What the Halibut is going on?

[Evenweight]

In past years I have done well fishing for Halibut. This year has been a struggle for me. After asking a few other anglers who have also done well in the past we seem to be coming to the same level of production.

Commonly we fish Halibut in the area ranging from Race Rocks to Constance Bank to Albert Head. Lots of great opportunity in the past but seemingly barren for us and others now.

Are you having luck put there if so how deep? Is a particular bait working better than others? Colours?


Anyone else have any challenges more postitve experience tips perhaps?


All the best

Richard

 

[xavier]

I hope I am wrong, but given the fact that few Sporties on SVI fished for Hali when I was a kid and everyone and their brother (including mine) does now...perhaps their is a correlation.

 

[Time]

Some years back (being an old guy a lot of things are some years back) I was visiting friends out in Ucluelet. This was 5-10 years after Cdn Princess (Oak Bay Marine Group) was set up and providing party boat charters for salmon and groundfish (halibut). Locals were complaining they couldn't get a halibut within a half-hours distance of leaving the harbour, or at least not as close as they were used to.
The charter boats had decimated the local population, was the common wisdom.
Tend to agree with Xavier, local pressure has increased substantially, 10x, 20x?, no idea. But bound to affect success out in front of Victoria.

 

[Halibut-face]

Fished out? Wonder if the commercial guys hammered it? Also, how many 'charters' are out there packing freezers for people that wrap it in cling wrap and throw it away 3 months later.

 

[drmadcow]

I'd say it is more the commercial guys, and DFO and the Halibut Commission having mismanaged this fishery. The first thing that needs to be fixed is the amount of trawler bycatch up in Alaska, it's not our area but these fish breed all the same on the continental shelves.

http://www.adn.com/article/20150129/alaska-needs-major-halibut-bycatch-reduction

 

[Kisinana]

I think you find that there are also other variables. water temperature feed etc. I live in the Northern end of Georgia Strait and can not believe the numbers of halibut that are being caught now compared to other years. Going back only 10 years or so there was maybe one or two caught while trolling every few months and a lot of people who bottomed fished never caught any. We had good numbers of snapper and cod and kelp beds and coho. When the kelp beds died back the coho pretty much disappeared. In the last few years the coho are returning, and pacific cod are everywhere now. When I think back to the oldtimers who worked in the mill when I started they talked of putting down long lines from the docks on the nightshifts and catching halibut back then. There may also be cycles that we pass through of ups and downs. The number of whales passing through the inner straits is also way up from any time I have ever known.

 

[Sculpin]

From what I have been reading and experiencing, the biomass is way up.

Is this thread for real?

 

[scott craven]

We haven't spent much time targeting Halibut since mid April, but the early season was slower than most.
Usually by this time we have picked up a few incidental Halibut trolling for Salmon.
Not one this year.

 

[GDW]

Usually by this time we have picked up a few incidental Halibut trolling for Salmon.
Not one this year.

X2 on that. Have caught fish the few times I've anchored though. Haven't heard many guys getting incidental hali's either although a few have come for sure.

 

[photocopy]

For myself fishing all over Vancouver Island, I would have to say that this has been my best season of fishing in the last 15 years including halibut.

 

[Whole in the Water]

A local commercial guy hammered it a couple months ago as he hates the rec sector. There are still hali around but they tend to get less in the usual/popular spots as the summer rolls on.

 

[fogged in]

From what I have been reading and experiencing, the biomass is way up.

Is this thread for real?

I would say this tread is for REAL
we have had a tougher time finding the halibut this year in the AREA YOU MENTIONED, Oak Bay to Race Rocks.

 

[the fog ducker]

i will concur with the guys that actually put time in on the water here
my typical spots that are golden are not so golden
so far this season around Barkley,
big bank is fishin good as usual , but i to have noticed a drastic change over the past few years in closer ,multiple hook ups are far few in between it seems
the closer banks are just not performing as consistently as they did 5-7 years ago ,guess the biomass has a big hole in it in my fav spots lol ,
was actually talkin to Jeff about this yesterday , years of gettin hammered i guess ,

keep hunting i guess for now , there out there !!
might giver a go this afternoon

gd lk

fd