santa cruz hoping to learn some halibut teachnique

my name is brennan. so far 1 keeper halibut drifting inside SC municipal warf fishing a white keitech swimbait.

couple shakers on the bounceball from the skiff.

still trying to dial in my bounceball setup from the yak.

one shaker on a big live makerel they never could have swallowed.

going out today to try live anchovies on size 1 hooks


open to any and all suggestions rigging or otherwise\

thank you all;


-brennan

Experimenting like that is the way to go悠知 sure you値l figure out what works best for you. I知 a fan of the bounce-ball, as I think it値l sometimes get strikes when everything else is slowsville. If you want details on my bb setup, let me know...

You could always sign up for a trip with Bushy... he knows BUTTS. 

Variations on a 3way rig with whole squid have worked for me in the fall.

sometimes the leader length is critical to success. If you're not getting any takes, switching to longer or shorter leaders can provoke them. In low vis water I like a shorter leader before the bait, and a longer one if the water is clear.

Nowhereman is a Guru....Show me the way. What BB rig are you using?

Nowhereman is a Guru....Show me the way. What BB rig are you using?

I'll second that.

Nowhereman is a Guru....Show me the way. What BB rig are you using?

Ha ha! I'm sure Bushy is the guru this year.

In any case, here's some details on what I do...

It's a pretty standard setup, with the leader lengths as in the attached diagram. I usually use a 10 oz cannonball sinker, and find I can fish that down to 80 to 85 feet, which is more than enough for me, depth-wise. I also use a slider instead of a 3-way, as I think that helps to get more leverage with some types of snags. For hooks, I like to use Gamakatsu 3/0 octopus, and tie egg loop knots (not that I need the loop, it's just that I find it an easy knot to tie). The Yamashita hoochies in UV or glow (as in the picture) are great, but a bit pricey.

IMHO, the best dodger is Gibbs #3 (about 6" long), but they are hard to find right now. I like them because they are a bit heavier and wider than most, and that seems to give a broader, sweeping, side-to-side motion, as compared to any others that I've tried.

On my main line, I have 50# braid (and would not hesitate to go heavier), with 50# mono for the 4' leader to the dodger, and 30# mono for the hoochie and sinker. At least 98% of the time, the sinker or hoochie will snag, and you don't want to lose an expensive (and rare) dodger.

If I have to pedal, I end up trolling pretty slow, like maybe 1 mph, mostly because I'm lazy. But if there is some wind, I'll pick up the pace (in my AI), but still maybe max out at about 2.5 mph, as at speeds great than that, it's too hard to maintain contact with the bottom.

For both hooks, I use single shank and pinch the barbs, since salmon like hoochies too. If there are salmon in the area, I'll lengthen the leader on the hoochie to the 24" to 28" range, and I'll speed up once in a while to get the rig up off the bottom.

Nowhereman is a Guru....Show me the way. What BB rig are you using?

Ha ha! I'm sure Bushy is the guru this year.

In any case, here's some details on what I do...

It's a pretty standard setup, with the leader lengths as in the attached diagram. I usually use a 10 oz cannonball sinker, and find I can fish that down to 80 to 85 feet, which is more than enough for me, depth-wise. I also use a slider instead of a 3-way, as I think that helps to get more leverage with some types of snags. For hooks, I like to use Gamakatsu 3/0 octopus, and tie egg loop knots (not that I need the loop, it's just that I find it an easy knot to tie). The Yamashita hoochies in UV or glow (as in the picture) are great, but a bit pricey.

IMHO, the best dodger is Gibbs #3 (about 6" long), but they are hard to find right now. I like them because they are a bit heavier and wider than most, and that seems to give a broader, sweeping, side-to-side motion, as compared to any others that I've tried.

On my main line, I have 50# braid (and would not hesitate to go heavier), with 50# mono for the 4' leader to the dodger, and 30# mono for the hoochie and sinker. At least 98% of the time, the sinker or hoochie will snag, and you don't want to lose an expensive (and rare) dodger.

If I have to pedal, I end up trolling pretty slow, like maybe 1 mph, mostly because I'm lazy. But if there is some wind, I'll pick up the pace (in my AI), but still maybe max out at about 2.5 mph, as at speeds great than that, it's too hard to maintain contact with the bottom.

For both hooks, I use single shank and pinch the barbs, since salmon like hoochies too. If there are salmon in the area, I'll lengthen the leader on the hoochie to the 24" to 28" range, and I'll speed up once in a while to get the rig up off the bottom.

thank you a ton for this.

silly question, is there a front to a dodger?

thank you a ton for this.

silly question, is there a front to a dodger?

Yes. I think it would be pretty obvious if you tried to run it backwards. Or maybe you値l invent a new technique...

thanks everyone for your replies, im not sure how to reply individually

Nowhereman is a Guru....Show me the way. What BB rig are you using?

Ha ha! I'm sure Bushy is the guru this year.

In any case, here's some details on what I do...

It's a pretty standard setup, with the leader lengths as in the attached diagram. I usually use a 10 oz cannonball sinker, and find I can fish that down to 80 to 85 feet, which is more than enough for me, depth-wise. I also use a slider instead of a 3-way, as I think that helps to get more leverage with some types of snags. For hooks, I like to use Gamakatsu 3/0 octopus, and tie egg loop knots (not that I need the loop, it's just that I find it an easy knot to tie). The Yamashita hoochies in UV or glow (as in the picture) are great, but a bit pricey.

IMHO, the best dodger is Gibbs #3 (about 6" long), but they are hard to find right now. I like them because they are a bit heavier and wider than most, and that seems to give a broader, sweeping, side-to-side motion, as compared to any others that I've tried.

On my main line, I have 50# braid (and would not hesitate to go heavier), with 50# mono for the 4' leader to the dodger, and 30# mono for the hoochie and sinker. At least 98% of the time, the sinker or hoochie will snag, and you don't want to lose an expensive (and rare) dodger.

If I have to pedal, I end up trolling pretty slow, like maybe 1 mph, mostly because I'm lazy. But if there is some wind, I'll pick up the pace (in my AI), but still maybe max out at about 2.5 mph, as at speeds great than that, it's too hard to maintain contact with the bottom.

For both hooks, I use single shank and pinch the barbs, since salmon like hoochies too. If there are salmon in the area, I'll lengthen the leader on the hoochie to the 24" to 28" range, and I'll speed up once in a while to get the rig up off the bottom.

thanks for this. ive been using heavier weights (probably because of getting advice from guys with boats) and was instructed to run about 12 inches between dodger and hoochie. behind hoochie i was running les 24-36 because i was considering total length of the setup and actually being able to land a fish. i'm paddling and am still having a really hard time knowing whether or not i am on bottom or not.ive been without a meter which obviously doesn't help. in other news i had some sucsess this thursday but with live jack smelt

thanks for this. ive been using heavier weights (probably because of getting advice from guys with boats) and was instructed to run about 12 inches between dodger and hoochie. behind hoochie i was running les 24-36 because i was considering total length of the setup and actually being able to land a fish. i'm paddling and am still having a really hard time knowing whether or not i am on bottom or not.ive been without a meter which obviously doesn't help. in other news i had some sucsess this thursday but with live jack smelt

Yes, boaters use a lot more weight. I've occasionally used 12 or even 16 oz, but I find anything over 10 oz on a kayak is more trouble than it's worth. As for maintaining contact with the bottom, I'd suggest going slow until you get a good feel for that. You want to tap the bottom now and then, but not be constantly dragging. And, the more snaggy the area, the lighter and more occasional the tapping. Going faster is good for covering more ground, but the fish will hit a slow presentation. IMHO, the big advantage of using less weight and being on a kayak is that you can troll fairly rocky areas and catch the halibut that are in small sandy patches among the rocks. Those are places that boaters will never be able to fish with their heavy-weight bounce-ball rigs.

Overall leader length is definitely something to consider, as landing a fish can be tricky if the leaders are too long. In any case, I don't think the leader lengths are nearly as critical to success as depth control and having a dodger that produces good action at slower kayak speeds...

thanks for this. ive been using heavier weights (probably because of getting advice from guys with boats) and was instructed to run about 12 inches between dodger and hoochie. behind hoochie i was running les 24-36 because i was considering total length of the setup and actually being able to land a fish. i'm paddling and am still having a really hard time knowing whether or not i am on bottom or not.ive been without a meter which obviously doesn't help. in other news i had some sucsess this thursday but with live jack smelt

Yes, boaters use a lot more weight. I've occasionally used 12 or even 16 oz, but I find anything over 10 oz on a kayak is more trouble than it's worth. As for maintaining contact with the bottom, I'd suggest going slow until you get a good feel for that. You want to tap the bottom now and then, but not be constantly dragging. And, the more snaggy the area, the lighter and more occasional the tapping. Going faster is good for covering more ground, but the fish will hit a slow presentation. IMHO, the big advantage of using less weight and being on a kayak is that you can troll fairly rocky areas and catch the halibut that are in small sandy patches among the rocks. Those are places that boaters will never be able to fish with their heavy-weight bounce-ball rigs.

Overall leader length is definitely something to consider, as landing a fish can be tricky if the leaders are too long. In any case, I don't think the leader lengths are nearly as critical to success as depth control and having a dodger that produces good action at slower kayak speeds...

although i was fishing live jack smelt wanted to thank you as i tried shortening me leader length and today was a huge day . after a long day of getting skunked. 42" 29.8 lbs.  made the bayside website!

although i was fishing live jack smelt wanted to thank you as i tried shortening me leader length and today was a huge day . after a long day of getting skunked. 42" 29.8 lbs.  made the bayside website!

That is huge! Be sure to post it in the 40" thread...

That is one impressive Halibut! Congratulations!