kayak halibut on lures

I use John Skinners fluke bucktail rig and have some success with it. My only complaint is I use a 2oz buck and it can be a pain when the current is strong. I also have been using the bounce ball with a 4" swimbait. I like the white keitechs. This setup gives me some success and I like using it a lot. Pretty simple and hassle free. Just slow troll it tapping the bottom

Biggest trick to halibut with lures is actually speed. Most people work the bait pretty slow and this will catch a few fish but if u burn the bait a few feet rather quickly then let it fall back to the bottom and repeat, u will have more hook ups for sure. Halibut like to follow lures and bait for a long time before hitting or just changing their mind. By burning the lure up off the bottom quickly u will trigger a lot more reaction strikes. Give this a try the next time u go out and I'm sure it will work out. You also cover more water since you are working the bait faster. I'm pretty much a big hammer guy in baitfish color but will use a 1oz tsunami ball jig tipped with a white gulp mullets if I'm fishing 20' or less. Good luck and I hope this technique works for you.

@SteveS anything you can share about your jigging discoveries?

I actually caught one on a shrimp fly on a dropper above a 4 or 6 oz swimbait like you might do for rockfish. It was the only thing I had on me heavy enough to get to the bottom.

I've caught them on white scampis and big hammer or fishtrap swimbaits. Dark or light colors depending on the daylight (overcast=darker, bright sun=white).
I've also picked them targeting them with a bounceball rig and a white or jail-striped hoochi.

All of my recent slabs have come on squid though

Scarlyt hooked up a 30"+ butt on a flat fall jig yesterday in Capitola, but we lost it boatside fumbling for fish grips. We were targeting rockfish out by SC3, had no idea halibut ate flatfalls too

Man, now I feel bad. According to all of this, the main takeaway is that halibut will bite on pretty much everything. And somehow I managed to skunk every time.

@SteveS anything you can share about your jigging discoveries?

Yeah, so Wizard (from coastside) and I have fished forever together. Super fisherman and great guy. Couple of years ago we were drifting red rock, and we're a couple of fish shy of limits for three, but out of bait.while we fished the last two pieces he put on a white big hammer on a 2oz head. Casted and did the slow jig and reel back. Managed our two fiah.
Fast forward to this year. Decided I would learn from master. Mostly use a 1.5oz head, and white or white over chartreuse 4-5 inch swimbaits. White with charters paddle tail seems perfect. I kinda pretend I'm plugging for stripers, so cast, let fall, reel. Only difference is let fall to bottom. Retrieve is slower, but popping bait up off bottom and letting fall back along the way.almost all the bites come on the fall. Hit is just a quick tick or snap feeling on the line. At first I didn't even recognize them as hits, then I always missed them. Finally I started letting the fall be under tension a bit, and started hooking up. Seems they clamp down hard, but drop it fast, so if you hesitate you miss.
Sometimes instead of a quick pop off bottom it's a slow raise. Just like stripers experiment a bit till you get hit, the replicate the shit out of it.
Crazy thing is, haven't caught a single shaker. Ive limited a few times, but mostly now just catch one or two to keep, and call it done.

Tried a drop shot rig for the first time last week...I don't have that down, but did ok too.

I quit using bait about a year ago. I'd rather spend my time fishing instead of messing with bait. Drifting with the tide is a lot easier than trolling too. 4" Big Hammer jigged straight down in 10-20 ft. depth.

Decided I would learn from master. Mostly use a 1.5oz head, and white or white over chartreuse 4-5 inch swimbaits. White with charters paddle tail seems perfect

+1 on these colors. I'll try to focus on the technique now!

that's good stuff, thanks SteveS

Thanks for the details Steve. Success is usually in the details... I've picked some up over the years on, rattle traps (fishing for stripers) swimsuits, jigging irons and jigs tipped with twin tail scampis. White and chartreuse are hard to beat.

this is my go-to striper lure now.... in chartruese tail/ silver glitter

https://bassassassin.com/product/sea-shad-combo/

tommy glasser hooked me...

I quit using bait about a year ago. I'd rather spend my time fishing instead of messing with bait. Drifting with the tide is a lot easier than trolling too. 4" Big Hammer jigged straight down in 10-20 ft. depth.

.
      Exactly what I've done the last CPL years. I tend to catch a lot less short fish like this

this is my go-to striper lure now.... in chartruese tail/ silver glitter

https://bassassassin.com/product/sea-shad-combo/

tommy glasser hooked me...

I use the same one for stripers. Tommy used to take me out fishing when I was a young kid!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That dude is a striper fanatic.
I drive by loch lomond several times a week, and seems like his boat is always gone from the sljp.
He and wizard fish way too much - damn retirees!