Flashers for Hali

[goletagoodland]

Thanks for all the great info Goose and Capt Fred! I've seen a ton of big halibut brought ashore up here in the Santa Barbara/Goleta area and haven't figured out how to get them, until now. I love the rapala idea, gonna try that next time out after replacing the trebles w/ equal weighted J hooks.

[Fred Archer]

Goletagood,

Thank you for the kind words. I see that the "Rapala trick" is not only known by a few posters, but that it is being used by some to rack up some good halibut catches. Read the fish reports thoroughly and you will see that there are a wide variety of halibut fishing techniques that are used to make some outstanding catches, both in size and numbers.

Far be it from me to knock any good way of catching halibut, and bounce balling is one of them. We discussed bounce balling in great depth long before it became "the technique de jour" in both the Secrets of the West Coast Private Boat Pros book that was written more than three years ago, and the new Halibut Fisherman's Bible that has recently been published...it's a good way of catching halibut at times, but it is a long way from the only really good way of catching them and is more costly and a lot more hassle than many other ways.

Sharp fishermen, no matter what they are fishing for, have more than one way of going after and catching their target species and nowhere is this more evident than halibut fishing. Learn 'em all and use them at the appropriate times and you are going to catch more halibut, period!

"Knowledge is the key to fishing success". Read about and get it.

[DaGoose]

Hi Goletagood,

There are heaps of good ways to catch flatties. Glad to hear you had success.

Please know bounceball dodger rigs are not more expensive compared to many other techniques and they are not a hassle once you get it down.

At $35 a scoop for bait, you would need to lose 1 pre-made rig a day to break even. You can do it more economically making them on your own. It's a bit labor intensive to do it well. Just be sure to avoid "breakaway" rigs for the lead. I like heavy mono above the (100lb) dodger, 50lb flouro for the trailing hootchie leader, and 150lb to the lead.

When you get a snag that won't come out, simply back off the drag, clear the other lines, then position the boat directly above, or slightly past the snag, thumb the spool, and bounce the rod. 99% of the time you get it all out if you do it right.

Here's a few fresh pictures of our results Saturday and Monday. No pixels were injured by photoshop

Hope you continue to whack them!

Tight Lines,

Rick

[Crash]

Hey Rick

Here is my 1st bounce balling butt, took it last week in SF Bay. Took a bit to figure out what I was doing but I think I have it down now. That gaff shot went right thru

[DaGoose]

Hi Bob,

That's SWEEEEET! GREAT JOB!

It only get's easier with practice, like anything else.

Be careful with those gaff headshots, often it doesn't go so well when the gaff only pentrates half-way due to the boney head. Then they flip off halfway over the rail. I learned the hard way It's all good when they hit the deck.

Congrats and thanks for sharing!

Rick

[Crash]

I was single handed and the 8' stick with 8' of leader,weight,dodger etc I was not paying attention to where I stuck him I just wanted blood on the boat. Why do halis strip so many baits w/o getting firmly hooked.

Thanks for the info you put up!

Robert

[DaGoose]

Single handed gaffing is always a great adventure!

What type of rigging are you using for the bait, including the mono, and how much drag are you using? I only ask because we really don't miss many fish unless it's operator error (I'm guilty of this two weeks ago).

Maybe I can help..............

Rick