Epic Santa Barbara Offshore Fishing Challenge

Atlantic Halibut

Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) Fish Description

The Atlantic Halibut is the biggest flatfish species in the world (second is the Pacific Halibut). This fish is a strong swimmer, which is why it’s a popular game fish among anglers. It is deep brown with white and black spots, and its body is shaped like a diamond. It’s a saltwater fish that prefers temperate waters. They’re carnivorous and eats a variety of prey such as cod, haddock, pogge, sand eels, squids, and crustaceans.

Interesting Facts 

• The Atlantic halibut is a delicacy in the cuisine world.
• They mature slowly, they’re only considered as adults at the age of 7-8 years and 10-11 for females.
• They are voracious eaters. The guts of the Atlantic halibut have been found with sea birds, wood, and even iron.
• The Atlantic Halibut practices external fertilization, meaning the females release eggs while the males cover the eggs with sperm to fertilize them.

 Size

The Atlantic halibut is a large fish with small predators. They are estimated to get as long as 15 feet, but the biggest recorded so far is 8.2 feet and weigh as heavy as 720 lbs. They average 4.4 feet and weigh 30 lbs. The females are generally bigger and heavier than the males.

Habitat and Distribution

The Atlantic halibut can be found in the North Atlantic Ocean and some parts of the Arctic Ocean. In North America, their range is from Canada to Virginia. They thrive in cold temperatures of 37.4-41°F with depths of 160 to 6560 feet. Popular fishing spots in the U.S. and Canada are located in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, New Foundland, and Nova Scotia.

Adults are mainly benthic (living at the bottom of the sea) but will sometimes visit pelagic depths (coastal areas) to hunt.

Little is know about the spawning habits and the migration of the Atlantic Halibut. They spawn seasonally but vary from place to place. What is known is that they spawn in deep waters from March to June. They then head north and dwell in more shallow waters after spawning.

Atlantic Halibut Fishing Techniques

The Atlantic halibut is a tough swimmer, which is why it is prized as a game fish among anglers (make sure to make the fish tired before you haul it in, they’re known to have beak bones of careless fishermen). The best method to catch this heavy fish is through the drift method with a heavy rod. Let your boat slowly drift by the waves of the ocean and with your lure as well. Go for the sweet spot which is 150-500 feet deep. Don’t move it too much, since the waves will do the movement for you to attract the fish. Once it takes the bite it’s going to be a tough long battle with these powerful fish.

Using 6-7 foot heavy spinner rods with a 60 to 80 lb braided line is the appropriate choice for this large fish but it is possible to fly fish an Atlantic Halibut. Like its close relative, the Pacific halibut, the key to fly fish a large deep-dwelling fish like the Atlantic halibut is to keep the rod at the bottom. We recommend a 50-pound monoline with fast sinking heads attached to a 12-15 heavyweight rod. Use sinker like a 16-lb snippet to help you get to a nice depth. They have large mouths so use a 4/0 hook.

The recommended baits are a variety of baits together such as squids, slice mackerels, and herring, and octopus. Like the Pacific halibut, it is advised to use some fishing attractant to get the attention of the Atlantic halibut. For lures, you can use jigs such as heavy jigs, swim jigs, deep drop jigs, and pipe jigs.

Lingcod

Lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus)

Lingcods (Ophiodon elongatus) or Ling Cods are a popular saltwater gamefish of the Hexagrammids family. Despite the name, they’re not actually cods but greenlings. They have elongated bodies that narrow toward the tail. Thanks to their wicked set of huge sharp teeth, spiny dorsal fins, and grey, brown, and greenish speckled coloring, they have a pretty gnarly appearance. They are also sometimes called “Buckethead” because of their particularly large head and mouth.

Lingcods are often found in rocky seafloor among seaweeds, kelps, and eelgrass. They use their mottled coloring to blend in their environment and ambush unsuspecting fishes, squids, crabs, octopus, and other smaller lingcods. Adults spawn between December and April, often in shallow waters over rocky reefs with strong tidal currents. They reproduce externally—meaning, the females just deposit their eggs in rocky crevices and leave, while the males find and fertilize them. And after the eggs are fertilized, the males become territorial and guard their nests from predators for eight to ten weeks. When the eggs hatch, they just feed on zooplankton until they’re big enough to prey on smaller fishes.

Interesting Facts About Lingcods

• The largest reported Lingcod caught was sixty inches long and weighed around eighty-five pounds.
• Lingcods are known to be voracious carnivores. 
• They eat anything that can fit in their huge mouth.
• They are cannibalistic.
• A female can deposit from 40,000 to 500,000 eggs in a single spawning season.
• Females are significantly larger than males.
• They have been known to attack humans, especially during spawning seasons.
• They are bottom dwellers and prefer to be solitary.
• They typically don’t stray too far away from their home.
• They only migrate to mate and have been known to go back to their home base after spawning.
• They can live for up to twenty-five years in the wild.
• They’ve become a near-endangered species due to overfishing in the late 90’s.
• Multiple regulations such as catch and size limitations have been put into place.
• Lingcod population have since stabilized.
• They can be caught all year round.

Lingcod Average Speed and Size

Lingcods aren’t really known to flee from any predator—including humans. In fact, because of their aggressive nature, they’d rather fight it out with you than try to escape. One other thing about Lingcods is that they’re a pretty lazy fish in general and usually rest with their belly lying on the bottom. So knowing their average speed is not really going to be helpful if you’re going Lingcod fishing.

Females are much bigger than males. On average, females usually grow for more than two feet; while males often just grow less than two feet in length.

Where to Find Them

Lingcods are endemic throughout the west coast of North America. Most, however, are found in the coasts of British Columbia and Washington. If you’re going for the big ones, your best bet will be in Alaska where 70-pounder monsters have been reported.

They usually live near shore with rocky reefs from thirty to three-hundred feet. You’d probably find them in their dark and rocky lairs at the bottom where they lie still to ambush preys. They also love to dwell in areas that have strong currents.

Lingcod Fishing Tips

Lingcods may be aggressive when it comes to fighting for territory and food, but they can be easy to catch once you’re able to pull them away from their rocky home. If you’re going Lingcod fishing, here are some tips you might find helpful:

1. Tackle – a medium weight conventional setup is enough to handle this gnarly fish. But because this fish lives in rocky underwater terrains, you may have to use a braided line of at least 30lbs. as it’s more durable; and at the same time, it doesn’t stretch that much, thus, allowing for a more effective hookset.
2. Lure – we highly recommend metal jigs for Lingcod fishing as many anglers have been successful with one.
3. Bait – you can use either live or dead—it’s all up to you—as Lingcods usually just grab anything they would find.

Yellowtail Amberjack

Yellowtail Amberjack (Seriola lalandi)

The Yellowtail Amberjack (Seriola lalandi) is a saltwater gamefish and a popular target for commercial and recreational fishers alike because it is easy to attract with practically any bait one would happen to have. You can easily distinguish a Yellowtail Amberjack from other fishes with its yellowish dorsal, pectoral, pelvic, anal, and caudal fins, which is where it gets its name from. Aside from the brightly colored fins, it generally has a long, slender body that has blue, bluish-green, or purplish-green hues on top and bright white to silver bellies.

Interesting Facts

• This fish species is prized in Japan because of its good-tasting oily meat, which is used for making sushi.
• Because of its popularity, Yellowtails are raised in fish farms in Japan, South Korea, and Australia.
• The biggest Yellowtail Amberjack caught by an angler on record is 8.2 feet long and weighs a little over 200 pounds.
• Fishing for Yellowtails was restricted throughout the 60s and 70s due to expansive commercial gill net fishing. The restrictions were lifted since then as the fish population is able to recover, thanks to the species’ long life expectancy and fast spawning.

Speed and Average Size

Yes, as mentioned earlier, the Yellowtail Amberjack can grow as long as eight feet and as heavy as two hundred pounds but don’t get your hopes too high as this species commonly grows between fifteen and twenty-five pounds. If, however, you’re lucky enough, you can maybe catch a forty pounder. Just a word of warning, though: Yellowtails are known to be fast and strong swimmers. So if you happen to hook a Yellowtail Amberjack, reeling it in will probably not be an easy task.      

Habitat and Distribution

While the Yellowtail Amberjack can pretty much be found in tropical and temperate waters of the Pacific Ocean, it’s known to have high concentrations around Catalina and San Clemente Islands, in the Santa Monica Bay and off Long Beach, Newport Beach, Dana Point, and San Diego—especially during summers when the coastal waters are warm. They can also be found as far south as Baja California Sur in Mexico, with Cedros and Benitos Islands being spawning areas.

The Yellowtail Amberjack is a benthopelagic, which means it mostly lives and feeds near the bottom; although it can sometimes wander in midwaters or even near the surface in search of food. And for a higher probability of catching this species, it’s best that you cast your lines over kelp beds, rocky reefs, and other underwater structures as they are known to look in such areas for crustaceans, small fishes, and squids, which are their main diet.

Yellowtail Amberjack Fishing Tips

As we’ve mentioned, catching a Yellowtail isn’t that easy. You can, however, significantly up your chances of catching one (or even two) if you know the tricks. Here are some tips to help you catch a Yellowtail Amberjack:

• Yes, you can either use live or artificial bait, but for a higher probability of catching this fast fish, you’re going to be better off using live ones as its erratic movements can help attract this particular fish more.
• As Yellowtail Amberjacks commonly swims deep, you can coax them near the surface with chum.
• If you’re going for a larger (as we all go for, naturally) Yellowtails, you might want to use a heavy tackle so that it won’t easily break as this powerful fish struggles.
• Never reel in too fast and forcefully so that it won’t get too alarmed and try to struggle harder. Although, you have to watch out and not allow it to swim deeper into the reefs and other structures as it might snap your line.
• When reeling in this fish, you should wear gloves as holding the braid for too long can cause significant damage to unprotected hands.