Monster Halibut and Some Croaker that Will Blow Your Mind!
Conditions Looked Good
My day began with zero intentions of surf fishing. I was exhausted from a busy weekend and the day was lined up for some errand-running and taking care of honey do’s at home. But, upon casually perusing my tide charts that morning, the potential for a promising bite was evident. I crossed my fingers and nervously asked my wife if she could pick up the kids from school so I could go fishing…. she said yes (cue happy dance) and my luck for the day had begun!
What am I looking for that might indicate a good fishing day? There’s quite a bit that goes into it but perhaps the two most important factors I’m looking for are:
- Long-period swells
- Low-to-negative tide
I’m primarily looking for long period swells that are at least 10 seconds apart. This indicates to me that the water will most likely be “calm” and more ideal for surf casting, so, more time between waves = better. As for the low tide, that’s my favorite time for halibut fishing. I’ll be breaking down my entire process for predicting good conditions for surf fishing, as well as my favorite apps to use and how I use them on an upcoming video on my YouTube channel so consider subscribing now if you’re interested in checking that out.
The Arsenal
On this day, I committed to throwing only the Lucky Craft Flash Minnow 110. This is by far my favorite way to target halibut and when fished correctly, can be a deadly technique for catching bigger fish from the surf. Keep in mind, the LCFM110 is a suspending jerk bait with a diving depth of 1 to 2 feet, which means that it’s best for fishing shallow water conditions. That said, there’s a connection between my lure choice and my affinity for low tides. The rest of my setup was my Shimano Stradic Ci4+ 3000 series spinning reel, paired with my absolute favorite rod for throwing the Lucky Craft, the Phenix Trifecta Lite 903 medium light. I like 30-pound braid with 3 to 5 feet of 15-pound fluorocarbon leader (mainly for abrasion resistance), and a 50-pound tactical anglers clip (to quickly swap out different Lucky Craft patterns).
Find the Structure, Find the Fish
I arrived at the beach and before doing anything else, I looked north and south for any promising structure and holes. In layman’s terms, I looked for dark spots and areas where the water seemed to move “funny.” This is where reading the surf comes in. I’ll look for holes, troughs, rips/cuts, rocks… ANYTHING that deviates from the rest of that stretch of sand that could potentially be a hiding spot for ambush predators.
I honed in on four potential areas that I would target during my fishing window. Today, I was committed to fishing an outgoing low tide through the first hour of the incoming tide. I would start my day at around a 1.5-foot tide and fish hardest when it bottomed out at 0.8 feet.
Stick with the Plan
I attacked my first spot with great hope and anticipation, thoroughly fan casting the area for a solid 20 minutes. And I skunked. Not even a single bite or sign of fish.
I wasn’t discouraged, though maybe a tiny bit worried. The truth is, this is why we call it fishing and not catching, and it’s also why I identified four potential fish holding spots and not just one. Not every good piece of structure will hold fish, but when you stick with the plan and methodically/systematically fish your locations, the odds of getting into a good bite raises exponentially.
Would This Be One of Those Days?
I moved to spot number two and within a few casts I got bit! This fish immediately went on a searing run and had good weight to it. When I finally laid eyes on it, it was a HUGE yellowfin croaker, easily in the 20-inch plus range! However, in my excitement, I rushed to land it and wound up pulling the hook as I forced it a little too much while it was in the wash. With better grade fish, perhaps the most challenging and nerve-racking part of the fight is the beaching process. The constant inward/outward churning of the swell has lost me more fish than I’d like to admit. Be patient and wait for the right push from the waves and use it to your advantage for that last 2% of the fight. Lesson learned (or relearned) and more on that later.
Not all days are wide open bites and sometimes you only get one chance. I was definitely worried that I had missed mine. Thankfully, this was not the case. The bite turned WHITE HOT with solid size yellowfin croaker. Over the next forty-five minutes or so, I was able to land two 17-inchers, one 16.5-incher, and a couple other yellowfin croakers in the 12 to 15-inch range! Normally, I carry three or four different patterns of Lucky Crafts to quickly swap out when trying to figure out a bite, but on this day I stuck with the Super Glow MBP as there was no need to try other patterns. The bite was that good.
Then it Happened…
After a little while, I made a quick move to spot number three and lucky for me… I never made it to spot number four. I had high hopes for this spot. Why? Along with a nice hole within casting distance, this spot also coincided with a nice rip tide (or cut) that extended out to far deeper water. This is significant because fish use these areas as access points, or doorways, to enter and leave the surf zone when feeding.
My first two casts into this zone resulted in back-to-back yellowfin croaker. About 5 minutes later, I made a cast into the same zone and slowly worked my Lucky Craft through the hole. As I lowered my rod tip to get my lure swimming a little lower in the water column, I felt a subtle, yet definite swipe. I set the hook and felt big time weight, but this was no croaker. I felt subtle head shakes but more than anything, this fish was moving in like a big wet trash bag – a telltale sign that it might be a halibut. The only question is, how big is it?
I wasn’t able to get any visuals until we were in the wash and when I finally got a laid eyes on it, I was shocked. This thing was huge! As I mentioned earlier, the trickiest part of landing a good-sized fish from the surf is when you’ve got it in the wash. I flashed back to the big croaker that I lost only one hour ago, and committed to being patient with this one. In and out it went as I waited for the right push from an incoming swell. Whatever small pressure I put on the rod to move this beast onto dry sand was futile. He would not budge from the wash.
Mission Accomplished
Even in hindsight, I’m certain that any more pressure on my part to force him from the wash would have resulted in a pulled hook and years of regret. I waited for what seemed like hours before a nice push helped me slide the fish onto semi-safe sand. I tail grabbed him and just as I thought about celebrating, he began to thrash around. Sensing another strong push coming in behind me, I turned my back to the ocean, got on all fours and squeezed that halibut into the sand with both hands.
As another wave rolled onto the sand, I had to make a heat-of-the-moment decision. With both hands on the fish, I completely submerged my reel (surely full of sand and salt) and I have no regrets about it! The water receded and when the chaos of the moment cleared, the halibut was still there. Victory! This surf caught halibut measured out to 32” and will (for me at least) go down as a catch of a lifetime.
These are the days we hope and dream for when we fish. There are a couple of lessons I’d love to share with you from this day. Number one, even if you don’t feel like fishing on a given day, if you have the opportunity, just go! You never know what might happen and you can’t catch if you don’t cast. Number two, use every session as an opportunity to improve your game. Not every fishing session is going to be a wide-open bite but all the other days of grinding and maybe even skunking are an opportunity to improve your arsenal and prepare you for the day you might remember for the rest of your life.
This was just one silly fish but for a brief moment it was enough to help this silly 44-year-old geezer forget about life’s hardships and revert back to the 10-year-old boy that first fell in love with the water. I suppose this is why we fish.
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Benjie Kim! You are the man! Great to see you here on Nick’s site. My top two fishing gurus in one spot.
I’m hoping that this (and other halibuts that I have heard about) signals the beginning of “spawning” season .
Great info on the wave intervals. Makes total sense now that I hear it
Hey Doug! I greatly appreciate your kind words and yes, Nick is definitely the man and I truly respect his hard work and dedication. I remember running into this site a few years ago when I was just getting started and its equally informative and helpful for both newcomers and seasoned anglers.
I wish I could have a more scientific understanding (compared to anecdotal) of why halibut are in close. We all know spring is go time for chasing the flat ones and that seems tried and true. But January is a mystery to me as I don’t think I even got a bite when fishing January 2021.
As for wave intervals, its worked for me this past year and I’m still trying to gain understanding and experience. But long period swells have been a pretty important factor in good fishing days for me.
Tight lines!!
I appreciate the redirect🤣 But, I believe Jim meant that you (Benjie) are the man. But all around good stuff!
Just curious how people deal with large waves when surf fishing (maybe not fish at all?). I’m having bad luck when the waves are a little bigger (which sometimes happens with longer periods).
Awesome story, thanks for sharing.
Thx
Awesome , my friend what a great video , explaining everything . Mad props brother I got to get a camera set up like yours. I was also wondering about your footwear ? I always fish bare footed and just slide my feet but sometimes a pain . How long is that rod your using ? Definitely impressed . I was wondering where your fishing to ? 32 inch halibut holy moly what a great day fishing . Your fishing 15 lb to Iost 2 lucky craft in the same day last week I was super bummed going to bump up to 20 lb because of this .
Hey Ken thank you for the positive stoke brotha! I’ve been wearing Simm’s Freestone wading boots for the past 1.5 years and I love them. When chasing the flat ones I’m almost always traversing heavy structure so boots are important for me. They’re a bit heavy/bulky but they are overall very comfortable and sturdy.
The Phenix Trifecta LIte 903 ML is 9′.
I lost 2 LC’s last week as well. I don’t lose as many now as I used to but it still happens from time to time. When fishing heavy structure, it’s unfortunately part of the game. Sorry to hear about the 2 you lost…hopefully that won’t happen again anytime soon!
Tight lines!
Thanks for response back and all the info . I am mostly a fresh water bass guy and to on a few long range boats out of San Diego . The lakes been tough lately so I started shore fishing more . One question you didn’t answer and I totally understand if you don’t is where you shore fish ? I’ve been exploring different spots . I fish by myself most of the time and just looking for any place to tug on fish lol. Thanks
Great story! Was this recently, or what time of year? Local, like North County? Thanks.
Hi Thomas, thank you brotha! This was 2 weeks ago, January 10th 2022 to be exact! This was in SD County. Tight lines!
Not sure if it is a proper question but which beach it was?
Wow! Congrats! That fish fought you even when beached. Hope it tasted as good as it looked. (Or did you mount it?)
Hey thank you so much Bob!! I had one cut and it was delicious. I think the key is to not overcook as the meat can get a bit firm.
Tight lines!
It is great to see Benjie’s post here. You guys are two of main learning resources. Great thanks to Nick and Benjie! I watched Benjie’s corresponding video on Youtube. The video makes fishing look so easy and also makes me forgetting how many back and back skunks I had recently. Went out yesterday again targeting halibut at a location with sand and reefs using LC and dropshot Skunked again without single bite. 🙂 Watched Benjie’s video again and realized maybe I retrieve too slow, 1 rotation per 2s on a XG reel. Does it really matter?
Thanks for the support! I’m sure Bejie will chime in here, but I think the slow retrieve does make a difference. Could be that little decrease in speed that allows the halibut to really have the time and awareness to attack your bait. Too fast? maybe it’ll conserve its energy for an easier meal. And never feel bad about a skunk! Just skunked Saturday and Sunday, myself🤣
Thank you so much for the positive stoke! Definitely huge kudos to Nick for building and maintaining a page like this, it’s a LOT of work, time, and long term commitment…so nothing but respect for everything he’s done and continues to do.
Regarding retrieve, I believe there’s a sweet spot that we should all be chasing that is slightly fast enough to keep the LC swimming/wobbling (compared to submarining like a missile). As Nick mentioned above, if it’s too fast, a lazy halibut might not chase. Too slow, and you might not be getting that classic LC110 wobble. The tricky part is having and maintaining an optimal retrieve while simultaneously dealing with the incoming/outgoing swell. I always preach in every video that the slower the better, but I’ve still got a lot of work to do on that.
Exactly what he said.
Excellent info! I’m up in LA but will head down south to fish later this week, using my battle star( hope to finally catch something). Thanks again!
Awesome! Goodluck out there.
Epic day, BK! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!! 👊💥🎣🤙
And a writer too?…good job! Keep up the great work.
😊