Help! cant find halibut

[Wedge]

it seems like every dive i go on I fail miserably at spotting halibut, the other day i was diving north laguna and i spoted a nice sheepy. i was in slow persuit of the sheepshead on the bottom, when right out from under me a nice sized halibut that had been just sitting there sitting there (all camoed out) burst away from me. i would way rather have been able to spot and take the halibut then the speepie. but i just cant seem to see them untill its too late. this has happened more then once. how do you guys spot them? any tips or ticks?
-Sam

[Alashaman]

Stop looking at the Sheepie, start looking at the sand

Its SUPER hard to target multiple species that live in completely different parts of the water.

If you want Halibut, look for them and ignore the other fish. When your eyes are crossed from looking at the sand... check the kelp for a while. Trying to scan both on the same dive is really hard and you end up missing everything.

[tailsurfer]

Albertson's is selling local halibut for 5.99/lb

[Wedge]

Originally Posted by tailsurfer

Albertson's is selling local halibut for 5.99/lb

Hahaha ill keep that in mind

[Alashaman]

Originally Posted by tailsurfer

Albertson's is selling local halibut for 5.99/lb

So you would say he should check Isle 5 right side? Maybe near the bottom shelf?

[Ethan kills]

Originally Posted by Wedge

it seems like every dive i go on I fail miserably at spotting halibut, the other day i was diving north laguna and i spoted a nice sheepy. i was in slow persuit of the sheepshead on the bottom, when right out from under me a nice sized halibut that had been just sitting there sitting there (all camoed out) burst away from me. i would way rather have been able to spot and take the halibut then the speepie. but i just cant seem to see them untill its too late. this has happened more then once. how do you guys spot them? any tips or ticks?
-Sam

sheephead are wack. If you are going to look for hali's then look for hali's. In all honesty I have shot just as many on the hoof or free swimming as I have in the sand hiding. You have to be in a place that will entice the fish. So, you should look where other fish congregate where sand meets rock. I like to look where there is big piles of dead eel grass washing up on shore in a high tide. If you see bait start looking in the sand. You will see a jaw, eyes or a tail but you need to actively look for them. On a high tide look shallow. On a slack tide look a little deeper. Hope that helps.

[Chris Oak]

Use the search function and key in on ralphthehalibut and halibutmike's posts, there was a fantastic thread a ways back that had a ton of info and pix on it, really really good reading.

[unkabonka]

Ah.. if there was an emoticon for a deep sigh I would print it. But I will just roll the eyes

Where is Sean E's UTFS!!!!!!! screenshot?

Well to tell you the truth Wedge, I have similar questions about halibut. but i decided to type "halibut hunting" in the search bar. In only 5 pages out of 20 I got all these relevant results:

http://spearboard.com/showthread.php...alibut+hunting
http://spearboard.com/showthread.php...alibut+hunting
http://spearboard.com/showthread.php...alibut+hunting
http://spearboard.com/showthread.php...alibut+hunting
http://spearboard.com/showthread.php...alibut+hunting
http://spearboard.com/showthread.php...alibut+hunting

oh yeah, and this video is sick: YouTube - ‪Halibut spearfishing [Official Guide]‬‏
Don't mean to go off on you, but didn't you just post a thread on "Catalina shore diving" asking about where to dive from Avalon, a thread on that comes up at least every 2 months. in conclusion, you may find answers to very common and general questions using the "search function" - happy reading

ps. this handy PDF was already posted in reply to one of the linked threads... here i will save you the time: http://www.fathomiers.net/misc/Divin...une%202007.pdf

[The Freediver]

Don't you know that WSB is better anyways

Dude, timing is what it's all about with those fish just like any other. I know spots where I have shot 5 in just over an hour and go at certain times and there are zero!! What Ethan said is pretty sound advice though. Maybe try to hunt them at night. I am lazy no days and that's what I do a lot of the time that I hunt them now.

[Lightfoot]

Originally Posted by Alashaman

Stop looking at the Sheepie, start looking at the sand

Its SUPER hard to target multiple species that live in completely different parts of the water.

If you want Halibut, look for them and ignore the other fish. When your eyes are crossed from looking at the sand... check the kelp for a while. Trying to scan both on the same dive is really hard and you end up missing everything.

When you hunt halibut, you have to be imersed in it. If you happen to see something else, great but that can't be your goal. You need to inspect EVERYTHING in the sand that doesn't look right until you can start finding them... and then keep doing it.

[Sean E]

Oh whoops... Sorry for getting in late guys...






Yah, halibut are one of those that I have had a very hard time finding locally as well. I think I just don't have the attention span for them. But I will tell you this, I used to complain about how I couldn't find them, blah blah, but then I started saying, 'okay dammit, you are ONLY looking for halibut today, and nothing else.' And the few times I have done that, they vis unfortunately has been totally terrible, BUT I managed to spook several halibut and spot a couple shorts in just a few dives looking for them... Then sea bass showed up and I quit looking... Now I can't do anything but spook those in the bad vis. Haha

[Ethan kills]

Why does everyone always get all butt hurt when people ask questions on this board? Isn't that what this place is for? I never use the search function. At least he didn't ask if a reel is better than a floatline! Lol

[dbrunes]

Personally brotha, I have no problem with you not searching... I wasn't even thinking about halibut tonight, but when I saw your post, it piqued my interest and I started reading.... and I learned a lot tonight... because you posted instead of searching. So thank you for bringing it up.

But to add to the great advice already on here, I usually find the slit that their mouth leaves in the sand first. Because they have to take water in through their mouths and then out their gills, they have to have it slightly opened. And it looks like someone made a little slit in the sand with a knife... So many times, that has been the first thing I have seen to let me know one is there.

Good luck!

[thereefgeek]

...on the bottom.

[ralphthehalibut]

Swim around staring at the sand until you see a patch of sand that doesn't look right.


It's kinda like those 3-D posters. The first one is always the toughest to see. Once you get used to it and train your brain to see buried halis, suddenly they are all over the place