Trolling for halibut

[Ruff]

I've been doing some reading on other threads about trolling for halibut and just curious if guys are having good success with this. If so, how? I find that I get really impatient while on anchor waiting for the hali to show up so wondering if it would up our success rate to troll for them. We do pretty good now but like I said, I get bored. If your trolling, what's the setup? Flasher and hoochie? Would a dummy flasher and big whole herring work? Obviously you need bigger gear. Just wondering how everyone is setting this up.
Thanks in advance

 

[spring fever]

I've been doing some reading on other threads about trolling for halibut and just curious if guys are having good success with this. If so, how? I find that I get really impatient while on anchor waiting for the hali to show up so wondering if it would up our success rate to troll for them. We do pretty good now but like I said, I get bored. If your trolling, what's the setup? Flasher and hoochie? Would a dummy flasher and big whole herring work? Obviously you need bigger gear. Just wondering how everyone is setting this up.
Thanks in advance

You'll get many answers to your question and I'm sure guys do it lots of different ways. This is what I do--when I'm looking for hali's I use this gear on a Hali rod not my salmon rod---just in case-- standard flasher 40 inch tie to a large glow white hootchy containing an LED light--(Lighthouse lures) a small piece of that bilge cloth that soaks up oil-soaked in your favourite scent-anchovy, herring, butt juice etc. then a double set of 5/0 or 6/0 hooks. I crimp the barbs but you might get-away with barbs if you talk fast! Troll just off the bottom-a little slower than normal-amazing how many Springs and Lings you will get along with hali. I still think you will do better anchored up with belly but I usually get mine this way.
View attachment 31603 View attachment 31604

 

[trophywife]

green flasher, green on white or white turd , 6' behind ball, 18" leader, clip just above ball, in and out of gear with ball hitting bottom every few swells.. in the gravel or sand.. chicken party.

 

[Clint r]

I've caught Halibut trolling old Lyman plugs smeared with butt juice. Green with white belly. Black dots on sides.

 

[ericl]

I just run 1 rod deep using the same lure I would use for fishing Salmon on the bottom; some sort of needlefish imitation. Key is being able to detect when you have a Halibut hooked-up while DR trolling as it is usually not real apparent the Halibut is hooked-up.

 

[Fixit]

i use my hali rods (100lb spectra) attached to a 10ft 100lb mono "top shot". I find the spectra slips out of the downrigger releases was too easy, so clip to the mono.
then the standard flasher and lure of choice... I also like the lighthouse lures LED squids (with a chunk of belly for taste).
next year i want to try cut plugging some big fat herring instead of the plastics

 

[Ruff]

To be honest, that's where my head was at as well. Thinking about using a dummy flasher (Glow) and an extra large herring and just cut plug it with 7/0 or 8/0 hooks. See what happens.....

 

[CIVANO]

If you are trolling with a whole herring, slip a big hoochie over the herring. I use a glow type. Often a halibut or rock fish will take the herring and not be caught but will come back for the hoochie. Or at least the rig will still be fishing until you check it and replace the bait.

 

[TheBigGuy]

If you are trolling with a whole herring, slip a big hoochie over the herring. I use a glow type. Often a halibut or rock fish will take the herring and not be caught but will come back for the hoochie. Or at least the rig will still be fishing until you check it and replace the bait.

An Anchovy will fit nicely inside a cuttlefish size hoochy as well if you don't have larger Hali size hoochies. Always better to have both natural and plastic skirts working for bottom species in case its stripped off on a strike.

If you own any large metal flashers/dodgers you might want to consider using them if your fishing hoochies deep 200-300 feet deep you can keep your riggers near bottom way easier trolling super slow with a dodger, rather than using a flasher. A big stainless Abe & Al can be easily bent to dodge rather than rotate and it gives great action and is a super attractor. It's hard to fish really deep if fishing at flasher trolling speeds. Just a thought.

 

[spring fever]

I often just troll tomic plugs right on the bottom. Great amount of work but worth the effort I have inserted LED lights into them. Can't figure out how to download a small mpg movie clip here

 

[Bret]

I run a Krippled anchovy head with two 5/0 hooks on a salmon rod, almost always troll for halibut with great success. I have brought several plus 100 lbs to the boat.

Brfet

 

[hambone]

Troll literally anything with smell and glow on bottom and slowly, right close to the cannon ball.

I agree with the advice about paying attention to your rod tip. Lots of times a little chicken will grab on and just swim along for the ride, barely even wiggling the rod tip and not poping the clip.

 

[Sir Reel]

I had really good success with a red flasher and white hootchie (told to me by an old timer at Critter Cove) out at Bajo reef in Nootka. The area was only about a 100' deep and we trolled right down at the bottom.
Got a halibut, Ling, and spring all on the same rig within an hour and nobody around. Early August. Can't complain about that!

 

[halimark]

Many years ago, hali fishing of vic the tide was "running" we took the weights off and ran the coat hangers with cut plug herring clipped from the manual downriggers. 1 guy ran boat other dumped bottom about 180ft below. His rigger clip goes of and line peeling of the penn. WTH-way back behind the boat the coat hanger comes out of the water because a 28lb spring jumps with it. Fish must have been crazy grabbing cut plug herring after a coat hanger went by. Have also caught hali while salmon fishing, 1 time trolling at 60 ft in 400 ft of water my sons rod goes of downrigger, after an epic battle a 60lb hali is gaffed in boat??? What was it doing some 340 ft above bottom. Crazy things happen. These crazy incidences probably happen more often that known.

HM

 

[TheBigGuy]

I have caught Hali trolling far off bottom as well. When you do catch them way off bottom they are usually very good sized fish. I think this is because the larger size fish are much stronger swimmers and will venture off bottom far more than ping pong paddles. I often advocate guys fish 5-10 feet off bottom to limit Rockfish bycatch. That is not the only benefit in my mind. To me the largest specimens of the predatory bottom species like Hali and Ling do not need to hug bottom for protection. They are the kings of the bottom beasts and have no fear of rising from the bottom to snag their dinner. I always catch the largest Hali or Lings any days I'm out with buddies. It may be for the simple reason that I always run my gear a ways off bottom because I hate to kill incidental rockfish. Fish often don't follow the commonly accepted fishing rule book. Maybe the big bullies just never bothered to learn to read when they were younger and in schools.

 

[Fishin'Zinn]

Up fishing at Langara (Haida Gwaii) I've seen a huge hali just cruising along the surface of the water, super surreal as definitely an uncommon sight, very weird but it must have been feeding. Apparently they do come up to feed on bait balls, bycatch on the troll is definitely a thing when they are around! Also alternatively caught big springs right on the bottom going up north when nobody else can find them cut plugging shallow - Amazing what you see out there and I don't even get to fish as much as a lot of you guys I'm sure.

Fun to fight a big one on a salmon rod when you get that lucky accidental hookup, especially when other people around, they think you have a chinook of a lifetime on haha

 

[spring fever]

Up fishing at Langara (Haida Gwaii) I've seen a huge hali just cruising along the surface of the water, super surreal as definitely an uncommon sight, very weird but it must have been feeding. Apparently they do come up to feed on bait balls, bycatch on the troll is definitely a thing when they are around! Also alternatively caught big springs right on the bottom going up north when nobody else can find them cut plugging shallow - Amazing what you see out there and I don't even get to fish as much as a lot of you guys I'm sure.

Fun to fight a big one on a salmon rod when you get that lucky accidental hookup, especially when other people around, they think you have a chinook of a lifetime on haha

We got a double header of 25 to 35lb hali's in 2015 at WH. Trolling anchovy at 30 ft around a bait school-both took off like a spring!! They were heading for the bottom in 150ft of water-convinced we had 2 great springs on until they got to the bottom-then it turned into a hali on salmon rod fight. They always seem to plane out to the side I've noticed.

 

[Clint r]

My first season fishing in the salt all I had was my salmon rods. Guy from the campsite took us out and we limited out on Hali's. Nothing huge but around 25lbs each. Wicked battle on salmon rods. Guy said after he didn't think we'd land em.

Yes I noticed they seem to plane out also.