Halibut Fishing

I have a question for you...

If I was to go fishing for Halibut in Bean Hollow, what would be the best bait to use?   

squid 

Live bait (smelt or chovies) is also a good bet, and don't forget drop shotting plastics.

MolBasser

I've heard the term many times and been wondering...what is "drop shotting?"

Drop shotting is a technique that was perfected by freshwater bass anglers, but is applicable to a multitude of fishing applications.

The long and short of it is that you tie a hook on the mainline of your rig using a palomar knot leaving a long tag end free and attach a weight to the tag line at the distance from the hook that you want.

This results in a weight that bounces on the bottom holding a bait above.  I used to catch halibut in San Diego all the time using this technique.

MolBasser

Thanks Mol.  By plastics, do you mean swimbaits??  Would this have to be while drifting to get the action you want on the swimbait?

Use your imagination for baits.

I have typically used Fin-s-fish and Zoom Flukes and Bass Assassins for halibut.  The beauty of drop shot is that you are jiggling the bait above the halibut, right in their strike zone.  A slow drift is ideal, but you can cast and shake back to the boat in calm conditions.

You are just trying to imitate a baitfish in front of the halibut.

I have used an incredible range of different baits with drop shot.  Squid imitations work well too.

MolBasser