Halibut Kayak Fishing 2016?

Hi Guys) I never fished halibut before because I bought kayak only last summer when season was already closed. I think it is time to prepare to this year season - like start looking for place, gear, lures, etc.  Does anybody here have an experience with halibut? Any opinions, advises? Maybe it is a stupid i dea at all? 

What ocean fishing experience do you have?

What ocean fishing experience do you have?

Not much, mostly inshore, but I am ready for offshore, already got an PFD, drysuit and all safety stuff like lights, sail, drift anchor, etc.

Try the search function.  Some great threads on here.  I think it was last year that a seasoned group went out of WA and simply hammered some monster fish.  Maybe one of the guys will chime in. 

I think Lee's question is important for the WA folks because the access and distance can be an issue. 

But kayak as a platform to catch halibut once you get to the fishing grounds...heck ya!  Works great!

Here in Alaska we don't have the big surf and most of our fishing is done within a few miles of shore. 

As far as gear and general info, I have a short write up on my Alaska pages at:
https://sites.google.com/site/kayakfishingalaska/the-prey/halibut

At least the Hobie Outbacks are stable enough that even my ten year old son goes out with me....

Having gear doesn't mean you're ready.  Experience in ocean conditions gets you ready.

you don't have to fish the ocean to catch halibut. there's also the strait and sound. not sure why it was automatically assumed that's where he was inquiring about.

Having gear doesn't mean you're ready.  Experience in ocean conditions gets you ready.

You're not ready.  You have to go before you will be ready, to get experience so you will be ready.

All of us that go offshore had a first time that we went.  Most of us built up from inshore fishing to our first offshore trip. 

As long as OP has the gear, has re-entry practice in a variety of conditions, a healthy appreciation of the risk, and is in reasonable physical condition, then he's as ready as someone without experience is going to be.  Time to hook up with a group and go.

I would start going out on the lake to make sure you can self rescue, get familiar with your kayak. Paddle or pedal the river to get the feel of current. Go to the sound for some salt. Some of us seasoned guys still don't go out when others are. Don't rush yourself. 

you don't have to fish the ocean to catch halibut. there's also the strait and sound. not sure why it was automatically assumed that's where he was inquiring about.

Because he said "I am ready for offshore"  there was no assumption.

you don't have to fish the ocean to catch halibut. there's also the strait and sound. not sure why it was automatically assumed that's where he was inquiring about.

Because he said "I am ready for offshore"  there was no assumption.

fair enough

you don't have to fish the ocean to catch halibut. there's also the strait and sound. not sure why it was automatically assumed that's where he was inquiring about.

Because he said "I am ready for offshore"  there was no assumption.

fair enough

I meant ready to try offshore

I have a lot of experience fishing for Halibut, offshore in Oregon (from a power boat), and what I know from that collective experience is that Halibut would be a long difficult trip in a kayak.  My kayak experience on the open ocean is all of one trip, so I do NOT consider myself experienced in that capacity, but my advice to you since you are just starting out kayaking is to target some saltwater species that are a little easier to begin with (rockfish, ling cod), and work up to targeting halibut. 

You'll probably need to find halibut locations which are within kayak distance to reach (or do a mothership trip). Start building a network of halibut fishermen so you know where to go. You need to know how you will handle the fish from your kayak once you do catch one - and safely release a fish unharmed if you don't want to keep it (an undersized fish for example).  Do you know how to harpoon a halibut?  If not, maybe go on a halibut trip with a powerboat and learn some skills that will be needed on your kayak.

I would suggest trying for an early run out of Depot bay or another protected launch for Lingcod and Rockfish.

Your first "offshore" trip should not be for halibut.

The strait of Juan de Fuca is also productive.  The largest halibut caught each year is often from the strait.

Don't forget to check the regulations for the area that you intend to fish.  Halibut is regulated to very specific dates and very specific depths -- in Oregon you can not have other groundfish on board with Halibut on an "All Depth" day.  Not sure what the regs are for WA, but I read some of the regs for retaining halibut near Vancouver Island (from the canadian side) and I lost interest in even wanting to fish due to the onerous bureaucracy of fishing regulations.

bb2fish - thank you, sure, I always check the regs and emergency updates before going anywhere FInally after reading all comments I realized that the best idea is to do some offshore outs before heading straight for halibut. Can anybody recommend some offshore launches close to Seattle that are suitable for newbie?