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Old 11-29-2018, 09:14 PM   #1
Bob Ballew
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Chasing Holiday Halibut in December

...In years past, December halibut hunting was my "go to" adventure while everyone else was occupied with holiday shopping. Early December is the time short halibut move into the shallows from Santa Barbara down to Pacific Beach for their December spawn. Then, to be followed by the larger models, both inshore and at the islands. About now, I would be hitting up all my sources, searching for every tidbit of squid information available....On clear nights, I would frequently use binocs to scan Catalina island from the Seal Beach pier, looking for the ultra-bright lights of commercial squid boats; a dead giveaway for locating good volumes of squid... This effort greatly narrowed down the areas where I would be likely to find white sea bass and big halibut....
...Up at the channel islands, the big boys to 50 lbs would show at spots like Santa Cruz island where they could be found in 40 to 50' depths...Catalina backside spots would light up with "blue fuzz" (squid masses on a nest for novices not yet educated about squid "candy" bait) on the bottom of my Furuno depth finder screen. At grey dawn and late afternoon, I would be hunting halibut with side excursions for early white seabass prowling thru the squid grounds, searching for an easy meal. My largest flatty on the backside squid grounds, was a 32 pounder found in 20' of water. It was clearly visible, on a beach near Salta Verde. Early a.m. halibut are frequently lying out in the open, stuffed so full of squid, they get lazy and fail to burrow down into the sand like usual.
...The Catalina flattie was matched by a 32 1/2 pounder speared at RPV; my largest to date. One cold December day at West Cove, I spooked a flatfish that was probably 50 lbs, while commercial ab diving on the edge of the kelp. There were dead and dying squid on the bottom among the pebbles, carried in on the incoming tide...Halibut also love grunion. I always tried to hit the third day of a grunion run, when flatties were lying up shallow, stuffed and frequently, not well hidden....My best grunion run day was with Yas Ikeda, when we had to drag 6 halibut up the RPV cliff that weighed between 14 and 25 pounds. We looked like mud men by the time we slipped and slid our way up to the top of the steep dirt trail....
...Currently, squid masses are showing off the east end of Catalina and, up along the backside...Marlin are still present there and wsb should be showing soon. Big bluefin like squid and are still holding at Tanner and Cortez Banks. Commercials are working squid at County Line as I post this...
...While cruising along the shoreline at the islands, I keep a close watch for purple seagull poop on the rocks, especially where sand beach is adjacent to the rocky shoreline. This type of area is always worth checking out, as nearby squid (i.e. purple poop when eaten by seagulls) will attract every halibut (and, seabass) for a half mile around...So.....with a little effort and decent weather, a 30 pounder could be on your list of presents for the holidays....
...postscript: an interesting highlight inshore; was the nice size wahoo that recently ran up onto the sand at Seal Beach...photos of the finder and live fish are online, so, it is believable...

Last edited by Bob Ballew; 12-06-2018 at 01:51 AM.
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Old 11-30-2018, 12:18 PM   #2
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Re: Chasing Holiday Halibut in December

https://www.wonews.com/Blog.aspx?ID=...the%20surfline
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Old 11-30-2018, 04:56 PM   #3
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Re: Chasing Holiday Halibut in December

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Ballew View Post
I keep a close watch for purple seagull poop on the rocks, especially where sand beach is adjacent to the rocky shoreline. This type of area is always worth checking out, as nearby squid (i.e. purple poop when eaten by seagulls) will attract every halibut for a half mile around...
This may have been the coolest thing I've read on the internet this month
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Old 11-30-2018, 06:35 PM   #4
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Re: Chasing Holiday Halibut in December

Thanks for a great post. All the best to you and your family this Holiday Season. Everyone loves Halibut and Lobster for New Years. Cheers, Kadman
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Old 12-01-2018, 07:59 PM   #5
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Re: Chasing Holiday Halibut in December

In years past , I would agree with you , but in the last 5 years or so with the warmer water, we've found FAR FEWER butts and much smaller size ones in the winter months. We found TWO in the last two weeks, but both were smaller than 30 inches.

In the past: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrQir-fLCAw


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Old 12-01-2018, 11:08 PM   #6
Bob Ballew
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Re: Chasing Holiday Halibut in December

True for the most part...But......just diving sand without squid or live bait volume, means lots of empty water to cover for few fish...squid is starting to show at different coastal and island spots. If you check the fish reports, there are lots of small size flatties being reported all along the coast at present...Investing in a quality fish finder pays dividends because you can scan an area for bait before jumping in, which saves a lot of wasted time and fuel...Also, in the last five years of warm water, the kelp died off, which is where the squid go to attach their eggs and sardines/anchovies congregate....No kelp + no squid, no sardines = no halibut...
…My first rule of spearfishing is: "Find the grocery store and you will find the fish"...….p.s. really enjoyed your video!! Now, where can I find a 40 pounder? I want to spear a 40 pounder like the big guys....

Last edited by Bob Ballew; 12-05-2018 at 05:09 PM.
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Old 12-03-2018, 08:32 PM   #7
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Re: Chasing Holiday Halibut in December

Awesome post...
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Old 12-04-2018, 07:40 AM   #8
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Re: Chasing Holiday Halibut in December

^ Pierre what’s the story on that beast Halibut in your photo?
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Old 12-04-2018, 07:37 PM   #9
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Re: Chasing Holiday Halibut in December

Was out deep on scuba scooping bugs up in flats late day when I came upon a big one yesterday. No chance without a gun before dark. Went for knife but it jumped up. Big, thick body! Hmmm.
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Old 12-05-2018, 03:45 PM   #10
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Re: Chasing Holiday Halibut in December

Thats Good News .. thanks for the report .
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Old 12-05-2018, 08:57 PM   #11
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Re: Chasing Holiday Halibut in December

Awesome report! I great read.
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