are switching back on...

NIGHTIME iz the righttime...

Rarely fish for the LMB these days but I'll soon mount an attack for the real hawgs in the next few weeks...then abandon them again for another year...

feel free to say hello if you see me but I haven't been fishing it for about a month....soon...

Double d's will feelin' da steel : )

Good luck there....fish it...they are there !

[Tesserz]

DR, Tess and I have caught quite a few halibut fishing NPH at night. As a matter of fact, that's when she caught her first ever legal halibut. :Fishing Catch:

It's true. :Envious:

[DockRat]

Maybe they are not Asleep but after diving for bugs at night in the 80s, 90s they are in a Zombie mode at night. i can not recall ever seeing a halibut at night fishing post. Guys like Brandon fishing the bottom for endless hours at night and no halibuts.


I believe they can and have beeen caught at night but you can not argue with a top ace diver guy like Roger. He also goes 150' deep for rockfish.

Roger (ScubaPro5) said.

halibut go into sleep mode at night and do not run away when you get close to them.

When I hunt halibut at night I have marks on my speargun that measures 22inches(legal size) and I can lay my gun next to the halibut to make sure it is legal size before shooting it.

During daylight hours you usually have to take a farther shot since they will swim off when you get close.

http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=38496&highlight=halibut+sleep

[Fysher]

I myself caught a few halibuts at night (1 legal), most of the ones I catch a shorts. i dropshot with fluke and always use scent (Calico Cocktail)

When there's a grunion run, I usually fish a day after they stop running because the Halibuts will move shallow and wait for the grunions to run but then they don't, so the Hali's are hungry and are ready to feed.

Good luck out there and remember, if first you don't succeed, try and try again.

[bones]

Hey Dockrat......Sometimes you have to use common sense instead of all of the "Ultra Reading" you do.
Halibut are "Opportunists" and lay in an ambush state all of the time. Common sense should tell all of us that if something crawls in front of their face whether it's day or night.......They will eat it if they can see it and are hungry. Ton's of halibut have been caught at night. As a matter of fact I saw a guy stick a 40" halibut on a float tube in NPH two years ago at night. Biggest darn halibut I've ever seen caught in the harbor which is famous for it's shorties.
I do think though that they are more aggressive during the day when they can see better but my experience has proven to me that all species of fish have a certain percentage that feed at night.I think this hold true for both FW and SW fish.

[gletemfeelsteelgary]

Hey Dockrat......Sometimes you have to use common sense instead of all of the "Ultra Reading" you do.
Halibut are "Opportunists" and lay in an ambush state all of the time. Common sense should tell all of us that if something crawls in front of their face whether it's day or night.......They will eat it if they can see it and are hungry. Ton's of halibut have been caught at night. As a matter of fact I saw a guy stick a 40" halibut on a float tube in NPH two years ago at night. Biggest darn halibut I've ever seen caught in the harbor which is famous for it's shorties.
I do think though that they are more aggressive during the day when they can see better but my experience has proven to me that all species of fish have a certain percentage that feed at night.I think this hold true for both FW and SW fish.

Well put, if I may say so…true dat’…true dat’

I really don’t want to start any debate but I’ll add that regardless of anyone elses post from diving stating otherwise, the facts are that I PERSONALLY catch them in a great deal of regularity myself….not second hand so I speak from personal experience.

Not trying to convince ANYONE to go fish at night, these are choices ea. Individual should make on their own anyways…

So I would simply suggest to anyone considering it….”go try it and see what happens”


If one is basing an assement from research and or other peoples posts….
I’ll conclude by adding an exerpt from the same post when this scuba pro made his comments…

(Note: these are someone elses comments from that diving post not mine)
WRONG! Halibut silouette hunt. At night, they have a wide open view above them. They move in shallow, and hunt anything they can find. The only other way they move, is deeper to hunt squid. At night also. They are actually VERY active at night. Just like a deer in the headlights, they stall in place, and get hammered!!!

To the lamen:
I’d suggest doing a little research on fish sleeping and see what U find…I’m sure you’ll be surprised


Either way…go get them suckas …day…night..surf…bay.or other : )

Get yo’ bendo ON !

[smokehound]

Fish never really "Sleep" like higher vertebrates do. Instead, they go into a state of "near-sleep", if you're a fish, falling completely asleep like us humans would be a death-sentence, regardless of size. You would be a remarkably easy target.

Because of their strange resting habits, they cant really be called nocturnal, diurnal, or the like, because they are always partially active.

Also, flounders dont ALWAYS sit on the floor, especially california halibut, which have large, powerful tails, at times they will actually shoal higher in the water column, especially around the moo-moos.

[Criss]

Fish never really "Sleep" like higher vertebrates do. Instead, they go into a state of "near-sleep", if you're a fish, falling completely asleep like us humans would be a death-sentence, regardless of size. You would be a remarkably easy target.

Because of their strange resting habits, they cant really be called nocturnal, diurnal, or the like, because they are always partially active.

Also, flounders dont ALWAYS sit on the floor, especially california halibut, which have large, powerful tails, at times they will actually shoal higher in the water column, especially around the moo-moos.

Thank you Professor Smokehound for googling up the info for all. You may go back to bed now.

[smokehound]

Thank you Professor Smokehound for googling up the info for all. You may go back to bed now.Sorry, 'O Butthurt one, but I have an eidetic memory, and only need to read something once. The vast majority of my information is already stored. You're more than welcome to join me at NPH and see for yourself. It's funny that you've never posted a report here, which is odd, since trolls live under bridges!

[DockRat]

I ain't guuna take my lumps without swinging back, Lol :Envious:

More Personal Opinion; Shallow vs Deep
Most dudes on spearboard are free divers. That means they are working about 20' and less. Lets call it the feeding zone. Harbors are feeding zones too.

Harbors have protection, warmer water, lights and all 3 of these things = MORE BAIT.
Ever try to sleep after not eating for a day ?
Children burn more energy that adults, they eat less, more often.
Same with Halibuts. All those shorts from NPH are like kids getting snacks in the kitchen at a night.
Bigger Halibuts eat more, less often.

Those bigger ones bunker down and get in the sleep mode.
In the 80's my dive buddy had great eyes and nailed a few 10 lb halibuts at night including 2 or 3 with No Speargun. When he told the owner of a dive shop about a nightime kill the shop owner told us about catching 30" + Halibuts at night with No Spear or Knife. He said it like this;

' You just swim right up to them and lay your open dive bag in front of them,
then touch them and they swim right in '

At that point you hang on, Like a Bobcat in a gunny sack. My old dive buddy stabbed though (and ruined) his game bag a dozen stabbs to get one under control.

Most divers and fishermen go shallow in night both fishing and diving.
We know the surf zone is shallow.
how deep is NPH on the average where you guys fish ?
Gary, do you use a fishfinder ?





Anybody catch Halibut at night ? Tell us your story.
DR

Glad you guys chimed in.
Are those night halibuts right after sunset time ?

How come Brandon and crew work the bottom all night and don't report halibut catches ?



I catch Halibut all the time at night, they are very nocturnal, in all honesty, I’ve never researched any sleeping halibut mainly due to the fact that I catch them at night in a very high degree of regularity.


You get extra credit Gary for driving in a HR with RojoDiablos post on Halibuts vision problem at night. Is it true ??? I dunno since you can't talk a Halibut. RojoDiablo is more of a Free Diver. Roger is a full on hardcore scuba diver 20 + years diving with tanks. I have met him. NO BS from him. He goes deep.




Hey Dockrat......Sometimes you have to use common sense instead of all of the "Ultra Reading" you do.




Dear Mike, I try to base my statements on past experience not 'ultra reading' since I do only 1 - 2 hours a day on the PC usually pre-dawn time. Got certified in scuba in about 1980 so I look at things from a below the water view rather than a surf fishing or harbor boating view. When you start going 50' at night and swim right up to a large halibut making noise with scuba tanks, bright lights and see them in a Zen Mode you will know what I'm talking about.

Normally you can't get within 8' of them in the day, at night they seem to be sleeping.
Do all of them sleep at night ? No, you guys testimony prove that.

Are the bigger ones sleeping or in the Zen Mode, you bet they are.

Conclusion;
Apples and Oranges

Smaller halibuts in shallow vs
Bigger halibuts deeper. (AT NIGHT)
DR

[skunked again]

Sleeping Fish

I did a lot of night fishing and spearing growing up in Texas and Florida-Saltwater, rivers and lakes.

I used to spearfish as a kid, in Panama city FLA. The fish on the jetty would lie on the bottom. You could fan them lightly and they would lean over on their side. They would wake and dart off if you tried to grab them. It look to me that they were sleeping.

We would walk in the river near my house with flashlights and look in the water (Texas). The bream would all lay on the bottom and would not startle unless you nudged them.

In Port Aransas, Tx. as the cold fronts would blow through in Fall/early winter, the flounder would leave the shallows of the intercoastal and funnel through the ship channel. They would be in the 1st 30 feet of water,esp. on the sand, moving all day and night to the Gulf of Mexico, d/t the temperture change. We would head them off at the pass and catch many of them at night. They are not Halibut but another flat fish.

There were free piers, jetties and streets lined with street lights on the water front. We would fish these at night and many times catch flounder, speckled trout and redfish. I guessed the baitfish were attracted to the light and the fish that were awake would hang out and eat.

I would fish high full moons in Corpus Christi, Texas, Oso Bay, free lining live shrimp or on a cork. This worked well, especially when the tide was coming in gushing water through the bridge. Not a halibut but another fish that ate at night. I would catch much less if there was no moon to highlight the shrimp drifting over the fish.

I have a lot more night fishing stories but will stop here. My opinion is nothing scientific but, I think they sleep or go into a resting mode. They sit on bottom and will lay at a slant at times. I bet they are like people. Many of them rest at night, but not all. I am sure a halibut sleeps/rests, what ever you want to call it, at some time or another when he is hiding in the mud/sand. If they can see because there is light around or baitfish in the moonlight ,I am sure they are oppurtunistic feeders.

BTW, if not mentioned yet, there was a post on here a few weeks ago of a man and his son catching a nice halibut in the dark.

[bsp]

Big halibut do feed at night. A good friend of mine (not on these boards) only fishes at night and has racked up some very impressive halibut catches. Before the Turner's in Torrance was torn down, he had a picture of his largest halibut caught at night up there. Easily a 40in+ fish caught fly lining a live grunion during a run. There is also another area that has several bright lights shining into a deep drop off at night in one of the local harbors. It is illegal to fish there (hence why I haven't done it), but I've walked by it and observed several 30in-40in halibut coming up off the drop off to smash the baitfish that were attracted by the light. They will come in shallow to do so if there is enough bait around to attract them. I also have another friend from USC who is an avid WSB angler. He has stuck many large halibut in the dead of night with live squid on dropper loops. Again, find the bait at night shallow and then active, large halibut will follow.

DR, your emphasis on deep is completely irrelevant. If I am surf fishing, I honestly don't care what halibut are doing in 10+ feet of water. 30in+ halibut will come shallow (6 feet and less) to feed at night if bait is present. I have seen it enough times at the spot I mentioned and have seen photos from several friends of mine to know it happens with some regularity. They also like well lit areas because they concentrate bait fish. There is also one beach that really seems to go off as the sun sets. I would like to go nightfishing there with SWAT one of these days because the quality gets better the later it gets.

[fish4keep]

So who is right and who is wrong? There's no right or wrong answer but how you look at it. Halibut do bite at night but where do they usually bite? In lit areas: piers, docks with lights. So you see, even though it's night time (for us), the area where you see most halibuts caught at night are in lit area which = day light (for halibut). Now try to fish in a dark area and see if you'll have the same result in catching halibuts.

[gletemfeelsteelgary]

So who is right and who is wrong? There's no right or wrong answer but how you look at it. Halibut do bite at night but where do they usually bite? In lit areas: piers, docks with lights. So you see, even though it's night time (for us), the area where you see most halibuts caught at night are in lit area which = day light (for halibut). Now try to fish in a dark area and see if you'll have the same result in catching halibuts.
I catch them in pitch black conditions....a light does indeed add to the odds but it's more because it attracks the baitfish..

nuff debate...not trying to convince or sell anyone...fish when you like day or night...

Just sharing what I've experienced personally, I don't really need to convince anyone or post anything for that matter, just trying to help but it seems like everyone is trying to prove the other wrong....no need..

go fish......fish in JUST the daytime if U choose, doesn't matter....main thing is to get out and fish : )

[bsp]

So who is right and who is wrong? There's no right or wrong answer but how you look at it. Halibut do bite at night but where do they usually bite? In lit areas: piers, docks with lights. So you see, even though it's night time (for us), the area where you see most halibuts caught at night are in lit area which = day light (for halibut). Now try to fish in a dark area and see if you'll have the same result in catching halibuts.

Done that too, complete pitch black beaches get big fish. That's where my buddy stuck his biggest fish during grunion runs, and the beach that goes off as it's dark has no lights.

[smokehound]

In my experiences, the times of day with highest halibut acitivity seem to be around dawn and dusk.

I never catch any in the middle of the afternoon.

[Wingnut]

I catch most of my BIGGEST Halibut AT NIGHT, the darker the night, the better...
That's when I sleep the soundest and reel them in one after another. :LOL:

Sorry, I can't seriously comment on this thread because I don't target Halibut at night. But have heard people tell me and showed me pics of Halibut caught overnight from different beaches. The only one time I tried fishing for Halibut at night was during a Grunion run a couple of years back, caught a couple of Yellow Fin Croakers and a big Shovelnose. :Neutral:

To each his own... if you truly believe that you can catch Halibut at night, you will probably go out there and prove yourself right. Confidence is a great ally. :Wink:

[gletemfeelsteelgary]

Hi guys,

I always hang out at the fresh water post (castaic) since all I knew was LMB. Just recently, I meet a buddy that turned me on to salt water fishing. since then we been hitting up LB, NPH, and Del Ray. I have no clues as to what I'm doing out there in the surf (I have a lot to learn...), but I'm determine to catch my first halibut this season.

I just read a post by Marc about halibut fishing (damn you guys are awesome on surf!!) and saw a comment about halibuts come up shallow while grunion's are running. Can anyone offer me some tips as to how to fish while they are running? I live near hermosa beach and am thinking about going out there the next 3 nites just to get more knowledge. I got some zoom fluke for DS and some LC (dont know what type of dept I need, the one I have got some big lips). planning on using my fresh water setup, 10lb fluoro on a 7' mid power ex-fast crucial. Is this setup OK?? how wet do i need to get to fish for the hali? what part of the beach should I concentrate on?

any tip would be much appreciated, as I'm a noob at this.

Thanks!!!
question iz...

Did Kongo 10 get out and fish...he might be confused now....might have taken up catfishing at Sarl instead : )

Any feesh Kongo10 ?

[DockRat]

So who is right and who is wrong? There's no right or wrong answer but how you look at it. Halibut do bite at night but where do they usually bite? In lit areas: piers, docks with lights. So you see, even though it's night time (for us), the area where you see most halibuts caught at night are in lit area which = day light (for halibut). Now try to fish in a dark area and see if you'll have the same result in catching halibuts.

Yes, the conclusion is that they do bite at night, and at night the halibut also go into the sleep mode (outside harbors, 40' + deep)
After 20 years of thinking halibuts sleep at night after seeing them in a Zombie mode on numerious lobster dives and having my dive buddy bag them with no speargun, I now have a different view of halibuts at night.

You can walk in any dive shop and talk to lobster divers and they will tell you they sleep at night. In the day, you can not get close to them, they bolt out, usually before you even see them. At night you can swim up to them with tanks, making noise, with a bright light ang get within a foot of them and they don't move.

Fish activity is different from day to night depending on species.
Some sleep, some come alive. Bass, sharks, rays and many more feed at night.
Others go into a sleep mode. On many dives at night some fish are in the sleep mode,
You can actually grab them bare hands. MikeLB on SB bare handed a 15 lb Cabazon at night a couple months ago. That would never happen in the daytime.

The new law is you can not carry a speargun at night when targeting lobster, In the 80's and 90's we always carried guns at night on lobster dives. They don't want you to use the shaft or tip to work them out of a hole.

Halibut are like people, most sleep at night, others stay up then hit the kitchen for a snack.


What is a big halibut ? Depends on who you talk to. A surf fisherman will say a 30" is big.
Guys that fish tournaments will say 20 to 50 lbs is big. Those 20 lb + Big Ones are usually caught in 50' to 100' of water, in the day.
DR




Chase Park MDR Halibut :ROFL:
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll106/CapnMikey/Alaska%20Fish/chrisBoyd350.jpg

[DockRat]

I catch most of my BIGGEST Halibut AT NIGHT, the darker the night, the better...
That's when I sleep the soundest and reel them in one after another. :LOL:



LMAO Arthur.

[gletemfeelsteelgary]

Yes, the conclusion is that they do bite at night, and at night the halibut also go into the sleep mode (outside harbors, 40' + deep)
After 20 years of thinking halibuts sleep at night after seeing them in a Zombie mode on numerious lobster dives and having my dive buddy bag them with no speargun, I now have a different view of halibuts at night.

You can walk in any dive shop and talk to lobster divers and they will tell you they sleep at night. In the day, you can not get close to them, they bolt out, usually before you even see them. At night you can swim up to them with tanks, making noise, with a bright light ang get within a foot of them and they don't move.

Fish activity is different from day to night depending on species.
Some sleep, some come alive. Bass, sharks, rays and many more feed at night.
Others go into a sleep mode. On many dives at night some fish are in the sleep mode,
You can actually grab them bare hands. MikeLB on SB bare handed a 15 lb Cabazon at night a couple months ago. That would never happen in the daytime.

The new law is you can not carry a speargun at night when targeting lobster, In the 80's and 90's we always carried guns at night on lobster dives. They don't want you to use the shaft or tip to work them out of a hole.

Halibut are like people, most sleep at night, others stay up then hit the kitchen for a snack.


What is a big halibut ? Depends on who you talk to. A surf fisherman will say a 30" is big.
Guys that fish tournaments will say 20 to 50 lbs is big. Those 20 lb + Big Ones are usually caught in 50' to 100' of water, in the day.
DR




Chase Park MDR Halibut :ROFL:
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll106/CapnMikey/Alaska%20Fish/chrisBoyd350.jpg

FYI...just for the lamen...or newcomer to fishing.

Your conclusions are inconclusive..

Furthermore:
Honestly we are not really concerned with dive laws on the fishing sight so please keep the google news limited to fishing oriented data.



Info may or may not be received better from 1st hand experiences not other peoples 3rd hand info.

Sorry buddy but this angle of knowledge just doesn’t fly !

Don’t care what you read…..the real world works differently than everything written on paper.

P.S.

One does not have to be in 50’ of water to catch big halibut regardless of what your intrepetations of a “big” halibut is.

I suggest the “Ask Jeeves” search engine this time : )

P.P.S.
The “(outside harbors, 40' + deep)” comment is somewhat comedic….
you must be joking

All these comments reflect someone with lack of personal experience but good with research.

Power to U my friend but all the research in the world is no replacement for time on the water…that’s the only true way to learn and in turn educate other anglers by sharing advice and experience.

Careful how U steer people when not sure of ur info.

[DockRat]

Dear Gary, :Rolls Eyes:
FYI, Most of my life has been on the ocean, the last 11 years 1/8 of a mile from the water 24/7, surfing in 1970 to the mid 80's, diving from 1978 to 2002 ALOT. Saltwater fishing on and off from 1972 but alot more the last 10 years, my lunches and after work time are spent fishing, watching fishermen, hanging out at marinas. Yesterday was at Al Larson on the island checking on fishermen, worked on a dive boat a few years also.

Did you know that you can learn from other fishermen by talking and watching ?
Last week driving around checking Pt Vicente, Rocky with Binos and talking to free divers at the Pipe, (would love to go but working 6 to 7 days a week makes it tough)
Yesterday there was 3 guys with 9 WSB from the backside of Cat loading at Davies.


FYI...just for the lamen...or newcomer to fishing.

Your conclusions are inconclusive..

Furthermore:
Honestly we are not really concerned with dive laws on the fishing sight so please keep the google news limited to fishing oriented data..


Dear Gary, Why didn't you jump on Hesbros for reporting on free divers spearing lobsters at KH ? It is good info and fishermen should know it to help report Poachers.
Underwater dive info regauding halibut at at night is very relevant to the topic at hand.
Grunion, Halibut, Night. When you see Halibut in a Zombie state (sleeping) whatever you want to call it, at night while diving for 20 years, you might have a different view about them. There is alot more to the ocean than sitting in a small harbor in a 12' skiff catching 90% shorts.


Info may or may not be received better from 1st hand experiences not other peoples 3rd hand info..

Yah OK, :Rolls Eyes:



Sorry buddy but this angle of knowledge just doesn’t fly !

Don’t care what you read…..the real world works differently than everything written on paper.

P.S.

One does not have to be in 50’ of water to catch big halibut regardless of what your intrepetations of a “big” halibut is..

Yes Gary, you are correct. But generally Bigger Halibut are deeper.

Here is a example; The 2011 MDR Halibut Derby winner was a 43 lber caught outside.
Second place was a 17 lber caught on a yak inside MDR. The same Yaker landed several smaller ones inside the harbor. The commercial halibut guys that catch live ones off Pier 400 fish 40' of water. They get 1 to 3 all day of fishing hard. A termite guy and his buddy off the beach landed 105 Halibuts in one day. Only one legal. Those babies stack up sometimes. I'll take a 15 lber over 20 shorts any day. To each there own.



I suggest the “Ask Jeeves” search engine this time : )

P.P.S.
The “(outside harbors, 40' + deep)” comment is somewhat comedic….
you must be joking..

Old news, more big halibut live deeper. You should try it sometime.
You won't catch as may, more skunks, 'hero or zero' That is what Behdad told me,
Been to 5 Halibut Seminars, Capt. Bacon, Behdad, and this guy (forgot his name) Raymond ?
He has won the MDR a few times, he knows his stuff.

Guys going for big ones use BIG BAITS. 10" to 14" Macs, Jacksmelt, ect.


All these comments reflect someone with lack of personal experience but good with research..

I reseach EVERY DAY, but not on the internet. You can learn alot talking to fishermen in the marinas. Most of them DO NOT POST on the WWW.


Power to U my friend but all the research in the world is no replacement for time on the water…that’s the only true way to learn and in turn educate other anglers by sharing advice and experience.

Careful how U steer people when not sure of ur info.

Time on the water ? You should try time outside of a harbor away from your 12' skiff.

Dear Gary, Feel free to put me on your ignore list. Thanks
I do enjoy your reading posts, the comedy writing style is great.
The Memorial Day one was great. People take fishing way too serious and joking around posts are great.
DR

http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww48/Hiking-Dude/Rams1.jpg