Pacific Halibut Fishery Set to Open May 1

April 11, 2022

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is pleased to announce the 2022 recreational Pacific halibut fishery will open Sunday, May 1 and remain open until November 15, or until the quota is reached, whichever is earlier. The 2022 Pacific halibut quota for the California sport fishery is 38,740 pounds – approximately the same as the 2021 quota.

The season dates are expected to meet the goal of providing as much fishing opportunity as possible throughout the season and ensuring the quota is attained. The open dates are not guaranteed, and the season could be closed early if it is determined that projected catches will exceed the California quota.

Anglers are always advised to check for updated information when planning a Pacific halibut fishing trip. Season dates, bag/possession limits and gear restrictions can be found on CDFW’s Pacific halibut web page (https://wildlife.ca.gov/DesktopModules/LiveCampaign/API/Request/ProcessEmail?c=314&l=1099224&ce=439684388). Public notification of any in-season change to regulations is made through the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Pacific halibut hotline at (800) 662-9825 or CDFW’s Groundfish and Pacific halibut Regulations Hotline at (831) 649-2801.

State regulations for Pacific halibut automatically conform to federal regulations set by NMFS using the process described in the California Code of Regulations, Title 14, section 1.95. Federal regulations for Pacific halibut took effect March 31, 2022 and were published in the Federal Register (87 FR 19007) on April 1, 2022.

The 2022 Pacific halibut quota for the California sport fishery is 38,740 pounds – approximately the same as the 2021 quota.

That’s a lie!  We lost some quota due to the incompetence of the DFW not being able to keep an accurate count for the 2021 pacific halibut quota. 

The pacific halibut season will go quick since we have no salmon fishing in June and July so there will be more pressure on Pacific halibut.  I’m sure the CA DFW will manage to mess up the count this year too.

How is it determined that quotas are met? Do they follow sport boat and commercial counts?

Where is the best place to Target Pacific Halibut? I have not seen any caught in the Half Moon Bay area.

Where is the best place to Target Pacific Halibut? I have not seen any caught in the Half Moon Bay area.

They generally aren't found this far south with any regularity.
Search in the fishing reports section and you'll see pretty quickly where they are feasible for kayakers in NorCal

Where is the best place to Target Pacific Halibut? I have not seen any caught in the Half Moon Bay area.

Shelter Cove

Trinidad and a few miles off of Humboldt Bay are much more productive for Pac hali than the Cove, but Shelter Cove is a good spot to find one if you fish there long enough!

Two winners of Gimme Shelter have done so with a Pacific anchoring their stringers.  Other Pac hali have been caught around the GS weekends - quite a few fought and lost, a couple boated and lost.

I caught mine in 2011 after hours of salmon trolling in the fog - dropped a herring down to have some water, and boom!  Big net made a 42"er easy.

Biggest from GS weekends has been BigFoot with a 51.5" 60 pounder.  Rob's gotten a couple in the 50" range at T-dad.

Nice fish Eric. I’d have thought you catch them regularly

Trinidad is the most consistent place to catch a pacific halibut from a kayak.  Look up all my past reports. 

Trinidad is the best kayak Pac Hali spot. I like to start at 180 ft which is almost 5 miles straight off the head.  Godfather rigs with bait on the top hook and a live Sanddab on the bottom hook. The drift can get moving out there some days, so be prepared for plenty of paddling/ peddling.