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For small Halibut, I would recommend first that you try pliers without removing the fish from the water. If that is not feasible try one of the plastic lip grippers (they have a larger gripping surface area than the metal ones) to hold the fish while you remove the hook with the pliers or hook remover. A couple of tips on using the lip gripper on smaller Butts is to grip the side of the mouth, not the end, and make use of the bungee lanyard. The shape of the front of the mouth on them makes it hard to get the small throat of the plastic grippers in place without causing damage. The fish will generally go a bit ballistic when you get it clamped on too. So let them struggle against the bungee wrist lanyard instead of your firm grip also to reduce damage. They calm down in just a few seconds after the gripper is on. Also, when attempting the grip, Halibut become less sensitive to the touch of their jaw pretty quickly, so don't force the issue on the first couple of attempts on fish you will release anyway.
Get a gaff that has has a hook gap and diameter that will get enough bite and hold to land the type of fish you will target. As with any other equipment, floating is always a plus on the yak. Other than that it will be personal preference on type and length.
That is my 2 cents worth anyway.
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