dawhale
Contributor
Just curious. Do any of you hunt halibut in the strait? As best I can tell my search on the internet indicates halibut are fished deep in the Northwest. dawhale
Halibut Hunting In The Strait Of Juan De Fuca
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I've done high speed drifts along the tops of some of the banks in the strait with hopes of spearing a halibut but am yet to encounter one. It is a long shot - the banks I've skimmed peak at 70 to 100 fsw but typically the fish are angled from 200+ fsw. If you're adventurous I'd say give it a shot - you might get lucky - and if you do find a fish I want to hear the story and see the photos.
whatevah, I am considering relocating in the next few years and the Olympic Peninsula has caught my eye. I hunt halibut here in So Cal when the females come into the shallows. I have free diver friends who have shot them in 10' of water. We regularly hunt them 30 - 60'. Had a friend last year got a 50 pounder. The fish up north can be much bigger. Most of the people I dive with use a reel on the gun. Meat is soft. Shoot them and let them go. They will swim off a distance then lay back down. Usually a couple of runs then dispatch them. We are selective and eat what we take. I wonder why they seam to be so deep up north. Just have to think some come into the shallows and lay on the sand next to structure. In following this forum I do not get the impression to may people up North hunt and thats OK. Just from looking at the fishing pictures it looks like the opportunity is their. Tough conditions but quality fish. Slack tide, swim the ridge with a marker float and a chase boat. Thanks for the reply. I will get up their some day. Have to see one of those wolf eels and giant octopus. dawhale
The Olympic Peninsula is a beautiful place for sure, and if you're into fishing you'll likely be quite happy there.
Boating in general is different here - on the coast the conditions can quickly become extremely ugly for your average recreational boat - many a trip is cancelled after a last minute weather forecast check. The Strait of Juan De Fuca can also be quite unfriendly, and additionally there are stronger currents to deal with. It takes a pretty decent boat, a tolerance for cold wind and rain, and some nautical confidence to get much fishing done during a significant chunk of fall, most of winter and early spring. So, the weather and the tides eliminate a lot of diving/spearing possibilities.
Fishing and spearing are fairly tightly regulated in Washington (when I was in California last year I checked the regulations and found them to be quite relaxed - but then, I saw a lot of areas completely barren of fish life when I dove, too). On the coast the regulations are somewhat more relaxed - once you turn the corner into the strait the regulations start to tighten. Have a look at the regulations at wdfw.wa.gov if you're interested. Halibut season is quite short, as is Lingcod, and Rockfish is fairly short too (in fact, most places you cannot spear them at all) through most of Washington. So, regulation (short seasons specifically) is the second factor reducing your chances of spearing halibut in Washington.
The halibut you're dealing with in SoCal are in fact a completely different species (left eyed California Halibut as opposed to the right eyed Pacific Halibut). They're more likely to be found in sport diving depths. Pacific Halibut quickly move deeper as they grow. On top of this, only about 2% of the Pacific Halibut biomass is in Oregon and Washington - the majority of Washington's part being out on the coast. 15% of the biomass lies off BC, and the rest is found off Alaska. There just aren't that many Pacific Halibut in Washington - and very few make the turn in through the strait - most of them will migrate right along the coast and out along the west side of Vancouver Island. If you found one while diving it'd be considered quite unusual. So, rarity is the third factor working against you.
Plenty of spearing happens in Washington, but it is done by divers who prefer to dive rather than socialize. Most popular is Lingcod during the very short spearing season. This board is not a good representation of diving activity in Washington at all. Especially among divers who are largely ignorant of fish stocks, regulations etc, it is currently not "cool" to accept spearfishers. I probably know more about the resource than most of them, yet when I mention that I spear and eat fish both for healthy exercise and for protein they will almost drop the McD's burger they're eating. Never mind the hypocrisy of paying some unknown party to (humanely?) grow and slaughter their protein for them, or the fact that the cow they're eating emitted copious volumes of methane into the atmosphere as it grazed in a field that used to be a forest. This situation is a source of some amusement to me
If you move up this way, hook up with some locals who know the area, and have a great time. Stick by the regulations and always keep in mind that in order to maintain the resource we're harvesting we need to take an interest in the critters themselves - learn their lifecycle and try to be selective so that subsequent generations of tasty seafood can find their way onto your plate.
Boating in general is different here - on the coast the conditions can quickly become extremely ugly for your average recreational boat - many a trip is cancelled after a last minute weather forecast check. The Strait of Juan De Fuca can also be quite unfriendly, and additionally there are stronger currents to deal with. It takes a pretty decent boat, a tolerance for cold wind and rain, and some nautical confidence to get much fishing done during a significant chunk of fall, most of winter and early spring. So, the weather and the tides eliminate a lot of diving/spearing possibilities.
Fishing and spearing are fairly tightly regulated in Washington (when I was in California last year I checked the regulations and found them to be quite relaxed - but then, I saw a lot of areas completely barren of fish life when I dove, too). On the coast the regulations are somewhat more relaxed - once you turn the corner into the strait the regulations start to tighten. Have a look at the regulations at wdfw.wa.gov if you're interested. Halibut season is quite short, as is Lingcod, and Rockfish is fairly short too (in fact, most places you cannot spear them at all) through most of Washington. So, regulation (short seasons specifically) is the second factor reducing your chances of spearing halibut in Washington.
The halibut you're dealing with in SoCal are in fact a completely different species (left eyed California Halibut as opposed to the right eyed Pacific Halibut). They're more likely to be found in sport diving depths. Pacific Halibut quickly move deeper as they grow. On top of this, only about 2% of the Pacific Halibut biomass is in Oregon and Washington - the majority of Washington's part being out on the coast. 15% of the biomass lies off BC, and the rest is found off Alaska. There just aren't that many Pacific Halibut in Washington - and very few make the turn in through the strait - most of them will migrate right along the coast and out along the west side of Vancouver Island. If you found one while diving it'd be considered quite unusual. So, rarity is the third factor working against you.
Plenty of spearing happens in Washington, but it is done by divers who prefer to dive rather than socialize. Most popular is Lingcod during the very short spearing season. This board is not a good representation of diving activity in Washington at all. Especially among divers who are largely ignorant of fish stocks, regulations etc, it is currently not "cool" to accept spearfishers. I probably know more about the resource than most of them, yet when I mention that I spear and eat fish both for healthy exercise and for protein they will almost drop the McD's burger they're eating. Never mind the hypocrisy of paying some unknown party to (humanely?) grow and slaughter their protein for them, or the fact that the cow they're eating emitted copious volumes of methane into the atmosphere as it grazed in a field that used to be a forest. This situation is a source of some amusement to me
If you move up this way, hook up with some locals who know the area, and have a great time. Stick by the regulations and always keep in mind that in order to maintain the resource we're harvesting we need to take an interest in the critters themselves - learn their lifecycle and try to be selective so that subsequent generations of tasty seafood can find their way onto your plate.
"whatevah:"The halibut you're dealing with in SoCal are in fact a completely different species (left eyed California Halibut as opposed to the right eyed Pacific Halibut). They're more likely to be found in sport diving depths. Pacific Halibut quickly move deeper as they grow. "
Pacific halibut. I understand now.
"I probably know more about the resource than most of them, yet when I mention that I spear and eat fish both for healthy exercise and for protein they will almost drop the McD's burger they're eating. Never mind the hypocrisy of paying some unknown party to (humanely?) grow and slaughter their protein for them, or the fact that the cow they're eating emitted copious volumes of methane into the atmosphere as it grazed in a field that used to be a forest. This situation is a source of some amusement to me
Sorry if I touched a nerve. In So Cal we face similar issues. We often have hunters and photog's on the same boat. Generally not a problem.
"always keep in mind that in order to maintain the resource we're harvesting we need to take an interest in the critters themselves - learn their life cycle and try to be selective so that subsequent generations of tasty seafood can find their way onto your plate.
I agree with your statement. Thanks, Dawhale
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