Saltwater Fishing | Saltwater Fish
Halibut Home | Basics | Baits | Rigs & Techniques
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Using swimbaits for halibut is a common method for the west coast (California especially) inshore anglers. If you are fishing anywhere from 5 to 35 feet of water, this may be a method you want to try. The soft plastic swimbaits seem to work much better than the hard swimbaits. 4 to 5 inch baits are typically the best size to use for catching inshore halibut.
Take your soft plastic swimbait, rigged on a jighead, and make long casts, let the bait hit the bottom and start a slow retrieve back in. Lift the swimbait off the bottom, then pause and let it fall back to the bottom. Then do it again and continue this until you get the bait all the way back in. Expect most of your bites to come just as you lift the bait off the bottom or right on the fall.
