The time is here for Washington anglers to venture out onto the high seas and match wits with one of the largest fish that lurks the depths of Puget Sound. Mind you, this fishery is not for beginners, it requires special equipment and skills only acquired by years of experience. The rewards are memories that last a lifetime and some of the best eating steaks to be found in the sea.

Halibut season opened in the coastal units on May 1, while the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the San Juans, and central Puget Sound opened on Thursday.

There will be some new restrictions this year to help with depleted rockfish populations. The year you will not be able to retain any yelloweye rockfish in Marine Areas 1 through 4. In addition, an area closed to halibut fishing just south of Cape Flattery has been slightly expanded to reduce the bycatch of yelloweye rockfish.

So what does it take to get into these brutes? Your run of the mill salmon gear will be of little help. To fish for halibut you will need special rods, reels and tackle for these fish. Some of these fish can top 100 pounds, much larger than the salmon here, so a good sturdy rod, with a large reel spooled with heavy-duty line is a must. These heavyweights lurk in depths over 100 feet of water, so you must get your bait down.

In addition, you will be fishing tides so enough weight to get it down and keep it there are a must. Some days you may get by with as little as three ounces, while others you may need up to eight.

Most experience halibut angler’s use commercially produced spreader bars to keep their bait from getting entangled with the weight as it travels toward the bottom. What you choose to bait your hook is up to you. Some anglers swear by natural bait, while others will tell you that artificials are the way to go.

One big factor will be the presence of dogfish. Many anglers would like to use herring, squid or octopus, but if the dogs are in the area it is hard to get your bait down to the bottom without one of these pesky robbers nailing your bait. You will spend more time raising your line and re-baiting than actual fishing, and if your using six to eight ounces of weight, that starts to get tiring to the arms. After the first couple of times of having your bait stolen, many switch over to large twin-tailed jigs. Since you will be fishing on the bottom, be prepared to lose a few rigs and plan accordingly.

The most popular place to hook into a barndoor sized ‘but is with out a doubt off the northwestern tip of the state. Neah Bay is arguably the mecca for trophy halibut anglers here in the state. You can find numerous anglers that can set you up with a half or full day trip. Just about every other angler is going to head to this area, so bookings fill fast. Do not despair if you find the dates you want are taken, there are other of places to try.

The coastal towns of Ilwaco, Westport and LaPush also offer some good chances. Many of the same salmon charter organizations also offer halibut fishing trips. Later in the month you will be able to find trips that don’t require a trip to the coast.

While your chances of getting a monster halibut is less, the Strait offers a good chance a some nice “eating-size” fish. Salmon fishing hotspots like Seiku and Port Angeles have chances at some fish. Not to be outdone, there are a few places off the Westside of San Juan Island that are worth a try, and if you want to stay close to home, a few anglers have taken some nice fish right off the island near Midchannel Bank. Remember, these places are not going to the hotspots like the coast, but it is still beats not going at all.

Now halibut fishing has been described as the most boring fishing around, and the fight has been compared to bringing up an old tire, but once the you see the big brute boatside, all the long hours of bouncing bait on the bottom and an arm tiring fight is all well worth it. If you have never tried it, you might want to give it a go.