Halibut deeper than normal

[ziggy]

Wondering if anyone else is finding that the halibut seem to be in deeper water this year. Fishing around the South Island this year some of my old go to spots have been unproductive (180-200') and I just noticed Island Outfitters is reporting the fish are deeper. Have had some luck at 300', so wondering if this is due to warmer water or just an anomaly?

 

[ILHG]

This year in Haida Gwaii I went deeper than ever to find the fish I was look for. My usual spots were slow and only had chickens. Some folks were fishing 1/2 day just to get a 25lb Hali. When I seen the fish come in all of the bellys were red & raw. Almost like road rash even though they were caught on sandy bottom.

That got me thinking they were probably migrating up from the deep. After that I loaded up the electric reel and fished 450-600' & huge success in short time. Smallest caught was 40 lbs & biggest was 69lbs. I had to go shallower to get my under.

That said this year was all about going deeper for my Hali.

 

[NautiGirl]

fished shallow with lame results for years. started fishing 300ft+ about 3 years ago and catches and sizes went up. Invest in anchor rope. It pays interest in halibut.

 

[Tips Up]

Way more people fishing hali these days. Way more.
Maybe the shallow spots are over fished?
Deeper is less fished ?

Tips

 

[ILHG]

I think Deep is the way to go. This year I never spent more than 15 min on bottom with a L.E.D squid before I had a hook up. In fact We caught 2 40 lbs with in a minute of hitting bottom. Lastly I never caught any under's in deep water. I know they are a few $$ but an electric reel is your best friend. I can have my 2lb weight at surface at ~ 450'/min if I recall. You still have to fight the fish, as the reel is not a winch, however it does make it easier to bring a big one up from the depths. Lastly, you spend more time fishing & less reeling up to check bait. You do a couple 600' drops & you are spent.

 

[ILHG]

fished shallow with lame results for years. started fishing 300ft+ about 3 years ago and catches and sizes went up. Invest in anchor rope. It pays interest in halibut.

An anchor would be good at times. However I don't have one & had to just back trolling & slowly drifting. It has worked great but involves multi tasking.

 

[TomicTime]

350' off Pine Island worked well last week
up bu Storm was chickens in 300'