Gearing up for Halibut

So, I'm hoping to get to go hali fishing this spring.  About all I have right now is a 9' X-heavy IM-8 rod and an Abu 6600 C4 reel.  Literally I have nothing else for hali gear.  Not even line on the reel.

Given that, if you were setting yourself up from essentially scratch, what would you be buying, and what is a reasonable expectation to spend?  Keep it fairly basic, inexpensive but not "cheap".  And don't assume that I just know that some small item is part of the required gear.

Note - While I know that rod is not idea for hali, it's what I have and what I'll have to use.  Next year maybe I can get something more specialized.

Rod:  Ugly Stick heavy/extra heavy or tiger lite rated for 50# braid and UP

Reel:  Penn Fathom Levelwind, or if you gotta go cheap, Cabelas has their depthmaster linecounter reel on sale right now.  $35, and the 45a can handle more than 500 yrds of 50# braid (DAMHIK)

Line:  Braid - you can pick up a 1500 yard spool of 65# for under $100 on ebay, you don't NEED that much, but it's kinda like buying the 1.75 liter instead of the .75 liter.  It's cheaper in the long run.

I'm curious as well since I'll be trying it for the first time soon.  I have 80lb braid on a decent Penn reel, and a strong rod, but that's about it.  I hear you need a harpoon or something similar to wear them down. 

I think there was a recent discussion on halibut rigs.  I'll try to track that down.

See "Halibut Terminal Tackle" thread about half way down the "Let's Talk Kayak Fishing" page.  There's a lot of good posts there.

Rod:  Ugly Stick heavy/extra heavy or tiger lite rated for 50# braid and UP

Reel:  Penn Fathom Levelwind, or if you gotta go cheap, Cabelas has their depthmaster linecounter reel on sale right now.  $35, and the 45a can handle more than 500 yrds of 50# braid (DAMHIK)

Line:  Braid - you can pick up a 1500 yard spool of 65# for under $100 on ebay, you don't NEED that much, but it's kinda like buying the 1.75 liter instead of the .75 liter.  It's cheaper in the long run.

I just checked that Berkley IM-8.  It's rated for 20-65lb line and for casting up to 3 oz lures.  Unless you think I'm seriously risking breaking that rod jigging for hali with the I'm not planning to buy another.  I'd rather spend a few bucks and get a rod that won't break, but if I don't need to spend that money I'd rather put it towards other stuff for the short term.

The reel is rated by Abu to hold 330 yards of 30lb braid.  Like with the rod, unless that line capacity is wholly insufficient, or it's just not a tough enough reel and would likely be toasted by an average Puget Sound hali, I'm going to stick with it for this year.  Also I was figuring on no more than 40lb line.  I don't want to forced to cut the line if I can't break it off, and I've heard a number of people on here say that's about the upper limit of what you'd want to try to break off while on a yak.  And for now, I'd rather just buy what I need.  If I decide it's too heavy/light, or I just don't like some other characteristic, I don't want to be stuck with 1200 yards that I don't want anymore.  Otherwise I agree with you - buying in bulk is better long term.

I agree with everything you just came up with.  My suggestions were in answer to your question:

Given that, if you were setting yourself up from essentially scratch, what would you be buying, and what is a reasonable expectation to spend?

I agree with everything you just came up with.  My suggestions were in answer to your question:

Given that, if you were setting yourself up from essentially scratch, what would you be buying, and what is a reasonable expectation to spend?

Perhaps I should have been more clear.  I meant if you had that rod and reel (assuming they're up to the task anyway), from that basis what would you get?  Including everything from backing (if any) on the reel all the way to the hook.  So backing (if any), main line (brand, style, weight), leaders (mono/fluro/steel/etc, weight) , weights (how much, shape, etc), swivels (style, strength, how many), hooks (circle, J, size, brands), bait, lures, etc.  And how much should I expect to have to spend on all that stuff?

Lots of good info in this thread  http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=7747.0

Jig heads are several dollars each.  Tuna cord leaders are $3-4 each.  Kalin's Big'N are $5-6 for a 2 pack.

Right now, your most expensive item is going to be line, and a harpoon/gaff.  Things which I've still not acquired myself.  There is another thread with a picture of Fungunnin's flying gaff.

I understand using what you have.  I have the exact same rig - rod and reel.  It is now my heavy casting rig, but I have used it for sturgeon and halibut, but never hooked either.  I wouldn't use less than 50# braid for halibut, even in Puget Sound they are caught in sizes from small to big.  The leader you use will be about 100# test or perhaps heavier.  I have broken off 65# PowerPro by wrapping the line above the reel around my pliers, pointing the rod straight along the line, and peddling away. 

What do you guys think of this website's tackle?

http://www.halibut.net/halibut-fishing-tackle.htm

Is he honest?  How's the quality of his tackle?  Would it worth it to get his fully-rigged spreader bar setups or should I make my own?

I wind up driving through Monroe, WA (where that guy is apparently based) every couple months at least so I could also drop in there to put fingers on things before dropping coins.

If you want to spend money on spreader bars and all that, go for it, but seems like overkill when you can get results with a simple jig head setup:

In AK we just used an 8 oz jig head and a Kalin's BigN 10" in glow.
With halibut it seems to be more important to put it in their face and it really doesn't matter what the offering is.

I'd prefer to use this method.  My worry is that 50# mono won't do well against their teeth.  So I'm thinking 65# braid mainline, 50# mono, then 100# mono.  But it seems a little over-complicated, so I'm looking for easier solutions.  Maybe a 12" section of wire tied directly to the jig.

I use 30# braid to a swivel, then ~3' of 150-200# leader material.  I have caught a lot of halibut off the yak using this outfit, on a fairly light rod as well.  I don't have a problem with breaking the 30#, either on a fish or when I snag up.  And yup, Kalin BigN in glow on an 8 ounce jig head, smeared heavily with your favorite herring oil.  There is a reason I named my son Kalin.    Although last summer I also used the Sumo 6X (7.5 ounce) with a glow back and had good success.  I guess I'll have to name my next son Sumo.     The reason for the big leader becomes fairly obvious when you pull up a halibut that has completely inhaled your offering.

-Allen

If you want to spend money on spreader bars and all that, go for it, but seems like overkill when you can get results with a simple jig head setup:

In AK we just used an 8 oz jig head and a Kalin's BigN 10" in glow.
With halibut it seems to be more important to put it in their face and it really doesn't matter what the offering is.

I'd prefer to use this method.  My worry is that 50# mono won't do well against their teeth.  So I'm thinking 65# braid mainline, 50# mono, then 100# mono.  But it seems a little over-complicated, so I'm looking for easier solutions.  Maybe a 12" section of wire tied directly to the jig.

I use 30# braid to a swivel, then ~3' of 150-200# leader material.  I have caught a lot of halibut off the yak using this outfit, on a fairly light rod as well.  I don't have a problem with breaking the 30#, either on a fish or when I snag up.  And yup, Kalin BigN in glow on an 8 ounce jig head, smeared heavily with your favorite herring oil.  There is a reason I named my son Kalin.    Although last summer I also used the Sumo 6X (7.5 ounce) with a glow back and had good success.  I guess I'll have to name my next son Sumo.     The reason for the big leader becomes fairly obvious when you pull up a halibut that has completely inhaled your offering.

-Allen

Would 7.5-8oz be enough?  I hear most guys talking 12-24oz to hold bottom around these parts.

I hear that too.  It all depends on when and where you fish.  If I get the chance, I'll have everything from 2 to 16 ozs on me, because I don't want to find out the hard way that I don't have enough weight   

So for 300 yards of 50# braid, a 50-100 yard spool of 150lb mono, a few jig heads, a 5 packs of Kalin plastics, a tube of herring oil scent and a few swivels would $80 be a reasonable estimate?

What do you guys think of this website's tackle?

http://www.halibut.net/halibut-fishing-tackle.htm

Is he honest?  How's the quality of his tackle?  Would it worth it to get his fully-rigged spreader bar setups or should I make my own?

I've ordered big squids from the site before and would not hesitate to order again.  Rig your own spreader bars.