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Originally Posted by slipbobber
I've only been to the coast once to go fishing. Lots of locals fishing for salmon as it was only a 15 minute ride to where they were catching salmon. How about Halibut and other bottom fish. Can these be a do it yourself fishing trip. Providing a guy has a good sized boat, tackle, some knowledge of what he's doing.
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Yes and no. Halibut are concentrated on sandy bottoms. Key word being concentrated. Pretty much every guide or local Hali fisher has spots marked on their GPS. If you can get a local to give you direction to some Hali grounds then absolutely. However, sometimes being 100 feet off a spot will make all the difference. The other problem is the current or wind will push you off a spot in minutes and you won't even know it. Unfortunately you can anchor effectively in an average of 180 - 300 feet of water be sea anchors can help. If you can buddy up with someone who will take you out and fish together beside each other you will have better luck as they can direct you. Or if you're keen on the GPS and have good boat control that will get you in them too. It's a long tiring haul to bring up frankly anything over 30 lbs and when you get into a 100 pounder, be prepared to look around after you land him and not recognize where you are because you drifted so far.
As far as other bottom fish go, all types of rock cod, yelloweye (mistakenly referred to as red snapper on the west coast) and ling (the most delicious fish ever) can be easily caught by dropping any bait to the bottom most anywhere. Salmon bellies and fins work good because they never come off the hook for all bottom fish and Hali as well. Be patient with the Halibut, they need to swallow it first and your using a circle hook so let them pull before you pull back and then hang on.
Also important to note that the tiny little 1 - 2 pound rock cod you catch can be 50 - 80 years old and they are territorial. That means that 1 fish lived on 1 rock or shelf no bigger than a 10' x 10' spare bedroom all his life. If you release him, he will go back, but another fish will never move in from elsewhere to take his spot. They can be fun to catch and every drop will bring up something a little different in different shape and colour. But one person themselves can wipe out an entire colony within an hour if your not careful. It's a really delicate environment so I'm not going to judge ethics, but when it comes to the little rock fish, for the amount of meat you get, you should have better alternatives. Yelloweyes and Ling and Halibut are a totally different story. Also beware, the deeper you fish for these rock cod, the more harmful it is when catching and releasing as if you pull them up from 100 feet their bellies and guts may be hanging out of their mouth and their eyes bulged out ready to explode because of the difference in pressure. If that happens accidentally like when trolling close to bottom or something, just keep them.
Hope that helps.
TR