How do you find Halibut?

I'm been trying to catch halibut at ARW five times in the last two months. I was not able to hook one yet. I tried live shiners, frozen herrings, and soft swimbait. I tried sliding egg setup and three-way swivel. With a flasher or without. None worked. All I caught were leopard sharks.

I was thinking that I probably didn't put bait in the right place. I picked up some NOAA charts yesterday and found where the deep holes are in ARW. My main questions are, how do I identify the productive areas? And should I drift from the shallow to the deep, deep to shallow, or stay within the deep or shallow?

Any tip to help this newbie land a hali is very much appreciated.


ernest

My friend. I wish there was an answer. Just time on the water. Also drift or troll into the current (you want some water movement). Hali's feed facing the current your weight will get their attention and hopefully they strike at the next thing they see which should be your bait. I have much better luck drifting vs. trolling. Also I all my catches have been on 'chovies live and frozen. You just gotta keep moving to diff spots. They don't need really deep water 3-5 sometimes. That's my two cents!

Man, if you figure it out let the rest of know.

Seriously, I've not fished at ARW, but out here on the coast I try to cover lots of sand in known spots and hope for the best. I think at ARW they may concentrate in hollows or deep spots more than other places.

Good luck!

everybody kinda said it, "Time"....

but try places other than ARW...oyster, paradise, CHRISSY FIELD...

Apparently, I just heard, ASK SONNY he just limited again at Paradise.

Yea, just follow Sonny & Chuck around... 

Swear some day I'm going to put a bug GPS on all their cars and just follow them everywhere 

take the blood from a toad on the winter solstice.  Put the blood in the freezer.  Boil it prior to going halibut hunting.  Offer it up to whatever god floats your boat.

Seriously I am 0-9 so not the guy to ask!

0 for 4. Gonna keep trying. Might break 300.

Just wait for Sonny's ( Sailfish ) report, we might learned something from him.  



Kiel

Catch one! No, seriously they hang out together in the same patches.Where you find one there are usually more nearby.

Also, look for sandy patches next to rock walls, ledges,and rock shelves with kelp on them.Halis bury themselves in the sand near structure and ambush prey/bait.

Thanks everyone. Having read so many success stories lately, I thought I've gotta be doing something wrong. 0-5 is not very encouraging, but I think I'm gonna try Paradise this Sunday if the weather cooperates. Otherwise, back to ARW to see if I could conquer it this time. Don't like the feeling of defeat


ernest

Thanks everyone. Having read so many success stories lately, I thought I've gotta be doing something wrong. 0-5 is not very encouraging, but I think I'm gonna try Paradise this Sunday if the weather cooperates. Otherwise, back to ARW to see if I could conquer it this time. Don't like the feeling of defeat
ernest

Hi Ernest,

I got no secret, just lucky I guess. My rig is a standard 3 way: 12" to the torpedo sinker (3 -5 oz depend on the current) and 36" to the #2 single hook (no stinger).  I think you got better chance hooking a nice Hali at Paradise than at ARW.  Drifting a live or dead Shiner/Anchovy from the piling toward the bridge seems to work for me.  Good luck next time.

Sonny

KEEP TRYING!!  I spent most of a year trying before I got the first one.  This was all along the rockwall and towards Crown beach.

Great advice given so far.

I'd at that you should fish "smarter, not harder".  This means fishing where and when the "bite is on". 
Usually a bay halibut bite is correlated to tides.  Smaller tide swings and better water clarity (decreased by big tides and high wind), are preferred. 

Stuart