I've never been much for freshwater fishing or salmon, but it seems like that's all anybody is after. Anybody else out there do any bottom fishing. Not necessarily halibut either. I'm thinking sole, cabezon, ling, rock fish, that sort.
It's been a while since I've been out, but I can run a limit of sole fish in about an hour in the right spot. Everyone just looks at me funny when I tell them what I'm catching. That's until they see the pile of fillets at the end of the day!
Andrew
what do you for bait to catch sole? i catch everything else but sole
We using herring pieces on a set of double slip hooks and an 8oz weight. Drop it to the bottom and then three cranks up. When you hit the right hole you can pull up doubles where you catch one fish on each hook. You're almost guaranteed to catch a couple of bull head during the day so we start using those as bait once the herring are gone. I've managed to catch a full limit of fish off of one leader and only 4 pieces of bait. All it takes is one dog fish to tear up your hooks though.
There's just something fun about dropping your hooks down to the bottom and waiting for a bite. You just never know what you're going to pull up. It's actually a game we play. You have to try and call what you've got on before it hits the boat. Dog fish are easy because they circle, but a rat fish will make you think! They fight and circle and feel like a rock coming up!

Andrew