Halibut Madness! “It’s Massive Body Cruised Towards My Lure”
So two weeks ago, we talked about the magic of the last cast. Well, it was on display again during a recent solo session. It had been a while since I was able to get out for a morning session so when the opportunity arose, I jumped on it. I planned to start at a familiar zone and play it by ear from there.
The Story of the Session
I arrived and hit the sand by 5:15 am. It was a beautiful, overcast morning. Weeds weren’t bad at the first zone and wind was very mellow. The surf was beautiful and calm and the tides were right for this first spot. Within a few minutes, I spotted a legal halibut swimming just a few feet to my right. I cast over where I saw it swim by and nothing.
A Quick Start
I tried this for another 2 or 3 minutes with no luck before getting back to the basics and fishing to the structure I saw. Maybe 15 minutes in to casting and I felt it. The classic “thump!”… and I set the hook. I had my drag set fairly tight so there wasn’t much running, but after maneuvering around a few obstacles, I landed her. A legal halibut to start the day was a good sign that it my be a productive day for halibut fishing. Nothing crazy but upon a quick rod measurement, it appeared to be between right around the 24-inch mark.
I kept casting and maybe 20 minutes later, I landed another! This one was much shorter at around 19-inches or so, but still a good start to the day. I had one more bite in that zone before the action seemed to shut off. The tide was falling and there were a couple areas along the beach that I wanted to try at the lower tide so I moved. if you’re curious about the best tides for surf fishing, check out the linked article.
Onto The Next Zone
After no action at a couple more zones, I decided to fish a stretch that was relatively new to me. I started north, worked my way south and found a channel that looked fishy. So I started casting… and casting, and casting. Nothing. So much for the quick start.
It looked so good, but where were the fish? In my head, I was going over my options. Where can I hit next? After analyzing all my options, I couldn’t come up with anything better, so I kept casting. There was a deep channel to my left and a deep channel to my right. I had already worked the heck out of both sides, but the right looked better to me so I decided to give that side a little more time.
My First “Last Cast”
After more than a fair number of casts, I told myself, “this is my last cast before trying the left side once more and then moving to a new zone.” So I cast out and began retrieving. I felt a quick and decisive “tick”, set the hook, and felt a couple headshakes immediately follow. It was heavy whatever it was, but I’ll admit it, my first thought was a bass – either a calico or a sand bass.
In order to land the fish, I had to work it through a deep channel and then over a ledge onto the reef that I was standing on (which was all submerged at the time). So, as you can imagine, I set my drag fairly tight to help muscle it in and dictate the direction the fish would go.
I didn’t allow it any big runs. I did this partially because of the structure I was fishing and partially because at this point, I was fairly certain it was a bass. With bass, it’s important to keep that rod tip high and to not let them dart into structure because they will snag you and force a snapped line.
So, when it came to the point that I had to haul it onto the submerged shelf, I failed on the first attempt and had a minor scare as my leader made contact with the reef’s edge. This is why we use the heavy monofilament leader line.
My Gear and Tackle
See my gear and tackle below. Same as last time, I was using the Keitech Fat Swing Impact (4.8″) Texas rigged with the Mustad KVD Grip Pin Swimbait Hook (5/0 | 1/8oz) and a 1/2 oz bullet weight.
- Rod: Okuma SST-S-902HA – 1/2-2oz | 10-30lb | 9ft | H | MF
- Reel: Penn Spinfisher VI (3500 or 4500)
- Main Line: 30-pound braid
- Leader Line: 30-pound mono
- Lure Options:
A Sketchy Landing
After the first failed attempt, I tried once more and succeeded, but the fight wasn’t over. And on top of that, I caught a glimpse of the fish. It wasn’t a bass of any sort. It was a halibut! And a sizeable one at that.
I had waded out quite a bit and now I had to attempt to wade back to shore while keeping the fish buttoned on. This was a STRUGGLE. The fish darted back toward the ledge multiple times causing me to lose my footing and nearly fall a couple times.
Eventually, I was able to pull the fish onto land and get a measurement and a photo. It taped in at 26 inches and it made my day to know there were big fish holding in this zone I had overlooked for more than a year since first trying it!
And So I Kept Fishing
Alright, so what typically happens when you make your “last cast” and you get hit… you usually cast again and again and so on. So, after releasing my second legal on the day, I tried some more but that was it. It seemed as though the zone had gone quiet again.
I decided to back track and try a few of the zones I started the day at and one of them produced a nice little sand bass.
After about another hour and a half of fishing, the tide had bottomed out and since the bite was dead everywhere (or so it seemed), I called it. But, with the bottomed out tide, I decided to head back to the beach I landed the 26 inch halibut at just so I could make note of the structure at low tide. It’s always helpful to get a look at a zone at a very low tide as it’ll confirm/deny ideas you had/have and it’ll often give you new ideas on little areas to work.
Last Cast Number 2
As the theme goes, when I got out of my car and caught a glimpse of the structure at this zone with the low tide… I just had to give it a few casts. I felt confident with how the day had gone so far and I couldn’t just pass this up.
So, I worked my way back to the exact area I landed the 26er and looked around. There were many more people on the beach by now, but nobody fishing. Just after I cast into the cut, I saw an absolute unit of a halibut. It’s tail broke the water’s surface as it’s massive body glided from about 15 feet in front of me outwards with the current. The best part about all of this… it looked like it was headed right for my lure!
A couple seconds later, “tick-tick… BOOM!” I’m on! And this felt every bit of what it looked like. The first run was incredible. My drag was still quite tight, yet this thing didn’t seem to be bothered. It clearly had the strength to muscle through my current setting. After about a minute, I had worked him to the same ledge that gave me trouble the first time… the moment of truth.
My Worst Nightmare
Just as I was preparing to haul him over the ledge with the next swell, my line wrapped around a piece of kelp that was growing from the point of the ledge. “What do I do!?” I thought to myself.
As mentioned earlier, there were more people on the beach this time. I was standing on what had been a submerged shelf last time. But this time, it was not submerged. So, what seemed to be tourists were out taking pictures etc. on the reef and a group happened to be in my way now. Somehow, not a single person seemed to realize I was fighting a halibut that was easily over 30 inches. I made the prudent decision to cut through a group of tourists trying to get a family photo as it was the only way to get to the ledge that I was now tangled on. Still, it seemed these people had no idea I was fighting a fish. It was weird, I have to say.
Now, I faced another dilemma. The reef that I was standing on had a gap of about 3 or 4 feet that I’d have to walk/jump over in order to reach the ledge my fish was tangled on. It looked quite slippery on the other side and I wasn’t sure if I was willing to take the risk. I had no idea how deep the water was in between and I really didn’t want to slip and fall. I made a call and decided it wasn’t worth it. At that moment, I lifted my rod and felt the fish thrashing. Would it come untangled? Or would it break off… I then felt slack and watched the fish make one more splash before disappearing.
Capping Off A Memorable Session
My head falls to my hands in disbelief and I turn around to realize that still, out of at least 15 people nearby, not one realized I was fighting a fish. Not that I care… but it was just weird lol. I tied another lure on and continued fishing for a bit longer. A couple bites that wouldn’t stick and I called it for good.
It’s always tough to lose such a big fish, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – It’s the ones we lose that keep us coming back. So, I’ll be back.
Looking to get into surf fishing? Start with this overview of how to go surf fishing!
