SF Bay Halibut: Knowledge is Power

Yesterday, me and my good friend Austin decided to fishing early in the morning before I had to leave for work. We knew that we would have a limited time to fish, and at most would only have 3 hours to fish. This meant that we wouldn't even be able to fish the favorable tides we wanted to fish. I like to MAXIMIZE my chances of catching (esp. for hard species to catch like halibut or a sturgeon) by going fishing on days when all variables are favorable, but you can't always have everything, and if I had a choice, I'd still go fishing even if all the odds aren't in my favor. That's exactly what we did despite knowing that we wouldn't be able to fish the ideal tides for this spot, we still decided to go because we heard a really good report from a friend of mine who is an elite fisherman. He told us that on Sunday he caught a few shaker halibut and a keeper at 23 inches. So we knew that at the very least the fish would be there.

My friend Austin, is newbie fisherman. I took him out fishing before a few times before, but it had been over a year since we went fishing last time. I had to teach him everything all over again because it had been such a long time since we last fished, he forgot how to cast, properly hold the rod, etc. I gave a crash course on a how to use a baitcasting rod n reel. Then taught him how to properly work the lure we were using. I told him that the strike zone for halibut is 1-4 feet off the bottom, so I told him that he has to present the lure in the strike zone properly. I showed him how to jig the lure and keep it in the ideal strike zone. He learning everything quickly and as he was working on mastering the technique... he said he felt a rock (the hit) and said he waited to see if it was fish or not and saw the line move left and then move right. When he saw that, there was no mistaking it was a fish and he set the hook and the fight was on. He hooked a big halibut! He fought the big fish quite effortlessly on freshwater bass fishing gear. I helped him land it and it ended up being a fat 33.5" halibut!!!

He caught the fish by casting where I had gotten a hit earlier. I missed the fish because I set the hook too early before the fish ate the bait. Nonetheless, it was first time breaking in my new Okuma Helios rod and reel setup. The hit I got from the hali felt explosive from the sensitive graphite blanks and this setup is super light. It only weighs 10.6oz for the entire setup!!! I am in love with this combo and it's perfect for bay plugging. Usually halibut hits are on the soft side and can be hard to detect at times, but with this rod (and braid) the hit feels like a dynamite exploding in my hand...

Anyways, it was one helluva moment when my friend Austin caught that big halibut. We gave each other hug and a high 5. He listen carefully to everything I had to say and applied it flawlessly. Knowledge truly is powerful and I am proud of my pupil. We ended up frying that bad boy later that night and it was oh so good!!

Rod: Okuma 7'6" H Helios (Me) and 7' MH Lightning Rod (Austin)
Reel: Okuma Helios 273VA (Me) and Citica 200e (Austin)
Line: 40lb Daiwa Samurai Braid (me) and 50lb power pro (Austin)
Leader: 40lb mono leader
Lure: 5" Fishtrap with a 1oz shadhead
Retrieve/Technique: Jigging/bouncing
Location: Oyster Point
Fish caught: Missed one hit (me) and 33.5" halibut caught by Austin
Date fished: April 23, 2013
Time fished: 7:30AM till 9:15AM (not a bad trip for less than two hours of fishing) Fish was caught approx. 8:30AM
Tides:

    23      Low   5:24 AM     0.4   
    23     High  11:32 AM     5.8   
    23      Low   5:18 PM     1.1
    23     High  11:31 PM     7.1


Here are the pics:







I suggest you guys break out the plugging gear and hit the west and south sides of the SF Bay hard as you can while the fish are here. And as others have reported, there is a lot of fish in the system now. Now is the time to fish the SF Bay.

Where's your Rapala?   

Lot's of good info there!  Thanks for sharing with all of us!

 

nice fish and info but can you just stick to one forum? I know i'm missing a few

http://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/northern-california-fishing-reports/490952-sf-bay-halibut-knowledge-power.html

http://www.pierfishing.com/msgboard/viewtopic.php?t=16728

http://www.sanjosebass.com/forums/sf-bay-halibut-knowledge-is-power-5990.html

http://www.fishsniffer.com/forums/piers-jettys-surf/104346-sf-bay-halibut-knowledge-power.html

No Fish Sniffer pose there!!!.  Hey, Thanks for the report pics and info.  Cool Catch for sure.

And as for forums, spread the news where ever you want especially as long as you're only sharing you own hard earned success, it's like you give what you get, you're sharing your success with others (and rightly proud you are).

Fishcomb, Don't be anti social (sites) Takes a lot of time to post that many places

Thanks for the report 

Thanks for the detailed report and pictures TPK.

Congrats and thanks for sharing!!!!!

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Nice report, I wish I lived closer.

CONGRATS to the teacher and the pupil!
now that's a report that most can appreciate. 
IknowIdo! = thanks!!

Just remember every place you post, increases the amount of people there exponentialy.  Your hard found spot can be overwhelmed in one post.

You need to thank your "elite fisherman" friend for the heads up.
Thanks for the report and congrats!

Just remember every place you post, increases the amount of people there exponentialy.  Your hard found spot can be overwhelmed in one post.

He knows.

Let's not get on people's cases for posting informative posts.

Way to get on the fish

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