How long till I can chase butts?

So, when in the year do the halibut (or any fish for that matter) come into the shallow water where you can get to them without any knd of motor?  Everyone I talked to in homer this weekend says they aren't biting yet.

Any favorite setups for halibut from a kayak?

I know "they" say hali's come into the shallow areas of the Puget Sound around March-April.  In May when they open the fishing season for them supposedly they're starting to head back out of the Sound.

Doesn't help you much with AK specific issues, but it's what I got.

Tagging this thread for hali set up ideas for myself too.

I know "they" say hali's come into the shallow areas of the Puget Sound around March-April.  In May when they open the fishing season for them supposedly they're starting to head back out of the Sound.

Doesn't help you much with AK specific issues, but it's what I got.

Tagging this thread for hali set up ideas for myself too.

They probably move in then up here too (plus or minus a few days/weeks).  But I don't think they leave that early around here.  Maybe the big ones, but I don't think infant a huge one in my yak.

You can find halibut in almost all water depths. Last summer I caught a 40#er in 35 feet of water about 100 yrds from rocks in SE.
Area's like Homer get so much pressure that the fish push further away from port. One of the great attributes of the kayak is you can launch close to areas that it takes power boats much longer to get to.
Halibut like food and anything that looks like they can eat it will get inhaled! Big curly tail grubs 8-12" on lead jig heads heavy enough to hold bottom are proven producers.
Be ready to handle the fish at the side of the Yak as that is the most dangerous part of halibut fishing. I would recommend a harpoon of flying gaff and practice on smaller fish so you are ready for a big one.  Once you stick a halibut they have a tendency of going ballistic! Be careful!

Good luck and post lots of pictures.  You are in the Halibut Mecca and could get into some great fish. Right now the largest halibut off a kayak that I know of is 186 ...

Oily stuff is good down in the dark depths. Salmon or tuna bellies on circle hooks.

On Kodiak, the big butts come into the shallows in August.  My best pound to depth ratio was 175lbs from 30' (from a skiff).  River mouths with post spawn humpies backing out were a good place to look. 

[Hmmmm. Don't know what happened to that last post I attempted. Just disappeared...]

Answer: May.  I haven't looked at the tides yet for the year, but we'll have halibut in May.  This will be my first year fishing halibut from the kayak. Until now, I've been fishing for halibut from a rowboat (dory) with nice success from May through September. Tides have to be right for early departures, when the wind lays down. But it's great sport -- and not too far out either. Standard rigging: baited circle hook with herring. Nothing fancy, enough weight to get to the bottom. Fingers crossed to stay out of sharks and skate.

This is going to great fun from the kayak -- no trailer to get stuck on the beach.