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Old 05-19-2015, 06:41 PM   #1
bryang123
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WSB, Halibut, and yellowtail

Hey guys, I've been spearfishing for around 8 months but I'm new to the forum. I've caught pretty much every offshore fish (kelp bass, sand bass, opal eye, perch, etc) except WSB, halibut and yellowtail. I've gone out to the kelp 4 or 5 times but I haven't even seen any of them. Any tips on environments they like? or even just how to spot them (halibut)? I'm sure I've missed a few.
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Old 05-19-2015, 06:58 PM   #2
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Re: WSB, Halibut, and yellowtail

Search function is really helpful dude
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Old 05-19-2015, 07:05 PM   #3
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Re: WSB, Halibut, and yellowtail

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Originally Posted by bryang123 View Post
offshore fish (kelp bass, sand bass, opal eye, perch, etc) except WSB, halibut and yellowtail.
I believe you mean "shore line", or "shore dive" fish.

Lots of info on this site. Like it has been stated above, the search function is your friend. And friends are a good way to get info and get better at diving.
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Old 05-19-2015, 08:20 PM   #4
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Re: WSB, Halibut, and yellowtail

There is a lengthy thread from a few years ago with a ton of halibut tips
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Old 05-19-2015, 10:53 PM   #5
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Re: WSB, Halibut, and yellowtail

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There is a lengthy thread from a few years ago with a ton of halibut tips
Anyway you could post the link? I'm having no luck finding it. If it's too much trouble don't worry about it.
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Old 05-19-2015, 11:19 PM   #6
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Re: WSB, Halibut, and yellowtail

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Search function is really helpful dude
Sometimes, I wish I could reach right through the monitor and give you a nice, hard, straight right hand to the face. You answer people's messages just to be an asshole. It goes beyond irritating, and gets into the realm of why the hell are you even on a message board?

The point of this forum is to share knowledge. If you are averse to that, you might consider sticking to the tranny POV porn videos you faap yourself to, and not burden the rest of us with your self-satisfied, I-sniff-my-own-farts-for-fun sarcasm.
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Old 05-19-2015, 11:26 PM   #7
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Re: WSB, Halibut, and yellowtail

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Sometimes, I wish I could reach right through the monitor and give you a nice, hard, straight right hand to the face.
Lol

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Old 05-19-2015, 11:38 PM   #8
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Re: WSB, Halibut, and yellowtail

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Sometimes, I wish I could reach right through the monitor and give you a nice, hard, straight right hand to the face. You answer people's messages just to be an asshole. It goes beyond irritating, and gets into the realm of why the hell are you even on a message board?

The point of this forum is to share knowledge. If you are averse to that, you might consider sticking to the tranny POV porn videos you faap yourself to, and not burden the rest of us with your self-satisfied, I-sniff-my-own-farts-for-fun sarcasm.
The guy asked a super broad question, all the while ignoring the hundreds of threads about the subjects, I too think he should search before asking and if he still has questions ask more of a specific one. It's just plain lazy to not search first
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Old 05-19-2015, 11:40 PM   #9
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Re: WSB, Halibut, and yellowtail

But I guess we could also discuss how to find and catch 3 completely different fish, maybe spend 40 pages discussing it then wait for the next lazy noob to ask the same question but instead of searching we can just do this all over again!!
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Old 05-19-2015, 11:44 PM   #10
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Re: WSB, Halibut, and yellowtail

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Originally Posted by bryang123 View Post
Hey guys, I've been spearfishing for around 8 months but I'm new to the forum. I've caught pretty much every offshore fish (kelp bass, sand bass, opal eye, perch, etc) except WSB, halibut and yellowtail. I've gone out to the kelp 4 or 5 times but I haven't even seen any of them. Any tips on environments they like? or even just how to spot them (halibut)? I'm sure I've missed a few.
Dude, first of all, good on you for nutting up and asking. Please ignore people like Errin (LompocLocal). That guy barely has anything noteworthy or helpful to say to anyone, and probably just comes on here because it's a substitute for hanging out with people in real life.

Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the fish you want to target.

Halibut are my favorite fish to hunt, and are probably the easiest of the three to find and land. The thread you are looking for is right here:

http://www.spearboard.com/showthread...unting+halibut

I could go on for days, but if I have five easy tips, it would be these:

1) Make sure your gear is rigged right (floatline, reel, low-profile double flopper)
2. Swim in a pattern in relatively shallow water where there is varied structure (sand, eel grass, reef)
3. Look for the baitfish in this environment
4. Swim very slowly and stare at EVERYTHING in the sand
5. Aim for the head or gillplate

As for white seabass, they are relatively abundant, if not as much as halibut. If you can't find the smaller ones in the kelp, slow your roll down, and try to make as little noise as possible. Again, look for schooling baitfish in and/or near the kelp. Sometimes, you will also find lone fish hitting bait or spawning in very, very tight (5-10 feet of water). The trick to finding them in shallow water is opposite to what's needed when you're hunting halibut. Instead of looking DOWN, look OUT.

Also, the guys who take the big whites (40 lbs. +) will often hunt for them exclusively on their dives. They will find "kelp rooms," little places in the kelp where they know the fish regularly go or are rumored to go at certain beaches, and sit there, freezing their asses off, for 20 to 30 min. at a time before moving. They will let 20 and 30 lb. fish pass them, sometimes even 40 lb. fish, and sometimes, they will miss their opportunity to get anything because of how selective they are. Then again, they will also bring home big fish.

Yellowtail: if you even SEE a nice-sized yellowtail from a shore dive, you've seen something that many on this forum never have, including myself (I've seen some tiny breezers from shore, but that's about it). That being said, some guys on here take yellows from shore, and could tell you better than I will, but the ones who do very well with it are 1) either nonexistent or 2) a very tight lipped bunch!

If I could take an educated guess, getting these fish from shore is a combination of luck, being in on the gossip, and/or sheer persistence. If you hit certain pinnacle-type spots with fast current from shore regularly, you may find some, particularly during the summer. The chances are typically very low. Again, though, look for the bait, warmer water temperatures, fast moving water / high turbidity, and a combination of kelp and deep-jutting pinnacle-type structure. You are not likely to see these fish in less than 30-40 feet of water at the shallowest.

Anyhow, good luck! Hope that helps you out, and let us know when you pop your first one. Once you get your first white and/or halibut, you will start seeing them more often, guaranteed . . . because you'll know WHERE and HOW to look for them.
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Old 05-19-2015, 11:47 PM   #11
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Re: WSB, Halibut, and yellowtail

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Originally Posted by Jolinedaniel View Post
The guy asked a super broad question, all the while ignoring the hundreds of threads about the subjects, I too think he should search before asking and if he still has questions ask more of a specific one. It's just plain lazy to not search first
Good for you. I think it's plain lazy and unkind to not share some knowledge. That's why I'm here. To have actual *people* help me, and to help *people* to. Not to tell them to **** off and do a search, because it's not worth my time to because they are a "lazy noob." Not sure what your motivations are, and frankly, with an attitude like that, I don't care.
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Old 05-19-2015, 11:48 PM   #12
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Re: WSB, Halibut, and yellowtail

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Lol

C'mon hector. You know you've wanted to do worse to Errin.
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Old 05-19-2015, 11:50 PM   #13
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Re: WSB, Halibut, and yellowtail

To the OP. Try this. http://www.spearboard.com/showthread...inding+halibut

Then for more, type "finding halibut" or something like that into the search function and find buttloads more. Good luck.
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Old 05-19-2015, 11:56 PM   #14
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Re: WSB, Halibut, and yellowtail

On the sub theme...

There is soooo much information on this site especially from those who have left that there is no need for anybody to ask anymore questions at all so why post at all? I'm willing to bet that everybody on this board at one point or another posted up a question which could have been searched. I'm sure I have.
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Old 05-20-2015, 12:39 AM   #15
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Re: WSB, Halibut, and yellowtail

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On the sub theme...

There is soooo much information on this site especially from those who have left that there is no need for anybody to ask anymore questions at all so why post at all? I'm willing to bet that everybody on this board at one point or another posted up a question which could have been searched. I'm sure I have.
Glad to know there's another amenable human being on Spearboard these days. I feel like this latest crop of boardmembers is all about busting rank on the noobz. As if somehow having been on the board for 2 or 3 years entitles them to be rude to people who are newer, and rub what little knowledge they have on them in their faces.
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