How to Land a Halibut – Best Tips and Equipment To Bring Halibut On the Boat Safely

Landing a halibut is a challenge.  Halibut is a powerful flatfish that ranges in size from 10 to 300 pounds.  When a sport caught halibut breaks the surface and experiences the fresh air it typically goes berserk.  It begins madly thrashing, flipping and flailing in attempt to get off the hook and back down to the bottom.  The thrashing and flailing may continue for 5 to 10 minutes or more.  If brought on board incorrectly, or too soon, the thrashing fish can cause damage to gear, injuries to people, and even the boat.  Correct technique for landing a halibut, especially any large halibut is critical.  For many, a large halibut is a once in a lifetime catch, so understanding the equipment and techniques in advance will help any angler successfully and safely boat their prize catch. In this article we explain how to land a halibut with expert tips from FishinBC.COM.

Step 1 – Determine if the Halibut is Legal Size

In BC, halibut must fall within certain size limit.  The exact size limit changes from time to time as regulations are updated, so always refer to the most current fishing regulations.  In halibut biology, female halibut grow significantly larger than male halibut and almost all large halibut are females.  The maximum size limit for sport fishing is intended to ensure that large size halibut are released back, thus ensuring that females are not caught and have the opportunity to continue laying their eggs for many years to come.  

Ideally you have two or three people on board the boat to assist.  One or two assistants can move to the side of the boat where the halibut will surface, while the angler will stay holding the rod and may need to move to the middle or opposite side of the boat.  You do not want to have all the people plus a heavy fish all on the same side of the boat, especially in rough seas so take care to balance the boat out.

It is not always easy to determine if the halibut is a legal size.  We recommend having a wooden dowel or a long handled gaff or boat pole with markings (sharpie or electrical tape) on it at the various lengths so that when a fish comes to the surface you can place the pole alongside the fish to eye it up in the water and get a size estimate on it quickly.  You can also place a couple pieces of electrical tape at the water line of your boat to mark the maximum size limit.  If the fish is close to the legal limit you need precision. Use a tape measure and get the exact length and be certain the fish is legal.

It is likely for the halibut to go berserk once it reaches the surface, so it can be quite a challenge to determine if the halibut is a legal size.  There is a possibility that the halibut could break the line while you are still in the process of determining if it is a legal size.  One good tip here is to fish with a strong leader line in the range of 150 to 200lb monofilament line, or even tuna cord this will make it harder for the fish to break free.  Refer to our FishinBC.COM article on the Best Halibut Fishing Gear for expert recommendations.  Another problem that often occurs during this stage is that if you are using a spreader bar with a large weight, as the halibut is flailing around this large weight is also flailing around and can smash into the side of the boat, people, or gear if not careful.  When using a spreader bar setup, a good idea is to have a very strong leader, and immediately grab the metal spreader bar and hold on tight to control everything.  If you are quick and have multiple assistants, one person may unclip the weight at this time although usually its better just to hold it and get on with determining if the fish is legal size.  If you do unclip the weight, if you have time also re-clip the clip this prevents it from snagging on the fishing line if it is left in an open state. Once you have a measurement you will release the fish if it is not legal size, or, proceed on to step 2 if it is a legal size fish. 

Step 2 – Secure the Halibut

Once you know that the fish is legal size, its time to secure the fish.  How you secure the fish will depend on the gear you have onboard the boat, what the strength of leader on the fish, and the size of the fish.

Due to size limits, most legal halibut in BC are under 60lbs. Other jurisdictions may have different size limits so in this article we will discuss how to handle fish up to the 60lb class, as well as larger halibut up to 300lb class. For a handy length to weight chart that you access on your phone or print and bring onboard your boat, refer to our FishinBC.COM Halibut Weight Length Table article. The table is accurate and is useful if you do catch a trophy halibut, so you can take a picture, get the length, and use the table for your bragging rights!

A halibut that is in the range of 10-20lbs will not be a big problem to land, and if using a 200lb leader, you can simply lift and swing the halibut right into the boat immediately.  Slightly larger halibut in the range of 20 to 40lbs you may be able to drag into the boat by the leader, but it is recommended to use other devices such as gaffs, halibut spear, or shark hook to assist. Any fish in the 40-60lbs range most likely you want to use a gaff or halibut spear on these are the largest size fish you can catch in BC and you don’t want to risk losing it. For these fish and any fish larger, try to keep the halibut below the water surface if possible it is more likely to remain calm. If it breaches the surface it may start thrashing and this makes securing it more challenging. Any fish in the 60-120lbs size is a large and powerful fish, if it is legal to keep in your area then this fish should most likely be handled with a halibut spear. If you don’t have a halibut spear then a shark hook would also be a recommendation. It is difficult to land this size class of halibut with a gaff alone it will thrash so much and shake your arms all over the place and then fall off the gaff. Any fish in the 120lb to 300lb class is a monster, a very powerful fish, and if it is legal to keep in your area this should be done carefully with a halibut spear. If you don’t have a halibut spear then you can try with a shark hook but it will be difficult and likely that the you would not have time to get the shark hook in place before the halibut starts violently thrashing or takes another run back to the bottom of the ocean.

Step 3 – Subdue the Halibut

At this point you will have determined the halibut is legal, and, have secured the halibut, either by flipping it into the boat if it is small enough, or by gaffing or spearing or use of a shark hook if it is larger size. The point of subduing the halibut is critical for any fish that is larger than 40lbs. As noted previously a smaller fish will generally be manageable onboard the boat, even if it is flipping around violently. A larger fish must be subdued and this should be done while the fish is still in the water. You do not want to bring a large halibut onboard the boat if it can still thrash it will cause a lot of damage and injuries. If you have a spear tip in the halibut it is generally considered secure, although, it never hurts to take a shark hook and run it through the gills with a large rope and then tie it to the boat cleat, at this point it is not getting away. You can cut the gills of the fish and keep it in the water for 5-10 minutes and this will ensure the highest quality meat, and that the fish is dead. You can also hog-tie the fish which is to tie a rope around its tail and then back through its gills, and cinch it up so the halibut is in a curved shape. This ensures that when it is hauled onboard the halibut cannot flap its tail anymore and cannot cause any damage while you return to port. Even a halibut that has been bled out can have occasional powerful muscle nerve twitches and you do want to be prepared for these.

Step 4 – Bring the halibut on board

Once the halibut has been subdued, and bled, you can evaluate if it is ready to be hauled on board the boat. Clear a spot on the boat for the halibut, keep in mind it will take a lot of space and may slide back and forth from side to side on the boat deck if in rougher seas. If it is a large halibut it should be hog tied first, and showing no signs of movement. If you are not going to hog tie it then at least run a large rope through its gills and back out and then use the rope to drag the halibut on board the boat. If you have hauled onboard a smaller halibut in a live state, and it starts flapping around, be careful to quickly grab the weight to prevent any damage. Smaller halibut can sometimes be calmed by rubbing a hand on the side of their belly.

Gear to Land a Halibut

You can land a halibut with a variety of different gear. These include, halibut spear, long gaff, short gaff, and shark hook. I will discuss each in the following sections.

Halibut Spear to Land a Halibut

The halibut spear is the best tool to land a halibut of any size. A halibut spear has a sharp tip that will easily penetrate the bone and flesh of the halibut. To use the halibut spear, first attach the spear tip to a strong rope approximately twenty feet long and tie that onto a boat cleat on the side of the boat that the halibut is on. When the halibut is in position, just below the surface, thrust the spear into the halibut. The best place to put the spear is in the flesh just behind the gill opening. Ideally you would not spear through the halibut cheeks, or, through the halibut fillets. So placing the halibut spear at the gill opening is a good place to aim for. If its not perfect, it will most likely still hold the halibut. Once the halibut is speared, it usually starts thrashing around. Just standby for it to tire out a bit and then you can cut the gills to bleed the fish.

Long Gaff to Land a Halibut

On my boat one tool I land fish with is a long handled gaff. Most commonly I land lingcod with the long handled gaff. It is good for lingcod but the long gaff is not a great tool for halibut. It will work OK for halibut up to 30lbs but over that weight the halibut spear is a better choice. The reason is that a larger halibut may thrash and twist on the gaff and then the gaff tip will come out of the fish. I also find it difficult to align the long handle gaff because the halibut is large and flat.

Short Gaff to Land a Halibut

Commercial halibut anglers, and guides, often use a short metal gaff with a T handle to land halibut. You want to get the gaff in under the gills. When the gaff is in place apply consistent force to quickly raise the head of the halibut out of the water and pull it into the boat. Using a strong leader is important with the short handled gaff. You can grab the leader, raise the head of the halibut out of the water, set the gaff, and then pull the fish into the boat.

I recommend the short gaff as the ideal equipment for smaller size halibut (up to 30lbs). For larger halibut I don’t recommend it because it does not allow you the opportunity to bleed and kill the fish overboard before bringing it on board the boat. The halibut spear would be the preferred method to land a larger halibut. This is particularly applicable to sportfishing. Once a live halibut breaches the surface it is likely to start thrashing, and it may be difficult to set the gaff or hold onto the halibut. If you have caught a large halibut and you have two short gaffs, then two people can hook into the halibut and work together to pull it into the boat. But that said, this is best done on a dead halibut, rather than a fresh one. Halibut are very powerful and it is not a good idea to pull a halibut over 100lbs that is alive into the boat; it could do damage to the boat or anglers. Instead, for large halibut use the halibut spear.

Shark Hook to Land a Halibut

A shark hook is a great tool for halibut. The shark hook that I have is approximately 12 inches long with a 5 inch gap, and tied onto a twenty foot length of half inch rope. A shark hook tied to a sturdy rope can be secured in advance to a cleat on the boat. Once you have got a halibut with another tool, such as a gaff or halibut spear, you can put the shark hook into its mouth as a secondary measure to secure the halibut. Even better and if the fish allows, with the rope tied to the cleat, slide the shark hook into the fish mouth, and right back out its gill opening, then pull the rope through and bring it back to tie off to the cleat. There is no way the fish is getting away now. It is often a good idea to secure the halibut with a few different methods while you cut the gills and allow the fish to bleed out. On our boat we use the shark hook in this manner. We thread the shark hook right through the mouth and out the gill opening, this allows us to thread the halibut onto the rope like a stringer and tie them off outside the boat on the cleat. We keep them on the stringer while we are at anchor and then bring them all into the boat when we are returning home.