Halibut help

Is anyone willing to share some general info about halibut kayak fishing? I’m in Fresno and can pretty much go anywhere along the central coast. I have fished halibut many times from boats but never from the kayak. Not looking for anyone’s spot but some general ideas on good areas and tackle tips would be great. Thanks.

Allen wrote a nice article on this topic a while  back.  Click on link below:

https://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?page=9

Thank you. Lots of useful info there that I will put to good use.

Many good YouTube Videos:





Paul

Is anyone willing to share some general info about halibut kayak fishing? I’m in Fresno and can pretty much go anywhere along the central coast. I have fished halibut many times from boats but never from the kayak. Not looking for anyone’s spot but some general ideas on good areas and tackle tips would be great. Thanks.

I fish them the exact same way on. A boat vs a kayak. Same lead same rig same rod same.bait same speed. The fish doesn't care what object you're floating in

Similar question - does anyone change setups or tactics when in ocean vs SF Bay? 

i personally dont troll for them in the ocean. i like drift fishing live bait if you can get it. Smelts, Anchovies, Sardines, all of them are great.  In the bay i like trolling dead bait and covering more water. there's much more pressure and therefor i think you need to cover ground rather than find the perfect hump to drift.

i personally dont troll for them in the ocean. i like drift fishing live bait if you can get it. Smelts, Anchovies, Sardines, all of them are great.  In the bay i like trolling dead bait and covering more water. there's much more pressure and therefor i think you need to cover ground rather than find the perfect hump to drift.

What rig do you use for drifting?

MooMoo is the man!  Love that guy.  Bounce ball rigs all day w squid or whatever live bait I can find.  Three way swivel w ~36” leader to octopus + treble, ~15” leader to 5oz ball.


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i personally dont troll for them in the ocean. i like drift fishing live bait if you can get it. Smelts, Anchovies, Sardines, all of them are great.  In the bay i like trolling dead bait and covering more water. there's much more pressure and therefor i think you need to cover ground rather than find the perfect hump to drift.

This is kinda what I was thinking too, thanks for confirming! 

What rig do you use for drifting?

I'm probably going to use a "live bait" rig with a sliding leader on a short section of mono with a weight on the bottom like a dropper or hi/low rig.  Other folks use three way/bounce ball rigs, or "fish finder" rigs too. 

These are great videos, thanks for the info!

i personally dont troll for them in the ocean. i like drift fishing live bait if you can get it. Smelts, Anchovies, Sardines, all of them are great.  In the bay i like trolling dead bait and covering more water. there's much more pressure and therefor i think you need to cover ground rather than find the perfect hump to drift.

What rig do you use for drifting?

3 way rig with a long leader

Good luck and look forward to a halibut catch report.

Look out for halibut hook ups in your area or post a hook up so that peeps might join you.

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Alex

Hey Tyler!  If your interested I'm going to take my first trip for halibut this coming Monday at a spot called Oyster Point.  My neighbor has a inflatable kayak for me to try out and im super excited to go halibut fishing!

Is anyone willing to share some general info about halibut kayak fishing? IÂ’m in Fresno and can pretty much go anywhere along the central coast. I have fished halibut many times from boats but never from the kayak. Not looking for anyoneÂ’s spot but some general ideas on good areas and tackle tips would be great. Thanks.

Something I didn’t mention that I learned from making mistakes as a new kayak angler:

Bring landing gear.  You mentioned you’ve fished from a boat so you know the drill.  At least a gaff and bat but definitely bring a dive stringer that you can secure to the boat, I bring two so I can transfer fish onto one and have one free.  I lost a big halibut out in 70fow off natural bridges because it wasn’t secured properly and I didn’t baton and bleed the fish after I landed it.

I fish Santa Cruz so I can tell you there’s halibut right out in front of the harbor, the 70-90fow line from Steamer Lane to Natural Bridges has always been good for me and outside the kelp beds at many locations I’ve scored as well.  Anywhere you feel sand you have a chance.  Capitola has them out by the mile buoy and over by New Brighton. 




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