Ideal Conditions for Surf Halibut

There are many variables an angler should consider when choosing a day and time to target halibut. Selecting which beach to fish depending on the time of year is also critical. This article is designed to help anglers find consistent patterns to help them catch more and larger halibut throughout the year between Santa Barbara and San Diego.

Note: California halibut caught from shore are not limited to the Santa Barbara and San Diego regions. Halibut are very abundant in the San Francisco Bay, the beaches of El Granada, Santa Cruz, Capitola and many other central California areas where a stretch of sandy beach can be found. Information regarding beaches north of Santa Barbara will be published online shortly by other SFI contributors.

Clear Blue Skies - One of the first things I check prior to heading to a stretch of beach is the weather forecast for that specific region. Unlike most species of fish, I’ve found clear blue skies with minimal amount of wind was best. The complete opposite is true for fish such as largemouth bass. As a tournament angler, I’ve experienced the dreaded days of high blue skies and calm surface waters (lack of current). During these conditions, getting a single bite can often be difficult. However, halibut fishing takes off when clear blue skies are expected throughout the day (especially in the early morning hours).

Barometric Pressure (30inHG is the ticket!) - The barometric/atmospheric pressure and clear skies go hand in hand. During clear days, the barometric pressure will usually hold around 30inHG (inches of mercury - the measuring unit for pressure). You will often hear meteorologist predict a “high” or “low” pressure system moving into a specific region. When a “high” pressure system moves in, you can expect clear skies and the opposite for “low” pressure system. Fish such as largemouth bass will often times leave shallow waters and seek deeper water when a high pressure system moves in. During this time, largemouth bass become very inactive. When the drop of pressure begins, these fish will move in shallow and become more aggressive than usual. This is not the case for halibut.

I am not a scientist and minimal studies have been conducted in regards to halibut feeding moods in relation to atmospheric pressure changes; but it is my guess halibut become less active during a low pressure system as the physical shape of a halibut will cause the fish to feel the effects of a low pressure system greater than traditionally shaped fish. Moreover, halibut are usually lying flat on the bottom and because of this, I feel their bodies will be pressured against the bottom of the sea floor greater than an oval shaped fish that is freely swimming in various water columns. Whatever the case may be, one thing is for certain; halibut fishing turns on when stable high pressure is sustained over a region!

I’ve found during high pressure situations, halibut are readily found shallow (fish have been caught in a foot of water), are more aggressive than usual and catching these fish on artificial baits becomes less of a challenge. To give you an idea of how halibut can react during low pressure days, many years ago I and four other anglers were fishing the Long Beach area on a cloudy morning. During this time, two of us were fishing with artificial presentations while the other three anglers were fishing with live smelt. I and my friend could not get a fish to bite and had our lives depended on it, we would not be alive today. On the other hand, the three bait fishermen were catching decent legal sized fish and they expressed how softly the halibut were “mouthing” the bait. This was simply incredible because just the previous morning, I was at the same spot and a fish was caught just about every 3-5 casts! That previous morning the sky was clear and the barometric pressure was stable at 30inHG whereas the following morning the pressure dropped and the clouds blanketed the skies.

In contrary to other forms of fishing, when targeting halibut, use this rule of thumb:

• Cloudy/Low Pressure- Use slower presentations such as a dropshot rig, live bait, and dartheads with plastic trailers (flukes, Gulp! jerkshad etc.)
• Clear/High Pressure- Speed up your presentation with hardbaits, spoons and swimbaits.

Tides - If you were to ask a seasoned veteran of the surf which tides he or she prefers to fish, you will hear 9 out of 10 times, “two hours before and after a high tide.” I could not agree more. To give you more information and some added confidence for those days you are at a beach and not catching fish during the incoming or outgoing high tide, depending on the moon phase, some beaches will fish better during an incoming push of a high tide and other beaches during the turn of the high tide.

I keep a fishing log of the days when I’ve caught the most and least amount of fish. Learning from my log, I’ve come to the conclusion that fishing for halibut is usually better during an outgoing tide when the moon is becoming gradually more visible (entering a full moon phase) and best during an incoming tide when the moon becomes less visible (entering a new moon phase).

Water Movement - I won’t get too specific in regards to which moon phases causes the least and most amount of water movement since there are more factors than the visibility of the moon (the proper alignment of the sun, earth and moon causes spring tides and when the earth is at a right angle of the sun and moon, it causes neap tides).

Water movement or more specifically tidal movement in relation to halibut fishing can be the difference between a fish’s feeding trigger/clock going off or staying on. A steady increase and/or decrease of water movement stretched out in the course of many hours will give the “food cycle” in that specific are a “jump start.” Sand will get disturbed releasing food for microscopic creatures, bait fish, sand crabs and other forms of life lower in the surf’s food chain. When bait fish become active, halibut will usually be close by.

Although proper water movement is crucial, there is a fine balance between too little and too much water movement. As surf fishermen, we must understand fish will move in within range of our rods as long as there is enough water volume (depth). If the tide recedes and the water level drops, the fish will move further away from shore. During a -minus tide, the amount of fish that “retreats” is far more significant than a normal low tide and will take longer for these fish to move in during the next series of high tides. For this reason, the ideal times to fish is when a -minus tide has been absent for at least the past 3-5 days.

Gradual high and low peaks are optimum. Fishing during days where the high and low tides are separated by 6 or more feet and fluctuates within 3-4 hours is not ideal. Rather, I look for conditions that calls for (as an example) a low tide of 0.90′ at 11p.m. and leading into a high tide of 5.50′ by 5:30a.m. and once again falling to the same low tide during the same amount of time as it took to get from low to high tides. This example illustrates that there will be a 4.6′ of water movement spread out through the course of 6.5 hours.

Moon Phase & Time of Day - Simplicity is key here. When the moon is bright, fish such as halibut will have better vision of their prey as they will be able to use the light from the moon to create a silhouette of whatever they may be targeting. For this reason, I’ve found fishing to be consistently better during the later mornings and early afternoons when the moon is very visible (especially during the full moon phase).

When the moon is less visible during the days leading to and after a new moon phase, the fishing is generally better first thing in the morning and later in the day.

As an example, if you plan to fish during a full moon phase, try to find a high tide with good water movement later in the morning or early in the afternoon. Winds usually pick up during the afternoon periods. I suggest you to check the local weather/wind forecast prior to heading out.

Sun Position - Although halibut can be caught throughout day, the position or angle of the sun is critical. I’ve always wondered why some fishing areas I frequent is usually stacked up with halibut first thing in the morning (a.m. twilight aka gray light) regardless of the volume of water. As long as there is bait fish in these selected spots, catching fish is rarely an issue during the spring and fall months.

On the other hand, as soon as the sun rises to the 9 to 10 o’clock position, the fish seem to disappear if there isn’t a substantial amount of water. Why is this? My guess would be the sunlight penetrating the shallow waters will create an insecure feeling for halibut. When the water is calm, shallow, clear and the sun is bright, stealthy fish such as halibut become more visible to both predators and prey.

If you find the high tide to be in conjunction with the sun being in a 9-3 o’clock position, try to find an area where there is surface water disturbance caused by wind, current and even from the wake of water crafts. The surface water’s disruption will create a “filter” for the sunlight entering the water and in return give halibut more encouragement to move and feed in shallow waters.

Water Temperature -58-62 degrees (Fahrenheit) is key! Although halibut can be caught throughout the year, during the spring and fall months, majority of the water along the southern California coastline will be between 58 and 62 degrees. During this time, halibut will move in shallow to feed and spawn (spring).

Most of my halibut fishing experience has taken place between the beaches of Orange county and Santa Barbara. What I’ve noticed throughout the years is during the spring months, southern beaches (Los Angeles county to San Diego county beaches) will generally warm up earlier than the beaches north of the Oxnard area. Months from early March through late April seems to be most productive along southern beaches. The northern beaches generally produces better from early April through early June.

During the fall, the southern beaches (Los Angeles - San Diego) produce as early as the second week of September leading all the way through the entire month of November. Along the northern beaches (Oxnard - Santa Barbara), the fall bite generally begins as early as late August but slows down in late October as the water cools faster.

The use of CDIP is crucial and should be fully taken advantage of. By checking the water temperatures of the beaches in your surrounding area, you will get a better idea of where to plan your next fishing venture.

Beach Locations - The Surf Fishing Insider staff and I are working on compiling a list of beaches that have proven effective throughout the years. Until then, I suggest you do research with tools such as Google Earth and California Coastline to find areas (and driving directions) where halibut may lurk.

Some things to look for during your research are jetties, river mouths, and beaches. Harbors that are sheltered by land stretching further west (north of the beach you wish to fish) and/or man made structures such as jetties and break walls. The picture below is a prime example. The beach just south of the harbor is well protected from swells and north westerly winds.

Find the Bait! - The last and one of the most important ingredients to finding halibut. The most abundant food source for halibut in the surf are smelt, small perch, anvhovies and at times “brown bait” (queenfish, tomcod, lizard fish).

Being able to locate bait is absolutely important. Although halibut can be caught in water that may appear “dead,” it is very rare to finding loads of halibut in areas that is lacking schools of baitfish.

From my experience, I’ve noticed when there are schools of 4-5″ smelt in the area, the bigger halibut are not too far behind. Smelt have very shiny bodies and this is probably why shiny color lure finishes are so productive.

Baitfish can be located by birds crashing into the surface of the water feeding on baitfish. The most obvious way is to see them with our own eyes. When baitfish are in the shallows of the surf environment, being able to see them isn’t much of a problem (especially just before a wave breaks, baitfish can be seen in the “tube” of the wave).

A trick I’ve learned by anglers who catch their own baitfish with sabiki rigs is to chum the water with pieces of bread (white bread floats better than wheat). The pieces of bread floating on the water will cause baitfish to go into a feeding mode. The baitfish will “ball” together and often times will cause predators in the area to take notices. I personally do not like the hassle of crumbling bread at the beach as it takes time away from fishing. For this reason, I now use packaged toasted bread crumbs - it is cheap, floats better than untoasted bread and easy to disperse into the water.