Trolling for Halibut
Trolling for Halibut in Tenakee Inlet
Learn from the Master about this new art of fishing!
I have trolled for halibut for thirty years as a charter boat captain and guide. This article will assist you in: landing Halibut, King Salmon and Rockfish all at the same time.
When I first started charter fishing in Tenakee Inlet, I knew from previous experience as a commercial salmon troller that learning the exact bottom was the most important thing to success. I only had 28 miles of inlet to learn and guess what? After 30 years I still have a lot more to learn. That’s fishing… the more you understand this the better fisher person you become.
Rocks, canyons, humps, bumps, sand bottom or rocky bottom… these areas are important! Halibut ambush sites that once you learn them, the halibut will be there consistently year after year. Trolling is one of the most effective ways to catch halibut just by the sheer amount of area that you cover. You will find halibut in Tenakee Inlet anywhere from fifty feet of water to four hundred feet.
For trolling we concentrate on water depths from fifty to two hundred fifty feet. We catch fish from 10 lbs to 250 lbs using this technique. We fish with medium action salmon rods with 30 lb test line. Can’t be done you say! Well… we have consistently caught these fish every season using this technique. Every year we have experienced halibut fisherman amazed at the effectiveness of this method.
Tenakee Inlet is one of the premier halibut fishing spots in Southeast Alaska.
Our advantage to catching fish here is the length of travel time to the fish. Instead of running out on the ocean spending two to four hours to get to the halibut hole often battling swells and waves; here you can start your motor, troll out of the harbor, put your gear in the water and you are fishing. In less then five minutes!
Last year I caught 30 to 40 lb king salmon and halibut up to 100 lbs fishing within sight of the lodge on the calm waters of the Inlet. Bait fish are attracted to this area and are always around. Sometimes the bait is so thick in the harbor you want to start trolling as soon as you untie.
Fishing in this area I work 80 to 200 feet of water. Using a couple of different set ups allows me to figure out what the fish want on that day. I start with a hotspot flasher and a whole herring or simply a hootchie with a strip of herring on it. I may change to just a straight herring set up whole or plug cut no flasher… equally effective with no drag from a flasher.
Now it is just you and the fish on a salmon rod - the ultimate in sport fishing.
Clipping the line into the scotty release, dropping this set up to the bottom using the downrigger. I hit bottom and then bring the ball up two feet or so off the bottom. We use 12 to 15 pound cannon balls. Sometimes you are into a fish as soon as you hit bottom! Many times the halibut hear the cannon ball hit and they start looking for what created the noise.
Scent also helps attract the fish so we use a variety but the most common is Pautzke Butt Juice. It is one of the strongest scents and I apply it liberally to my bait and hootchie. We also use sardine, anchovy, shrimp, herring and salmon scent.. they all work! Trolling speed is important and 1.2 to 2 knots is the best speed.
Keeping your trolling wire at a 45 degree angle is the most effective way to judge your speed. Current speed and wind will effect your wire angle so adjust your speed - faster or slower to keep that wire at a 45 degree angle. Once your rod is in the rod holder watch your rod tip to determine if you are fishing effectively.
If the rod starts to bob up and down that means the cannonball is on the botton and needs to be raised up a couple of feet. You should be watching your depth finder and know exactly the depth you are fishing. Coordinating this with the depth you set your downrigger at will tell you exactly where your cannonball is in relationship to the bottom.
If the bottom is 200 hundred feet set your downrigger at 195 ft. Many times depending on which way you are trolling you can see the cannonball line above the bottom on the fish finder. You should always be watching for depth change to keep you from snagging cannon balls on the bottom. If you do get snagged immediately put the boat in neutral and back up if you can. This will save expensive cannonball loss.
Follow your chartplotter.
Once you make a successful pass and catch fish turn around on your trail and follow the same line and depth back. Many times I catch a limit in three passes following this pattern. If the tide and current are running hard sometimes I make a one way pass. This means that at the end of your tach you pull your gear start the main engine and circle back to the top of the trail. Then start trolling again on the same line in the same direction maximizing your fishing time. Often fish will only bite going in one direction. You should be going with the tide in the direction the tide is running.
The halibut will bite while trolling!
Sometimes it is very subtle, other times they just rip it off the release and peel two hundred yards of line off. Usually they slowly pull it off and you should pick up the rod and reel as fast as you can, not setting the hook. Getting the slack line tight is the most important thing you can do once you feel the fish and remember a short set keeps the fish on. We have landed fish to 250 lbs on salmon rods… it just take a little more time. Often these bigger fish will come to the top see daylight and go all the way back to the bottom. Then it starts all over.
Don’t be surprised when that halibut turns into a big king salmon, Rockfish or pacific cod … it is all just part of your bycatch .
More to come on fishing in Tenakee Inlet. The next article will be on jigging and bait fishing for halibut. Learn how to drift fish, back troll and anchor.
Tight Lines,
-Capt. Tuck Harry
Always trying to learn something new in fishing
