Our Favorite Halibut Fishing Rigs & Setups
Check out our best Halibut fishing rigs
We've spent plenty of time fishing for Halibut in Washington, Alaska, British Columbia and Oregon and found a few setups that work really well. Use this post as a general guideline, and feel free to use it as motivation to create your own setups!
You'll find a link to the full post on each setup, which will include a gear list and links to our shop. If you want to explore our full selection of rods, reels and gear, check out our Halibut Page.
B2 Squid & Weight Slider Setup
We have found that the combination of the B2 Squid and Halibut Weight Slider creates one of the best Halibut rigs for anywhere in Washington and elsewhere. With our pre-tied B2 Squid Rigs, we add a buoyant cheater inside the squid to give it a little extra buoyancy.
Read More: Halibut Rigging: B2 Squid & Weight Slider Setup
B2 Squid & Weight Slider Halibut Rig
Spin-N-Glo Skirt & Spreader Bar Setup
A wire spreader bar is the traditional way to deep drop for Halibut and stay tangle-free. A jumbo Spin-N-Glo rotates and creates added attraction in front of your plastic skirt. Add some bait to your leader and you've got a time-tested Halibut setup.
Read More: Halibut Rigging: Spin-N-Glo Skirt & Spreader Bar Setup
Spin-N-Glo Skirt & Spreader Bar Halibut Rig
Plastic Grub & Spreader Bar Setup
Plastic Grubs are a charter boat staple across much of Washington and Alaska. We use the biggest grubs available and rig 'em on a stout Gamakatsu Big River Bait Hook. Our glow spreader bars create a very broad visual radius when you're fishing and can attract Halibut from quite a distance.
Read More: Halibut Rigging: Plastic Grub and Spreader Bar Setup
Curly Tail Grub & Glow Spreader Bar Halibut Rig
Spin-N-Glo & Weight Slider Setup
Add the combination of a large Spin-N-Glo and a jumbo plastic hoochie and you've got one productive Halibut setup. We use the sliders on many of our setups as they are easy to store and keep tangles to a minimum.
Read More: Halibut Rigging: Spin-N-Glo Hoochie & Weight Slider Setup
Spin-N-Glo Hoochie & Weight Slider Halibut Rig
Halibut Fishing Tips & Tactics
Here are a few pointers we've learned over the years.
- Scent trails keep the Halibut honed in. Make sure you always use some sort of scent or bait. If you're in the general area, somewhere at the Halibut grounds, chances are there are Halibut actively working the area looking for food. Creating a scent trial with herring, squid, octopus, sardine, salmon bellies, or even bottled scent can make the difference.
- Anchoring can be a great way to pick a productive spot and allow the Halibut to come to you. Just make sure you have ample chum and attach the bag to your anchor to draw in Halibut from a large area. It usually takes 30-60 minutes before that massive scent trail from the chum bag starts working, so be patient.
- When anchoring in a busy area, make sure you think about all that anchor line you're going to be letting out, the scope, and how far that will place you around nearby boats who also are anchored. The last thing you want is to set your anchor and find yourself right on top of your neighbor!
- Bring ALL THE WEIGHT. Halibut are bottom dwellers and if you don't have enough weight to get to and stay on the bottom, you're not going to catch them. You can reverse into the current to slow your drift down and reduce the amount of weight needed, but always make sure you have what you need and then some!
- Braided mainline is a non-negotiable. Braided spectra lines are super thin diameter, which means you can get down to really deep depths with less weight. They also have zero stretch and ultimate sensitivity, so you will feel every bite and bottom tap, even if you're 400' down or more. Spooling up a reel with braid can seem expensive, but the shelf life is over ten years, so it's a long term investment that pays off bigtime.
- When landing Halibut, it's best to dispatch them before they get in the boat. We only net Halibut smaller than 30 pounds and even then try and bonk 'em before they come over the gunwhale. Anything larger usually gets harpooned. Always have your gaff, harpoon and net on the ready. And make sure when you do bring them into the boat, that everyone stays clear as large Halibut can have a surprise burst of energy even after being harpooned and bonked. Be safe!
