Drifting for California Halibut
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ม.ค. 2025
- Hello folks! Today we'd like to share with you our first trip down to the California waters.
We head out of Long Beach California and gear up with SS Viper Spoons baited with an anchovy, T-Turn swivels, and Cattail walking sinkers and troll along for those lovely flatties!
Only an hour and half into our trip, the SS Viper Spoon hooks into a nice 15 pound California Halibut!
If you'd like to get your own SS Viper Spoons, you can get them here:
store.thundermi...
As always, good luck and good fishin'!
Ivo
Well i can tell you that trolling for California halibut with a salmon blade/flasher rig and hoochie with bait or plastic tail, or a B-2 squid combo is the most productive way to find Calif halibut. Some even troll shallow diving Daiwa Sp minnows in bone white color. ( the Sp minnows that dive 0-3 feet). The weight depends on the location and depth but typically heavier since your trolling. The viper spoon idea makes sense but you would catch a hell of a lot more halibut trolling working more water versus just drifting along. Most licensed Captions know this so i'm kinda going huh here thinking its a attempt to sell viper spoons which i got no problems with, i'm just saying trolling is way way more productive. Commercial fished for Butts 26 years supplying local Calif restaurants in central california and it would be very hard to convince anglers in the know to switch over to this viper set up. As a suggestion have the net in the water before the halibut comes to the boat as not to spook them and they will go right in without all that thrashing that easily loses a quality halibut. A few might make a desperate dive right at the boat but still use the net in the water first each time. The idea is not topiss them off and let them fight inside the boats fish box. Cut gills, bleed out thoroughly and ice.
Good job! Fish on! Till the end!
Im in a halibut derby this weekend and your rig looks killer... will be giving it a try
Glad you guys enjoyed our coast, we have some great fishing here in SoCal.
Great to hear from you in Southern California and we loved it there :) I can see where the Halibut fishing and other fishing would be fantastic
I fish that spot all the time, right by the green buoy, awesome!
U makethis look easy I'm out all day almost everyday and get nothing but it seems u can just go to any old spot and real in a monster good job keep it up :)
Been watching your video for a while And I am happy to see you have came down to long beach ca. And yes I am a resident of long beach. Keep fishing and I'll keep watching and learning.
Great to hear from you Anthony - some fantastic fishing in Long Beach and hope you are enjoying your summer :)
Glad you guys made the best of tough fishing conditions down there, getting a california flatty in winter is no small achievement! The Viper Lure System will be killer along the west coast, especially for the new growing kayak fishing community. You guys are making me miss home that much more. Hope you guys can come down again next year, I would love meet with you guys then!
Glad you enjoyed this Halibut episode and that you like this Viper Spoon rig - it will work great for you and hope you get a chance to try. As for next year, there's always a chance we ill return to the Fred Hall Fishing Show and also try some more of that great California fishing :)
Awesome Catch and great video! I am a amateur fisherman in San Diego. I would love to see some of your future fishing vids down here!
-Rodney
Hi Rodney - glad you enjoyed this halibut episode - we came down for the Fred Hall Fishing Show and were able to get out on the water while we were there - but it's definitely worth a trip back and we heard San Diego has fantastic fishing and the Viper Spoons would work great there :) Good luck on the water
Just picked up some SS40 Viper Spoons, stoked to start using them. Stripers are running pretty good,, and summer flounder opens Friday!
Hi Jeff - get ready for some great days on the water with your SS Viper Spoons :)
Awesome video as always Ivo!
Glad you enjoyed this halibut episode and thanks for taking time to write :)
Nice. Charters are a great way to go. Hope you were able to do more fishing while you were in sunny California. As always, Ivo, I enjoyed your video.
Hi Grant - we only managed to get out on one day. We had planned and booked a second day on a head boat (party boat) but there was not enough anglers so they had to cancel - but that's o.k., we were happy just to get out on the water :) Hope you are having a very nice day Grant and all the best to you!
Howdy Ivo, It was a pleasure meeting you and your Thundermist lure crew! Hopefully you and your crew had a great time and decide to come back to the Fred Hall show next year, then maybe we can get on a charter together and do some fishing. Ide have to say, it was nice to have a company actually talk about fishing instead of just trying to sell me something. Ide also like to thank you for your generosity for the T-Turns and Flexi Jigs you gave to me as a gift. Now all i have to do is wait for my 4 Python Darters to get here and ill be happy haha. Hope you have the best of luck fishing - Richard
Hi Richard - so very nice to hear from you and it was great to have met you at the show - thanks for the nice feedback and hope you have an outstanding year fishing the waters of the west coast :)
02:42 he almost goes for a swim! funny stuff.
Hi Simon - so glad you enjoyed this Halibut episode - California has some great fishing opportunities and we would love to get back there some day :)
Nice job! FIsh on!
Awesome Ivo!! Beautiful halibut, and may I suggest going down to San Diego, and fishing in the kelp beds down at point loma, wonderful bass fishing.
Sounds like fantastic fishing Nathan - thanks for the suggestion - I'll have to put that destination on my list - sure wish I had more time to spend out West :) Glad you liked this halibut episode
Just bought a pair of flexijigs and cant wait to use em when its warm out!!
Hi Carter and congrats on your Flexi jigs - just wait to you try them....the hook sets are amazing :) you will do well
As always, great video, keep up the good work :)
Glad you enjoyed this Halibut episode :)
thanks Ivo love your videos
Hi Pat - we really appreciate the compliment - thank you very much and good luck on the water :)
nice fish there ivo!
Will be after Ca halibut in a few weeks in S.F. bay (today is 3/22/19) Just waiting on the rains to stop and for the bait docks to bring in their 1st anchovies. Captain calls me when they arrive. Ive seen small flashers used for trolling but not for drift fishing w live bait till now. So front hk through lips and it looks like you use the same hk for your stinger. How do you set rear hk at tail? Ordering your spoon now. Hope it gets here in time. Makes sense that this would help the bite. Out here procure garlic bloody tuna gel does better than anything else for added scent no matter what you present.
....if you ordered direct Thundermist, there will be a brochure in the pkg which will show the rigging techniques :)
NICE JOB !!
Thanks Ben - loved our first halibut trip :)
West coast halibut anglers troll a smaller salmon flasher on a 3 way swivel rig using a fairly heavy weight and either a fairly large plastic squid imitation hard bait lure or bait. Trolling means your working more water and finding more Halibut. If working off a drifting boat anglers typically toss swim baits like Big hammer lures, a Magic metal jig or B52 Bucktail with a squid pinned on it. The deal being Halibut have large mouths and can bend or shake hooks easily . Here the halibut luckfully stayed on but surface thrashing is not what you want. This is how many halibut break off or pull the hook. Ideally the halibut comes up and you have the net already in the water as to not scare the fish and cause it to thrash violently.
Interesting set up and it worked but this would never work on a California party boat as pictured. These boats typically take 20-30 or more per trip on one boat ride and there would be a majorly tangled mess with very upset deckhands. I seriously doubt a skipper of a charter boat would allow you to use this rig with multiple anglers angling.
great catch !!!
Thanks MrMontenegro11 - we did have a great time in California and the Halibut was a nice bonus :)
I'm planning to go out there in a week or so. What kind of rod, reel, and line do you recommend?
....on a spinning rod, suggest using 30 lb braid with a 15 - 20 lb fluorocarbon leader. As for rod and reel, a 7 or 7 1/2 foot, medium/heavy action rod would be ideal and just be sure your reel is rated for salt water and you are good to go :) Sounds like you have a great trip planned and hope you have a fantastic day on the water
Thanks Ivo!
Should try Redondo Beach while your down here.
Thanks for the tip MrMac - it will have to be another time as we are already back home - spent most of our time at the Fred Hall show, but as you can see by this video, we did manage to get out on the water for halibut :)
Great video as always Ivo, one might say you were fishing "just for the halibut". Hey I hope you didn't trade the infamous boatless angler for Anthony. Hopefully instead you had Antonio off shooting video on fishing for suckers prepping for this April's catfishing. Would love to see that. Now that I have looked everywhere locally I can think of with no avail where can I obtain some of those python darter spoons???
Hi Fred - great to hear from you (love your line, just fishing for the Halibut :) :) As for the boatless angler, there's no worries there - he will be back in action soon :) Regarding the Python Darters, the best place right now to get them is on line from Thundermist Lure Company - they work great and you are going to love using them - PS> you will see that Thundermist Lure Company has also just released their own line of snaps, which people also have a hard time finding - until next time Fred, good luck and good fishing
Any good Thundermist lures good for surf fishing?
Hi Vots - you can cast the Python Darters or the 1 oz Flexi Jigs as they will work great for you...some people even cast out Viper Spoons, although they are very light and will need some weight added to them :)
Hey Ivo, the duo lock snap that you have mentioned in this video, which stores would have them since I have looked at Walmart, Joe's Sporting Goods, Fleet Farm, and local bait shops, maybe I haven't tried Cabela's yet, but I cannot find them. I want to know which store could possibly sell them. The common snap swivels would come in two pieces with a lock and swivel, but they aren't the ones I need.
Hi Tong - nice to hear from you :) We have heard this many times about the Duo-lock snaps and as luck would have it, Thundermist Lure Company just released their own line of duo-lock snaps and you can now easily find them on line at Thundermistlures.com
***** Thanks!
Anthony looks like Will Smith lol. Nice video.
Thanks for writing in :)
You should fish in the CA delta in northern CA. Great fishing especially for sturgeon and stripers.
Great to hear from you in California and sure sounds like some great fishing there - thanks for the tips :_)
Hi its me again iam gonig fishing theres bass catfish crappie and trout should I fry or grill on the camp fire and keep on fishing
HI Rudy....nothing better that a fish fry over a camp fire :)
Yep that's true can you make a video comparing a spinning rod to a baitcasting one thanks
Nice to see you out here. Check out our freshwaters too, castaic and big bear fun fishing!
Sounds like we may just have to come back for another visit out West :) Thanks for writing in and hope you enjoyed this halibut episode - we had a very enjoyable day on the water :)
Hey man nice job I was wondering were to get the viperspoons
You can get it on the Thundermist lures website store.thundermistlures.com/home.php?cat=52 i am a Californian and i absolutely love the products! since little to no fish have seen this lure. on the west coast you can catch anything.
Hi Josh - sorry for my delayed response but I see that both Pierre and Richard have responded (thanks guys), so hope you are alb to get your hands on some Viper Spoons - we were using the size SS20 and they will work great for you :)
Hey Ivo I work on the eldorado out of long beach sportfishing you should try it out
Thanks for the info Haven - perhaps our next time out West we can give it a try :) I'm sure the fishing is fantastic :)
yeah it sure is,but sadly i got kicked off the boat because of insurance reason but it was for a good cause. :) its a great boat and tj (captain) will put you right on the fish. tight lines ivo
I worked on the el dorado and that landing in the early 80's for Donny Ronny and Guy
So would these work for fluke and flounder on the east coast and if so what is the best bait to use on it?
We use the SS20 Viper Spoons on the East Coast and they work fantastic for fluke/flounder. We use the same rig seen here, and we like to use a whole squid or mackerel strip or cut bait strip on the back side of a Viper Spoon. the fluke/flounder (just like the halibut) see the flash-n-flutter of the spoon and then they attack the trailing bait - you will have many great days on the water with the SS Viper Spoons :)
I was so close to buying flexi jigs! Created an account, flexi jigs in cart, and then saw the shipping, couldn't afford it. Damn, maybe in the future
Hi Rafael - great to hear from you and thanks for your feedback on the $6.99 shipping cost - we wish it was lower as well :) Hopefully someday a store near you will have the Flexi jigs in stock so you can give them a try - they really do work great and you are going to love suing them :) Thanks again and good luck on the water
***** Thank you for the timely response Ivo. Do any shops in Los Angeles carry them yet? Or any shops in the United states?
***** Bob Sands fishing tackle carries our products and they would be the closest to Los Angeles (just phone first to see what they have in stock - as for Sal) If you have a shop close by, have them contact us to set up an account. Also, Dicks Sporting Goods carries the T-Turns. Here's the web site for Bob Sands: www.yelp.ca/biz/bob-sands-fishing-tackle-van-nuys If you can not find them anywhere, you can always buy our products on line :)
Hey Ivo, a year later and I now have flexi jigs :)
Does it matter which SS 20 (beaded/bucktail)? I'm guessing they'll both equally produce and buy and try both? And can you share what type and test line, type and rating of pole? Thanks!
both the beaded and bucktail models work equally as well - can't go wrong either way :) ON that day, we were using capt'n Antonthy's gear, so not sure of the details - but if you use 30 lb braided with a fluorocarbon leader line on a medium/heavy action 7 - 8 foot rod, you will do just fine :)
Thanks! After I commented I could actually see in the video that was the beaded model. I'm going to buy and try your lures.
looks a little wavy huh?
Good video, when you making more, love to see more to learn more
Hi Alex - we have a channel full of fishing for you and we put more episodes out each week - if you have not yet, be sure to subscribe :) th-cam.com/users/thundermistlures
Great video as always guys! Nice halibut but what was the other fish a skull fish?
Nevermind I looked it up it's a "sculpin" right? Type of scorpionfish ? Or is it one of those rock fish ..hard to tell the fish ID had some very similar look alikes
Michael Haley You got it Michael - its a sculpin :)
Just a tip never bring their heads out of the water
Charters are ridiculously expensive!
Thanks for the feedback and as FotisCanada mentioned, one possibility is to share costs amoungst a few people or another option is to go on a head boat, also known as party boats. Sometimes they are not over crowed and it usually in around $50 for a day on the water :)
What are your coordinates I right by Long Beach
....not sure what our coordinates were, but we made our way out of the harbor, under the bridge and then basically straight out :)
Thankyou i enjoyed the show
What rods were you and Anthony running that day?? Great Vid by the way :)
Glad you enjoyed this Halibut episode Dominic - Anthony supplied the rods, so I can not recall what they were....we just supplied the Tackle :) Glad you enjoyed this episode
This is the only thing I watch
Hi Rudy - thanks for such a great compliment - we appreciate it very much :)
You flew all the way to California for just the halibut!? Get it heheh? Nice video eh?
Good one :) :) :)
Tern. Are you mien?
Are you the CEO of Thundermist Lure Co.?
Hi Ben - CEO and Host of Thundermist Fishing tips as well :)
Keep the awesome videos coming! =]
Ben LANTZ We will Ben - we have plenty more videos coming your way, so stay tuned :)
I didn't know ppl actually ate sculpin 😂
Thanks for writing in :)
Thundermist Lures I went to order t-turn swivels and I'm unsure which size to get. when I go to order, options are S,M,L. I'm going to fish the halibut derby out of Long Beach in 2 weeks. I'd like to use this exact set up. looks great. also,can u provide link for sinkers?
thanks
Hi Nam - for the California Halibut, I would suggest the large T-Turns (they are rated for 85 lbs) and the SS20 or SS40 Viper Spoons - this set up will work fantastic for you! As for the sinkers, here's the link and good luck at the Tournament :) store.thundermistlures.com/home.php?cat=42
Thundermist Lures thank you!
...glad we can help and best of luck to you :)
This guy is too "up with people".
U makethis look easy I'm out all day almost everyday and get nothing but it seems u can just go to any old spot and real in a monster good job keep it up :)
Hi NIck - glad you enjoyed this halibut episode and thanks for the compliment....although the Viper Spoon did all of the work :) Hope you have a great spring season filled with outstanding fishing
Thx I'll make sureto make the most of the spring