HALIBUT SEASON By Tracy Loescher

— Created April 12, 2026 by Samantha Goodman

It’s that time again! After 20 plus years of in-season restrictions that made Halibut fishing in the Puget Sound at times almost life-and-limb dangerous the state of Washington finally got the message to open the season longer, and leave it open seven days of the week “let the people fish.” Halibut catch quotas (total pounds of catch) are regulated by the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) Washington, Oregon, and California are managed by this commission. Three years ago, the state of California petitioned the IPHC to shift a generous portion of Washington’s seasonal halibut catch quota over to California recreational fishermen. Thanks to this action, I believe this is where we Island Anglers and other Washington state fishermen finally got back what was taken away for some form of bios activist survey action long ago.

The state of California’s request for some of our halibut quota raised the question “if there is that much recreational unclaimed, available catch quota here in our waters, why are we not able to fish for that quota?” pretty straight forward and common sense right. After the California request surfaced, the Puget Sound Angler Clubs in Washington confronted the IPHC and WDFW to peel back the onion and expose the unrealistic/unfair restrictions on Puget Sound recreational halibut fishing.

For the last two years recreational halibut fishing opportunities have been much, much better and much safer, fishermen do not have to risk fishing in bad weather and unsafe wind conditions based upon the chopped-up days of the week we were given. There are still some in-season restrictions that need to be answered in my opinion (halibut closed during the month of July) but halibut fishing can once again be a season that fishermen can look forward to and enjoy safely with family and friends.

Catching a Puget Sound halibut was/is never a slam dunk, fishermen gain incredible knowledge and increased catch success from being out on the waters fishing, learning the halibut’s habitat and testing those lessons learned is priceless. Gaining knowledge quickly on halibut hotspots was impossible with the short chopped up seasons, but with the longer seasons we now have a chance to re-group and find those wonderful flatfish.

Here are the baits and techniques I have used over the years to put a few 25-to-40-pound halibut into the boat:

Herring: is the halibut’s favorite bait in the Sound, whole medium to large size baits work best but any available size herring is fine. Fresh caught is best but frozen herring that has had time to thaw out slowly works great too. I have dyed (blue or green) and brined herring to use but I have caught just as many on plain out of the package baits, brining the baits in a salt solution does toughen the flesh and helps the bait from coming apart.

Squid: used whole is another great bait for halibut, many times I cut the squid in half or into strips to add to any bait, nothing wrong with creating a smorgasbord!

Salmon parts: after a good salmon year I freeze and save the salmon caucuses. I take time to cut off the white, silvery salmon bellies and save them in a zip-lock bag. In Alaska, halibut will hang out at the mouth of the rivers to scoop up the post-spawn dead salmon carcasses washing back into the ocean. Salmon for bait does not seem to be as effective here in the Puget Sound but the halibut will not miss-out on an opportunity to feed, I use salmon heads and salmon bellies for bait, then rototill the rest into the garden.

Artificial baits: large soft-bait eel style lures, large rubber squids, large rubber twin-tail grubs and curly-tail grubs have caught more than their share of halibut in both shallow and deep water. Adjusting the weight to get to the bottom is the key, I like to keep the amount of weight (jig-head or cannon ball) as light as possible, it helps me feel the bite. Copper pipe-jigs, and extra heavy vertical darts are other proven artificial lures that will hook and pull a tasty halibut up off the bottom.

Scents and oils: There is a big assortment of fish attracting oils and gels on the market, herring, shrimp, bloody-tuna, anise, garlic, anchovy, and sardine. When one or a combination of these oils or gels are added to natural baits or artificial lures, they will greatly increase the scent trail that brings the halibut in to bite the hook. I highly recommend adding “herring” scent on all artificial baits.

Catching halibut from shore is difficult in the Puget Sound, the normal off-shore depths needed (90 to 200 feet) are too distant, the most successful halibut fishing is from a boat. There are three techniques most commonly used to target the halibut:

On anchor: after deciding on the bottom type and depth you believe the halibut are at/on, or nearby, drop anchor and enough anchor line and chain that will hold and place the boat over the area of interest. Lower your bait or lure of choice (commonly on a spreader bar) down to the bottom then reel up two feet off the bottom, set your drag and wait. Remember to wait around 30 to 45 minutes for the scent trail to attract the fish. Most halibut fishermen on anchor also lower a small perforated tub or mesh bag with a frozen chum mixture to help bring in the fish as well.

Current Drift: when current is moving at walking speed, place the boat on the up current end of the area you want to fish, at this point lower your gear down and randomly touch bottom as the boat moves with the current. Getting snagged on the bottom is possible but not likely because the bottom type the halibut will be on is primarily a combination of sand, broken shell, and mud.

Slow Trolling: this technique is not as widely used as the other options but it will produce fish. I know this first hand from trolling for salmon on “Eastern Bank.” A 3.5-inch salmon spoon was picked up and swallowed by a 50-pound halibut! Halibut season was over so unfortunately, we could not keep it but it was quite an experience bringing the fish to the surface on a salmon rod. Fish the suspect halibut areas the same as you would salmon, using downriggers, flashers, and spoons, remember to increase leader strength to at least 50-pound test, use larger swivels, and metal flashers for sound as it spins and occasionally makes contact with the bottom.

I am extremely happy that the heavy restrictions on our halibut season have been lifted, it is at last a season that we can fish safely and create memories once again. Be safe and GOOD LUCK out there!!