Halibut Fishing in Victoria, BC

Halibut fishing out of Victoria runs on the calendar and the tide. Mature Pacific Halibut move off the deep continental shelf spawning grounds in late winter and push into the shallower, food-rich water of Juan de Fuca Strait, with the run peaking April through June as post-spawn fish feed hard. February through July is your window. A second wave shows in late summer as adults stage before heading back offshore, and abundance tapers through fall. It never hits zero. Smaller immature chicken halibut hold in these coastal waters all year, so November through February still produces, just at the lowest presence of the season.

We cover 15 spots that hold halibut here. Constance Bank is the anchor of the fishery, and you also have Albert Head, Church Rock off Albert Head, Brodie Rock, Brotchie Ledge, the Chatham Islands, Discovery Island and the Esquimalt Harbour entrance to work through.

Drift jigging does most of the damage. Work the gravel and sand banks off Constance Bank and Border Bank in 150 to 300 feet, bouncing a leadhead jig with a soft plastic swimbait, a salmon belly or herring right near bottom. Anchored bait fishing backs it up over known structure, with a spreader bar holding whole herring, a salmon head or octopus just off the bottom. Fish the slack either side of high or low water. From dead slack to about 0.5 knots your gear hangs where you put it. Past that, it is unfishable.