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You need to narrow down where you will be fishing out of.  Halibut can be caught in from 5 fathoms to well over 100 fathoms, sometimes from shore, in protected waters you can reach in a dingy or kayak, or well off shore.  Yellow eye are generally taken in deeper water, ie 200 feet or more, and lings like to hang around rock pinnacles.

Chris Battin's halibut book is a good resource to give you an idea of what structure to look for, and what gear to use.

I've used baited circle hooks, lead heads with various rubber tails and slab sided jigs to catch halibut.  The up side of bait is it gives out a good scent field, the downside is it is easy to get your hook stripped, and then you have to reel up a 3-4# sinker 100-200 feet to rebait.  A leadhead or jig will keep catching fish so long as you provide the right action, and it's heavy enough to stay down.  If you're fishing with other folks that are using bait, there is plenty of scent down already.  You can also use a sponge to hold a scent oil, or add a small strip of bait.

Bottom fish are generally voracious eaters, once you find em, it isn't that tough to get them to bite what you're offering.  Tackle is more an issue of having the proper weight to get down, but not so much that your arms fall off from jigging.

Message Thread:

• Bottom Fish? Josh Apr 26 2005
  • Too general Paul H Apr 27 2005
  • Bottom's up... AlaskanAuthor Apr 26 2005