By Paul Lebowitz

In 2007, Dave Pliska was a man on a mission.

“I wanted to see if I could catch 30 legal halibut in 30 days. I came very close,” said Pliska, a staffer for online kayak fishing accessories shop Hook1. He fell just two fish shy of his goal, but accomplished a more difficult feat. Pliska swept the annual awards handed out by Baytubers, a kayak and float tube club that elevates halibut fishing to an art form.

“Yeah, I had the most monthly tournament wins,” Pliska said modestly. He also logged the largest flatfish of the year, a 38-lb beauty he pulled out of the shallows.

Now Pliska’s set his sights on a bigger stage, the Marina del Rey Halibut Derby. Some 1,000 anglers participate each year in Southern California’s largest and oldest saltwater fishing contest. Tellingly, the overwhelming majority fish from power boats. Can a kayaker compete?

“I truly believe a kayaker can win. We can get places, especially in spring, where boaters can’t,” Pliska said. Those spots? In tight to the beach, just out of reach of the surf casters but too shallow for most boaters. By Pliska’s reckoning, that’s in water 20 ft or less.

Let’s take a closer look at Pliska’s winning halibut techniques.

“Number one is time on the water. Time alone won’t get it done; it’s time on the water in the right places,” Pliska said. In his view, halibut stack up in feeding areas often as small as 50-ft in circumference. Finding them is one key to success.

Pliska looks for ledges, inlets, a sandy bottom and nearby bait-holding structure, and then fishes them slowly and systematically. “I’ll circle over an area for an hour if I think fish are there. If I get bit, I’ll spend 8 hours fishing right there,” Pliska said, likening the size of some spots to your average living room.    

KAYAK HALIBUT CHAMP – Baytuber’s 2007 Angler of the Year Dave Pliska is all smiles after landing a 38-lb ‘butt in just feet of water. Pliska figures kayakers have an edge on powerboaters because they can fish just beyond the surf line.

THE TRAP RIG SCORES AGAIN – Here’s a common sight, Pliska with a legal halibut. Pliska attributes his success to a deliberate and intensive fishing style. He works an area carefully, rods always in gear, drags set light, and a pair of trap-hooked sardines bouncing along the bottom.

Kayaker Pliska has compiled a mental map of productive spots, but he’s still prospecting for new ones. When he’s looking, he’ll select a 200 yard stretch of shoreline, then slowly move along a single depth contour. 8-ft, then 10-ft and so on, always looking for bait-holding structure.  

Finding a spot is just half the battle. The other is how to hook and land these critters. Pliska fishes two rods. One is always tucked under his leg, old-school style, with the rod tip perched on his toes. “I know instantly if I snag a bit of kelp,” Pliska pointed out. Because he’s watching his rod tips at all times, he knows if his bait is bouncing correctly on the bottom or draws a strike.  

“When they hit, your rod tip slaps down, then comes back up really quick before settling back down slowly,” Pliska added. He eschews the ‘wait until they eat it’ school of thought, always fishing a trap rig with a treble on the tail end. With the reel in gear, a striking ‘butt hooks itself in the mouth.

Pliska’s rig consists of 20-lb main line matched to a 30-in fluorocarbon leader. Of course you won’t get bit unless your bait is on the bottom. At kayak speed in no more than 20 ft, 2 or 3 oz of lead suffice. At 50 ft, 8 oz does the trick. You’ve got to keep moving. “I never sit still,” Pliska said.

What about the bait? Pliska favors large sardines. “I’m after big fish,” he said.

A loose drag setting is critical. “You don’t have to fish top of the line gear, but you’ve got to have a good drag, set loose, especially with big fish. They tend to come up fairly easily. When they see your boat or you try to hit them with the gaff, the freak out and swim back to the bottom,” Pliska said.

Letting them run is better than pumping them back up. Halibut are often barely hooked; a vigorous fight risks blowing it. “Just hang the rod over the side and slowly wind,” Pliska advised.  

On a kayak, landing a good halibut may be the toughest part. Pliska has a system for this too. He uses a long-handled gaff with a wide-gap hook. As the fish circles beneath the boat, he sizes up his shot, then strikes out and up on the next go-round. “You can’t miss, or the hook is likely to pull out,” Pliska said.