alaska Halibut Fishing
Sport Fishing For Alaska Halibut
The Alaska Halibut is one of the most coveted sport
caught fish in the Alaskan saltwater. Imagine reeling
in a 100+ lb. halibut from a depth of over 300 feet.
We are talking 100lbs. of pure muscle and brute strength
here. This is not some mid water fish...this is
a huge bottom dwelling Alaska halibut that doesn't
want to see the light of day and is going to give you
the fight of your life to stay down in his dark home.
If this sounds fun and exciting to you then let our
professional experienced Alaska halibut fishing guides
put you on the most productive halibut grounds in Sitka,
Alaska. We supply you with all the best halibut fishing
tackle...from our Avet two speed reels spooled up
with 80# spectra, strong yet flexible Seeker rods and
Braid fighting belts. If holding your rod while fighting
your Alaska halibut sounds like too much work then you
can just leave it in our sturdy rod holders and save
your back from a lot of pain.
It will all be worth it when you get back home from
your Alaska fishing trip and cut open one of your vacuum
sealed flash frozen halibut fillets to serve your family
for dinner. If you're not sure how to cook your
halibut, then check out our Alaska
Halibut Recipes page
on our site. Remember to save the cheeks on the large
halibut...they're delicious.
What Makes Sitka Halibut Fishing in Alaska So Great?
One of the main reasons that Sitka is Alaska's
premier fishing destination is our low to medium size
tides. When trying to halibut fish further north where
the tides are 30 ft...you only get about a two
hour window to fish before the current becomes too strong
to keep your baits on the bottom. Sitka's tides
range between 8 to12 ft...meaning you can fish
halibut all day long with just enough current to really
chum them in with the scent of your bait. The rugged
underwater terrain up and down the coast of Sitka is
home to a plethora of rock fish, ling cod, crab and octopus
which is a steady supply of food for halibut. So Sitka
has the winning combination for the hottest halibut fishing
in Alaska.
Hippoglossus stenolepis - Halibut Biology
The Alaska
halibut is a member of the Flounder Family of fish and
are unique because they have a biological characteristic
that only the Flounder Family has. When halibut first
hatch from the egg they swim upright and have one eye
on each side of their head like all other species of
fish. At about five weeks of age and one inch in length,
one eye "migrates" over
the top of the head so that both eyes are on the same
side of the head. At this time the juvenile halibut "lays
over" on its' side with both eyes on the upward
or top side. As the halibut grows the under side becomes
white and the top side becomes a mottled brown color
resembling the sea bottom. Their body flattens into
an oval shape: thus the nickname "Flatfish".
The Alaska halibut, upon becoming a mature spawning
adult average about 25 to 30 pounds in weight. They
spawn during the winter months in about 1,200 feet
of water. The males range upward to about 60 pounds
and the females range upward to about 600 pounds in
weight. Large Alaska halibut, A.K.A "Barn Door",
can attain a length of over 8 feet and a width of over
5 feet. They have a button-sized calcified deposit
in their head called an Otolith or "Ear Bone" that
forms an annual growth ring. The age of an individual
halibut can be determined by counting the number of
growth rings like the ones on a tree. Females grow
faster and live longer than males. The oldest recorded
female was 42 years old and the oldest male was 27
years old.
What Do Alaska Halibut Eat?
Alaska halibut are a predatory
fish that will eat almost everything that swims
in the sea. Halibut feed on plankton during their first
year of life. Young halibut (1-3 years old) feed on euphausiids
(small shrimp-like organisms) and small fish. As halibut
grow, fish make up a larger part of their diet. Besides
pollock, sablefish, cod, and rockfish, large Alaskan
halibut also eat octopus, herring, crabs, clams, and
smaller halibut.
Alaska Halibut Life Cycle
Halibut spawn at a depth of
600 to 1,500 feet from November through March. Female
halibut release anywhere from a few thousand to 4 million
eggs, depending on the size of the fish. About 15 days
later, the eggs hatch and the larvae drift with deep
ocean currents. In the Gulf of Alaska, the eggs and larvae
drift in a counter clockwise direction along the coast.
As
the larvae mature, they move higher in the water column
and ride the surface currents to shallower, more nourishing
coastal waters.
Although age at maturity varies over time,
about half of male halibut are sexually mature by 8 years
of age, while half of the females are mature by age 11.
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