Posts by halibutmike

Quote from Joe Acevedo

x2 , But i understand there are somthings that you just have to keep to yourself like that , therers stuff like that I will only tell when im 100% done with diving

Joe, I hope / think that means you'll never tell!

Chis - Yes Ive see GWS big and small in so cal waters; and I've seen tigers in HI and Aus..............

Sharks are out there.... if you see them or not.

If you get the opportunity to be in the water with a really big one......... well.............

just enjoy!

it may be a once in a life time experience

Happy Halloween!

NICE!!!! thanks Daniel.

Quote from Dan

Wow what a huge catalog of useless to us stuff. Mike I think this is the 5 prong you described. What was throwing me off is that in your pic the prongs are curved. Did they bend after hitting a rock with that particular halibut or do you bend them on purpose beforehand?

I dont bend on purpose...... this fish was on really thin sand over rock.... or maybe rock and sand.....

Quote from Dan

Mike, what kind of s pear point is that in your avatar?

It's a 5-prong stainless head made by Trident. http://www.tridentdive.com/ (download catalog)

they make a stainless and cad coated 5 prongs - the cad coated is a little cheaper but the prongs tend to break off at the weld when you hit a rock..... or even heavy bone. I've not had the problem with the stainless heads.... prongs get bent.... but easily fixed. Dont get the cad coated one.

So why a 5 prong?-- it's just best for halibut...... at least most of the halibut we spear -- say 30#s and under. Probably 7 of the last 10 halis I've shot were on rocks or less than an 1' of sand over rock... floppers and slip tips will not penetrate far enough when the but in on rock...

It's old school.... but it works.... Not just my opin. http://www.fathomiers.net/misc/Divin...une-2007.pdf

Very Nice! Congrats...... good to know that some of those gray rocks aren't (because I see so many that look like halis but..... are just rocks!)

re hunting in 2' vis............ pretty much just an exercise in frustration.... I used to do it..... but no more.........

For those of you who havnt been diving for 50+ years........... It's amazing how many big halis we are getting these days...... much more than in most of my diving experience. The reason is same as for the wsb.... we got rid of the inshore gil nets.

Nice Daniel - Congrats!

One's usually enough!...... This one's way more than enough! Nice fish and good shot.

I hope the prints turn out well.

Sounds like conditions on the beach are better than they were most of the summer..... and it's killing me. I'm sitting in Maui (that's usually a good thing)...... but stuck in a leg immobilizer waiting for my broken knee cap to mend...... can't bend it and can't swim..........

did you get this one after daylight?

mike

Quote from coreyf

Went and hit the optimal bottom of the tide. Surprisingly the vis was decent. There were quite a few of these things running around. . I noticed that there were few, if any, halibut laying around the angels. Has anyone experienced anything like this. Do the halis stay away from the cartlaginous ones ... bat rays and angel sharks? They were definitely mixed in with stingrays, but not the angel sharks.

Angel sharks eat halibut! - - .....

Quote from Miguel

Out of curiosity, do you usually find low tide is a better time to hunt them? I've been trying during high tide and it's been hit or miss... mostly miss.

Usually high tide for near shore - they move in and out with the tide.... Incoming tide more will be facing in than out.... and reverse But - it's site dependent--- and lots of variables.

Quote from spearstuff

I've only caught a handful, but I caught one this morning an hour or so after low tide. If I had to guess I'd say the grunion run and the phase of the moon play a bigger role in finding halibut than high or low tides.

yep.... grunion run -- they follow the lunch wagon.

Quote from coreyf

I was being sarcastic with the low tide comment. The fish were in the shallows even on the low tide. The vis is usually going to be worst, but the fish were there. I tend to hunt them on the high. On this day it was just after the bottom of the tide and the tide was filling in throughout my dive -- incoming tide is what I consider to be optimal hunting time. I think they come up shallower and are feeding during this time, but I have nothing to really support that.

In parts of PV -- (for example the N end.... )sea cliffs are composed of very soft fine grained siltstone - when there are tides - waves high enough to reach the cliffs the vis goes to crap..... In those conditions..... while the buts may be there.... you cant see them..... and the vis may be better on low tide........ ie to shoot um you have to see them...... so site dependent..... most sites vis better on high tide and buts come in with tide to feed....If conditions are calm.... they come in and dont move out......

Quote from john hughes

I've heard someone say that once the batrays move in, the halibut diving slows down. Not overall, but in general. There's definately a point in the year where I'm getting alot of fish without seeing a ton of Batrays, then, I see more batrays, and less fish. That's been my experience, but I just started putting in more time on the halibut in the last 2 years

. My experience - if they're bunches of bat rays..... generally together for mating..... they tend to move a lot - jump..... and I think the halis just move out...... but, if there's tons of bait.... the buts will stay.... but are tough because real jumpy.....

So the theme here....is..... if there is a lot of bait fish around...... there are often halibut.... high or low tide - -- moon or not..... they love anchovies..... and squid.

thanks guys - doesnt look like the trip will happen.

Quote from LunkerBuster

...I assumeing it rooted into coral...very innovative to use a non stable base like those balls for the reef...it is quite differetn from the artificials over on this coast where we want them as undesturbed as possible for the small corals to take hold and propagate.
/QUOTE] and [quote='LunkerBuster','http://spearfishing.world/forums/index.php?thread/&postID=38186#post38186']me too, provided they do it right.
I wonder if any of the "reefballs" from the east coast have been used over there...

LB - it's not exactly what you think....:" The rocks, quarried at Catalina Island, are roughly the size of medicine balls and scattered in a single layer on the sand, not piled on top of each other".

these are quarried granitic bolders of "medicine ball size"..... they are not balls - and they are not coral.

"Kay said the goal was to create a dynamic ecosystem in which the boulders are jostled during storms so they can clear out patches of old-growth kelp and create a natural mosaic."

“To get giant kelp coming back generation after generation, there always needs to be bare rock on the reef, and you are only going to get that if you have an unstable reef,” he said.

Of course, we get bare rock from the urchins eating kelp and storms tearing loose kelp..... we have massive kelp beds on rock reefs that don't move.

Long term... not sinking...or getting buried in sand. especially if they move....is a big deal. The 30' depth provides good conditions........ good light, long shore sediment transport is shallower, and still enough turbulence to keep finer sediment moving. Some of the local divers may have noticed that we have a 30' submerged terrace along parts of southern CA. This dates to about 6000 years ago when we had a pause is sea-level rise..... "beach cobbles" are common on the submerged terrace.

The current success of kelp growth comes in a period of unusually cold water summer........ time will tell if the new reef works..... I would have preferred to see a reef with more relief and shelter/ holes.

I hope their design works.

mike

I may be in S bay area on Saturday or Sunday....If I make the trip, I like to dive N end of PV from the beach.... . any current reports on the current near shore concitions would be appreciated.... PM or post.

Yes I hunt halibut! Your WSB are safe.

thanks,
mike

Mullet are n most of our harbors..... occ you see they jump..... Ive only seen a couple outside of harbors. Some value as food fish.... (but not generally here).

Really nice hali! Congrats.

Quote from spearstuff

Nice Miguel! That is a great first. How long was that halibut? My 14lber was 33inhces so I'm guessing yours is around 31, 32 inches?

Table shows averages developed by Dr Larry Allen from the MDR hali derby.

RE night halis...... come on guys..... It's almost too easy at night.

Quote from Miguel

After years of trying I finally got my first 'but at 12lbs! Too bad rays aren't good eating since you couldn't go five feet without seeing a shovelnose, diamond, torpedo, thornback or angel shark. I realized yesterday that I've never had halibut before, not big on commercial fish, looking forward to trying it out tonight though

Also almost shot about 20 halibut shaped rocks...

Anyone got any recipes?

Great! Congrats Miguel. Really nice fish to start with.... but not so big that you wont find bigger ones in the near future if you look.

Re Hali shaped rocks..LOL.... that happens to all of us. Theyre everywhere!

Re recipes...... great many ways..... pretty much anyway you'd cook a bass or rockfish..... ONLY BETTER! Try at least some very simply.... and then go from there.

Quote from Stephan

Interesting about the gaff tears. I hadn't thought of that and the more I think of it it seems more probable to me. But well never know.

A lot of halis are lost at gaff..... they flop with a lot of force..... and the cattleboats have regularly been fishing near where you got the fish.........(as well as private boaters)........... they may come to the surface on h&l with little resistance.... then explode when hit with a gaff..

Quote from Stephan

Somebody lose a halibut in the last 48 hours?

Well I finally did it. I found this fish about an hour before sundown in a sand pocket in the eel grass. He was so well buried that I did not realize that he had a pretty big tear in him from a previous spear encounter, until I shot him and he went ape. You can see the big gash on the left (his right).

I dove with Darren and took out a neighbor who is comfortable in the water but hasn't snorkeled in about 13 years. Darren saw the first fish, swam around to approach him head on and popped him while I watched. I later swam back in with my neighbor friend who was feeling the motion sickness and needed to chill. I found this guy in about 8 feet of water and was pretty much nose to nose with him. It is my first halibut and so it was a real big deal for me. it went 29" and about 8 lbs. The tear didn't seem to affect him too much and I believe he may have survived it. I found two more border line fish after that. I also noticed that all the fish including Darren's were oriented int the current. Is this usual? I would guess so.

Big Congrats Stephan..... long time in coming. Look at enough sand and you'll find um...

Fish are tough..... I've taken a lot of halis with well healed spear or gaff tear outs................ and a couple with what were probablay shark bites (too clean for seals). (angel sharks eat halis).

Re current.... Near shore... relatively shallow water.... most common they face in with incoming tide and out with out going tide.... - they really are just moving into the shallow water at with incoming tide to feed...... but they also "fit" themselves into any spot ...

After the 1964 Good Friday earthquake in Alaska and the following tsunami that hit CA..... we had a strong "river like" current running S down the coast......... most of the fish and every halibut I saw that day was facing into the current...... just like trout in a stream..

Re shooting from the nose..... ie head on........... I know there are a lot of posts from guys that prefer this..... I really dont think it matters. Just take the shot that works for the setting.. Im reasonably sure none of the pics in the Good Friday 1964 pic below were shot from the nose!

Nice Daniel and Congrats Stephan! ... long time in coming.

The grunion are running..................

Daniel... I'v never shot one at night! (but I may have too......with my current lack of success!...._)

3 short dives this week S central and N laguna.... all decent hali spots........... Monday S Central dive... was enough to make me think the MLPA "it's a waste land" types are right..... there was nothing about. Tuesday N - what I expect.... lots of bass, and goats (I'm looking for "buts......).. a couple of short halis...... and today N agin..... lots of fish.... and a couple of "probably legals" but not worth pulling the trigger......

so...... but I always say - - I enjoy the hunt..... (and the eating).... so I'll keep hunting...........

At least it's finally starting to seem like summer......... but the water is still 5*F less than normal.

Dan.... why use a knife when you have (gloved) fingers!

Nice!.... grunion run continues thru Thursday night

mike

posted on a scuba site.... someone lost a camera on deadmans................

and you can easily sell the lead shot bags now...... I put some up on craigs list a few weeks ago and got 10 or 12 replies.... sold all quickly.

Welcome Adam.... from a fellow UCSB grad! (only long, long, long before you)....

Where will you be in SA? I lived in Brasil for 2 years.... and traveled thru much of SA. I lived in the Ceara, where the nearshore is usually muddy, but there is great diving in parts of Brasil. My favorite was near Salvador in Bahia. Good diving in Recife area also.....

mike