Best Water Temp For Halibut Fishing
It’s February 14th, 2021. So first off, Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you! Now, let’s talk about things that matter… like surf fishing and halibut! The perch bite is just about on fire right now and local shoreline water temps have been registering consistently below 60 degrees Fahrenheit since January. But, what’s the best water temp for halibut fishing?
I won’t be going into detail about all the other factors to consider when fishing for halibut, but if you’re interested in that, refer to the linked page. Below is a chart taken from sccoos.org. It represents tracked-water temps taken near Scripps La Jolla pier. Although that location isn’t totally relevant to all of San Diego, it is a good standard to use given that Scripps does a fair amount of ocean research.
If we look at the chart, we can see a steady drop in water temp from August until November and a little into December. Since January though, it appears we’ve stabilized at the chilling mark of 58 degrees. It even looks like we’ve already seen a slight rise in temp over the past month as we inch back up to 60 degrees. Historically speaking, February marks the annual low and as March rolls around we see a gradual rise through summer.
Rising Water Temps Between 61-65F
You might be wondering how any of this is relevant to “the best water temp for halibut fishing?”. In my experience, and according to my fishing logs, the hali bite usually picks up when water temps begin to rise. Personally, I believe the best water temp-range for halibut fishing is during the late winter/early spring when water temps are rising and between 61 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
But, that’s just my take and you don’t need to look very hard to find anglers who have had better success with halibut than I have. If you have conflicting views or opinions or even additional suggestions, I encourage you to post in the comments section below.
Gear and Tackle for Halibut Fishing
- Rod: St. Croix Salmon/Steelhead Spinning Rod or Okuma Celilo
- Reel: Penn Battle II 4000 (or III)
- Line: 15 lb mono
- Lure: LC FM 110 (Metallic Sardine, Sexy Smelt, Zebra Sardine, Pearl White… and plenty more)
For reference on the Okuma Celilo, medium action (which I have) would be for those of you who enjoy to feel a little more bend in the fight. I don’t personally have the heavy action rod, but I would imagine it would be perfect for those who like that extra-fast whip and added distance on your cast. The St Croix speaks for itself, but it’s definitely on the pricier side.
I’m still a big fan of the Penn Pursuit III combo for a nice reliable and inexpensive set-up but it’s becoming harder and harder to find.
Surf Fishing Report 2/14/2021
This past week offered some fairly solid fishing. Mid-week, we fished an early morning session through a high tide of 6.7 feet. Upon arrival, the LC bite was solid! Some six perch between two of us in the first 30-minutes and they were absolute bruisers!
As the LC bite died, we swapped over to mussel meat and the bite picked right back up before dying again. The highlights of the day were a 15.25-inch perch, two 15-inchers, one 14.5-incher, a 14-inch black perch, and a surprise 18-inch corbina.
Surf Fishing Forecast 2/14/2021
Next week could spring the halibut bite as we’re expecting warmer weather. Combine that with the current rising water temp trend and we could be in for a true start to the season. It’d be nice if we could break the 61 mark and hold above there.
The one downside to next week is that the early portions will likely have some undesirable surf conditions. The mild storm that’s currently holding over So Cal will likely keep the surf height in the 3-5 foot range (on average) through mid-week. Thursday looks like the first solid day of conditions, but the weather should continue to rise through the end of the week and into the week of 2/21.
Wow great catches. In Dana Point only thing we saw was the game warden :). He said no one was catching anything. But happy to see my license. Tried both Tues and Thurs. Pretty extreme tides and not a bite on mussels, gulps. With these extreme shallows, how far out are you having to cast?
I usually try to fish tidal sets that submerge a desired section of structure that will be within perfect casting distance.
If I can’t match my tidal sets to any permanent structure, I’ll fish a sandy beach and find the structure by reading the surf. Bottom line, I cast whenever the structure is.
THANKS FOR ARTICLE NICK, AND HAVE A PEACEFUL WEEK MY FRIEND.
Same to you Richard!
Neep tides mid to coming weekend. Bill Varney feels these are the best tide periods for surf halibut. I’ve not found the neeps to be productive at all. What’s your take Nick ?
Bill
I’ve had success at both beep tides and full swing tides… I’ve also had no luck during both. For me, the best thing you can do is fish a day with low surf, low wind, and a tidal set that submerges great structure within casting range but still deep enough for fish to be holding.
Nick, would you mind sharing the general area where you are catching these slabs? I have been to Tamarack every Sunday for the past 3 weeks and have only caught dinks under 6 inches. I live in Temecula, so I try to stay in North County, but I’m willing to drive as far as Torrey if needed
Haha won’t give specifics but I’ll tell you this. They haven’t all been at the same beach. Some came in a stretch of beach North of Torrey but South of Carlsbad. Others came a little further south.
An important thing to look for is the following: I’ll be writing an article about this in the coming weeks but basically when you’re looking for structure, sometimes it’s not terrific when the structure is everywhere. Instead, look for one or two random rocks or one or two groups of some type of structure that hold fish. It helps when the entire beach isn’t full of structure because what really makes the spot you’re fishing better than the spot next to it. Find structure that stands out from the rest.
As a surf fishing newbie (lifelong trout fisherman) your advice about the halibut bite picking up with warming trends resonates with me. Since I started surf fishing last September I’ve caught three legal halibut — a 26″ in November, a 22.5″ in December (the only one I kept) and a 25.5″ just yesterday (so I had a very happy Valentine’s Day!). All three were caught on days that were a good bit warmer than the preceding days, days where I was able to ditch the waders and get my feet wet early in the morning before I had ranged too far from the car.
Also, there were no perch to be seen on the OC beach I was fishing and I talked to every fisherman I crossed paths with during the day. Several remarked specifically about being perplexed at the scarcity of perch in general, let alone any slabs, around these parts thus far.
Great intel. I don’t fish much OC so interesting news.
Yah really, went out multiple times at Newps, Huntington and Bolsa, no perch anywhere!
Very interesting. Crazy how a “few”miles makes such a difference
Hi Nick . Love your feed.. Can you clarify fishing license requirements in San Diego county.. jetty’s and piers are different requirements than fishing the surf right? I recently fished the rocks by Carlsbad power plant.. without my license.. not sure if that was legal now..What about second pole and number of hook?
So as far as piers and jetties, I’d look up each individual locations specific requirements. I personally would say just get your license.
What you need:
Annual Sport Fishing License
Sport Fishing Ocean Enhancement
In the surf (and piers and jetties) you can legally fish “as many rods as you can manage) without the 2nd rod enhancement.
2nd rod is strictly for freshwater to my knowledge.
Two rods/lines maximum actively being used in the water (including hoop nets and hand lines) on southern CA piers, according to CDFW, but surf fishing and jetty fishing have no restrictions on number of lines in our So. CA area. CA piers – no license required, and certain CA jetties and sea walls – no license required. All surf fishing and certain jetties and sea walls – license required, beginning on sixteenth birthday of person fishing. Thanks for all the great fishing text and images Nick; you have compiled a wonderful and informative mass of information. Additionally, we can all appreciate your links and source citings. To all – please do dispose all your line clippings and bait and equipment packaging in a trash bin, and let’s all keep those rods bent!!
Thanks for the great info, Tim! I appreciate the support and second your notion on keeping the beaches clean!
Great info, thanks for sharing your findings!
Thank you! And good luck out there this week.
Just saw that giant you hauled..congrats dude! Also when you say “structure” do you mean like rock piles out in the surf or jetty’s type structures..I’ve been fishing Coronado near the strand and have not had any luck..tried LCs, sandworms, mussels, & squid and nada.. still hopeing to get a nice perch or hali one day. Just haven’t seen any area that have rock piles near the surf
Thanks man! You’ll hear all about it Sunday. Those are both perfect examples of structure. I know IB and Coronado tend to be pretty flat and sandy, but then again I’ve seen a lot of guys having success at the strand lately. And there is the jetty area over at Coronado too but literally any structure out there… fish it!