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[Zpg]

I'll try to be brief...

Since buying my larger boat a month or so ago I have been doing some saltwater venturing. A little off the mouth of the Fraser, a bit off West Vancouver and even a day at Cates, all with some success. I used to do a lot of saltwater fishing when I lived in Powell River for a year and I definitely miss it. I bought a couple of marine charts that cover most of the local area and while looking over them I wondered about Halibut in Georgia Strait. I did some reading and found out that Halibut used to be plentiful many years ago but basically none in the Strait for the past 20-30 years. Got me thinking that there must still be some around...

I called a few tackle shops that cater to saltwater and asked if they knew anywhere in the Strait that might support Halibut. Basically everyone laughed at me and I was told that there are none this far up the Strait and that Victoria area in spring was as close as they come.

Being the stubborn sort that I am, I decided to give it a try anyway so last night I sat in front of my chart and found an area I thought would be a good starting point. I copied the Longitude and Latitude to my portable GPS and off I went this morning.

When I arrived at my pre-determined location I decided to fish for Salmon for a bit first as it was nice and early, After 2 hours with no luck and the winds picking up I boated over to my "spot" and dropped anchor (I heard from several seasoned Halibut guys that anchoring is more productive than drifting). I rigged up and as soon as my gear hit bottom WHAM. Fish on. It had decent size as I was using my Technium and sturgeon setup and it was taking line.

5 minutes later this came to the surface:



Not a monster but a good 20lbs. I still can't believe I picked the exact spot last night and nailed a Hali on my first drop.

So much for no halibut in the Strait!

I fished for another hour but the wind and waves were getting almost dangerous, the fishing was impossible and I was a LONG way from shore so I headed home.

Cheers
Z

[Big Steel]

Sweet!!!   

[kellya]

wow nice fish. VERY UNCOMMON but also not targetted alot. I fish almost everyday in the staright and have never caught one myself but only heard of a handful.

[THE_ROE_SLINGER]

WOW very impressive!  Keep your spot on the DL...you dont want it to turn into a zoo gong show

[phatwop]

awesome....that is going to be delicious!

[lucky]

it sure is rewarding when a little research and determination pay off. Nicely done!

[JustinG]

Nice work! I picked up a book in Pt Alberni the weekend before last that has some spots near Van, but didn't put much weight in them. I'll have to try one or two out!

[charles]

good job.  I have only seen once that a halibut was pulled in the strait but that was years years ago...  Lucky dog

I will buy the head off that fish

[flatlander]

Excellent work!  What type of boat did you pick up?

[FISHIN MAGICIAN]

I'll try to be brief...

Since buying my larger boat a month or so ago I have been doing some saltwater venturing. A little off the mouth of the Fraser, a bit off West Vancouver and even a day at Cates, all with some success. I used to do a lot of saltwater fishing when I lived in Powell River for a year and I definitely miss it. I bought a couple of marine charts that cover most of the local area and while looking over them I wondered about Halibut in Georgia Strait. I did some reading and found out that Halibut used to be plentiful many years ago but basically none in the Strait for the past 20-30 years. Got me thinking that there must still be some around...

I called a few tackle shops that cater to saltwater and asked if they knew anywhere in the Strait that might support Halibut. Basically everyone laughed at me and I was told that there are none this far up the Strait and that Victoria area in spring was as close as they come.

Being the stubborn sort that I am, I decided to give it a try anyway so last night I sat in front of my chart and found an area I thought would be a good starting point. I copied the Longitude and Latitude to my portable GPS and off I went this morning.

When I arrived at my pre-determined location I decided to fish for Salmon for a bit first as it was nice and early, After 2 hours with no luck and the winds picking up I boated over to my "spot" and dropped anchor (I heard from several seasoned Halibut guys that anchoring is more productive than drifting). I rigged up and as soon as my gear hit bottom WHAM. Fish on. It had decent size as I was using my Technium and sturgeon setup and it was taking line.

5 minutes later this came to the surface:



Not a monster but a good 20lbs. I still can't believe I picked the exact spot last night and nailed a Hali on my first drop.

So much for no halibut in the Strait!

I fished for another hour but the wind and waves were getting almost dangerous, the fishing was impossible and I was a LONG way from shore so I headed home.

Cheers
Z

Ummm...there's some halibut around and there's been more than just a "few" caught if you know where to look and it's definitely on the DL. Certainly hope you weren't where I think you were. Check the regs...and I don't mean that guide they publish every 2nd year. There's a whole lotta restrictions and you think you may not be in a restricted zone, but you could be. Just be cautious...... that's all. No offence intended.

[Mabelingwane]

im still convinced - with no proof obviously - tat there is a moster out there in the straight.. One days , one day some one is going to tackle the beast..

[Zpg]

Ummm...there's some halibut around and there's been more than just a "few" caught if you know where to look and it's definitely on the DL. Certainly hope you weren't where I think you were. Check the regs...and I don't mean that guide they publish every 2nd year. There's a whole lotta restrictions and you think you may not be in a restricted zone, but you could be. Just be cautious...... that's all. No offence intended.

No offence taken at all. In fact I have appreciated your candid posts here and other forums. In case you were worried I was fishing inside a rockfish conservation area.... I made careful documentations on my GPS to avoid making this mistake

[Zpg]

What did you pick him up on, herring? chovie? jig?

I dropped a Berkley Gulp squid.

[Zpg]

Excellent work!  What type of boat did you pick up?

I bought a 16' Double Eagle. It's a bit small but really rides the rough water pretty well.

[Fish Assassin]

Now what were the GPS headings again ?