Early Season Halibut Trolling in San Francisco Bay (How To)

As the weather starts warming up and the days become longer, there is one thing on my mind and that is are the halibut already arriving in San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean? There is only one way to find out and thats to get out there and give it a try. No live bait this time of year to purchase so we are trolling the herring we caught in the bay a month earlier during the spawn. I will show you all how I setup for this type of fishing in this How To video.
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Instagram-chrispfish2

[@authorizedanglertv2988]

Chris, is that controller for your kicker motor? I just got a boat, you should do a video on that!

[@ChrisPfish2]

yeah controls the kicker. i have done boat upgrade videos in the past. thanks for watching

[@KH-ef4nj]

oh this vid has me getting eager to hit the water. Curious, if your not catching, how often do you change out the bait?

[@ChrisPfish2]

anchovy more often then herring. herring maybe a hour. anchovy 30-40min. checking bait every 15-20min

[@johnvallario3680]

Question for you. On the rig with the hoochie and the live bait rig. I thought only 2 hooks were allowed.

[@suckafish2811]

3 hooks allowed in the bay. 1 pole. Then certain fish have certain rules. so 1 barbless hook for sturgeon. 2 hooks for rock fish. if the fish fish doesnt have a special rule then 3 hooks are okay. halibut dont have a special rule.

[@johnvallario3680]

@@suckafish2811 would that also apply to Monterey bay?

[@suckafish2811]

@johnvallario3680 in Monterey bay for halibut you can use as many hooks and as many poles as you want it. its the ocean. again certain fish have certain rules. halibut dont have any certain rules on hooks or number of poles. 3 per day limit and 22" minimum

[@kenw305]

Nice video! How much weight?

[@ChrisPfish2]

16oz

[@jimbo4612]

Near the end of the 2022 season was shown this lure called the Picaso Heavy duty School of fish E-rig(umbrella Rig) with 3 arms. Color choice was blue back herring. Some Pro cure herring gel was added and the butts went wild for it.

[@Dontbyrneit]

Just discovered your channel bro fersure hit that button!! What kind of rod holders are those my guy? Just got my first boat and those things are bad ass looking!

[@ChrisPfish2]

Thanks for watching! The rod holders are from reel custom boat works. Give them a search and you will find there info, located in Stockton. Mention me and he should give you a deal.

[@damastagamer]

My buddy and I were just talking to eachother a few days ago and were wondering if anyone was trolling for halibut yet. I guarantee now that this has been posted, the word is out, and there will be 50 boats out this weekend! Haha Great job Chris!

[@ChrisPfish2]

oh yeah, its starting now lol. This was like the 4th day of 65 degree weather and the tides were slower. I suspect the bite slows with the colder weather and bigger tides this week but soon after it should be go time. Thanks for watching

[@matthewpruitt8445]

We were doin the same lol

[@rph3344]

Hey Chris, been watching all your videos great job! How are you liking that boat? How are you liking that boat? And when did you replace the kicker motor and why?

[@fishingaddict5638]

Wow, 3 keeper is a great first outing and very informational too.

[@DieHardFishing]

Such a cliff hanger there… Congrats on the first keepers of the season!

[@ChrisPfish2]

yeah everyone cant wait to see how big it is. Good seeing you out there, looking like it should be a decent season!

[@ChasMtz420]

Oh damn!!!! Drop that video so we can watch it dude!

[@drgreen111]

Sticky tire plugs .4$ Walmart or Amazon .and of course you're going to need a air compressor too.

[@tjsportsfishing4194]

Pressure is already coming for the halibut. Halibut: “there’s fishermen already here! It’s only February LOL!

[@ChrisPfish2]

yeah its never fun being a halibut it would seem if you reside in the SF bay or just outside the gate. Thanks for watching

[@rph3344]

Hey Chris, loving all your videos! How are you liking the North River? And when did you replace your kicker and why?

[@wellthoughtoutfishing1534]

Thank you for the first report of the year!!! Let the watercrafting begin for all.

[@russellnewell6062]

Mind sharing your rod holders and extensions. Sick of these cheap ones breaking. I’m sure they are Scotty rod holders. But what are the extensions?

[@ChrisPfish2]

They are are from Jim at Reel Custom Boat works. 209-915-9980. Tell him you saw them on my channel and he can tell you all about them and will give you a discount if its something you want. Thanks for watching

[@davkrat5]

I saw you guys dealing with the tire in the parking lot while I was washing my boat. Once I realized who it was I was going to come say hi but you guys left a few minutes before I finished.

[@ChrisPfish2]

what did you target? successful trip?

[@davkrat5]

@@ChrisPfish2 we didn’t fish. I took my mom for a ride on my brand new boat. She’d been taking full time care of my grandmother who recently passed away so it was her first time out in years. We just went site seeing. kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4mZZ4ivZ6-lkJY

[@Quackk_Addict]

buy the red spikes from krippled herring and you actually run the line through the little hole on the spike and you dont ever have to use toothpicks again, super easy and convienent

[@ChrisPfish2]

The krippled anchovies come with the red spike. The herring ones dont. I think the red spikes are too small on the herring head. I could be wrong, I will look into it. Thanks for the heads up.

[@Quackk_Addict]

Correct but if you grab your drill bit and drill on side just slightly bigger (only on one side only) then that spike will go through and the opposite will be fine considering that red spike is tapered. Just a good tip I learned myself, I just got off the phone with Krippled herring guy looking for the watermelon and he was quite impressed. I learned alot of halibut from you bro! I figured i could drop a helpful tip... cause my toothpicks blew out one time lmao never again

[@zachdennis7307]

Come to Oregon and target Pacific Halibut. You’d love the size of those. I want to see how your trolling method would work up here. I don’t know anyone who does that up here

[@Lad-zn6fn]

We have pacific halibut in california too, not sure why the bay area guys don't target them. People target them every year farther north

[@thehairyhermitfromscooby-do]

Works like a charm here in Oregon. We launch off Pacific City and fish very similar to this. Commercial salmon trolling we catch a lot of halibut too, fishing deep for chinook

[@ChrisPfish2]

the deep water is far for us, what depth do you target pacific hali, like 300-500ft? maybe I am wrong.

[@Lad-zn6fn]

@ChrisPfish year to year differs, but yes generally anywhere from 200-600

[@damastagamer]

Ya for us we have to basically go out to the farallones to get to that depth. They are caught as bycatch every year out there.

[@scottd7615]

Hi Chris! What depths are you trolling at? Do your electronics mark anything to let you know you are in the right spot?

[@ChrisPfish2]

dont see halibut on the fish finder much, your looking for bait balls, sometimes you mark fish but hard to know what they are, could be hali, stripers, sharks, rays... 10-25ft is a good depth to troll for halibut in the bay.

[@scottd7615]

@@ChrisPfish2 Thank you!

[@mitchhendrickson4936]

What constitutes a "good tide" for halibut?

[@ChrisPfish2]

slow current, when the tide changes

[@mitchhendrickson4936]

@@ChrisPfish2 Awesome, thanks! Great video, as always. See ya' on the water.

[@brandensf5473]

Hello Chris, I love the videos that you put out. Keep them coming brother. I’m here at oyster point. It’s been pretty slow. How deep are you guys fishing?

[@mikephillips2109]

Nicely done!

[@ronbyrd313]

Love your setup ( boat )& the way u fish

[@jeovanicordova5916]

Hey ChrisPfish would you be willing to take 2 people on your boat for some Halibut this season ?

[@ChrisPfish2]

I need a captains license to do so, plan is to get one this year. So the answer will be yes soon, but for now not allowed too. Thanks for watching

[@butchmacpherson4646]

I hate to tell you Chris but your bait is upside down in the Krippled Herring Head.

[@ChrisPfish2]

oh no, thanks for the "heads up"

[@calvin.miller]

Random Guy..... "you're doing it wrong" Chris........ busy catching limits of fish. Hahahaha Priceless!

[@danfritz9632]

Ice day on the bay. Where did you put the boat in?

[@familyfishkiller1062]

Awesome to see the halibut season start Great job

[@archertwin22]

Liking the how-to videos

[@wayneclark6624]

Great to see you out and about here in the bay area - Try drifting the power line that runs from pier seven out - caught some garbage can lid size critters out there and lost some Biggins too . Live Anchovies the key

[@martyb.8510]

Hey Chris, how extensive is your cleaning/rinsing routine after having your boat in salt water?

[@ChrisPfish2]

spray the whole boat with freshwater, sometimes use a pressure washer. I dont use chemicals often since I use the boat all the time. Heavy rinse of freshwater, and towel wipe/dry. Thanks for watching

[@jacobhilliker6537]

Dude the upload quality is 🔥 🔥

[@bayarea6464]

whats the orange thing hanging on your necks?

[@ChrisPfish2]

tailfin, controls my kicker motor direction, how I steer. Thanks for watching

[@jeffchaffee1235]

Hi people. Thank you for your time on the water

[@elpescador78]

Thank you to share your video men good catch

[@elpescador78]

When are you going to come to fish for crabs in Bodega Bay?

[@FisherBRD]

What a calm day out there. Wow! Great job!

[@alonsogutierrez7152]

Great tutorial Chris.... I'm planning on doing tutorials too with my channel. Thanks again for your help Chris, much appreciated. Looking forward to your next video!

[@ChrisPfish2]

Thanks for watching as always!

[@tacoismypuppy]

Thank you for all of the tips!

[@bharpooraujla4175]

Awesome video as always, Chris! Looking forward to see more videos, specially on salmon. I am new like to learn more.

[@pacificanglersportfishing]

Interesting…..

[@blkaudiofan]

Hella early bro like mid march I feel is ok to start but still kind of early lol

[@ChrisPfish2]

I know, some nice weather and I wanted to give it a try, it worked lol

[@theresareclusado2533]

Nice video Chris! Nice meeting you the other day at Jim's!

[@gregwallace4141]

Still caught though. Great catches Chris

[@forkmonkey]

Awesome to see the halibut season start! Great video as always, Chris!

[@ChrisPfish2]

I know, I would of been happy with one, good signs for a good season. Thanks for watching

[@F6pesca]

good job bro good fishing not bad to open the season God bless you

[@shotgunaaron]

Man it’s early!!!……

[@ehumaui4087]

Dang so early.

[@HeavenZsmilin]

Great video ... appreciate your love for fishing and your tutorials ... progressively fine tuning your skills 👌 Stay safe Stay successful ✌️

[@virgilfoster5270]

*PromoSM*

[@DeadliestKastFishing]

Nice work man thanks for the shout out I’ll be out there soon to mop the halibut up 🤙🤙

[@ChrisPfish2]

see you out there!

[@doitnow70]

Right on man, I’ve been wanting to fish the bay for a while! I’m familiar with the delta but I’ve not ventured to the bay yet. Any info on where to launch? Great video!

[@ChrisPfish2]

look on google maps, type boat launch, see which is closest to you. Richmond and Berkley are common.

[@doitnow70]

Right on. I’m gonna make it happen maybe. Thanks

[@aProudOG]

Nice icebreaker to kickoff the season. What kind of rod holders are those?

[@ricelovesshoes]

suppppppppppp

[@AhmedMahmoud-lg6em]

That was great day of fishing. Thanks for the invite. Great video

[@Stoops1973]

Met you out at the coast guard safety check Saturday Chris. Hoping to try my hand on my kayak for halibut this season. Can’t wait. Love the channel. Another great video.

[@cerescop]

Good video Chris, hey any legal fish is a good one. With the temps and the amount of fresh water flushing down, sounds like a good day.

[@NickFish007]

Hooking all us up with shoutouts thank you Chris! Need to get you out on a kayak soon

[@ChrisPfish2]

I need to get a wetsuit. I will talk to you about that. Good seeing you out there!

[@j-rad8315]

Hey Chris, I think you caught video of another Chinese spy balloon in the background of your video at the beginning. Oh, and those are some beautiful BUTT’s right there! Awesome early season catch!

[@ChrisPfish2]

lol right... I did notice that too, i think in this case its just the moon 🤣🤣