Earlier this week I was able to hop aboard the Apollo for the BDOutdoors and Submission Fishing 2 day charter to fish the islands for seabass and halibut. I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks. This is my first time on a sportboat this season which is pretty late considering it’s almost June… the inshore halibut fishing has just been so damn good I really haven’t wanted to do anything else. I’d been taking my boat out to SD bay almost every week to drift for flatties, so when the captain gathered us all in the galley and said the halibut ticket is a reverse dropper and sardine, I got PUMPED because that’s the exact rig I’ve been dialing in all Spring. With a rising moon and calm seas, we made our way out to San Nicholas Island.
We wake up the next morning and begin making halibut drifts in different areas and different depths to try and establish a pattern. On one drift we caught four, which apparently showed the captain what he needed to know. We stayed in that area and started getting into a pretty solid halibut bite. It was not wide open, but this type of fishing never is. As I was about to wind in my bait, I feel a strange weight on the line and out of instinct I lifted. I love it when you think you hit a lump of grass and it turns out to be a lurking halibut swimming with the bait. I started winding and the fish takes some drag so I know it’s the right kind. I keep a calm, steady wind like I have been with all my bay fish, and a nice 26incher lays out and is brought on board. Stoked to break the ice!!
Around 1pm we are still scratching away at the halibut but it’s slow pickin’. I went for the 15lb outfit to screw around and maybe catch a calico, so I put on a leadhead and baited it with a fresh dead squid. About 20mins into the drift I’m daydreaming and wondering when we’re gonna go rockfishing when I feel two thuds and set into something heavy. I keep winding tight and my rod keeps bending, so I know it’s something significant. I make my way down to the stern. The fish then hauls off and takes 30 yards of line. I’m thinking big halibut, but I’m hoping for big seabass. Nice and steady, I keep the wind going soon this brown rug appears and the deckhand sticks it right in the back of the head. I’M STOKED!! This beauty clocked in at 38inches and a healthy 23 pounds which means a new personal best for me. What made it even better was that I finessed the hell outta this one with 15lb fluoro and a 1oz warbaits neckbreaker. Totally made my trip.
After this we got a call that the bluefin had moved into Clemente, and this group had come prepared so we decided to risk it and make the run over to see if we can get a shot at some jumbos. However the bluefin decided to be bluefin and scattered…. Leaving us just looking into the dark. We finished the trip with some EXCELLENT rockfishing and I had a blast slow pitching up big reds with the Submission jigs that Mike brought out.
Overall, the excellent operation, fantastic weather, and a new PB halibut made this a trip I’ll remember for a while. HUGE thank you to BDOutdoors and Submission fishing for sponsoring the trip and making sure everyone went home with some rad new gear.
Check out the video I made about the trip to see that big halibut appear out of the gloom!! EPIC footage.
BIG Halibut Aboard the Apollo
We wake up the next morning and begin making halibut drifts in different areas and different depths to try and establish a pattern. On one drift we caught four, which apparently showed the captain what he needed to know. We stayed in that area and started getting into a pretty solid halibut bite. It was not wide open, but this type of fishing never is. As I was about to wind in my bait, I feel a strange weight on the line and out of instinct I lifted. I love it when you think you hit a lump of grass and it turns out to be a lurking halibut swimming with the bait. I started winding and the fish takes some drag so I know it’s the right kind. I keep a calm, steady wind like I have been with all my bay fish, and a nice 26incher lays out and is brought on board. Stoked to break the ice!!
Around 1pm we are still scratching away at the halibut but it’s slow pickin’. I went for the 15lb outfit to screw around and maybe catch a calico, so I put on a leadhead and baited it with a fresh dead squid. About 20mins into the drift I’m daydreaming and wondering when we’re gonna go rockfishing when I feel two thuds and set into something heavy. I keep winding tight and my rod keeps bending, so I know it’s something significant. I make my way down to the stern. The fish then hauls off and takes 30 yards of line. I’m thinking big halibut, but I’m hoping for big seabass. Nice and steady, I keep the wind going soon this brown rug appears and the deckhand sticks it right in the back of the head. I’M STOKED!! This beauty clocked in at 38inches and a healthy 23 pounds which means a new personal best for me. What made it even better was that I finessed the hell outta this one with 15lb fluoro and a 1oz warbaits neckbreaker. Totally made my trip.
After this we got a call that the bluefin had moved into Clemente, and this group had come prepared so we decided to risk it and make the run over to see if we can get a shot at some jumbos. However the bluefin decided to be bluefin and scattered…. Leaving us just looking into the dark. We finished the trip with some EXCELLENT rockfishing and I had a blast slow pitching up big reds with the Submission jigs that Mike brought out.
Overall, the excellent operation, fantastic weather, and a new PB halibut made this a trip I’ll remember for a while. HUGE thank you to BDOutdoors and Submission fishing for sponsoring the trip and making sure everyone went home with some rad new gear.
Check out the video I made about the trip to see that big halibut appear out of the gloom!! EPIC footage.
BIG Halibut Aboard the Apollo
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