Halibut can be caught in many places, under different circumstances, at different times of the year, in many ways with a wide variety of baits and tackle. I believe that the more factors we can try to understand and can stack in our favor, the more "lucky" we become in targeting these elusive and tasty creatures. Anyone can catch a halibut by random chance. Others can finesse these factors to their advantage remarkably well.
Hence, my question to the halibut experts here today is about the flow or agitation of water and where big halibut might like to park themselves:
Do halibut tend to prefer still or calm water, or areas where water is more agitated and flowing?
For example, with all other factors being equal (ceteris paribus), would you choose:
1. Times of fast moving tide current in the bay, or the transitions between ebb and flow when the water is slack and moves more slowly?
2. Behind the breakers along a sandy beach where water is more agitated, or a little further out where there is less influence from waves hitting the beach or a jetty, etc.?
3. Windward or leeward side of structure ... jetty, kelp, pier, etc.? AND whatever the correct words are for up-current and down-current relative to a structure.
4. With the cross current across the mouth of San Diego Bay from the ocean, would you be more tempted to fish Zuniga shoal along the west side of the jetty (east side of the channel), or the flats, around rocks, and weeds on the other side of the channel from there on the Point Loma side?
** As a hobby pilot in small planes I learned the importance of wind direction and flow over mountains during different times of the day if we are flying near the ground. On the windward side, air from steady wind will flow up the side of a mountain smoothly with lift. That's why we can often see birds soaring along the ridges of mountains, enjoying the uplift and searching for prey. As the air moves over the top, it becomes turbulent and tumbles on the leeward side, creating updrafts and down drafts that can be quite violent at times, leaving baby pilots to pick rocks out of their teeth. I was wondering if this principle might be the same for water currents around structure, and where halibut might like to nest relative to the flow of water. When we want to know the air direction on the ground we can look down at cows because they always stand with their butts to the wind. I'm wondering where halibut like to "soar" for prey under easy conditions, and where they nest with their "backs to the wind." Maybe similar ideas apply, maybe they don't.
5. When air and fuel in a carburetor moves through a venturi, speed and pressure accelerates where the tube narrows. This is called Bernoulli's Principle. The mouth of a bay or harbor or estuary acts the same during tide flows. Would you want to fish IN the venturi (narrowed entry point between two bodies of water), or away from the venturi of the mouth of the harbor (San Diego Bay, Mission Bay, etc.) where the water might be relatively more calm?
6. In the ocean, would you prefer calm water days or more active days? Are slow current days better than fast current days? Clear water or cloudy water as an indication of the amount the water is stirred up?
7. Do we want to target areas that are churning or pockets of tranquility?
I think you get my drift
Where is the more likely domain of hungry halibut as far as water current is concerned?