SHALLOW WATER HALIBUT
By
Hank Pennington
I love August!
There are so many outdoor opportunities that it’s hard to choose what to do from one day to the next.
But rest assured. If the weather is good, I’m likely to be poking around the shallow margins of Kodiak’s coastline.
That’s because the water is warmest in August and deepwater fish often venture into the shallows in search of food.
Deepwater species like halibut.
Why all the excitement about halibut in shallow water when they’re at least as easy to catch out deeper?
Because they are so much more fun to catch when they move into the shallows!
I’ll admit that part of the fun is the fact that we already have plenty of halibut in the freezer. We’re fishing for the pure fun of it, and catching halibut in the shallows is more fun than almost anything else you can do in Kodiak waters.
For one thing, you don’t have to mess around with heavy weights and all the heavy tackle to deal with it. You can use light tackle because you don’t need heavy weights to reach bottom.
And an even bigger factor is what happens when you set the hook, whether you’re using light or heavy tackle. Halibut fight harder up in the shallows than in deeper water.
Grab your light tackle and head for the shallows right now. Just be sure to strap your hat down real tight. You are in for a wild ride!
Halibut abandon the dark deep waters for one reason, and one reason only.
Food!
Dense schools of needlefish converge on the shallows in August just as returning pink salmon are zeroing in on their home rivers. Hungry halibut can be found almost anywhere you spot birds diving on the needlefish schools and off most river mouths.
But when halibut relinquish the relative safety and comfort of deeper water in pursuit of an easy meal, they’re none too anxious to stick around. Spook them even a little and they will head back into the depths. Spook them a lot by sticking a hook in their lips and they will depart as fast as they can.
If you’ve caught halibut in deeper water the fight is more or less an up and down affair. You try to pull the halibut up and the halibut tries to go back down. Most of the action is right under your boat.
But hook them in the shallows and it’s more of a “Nantucket Sleigh Ride” affair. The halibut is going to turn around and run straight away from you. And they’re going to do it with more power than you imagined possible.
In deep water you can expect long fights from big fish, but they aren’t likely to run far. But hook them in the shallows and long runs will test the capacity of your reel. Did I mention that shallow water halibut fishing is lots more fun?
When I say light tackle, I mean the same tackle you use for silver salmon. That’s right. Line weights of 10 to 15 pounds and lures or jigs weighing no more than a couple of ounces. Quite often a 1-ounce jig is plenty.
Whoa! Salmon rods for halibut?
Remember, we’re talking about having the most fun with halibut, and not necessarily stuffing your freezer with big slabs of meat.
As a general rule of thumb most common halibut in shallow water are well under 50 pounds, which is technically within the capabilities of your salmon tackle.
But even a 10 to 20 pound “chicken” will change your impression of silver salmon forever. In shallow water a halibut the same weight as a silver is going to fight a lot harder. It’s not only going to pull harder, it’s going to run further and faster and fight longer in the process.
What happens when you hook a really big one? You’ll be telling the story for years to come!
In truth our household doesn’t really like big halibut on the table. We look for the smaller ones and turn loose the bigger fish that we bring up to the boat. If we happen to come unbuttoned from a big one, it’s just not that much of a deal.
But if you prefer the bigger halibut, they’re lurking in the shallows too. Just expect to find more of them off the river mouths than hanging around the schools of needlefish. A pink salmon is a lot more interesting to big fish than those tiny little needlefish.
As a matter of fact you have a better chance to land big halibut on light tackle when you hook them off river mouths. Most river mouths have much cleaner bottoms and are far from entangling kelp patches.
But when you hook fish over 50 pounds on 10-15 pound line, be sure to have good knots and fresh line, not to mention lots of line on your reel and a good drag.
And when you hook fish over 100 pounds, it’s probably a good idea to have a finely tuned boat motor that starts easily. You’re going to need it!
It’s a long ways from most river mouths to the nearest deep water, and big halibut aren’t shy about getting there.
You don’t necessarily need a boat to catch halibut in the shallows. You can do it from shore, provided you can cast far enough and your reel holds enough line to sustain really long runs. But you don’t have the luxury of chasing after the big fish.
Just stand toe to toe with them and slug it out. You’re likely to have tales to tell about any fish you hook over 100 pounds, but darned few pictures to prove you landed it.
When I’m working the needlefish schools or between them along kelp beds I prefer 1-ounce dart style jigs or lead headed jigs in the same weight. If needlefish are in the immediate vicinity the darts work better, but in adjacent areas the lead heads often work better.
I prefer to buy my darts without hooks and add large single Siwash hooks, or to change out the trebles to single Siwash on darts that are already rigged. The single hooks simply hang onto big fish better, even as they are less prone to snagging on bottom. Because lead heads ride with the hook up, they’re the champion of avoiding bottom snags.
Lead heads with rubber tails often work better than bucktails away from the needlefish schools, but among the needlefish bucktails work decidedly better than rubber tails.
It’s a good thing that smaller jigs are cheaper than big ones, because in the shallows halibut show decided color preferences. It’s a good idea to carry a wide variety of colors, even though white or green are the most reliable performers. If the fish aren’t cooperating on one color, a switch to a new one will often save the day.
If you’re fishing off a river mouth from a boat, jigs or even large spoons let you cover lots of territory with casts and retrieves. You can certainly catch halibut on bait, but you’re likely to catch more on jigs.
And even though you can catch them from shore with jigs, doing so requires a heck of a lot of long casts. I’m more inclined to cast out a bait, then sit and wait for the halibut to find it. If you enjoy big long casts, then by all means use a jig or large spoon, but on the beach I’m more inclined to long restful periods watching my rod tip.
Even if you’re a little spooked by the prospect of hooking large halibut on small rods, it’s well worth your time to explore the shallows for halibut in August. The fish are there, and even on heavy tackle they’ll put a memorable fight.
Just remember to tune your outboard and bring lots of line. There’s no question you’ll need both when an extra zero appears on the weight of the 20-pound fish you expected to hook!
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