Has anyone out there been catching halibut locally (SoCal)?
It's that time again... One more question: Have any of you
guys ever used crankbaits for halibut? (they work) I told
that to someone on the phone today & they thought I was crazy.
(that's beside the point!)

Crankbaits for halibut? That'll never work, they don't dive deep enough, j/k. That's the response I usually get when I tell someone about cranks for halis. Alot of people on this forum, including myself, like the Rebel Fastrac. What are some of your favorites.-Phil

I agree....I troll the excalibur fat free shad on six pound in newport and its non-stop! All fish are always released, do guys ever catch them just casting then retrieve?

Phat free works great...I've never caught them this way
casting;only trolling.

Hey Cher, halibut haven't quite picked up around here yet. Any time you want to know about crankbaits for halibut (or white seabass) just do a search on the saltwater board for fastrac minnow... We knocked the $hit out of em last year and the year before on this bait. It's like a minnow (anchovy) shaped jointed bait that you can run fairly slowly, or troll fairly fast. We cast and retrieve right in the surf and do real well. My buddy Pete (leapinbass) messed around with the crankbaits quite a bit and used a Rebel spoonbill minnow with good results. It's like a fastrac, only shallower diving. I found out about the fastrac from Scott at High Tide Traders on Catalina Island when he saw me throwing plastic from the float tube that morning. He looked at me funny and told me all I need to throw is the fastrac. It was pretty funny, he was acting like I was throwing buzzbaits all morning or something, but "pointed me in the right direction". I bought a couple and took em home and sure enough they catch.
-Brian

Hey Brian where can you get this "fas-trac" bait and who makes it?

Thanks....

It's made by Rebel. http://www.bajadestinations.com sells em, and I think there's a couple other websites that have em.
-Brian

WOW......thanks for the quick response.

Heres another place to pick 'em up. Just incase. http://www.lurenet.com/search_Results.cfm?CFID=670889&CFTOKEN=82214766

If you use a crankbait, you'll do a lot a crankin and not much catchin'. Stick to flourocarbon 12lb, circle hooks, live squid and a net and you'll be smilin. And fish 50 to 70 feet. Any time of yr...