Halibut Fishing in Bellingham, WA

Pacific Halibut move out of deep offshore spawning grounds in spring and push into the inland waters around Bellingham, following forage up onto the shallower banks. Mid-April through May brings the first strong showing, and abundance holds through the April to August peak before the fish drift back toward deeper shelf-edge habitat in fall. Seven spots carry the run here: Alden Bank, Belle Rock, Hein Bank, Parker Reef, Partridge Bank, Point Lawrence and Thatcher Pass. From November through March the fish are gone from nearshore water, so plan your trip inside the spring and summer window.

Current decides your day. Fish the slack, from dead slack up to about 1.1 knots, and expect the water to be unfishable past that. That gives you the window either side of high or low water, when your gear hangs where you put it. A daily tide swing between 5 and 10 feet is the productive band, and wind wave between 0 and 5 feet keeps you working. Water temperature between about 7.75°C and 11.25°C supports feeding, and local water sits inside that range most of the year.

Drifting does most of the work. Run baited spreader bars with herring, squid, salmon bellies or octopus over gravel and cobble in 120 to 300 feet around the Bellingham Bay approaches and the eastern San Juans. When drift speed dies on slack, work leadhead jigs with swimbaits, metal jigs or bucktail jigs vertically near bottom.