Its all about that butt...that butt no trouble.

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by MITCHELL

If your going to trophy hunt for big halibut ditch the trap rig

I've caught them using both a single circle hook on a dropper loop and using a trap rig. The only issue with using a single hook is that your hit n miss ratio will increase.


.....a trouble hook will make your mackerel die quicker plus possibly damaging a short halibut

That's a false statement. I fish with trap rigs 99.99999% of the time and I place the treble hook on the top of the mac near/behind the dorsal fins(right in the meat) or right above the anal fin right in the gut. Most of the time I change my bait because I've had the same bait on for an extended amount of time, its rare that I change it because it turned. Also, a butt will have to swallow the entire bait in order to the hook to dig deep in the gut, I've seen happen but its extremely rare because of the way they attack the bait so using a single hook will not guarantee that a small butt will not get harmed


40 trilene biggame egg sinker swivel 25 lbs florocarbon leader off set j hook caroLina riged worked for me ......a big butt won't have any trouble swallowing your mackerel

That is true but not all of the time. If you need proof of that take a look at Greg's video and you'll see that its rare that a butt(large or small) swallows the entire bait on the first strike........that's why the term 'raked bait' exist

Anyway............that's a hell of a fish!!!

[MITCHELL]

Got a slip of paper 37lbs 45ins long tail 13 ins wide

[MITCHELL]

Rockstar can fit

[MITCHELL]

Beautiful day on the water and thanks for the info halibut kings....what's the deal with unloading pictures and security tokens

[JeffB]

Nice Hali!

[mrJB]

Great fish and nice to see an accurate weight for a change...!

[MITCHELL]

Shelter island San Diego bay

[Reel Anxious]

Hey Mitch, That's one nice Hali. Your persistence paid off big time.

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Originally Posted by jorluivil

I fish with trap rigs 99.99999% of the time and I place the treble hook on the top of the mac near/behind the dorsal fins(right in the meat) or right above the anal fin right in the gut. Most of the time I change my bait because I've had the same bait on for an extended amount of time, its rare that I change it because it turned. Also, a butt will have to swallow the entire bait in order to the hook to dig deep in the gut, I've seen happen but its extremely rare because of the way they attack the bait so using a single hook will not guarantee that a small butt will not get harmed

What size trap hook would you recommend? Do you use a hook as large as the front hook, or do you think a smaller treble hook will be just as effective, and less damaging to the bait?

I also prefer a trap hook for halibut. I want to avoid collateral damage to other fish as much as possible.

[ful-rac]

Finally a legit weight! Nice fish mitchell!

[MITCHELL]

I no you have slayed lot of them big ones.....

[ful-rac]

Shhhhhh! Dont' say that so loud....