Changes to Halibut Limit?

[rocstar]

The other day I heard that a change is being considered or coming regarding the non-resident halibut limit. Anybody know if this is true and what is happening?

[Down Deep]

The changes that were made apply only to charter boats. Charter boats have to buy permits to retain halibut. There will be 30% fewer permits available for charters to retain halibut which will reduce the total number of boats targeting halibut. This will in turn reduce the total harvest. So if you are going halibut fishing make sure you take one that has a permit. There is no change to the 2 fish limit for the fisherman provided the boat is has a permit.

[jwmiller33]

Thanks for the insight Down Deep. It is good info to know. I called our charter captain [out of Seward] for our halibut trip we have planned for this June and he said we are good to go. Can't wait to get a bunch of halibut again this yr!!! It is some of the best tasting fish out there IMO

[Down Deep]

I'm skipping Alaska this year. My buddy and I decided to go chase a big sturgeon in Oregon in April and then take a late June trip to Louisiana. Been to Alaska 7 times and its time to try something different.

[chillincarp870]

JW who are you fishing with out of Seward, ou guys have to realize that southeast AK has a limit of one halibut, they also have slot limits, Seward is the place to be.

[jwmiller33]

DD, that's awesome you are going out to Oregon for sturgeon. I assume you are hitting the Columbia River? Are you using a guide? You will have to post pics once you get back!

CC, We are using Hill Norvell. We used him the last time we went and have nothing but good things to say about our experience. We ended up with 2 fish over 100 lbs among many others, as well as limits of black sea bass and yellow eye (unfortunately lingcod were out of season during our trip). As I'm sure you know, anybody can drive a boat out to the "chicken patches" and catch 10-15LBers all day long. It's the big ones that make a trip worth while! Hill took us out 2.5 hrs from port out of Seward.

[chillincarp870]

yea the one day is a nice boat, he's a little strict on his hand, but he does do a good job, if you see the 43' delta named El Patron that is the boat i hand on, feel free to say hi.

[jwmiller33]

yea the one day is a nice boat, he's a little strict on his hand, but he does do a good job, if you see the 43' delta named El Patron that is the boat i hand on, feel free to say hi.

you can say that again! Hill is a great guy but I couldn't help but feel bad for his deckhand during our trip. We gave the hand a pretty good tip as he worked his tail off and took an ear full from Hill the entire day.

[nhoban]

This blog post talks about the new halibut regulations in southeast alaska for 2012: http://www.reelsandrifles.com/2012/01/26/halibut-regulations-finalized-for-2012/ . Hope this helps.