What is the right line for Halibut?

[coriantonk]

I have never been Halibut fishing before, but I have 2 trips planned for this year.  The one thing that has me curious is what kind of line should I put on my reel.  I was thinking about 45-55lb braid but I was told by my cousin that braid is a bad idea.  What are your thoughts.

[cohoho]

I used 80-120lb braid for all Halibut fishing in AK for years and never had any problems.  Here generally smaller fish, would still stick with 80lb.  Problem with mono that strength is it takes up way too space on the reel and stretch...  At 300 foot below the deck of the boat, your talking alot of stretch from mono...  Your bottom fishing not trolling for for Tuna or Marlin where stretch is needed...

[h2ofowlr]

I have 80lb braid on one rod and 120 on my other rod.  Only way to go with the thick line.  Same set up that I use for oversized sturgeon as well.  Main reason is you are bouncing off the bottom or anchored up.  No strech in your line if your in 80-300+ feet of water.

[robodad]

I used 80-120lb braid for all Halibut fishing in AK for years and never had any problems.  Here generally smaller fish, would still stick with 80lb.  Problem with mono that strength is it takes up way too space on the reel and stretch...  At 300 foot below the deck of the boat, your talking alot of stretch from mono...  Your bottom fishing not trolling for for Tuna or Marlin where stretch is needed...

I use "Power Pro" in #80 on my halibut rods, its a small diameter so I can fit plenty of it on there to fish the various depths around here and off the coast. Another reason to stay away from mono is you'll have to use about 30-40% more weight to stay on the bottom because the line drafts so much water its difficult to stay on the bottom, and another reason you don't want the stretch is so you can feel the bottom. Back when I used mono I remember it was quite difficult to feel the bottom because my line was trailing so far behind the boat and with the stretch of the mono it was almost impossible to know when you are on bottom especially if its not exactly calm.

[Bone_Collector]

Like everyone has said 80+ pound braid will work great! No stretch and you can feel the bottom. The heavier line will stand up to the abuse better as well.

B_C

[RB]

 

Just put 80lb power pro on both my reels found a decent deal on Ebay for a 1500 yard (yes 4500 feet) spool for little over $100 shipped. Best stuff ever made for bottom fishing!

[sirmissalot]

80lb braid or spectra, or even 60 if you're fishing deep to help keep the line angle down. Personally I use 80lb spectra.

[Ripper]

    80# braid, can't go wrong with power pro.

[JimmyHoffa]

I like powerpro and gorilla tough.  I prefer 80# and up for a couple of reasons.  The little to no stretch that was mentioned.  Also if you get too fine of a line diameter and then add a big heavy fish, the line can wedge itself down in the spool and make a mess.  On the next free spool (or fish taking drag) it can cause a backlash or get stuck.  One of the last things I want to do is deal with that, especially with bait on one end and a 'sharp' fishing line.  When I use the bigger diameter (yet still smaller than any mono I used) the problems start going away and the line isn't as sharp.

[Rick]

I run 50# Tuf-line XP on my rods. The problem with anything more than that is that it becomes really difficult to break free if you hang up on the bottom. You could anchor my 26' boat with 80lb.

Thinner line really cuts down on how much lead you need to hit bottom. With 50# I can usually get away with 10-12 oz. less than my buddies running 65+

That doesn't seem like much,but bait checks from 600' get old in a hurry. Every little bit helps.

[robodad]

I run 50# Tuf-line XP on my rods. The problem with anything more than that is that it becomes really difficult to break free if you hang up on the bottom. You could anchor my 26' boat with 80lb.

Thinner line really cuts down on how much lead you need to hit bottom. With 50# I can usually get away with 10-12 oz. less than my buddies running 65+

That doesn't seem like much,but bait checks from 600' get old in a hurry. Every little bit helps.

I see 2 problems here, if you have to check your bait your using the wrong kinda bait, and if your fishing 600' deep  well then your just in the wrong location !! besides I heard that any weight used in saltwater under 16oz will be banned because there are too many fish gulping up the smaller lead weights and sinking to the bottom unable to swim !!

Hanging up on the bottom isn't really a problem with 80# either, just use lighter hooks and you won't anchor yer boat anymore !! 






Just Jokin around !! 

[75johndeere]

I run 50# Tuf-line XP on my rods. The problem with anything more than that is that it becomes really difficult to break free if you hang up on the bottom. You could anchor my 26' boat with 80lb.

Thinner line really cuts down on how much lead you need to hit bottom. With 50# I can usually get away with 10-12 oz. less than my buddies running 65+

That doesn't seem like much,but bait checks from 600' get old in a hurry. Every little bit helps.

I see 2 problems here, if you have to check your bait your using the wrong kinda bait, and if your fishing 600' deep  well then your just in the wrong location !! besides I heard that any weight used in saltwater under 16oz will be banned because there are too many fish gulping up the smaller lead weights and sinking to the bottom unable to swim !!

Hanging up on the bottom isn't really a problem with 80# either, just use lighter hooks and you won't anchor yer boat anymore !! 

600' is actually some of the best places to fish for ling and halibut these where all out of 600' of water

[RB]

I run 50# Tuf-line XP on my rods. The problem with anything more than that is that it becomes really difficult to break free if you hang up on the bottom. You could anchor my 26' boat with 80lb.

Thinner line really cuts down on how much lead you need to hit bottom. With 50# I can usually get away with 10-12 oz. less than my buddies running 65+

That doesn't seem like much,but bait checks from 600' get old in a hurry. Every little bit helps.

I see 2 problems here, if you have to check your bait your using the wrong kinda bait, and if your fishing 600' deep  well then your just in the wrong location !! besides I heard that any weight used in saltwater under 16oz will be banned because there are too many fish gulping up the smaller lead weights and sinking to the bottom unable to swim !!

Hanging up on the bottom isn't really a problem with 80# either, just use lighter hooks and you won't anchor yer boat anymore !! 

600' is actually some of the best places to fish for ling and halibut these where all out of 600' of water

Nice!

[75johndeere]

oh and we use 80# spiderwire but i think braid is braid in all reality its not going anywhere pretty sure we just got a good deal on the spiderwire.  and its time to buy another 1500 yards so if you hear of a good deal let me know 10 halibut rods take lots of line

[Bone_Collector]

75JD those are some fatty flatties! 600' would suck unless you have electric reels!

B_C

[75johndeere]

Can't stand electric reels they would drive me crazy we had someone bring one on the boat once it made it down and back up once then got thrown on the bed never to be allowed on the boat again. Those butts where a great day that scale has a 15 pound bucket that zeros it out too so that one was like 98 pounds and the one by my mom was like 115 the lings in the first pic most are over 30 pounds the little one in the big ones mouth was like 20

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

[YoterHunter]

i use 80 lb tuff line with 60 lb backing , dosent drag in the current like braded dose.

[coriantonk]

Thanks for the info.  Once I get my new rod and reel set up, I will put some good braid on it.  I really am looking forward to giving this a try.

[jeepster]

i use 85lbs powerpro.... here in washington, you dont need much more than that.

some things to consider.... when loading a reel with anything larger than 85lbs braid, you start sacrificing line capacity... lighter line means more line, heaver line, means needing to buy a bigger reel...

also, i never like to fill up a reel with something i cant break... consider this: if you are 200 feet down using 120lbs line, and you hang up, and cant break it off, well... then you have to cut your line, and are out 200 feet of line... with braid being .12$ a foot or so, thats 25$ in line give or take

i dont know about the rest of you guys, but, i doubt i will ever go back to using mono

ive also used dacron, but you sacrifice line capacity with it, as ive found its extremely hard to beat the diamater of powerpro...

my halibut setup is an Avet LX with 490 yards of 85 power pro, on a shimano trevalla rod rated at 80-200lbs braid

the thing about line, is most of the reels that average joe can afford have drag systems around 10-15lbs, high end reels might get up to 25lbs. my avet goes to 20 some, but thats also a top shelf reel, i think a penn senator 6/0 goes up to 15lbs, and thats a heavy duty star drag (also holds 950+yards of 100lbs braid). you gotta figure a 30lbs fish (dead weight lets say), pulling 10 lbs on a run, with 15lbs of drag is only putting 35lbs on your line. so, with 85lbs breaking strength line, it would still take around a 65lbs pound fish fighting like a raped ape to bust that line, with your drag all the way cranked down.... if that makes ANY sence at all...... im writing this at 2am so i doubt it will.....

id pay alot more attention to your drag system than line... and when you found a drag system you like, then id pack as much line onto that reel as realistically possible

id go for lighter line, as much line as you can get on your reel, and make sure it has a damned good drag system.... line capacity and a good drag will get you ALOT farther than just brute strength and a line that only jaws could break 

[cohoho]

Why would you cut the line that is snagged???  That is a waste of line, tie it up on the a cleat and have the boat pop it off...  Might break the hook, might break at the knot, sure better than losing 200+ foot of line...      Do not recall ever breaking off a big AK Halibut.  Hook might pop out if there is any slack due to weight of lead, but haven't seen any Halibut break off the line if you know how to fight a fish, never want to utilize the maximum of your drag as that will prematurely smoke the reel and cause you to replace drag early.  If it is a big fish let em have it, he'll tire...

[RB]

Why would you cut the line that is snagged???  That is a waste of line, tie it up on the a cleat and have the boat pop it off...  Might break the hook, might break at the knot, sure better than losing 200+ foot of line...      Do not recall ever breaking off a big AK Halibut.  Hook might pop out if there is any slack due to weight of lead, but haven't seen any Halibut break off the line if you know how to fight a fish, never want to utilize the maximum of your drag as that will prematurely smoke the reel and cause you to replace drag early.  If it is a big fish let em have it, he'll tire...

Gotta be quick and use lots of slack to get it around the cleat and make darn sure not to get it around your fingers cause you will lose them with the heavy braided lines. As someone already said you can literally anchor a large boat with the stuff

[sirmissalot]

The few times I have hung up I just tie the line off to a boat cleat, it will either bust loose or break at the knot from my experience.

I use 80lb not becuase I might catch a 100lber, but because I just have a little more abrasion resistance with heavier line. The fact is my reel really only has 30lbs of drag max so even 60lb line would be plenty... I don't think most people realize how much 30lbs of drag really is.

[JimmyHoffa]

For hang-ups I typically use a mono leader below a swivel connecting it to the braid.  The mono seems to break before the braid.  I haven't used the cleat method, just reel way down with the rod pointed down, then wrap the braid around the reel a few times and lift.  That usually does it.  There are different styles of weights you can use that help prevent hang ups--like using ones that look like sticks.  I know the egg weights usually reel best..but seem to snag more easily.