Halibut vs Sole vs Sanddab vs Flounder

i'd also say halibut have a distinct smell

they got that stank!

Like money?

I totally thought a Sole was a baby halibut, and it was a pretty good size sole  3$J helped show me the difference in the arch over the pectoral fin, where it's a soft arc on a sole, and a sort of sharp up curve then flattened out.  Look on the bottom/white side it's easier to distinguish.  My pics aren't great, but maybe you can see what i'm talking about.  And now that I view them side by side, the heads are on the opposite sides of their bodies 

I agree that the steep arch in the lateral line is a key identifying characteristic for halibut. But your second picture labeled sole.jpg really looks like a halibut to me.

Well here is a top view of the same fish, without the white dots, I think it's a sole but I still have doubts I guess 2 years later.  Either way, it was released so hopefully it's still out there somewhere.

I totally thought a Sole was a baby halibut, and it was a pretty good size sole  3$J helped show me the difference in the arch over the pectoral fin, where it's a soft arc on a sole, and a sort of sharp up curve then flattened out.  Look on the bottom/white side it's easier to distinguish.  My pics aren't great, but maybe you can see what i'm talking about.  And now that I view them side by side, the heads are on the opposite sides of their bodies 

I agree that the steep arch in the lateral line is a key identifying characteristic for halibut. But your second picture labeled sole.jpg really looks like a halibut to me.

Well here is a top view of the same fish, without the white dots, I think it's a sole but I still have doubts I guess 2 years later.  Either way, it was released so hopefully it's still out there somewhere.

Did it smell like a hali?...2 years later... looks like it smelled like a hali. 

Well if it I could smell it, I think I would be able to tell 

Yeah that 24" fish looks like a halibut to me as well, the end of tail has a curved edge and is not like a sole tail which is more "broom like". When small halibut can have this broom like tail as well so they are harder to distinguish.

Another distinguishing feature of sole are the "free rays" on their head like a little mohawk, no halibut has that.

That looks like a hali to me - stars just aren't prominent.

Thank you, Eric.  I need to find new halibut destinations near Mendocino.

There's a guy named Damon/Dialysis Dude who posts on Lost Coast Kayak Anglers (Facebook page) who lives down there.  He caught a halibut last summer somewhere around the Mendo area.  Otherwise, they don't seem to be common along that reefy coastline.

https://www.youtube.com/@dialysisdude1079

OK, I had my pics mixed up.  I did catch a sole, but I don't have a bottom pic for comparing the lateral lines. 

There you go look at that nice broom tail!

I used to catch these fairly often kayak fishing shallow while crabbing in the winter. Here's a little one I caught from shore in Point Reyes.

Thank you, Eric.  I need to find new halibut destinations near Mendocino.

There's a guy named Damon/Dialysis Dude who posts on Lost Coast Kayak Anglers (Facebook page) who lives down there.  He caught a halibut last summer somewhere around the Mendo area.  Otherwise, they don't seem to be common along that reefy coastline.

https://www.youtube.com/@dialysisdude1079

I met Damon at the Russian Gulch.  When is the halibut season at Shelter Cove & Humboldt Bay?

I met Damon at the Russian Gulch.  When is the halibut season at Shelter Cove & Humboldt Bay?

California halibut season is open all year, but both of those places are better in the summer months, as with other areas.