Catching bigger halibut - WCVI

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Hey All

Just wondering if anyone can give me any tips on catching bigger halis on WCVI. Ive taken a few in the 10-15lb range but cant seem to get anything bigger.
So far I have tried: trolling with large herring and spoons and speaders with salmon belly, squid, herring and octopus. Areas focused on have been mostly the offshore banks. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Last Chance]

I typically find that anchoring on structure seems to get bigger fish then drifting or trolling the banks. Find a pinnacle, chuck your anchor on it, and fish there. Make sure you have a proper Halibut anchor setup, throwing a regular Danforth tied to the bow over is dangerous unless you know how.

I find on WCVI that the bigger ones tend to stick to the rock piles. HOWEVER, the recent slot limit has made it less desirable to fish those areas.

 

[bigdogeh]

Hey All

Just wondering if anyone can give me any tips on catching bigger halis on WCVI. Ive taken a few in the 10-15lb range but cant seem to get anything bigger.
So far I have tried: trolling with large herring and spoons and speaders with salmon belly, squid, herring and octopus. Areas focused on have been mostly the offshore banks. Any advice would be appreciated.

sometimes larger hali's are caught in closer to shore and shallower water. I've seen a few 80-100# hali's caught in 65 to 100' of water... helps to know where they are though... I know a hali hole near prince rupert that consistently produces hali's anywhere from 45 to 150# fairly regularly... and it's 65 to 75' depth on average when we fish it depending on the tide. it's basically a trough with shallower banks on each side. the area also has a ton of crab on these banks so that may be drawing them in. they usually have crab in their stomachs when we clean them...
probably not normal though catching them this shallow but works for us...
The smaller ones taste better though and now with the slot size it's better if you can find a spot that produces 25 to 45# hali's imo...

 

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Thanks for the advice. Very much appreciate it