The Rundown
Best Premium Option: Dr. Fish Squid Teaser (click to see)
“The Squid Teaser mimics squid swimming through the water. It is ideal for slow trolling over halibut holes. Recommended for anglers who want to drift over known holes to see what might be biting.“
Best Budget Option: SPRO Bucktail Jig (click to see)
“If you’re looking for a lure that does the job and more for a meager price, the SPRO Bucktail Jig is definitely for you. It’s durable, effective, and there are many sizes and colors to choose from!”
Best Shallow Water Lure: Rapala Saltwater X-Rap (click to see)
“If you like casting from a boat or off a rock jetty, the Rapala X-Rap works for shallow water fishing. It’s got a clever rattling feature that works effectively and dual treble hooks for an easy snag.”
The bait you choose while halibut fishing has a significant impact on your catch success, and adding in a few of the best lures can increase your chances even more for landing the fish you want.
Understanding which halibut lures to use and how to use them will keep you from missing hookups and losing fish.
The best lures will imitate halibut prey and stand up to their vicious strikes.
You’ll also want the best hooks on those lures to make sure you get a solid hook-set.
Here are the top 8 halibut lures that we tested and reviewed. We also gave out helpful tips on how and when to use them.




Best Halibut Lures For The Money
Our Top 8 Picks
Table of Contents
Best Lures For Halibut 2022
Here are the best halibut lures that should be in your tackle box:
- Dr. Fish Squid Teaser
- SPRO Bucktail Jig
- Rapala Saltwater X-Rap
- REELdiculous Smoker
- Real Fish Sanddab
- East Rain Artificial Octopus
- Sanhu Diamond Jigs Glow
- Big & N Grubs

KEY FEATURES
- Hook variety
- Built-in LED
- Slow troller
- Lifelike squid
- Multiple deep-water species
- Vinyl body
- Glow skin
- LED color choices
Dr. Fish Squid Teaser is a great choice for slow trolling over halibut holes. While many people will anchor to entice halibut bites, pulling these squid over holes at depth is another option. This lure will also attract other fish, such as lingcod, so it’s a good choice for anglers who want to drift over known holes to see what might be biting.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
SPRO Bucktail Jig
Best Budget Option

KEY FEATURES
- Up to 11.5 oz
- Most affordable option
- Tail hairs
- Size and color options
- Fresh bait or scent addition
SPRO Bucktail Jigs are generally a solid choice in lure for a low price. The variety of sizes and color mean you can choose different ones depending on the size of the fish you want, or the clarity of the water.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
Rapala Saltwater X-Rap
Best Shallow Water Lure

KEY FEATURES
- Fast sinking
- Mimics prey fish
- Multiple color options
- Rattler for increased attraction
- Dual treble hooks
Rapala X-Rap Halibut Fishing Lure comes in a variety of sizes and actions, and all of them have rattlers inside the lure body to help attract fish. It works much better near the surface and in bays, instead of the deep-water holes that huge halibut prefer. This could be a great choice for casual anglers trying out rock jetties to see what fish are around them.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
REELdiculous Smoker
Best Overall Jig

KEY FEATURES
- Kevlar assist line
- Dual-hook setup
- 1000 pounds test rings
- Easy to use
- Reflective shape and eye
- Multiple colors
- Multiple weights
The ideal halibut lures are the easiest to use that still get the job done. The REELdiculous Smoker jig is made of incredibly tough parts and materials and made to withstand strikes from huge fish. This jig can be a great option for anglers regardless of target species, whether fishing shallow or deep.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
Real Fish Sanddab
Best For Big Fish

KEY FEATURES
- Realistic look
- Soft plastic feels like skin
- Only needs a jighead
- Flat on the ocean bottom
- Big fish bait
- Hook and jighead customization
Pacific sanddabs are smaller flatfish that grow between 5 and 16 inches. They’re a favored prey fish of large halibut, lingcod, grouper, and other large bottom fish. At 10 inches, Real Fish Sanddab is a perfect mimic for a large halibut’s prey.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
East Rain Artificial Octopus
Best Octopus Jig

KEY FEATURES
- Multi-colored
- Octopus mimic
- Multiple sizes
- Removable parts
- Reflective eyes
- Lead head for weight
East Rain Artificial Octopus mimics octopus on the bottom and around rocks. The tentacles are free-floating and will bounce around in the water, and the PVC material should stand up well to hard predatory strikes.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
Sanhu Diamond Jigs Glow
Best Deep Water Jig

KEY FEATURES
- Glows in the dark
- 10 oz sinks very fast
- Retrievable
- Deep water or shallow
- Snagging treble hook
- Fast or slow jig
Sanhu Diamond Jigs work great for bottom fishing since you can bounce them off the bottom or jig them near it. Generally, they’ll mimic injured prey fish struggling to swim, and the glow finish on the Sanhu Diamond Jigs Glow works best in deep water where reflective patterns don’t flash as much.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
Big & N Grubs
Best For Most Anglers

KEY FEATURES
- 10 inches
- Made to catch halibut
- Fish mimic with tail
- Large size rules out smaller fish
- Tough plastic
- Glow body
Grubs are one of the simpler lure designs, but they work well in any water. The touch plastic is made to stand up to halibut and is best for anglers looking for only the biggest halibut in deep water. 12-inch Big & N Grubs is best for most people, including beginners, as it’s easy to get the right action out of.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
5 Tips To Catch Halibut
Halibut is a trophy fisherman’s dream, and people travel from across the world to try their hand at catching them. Whether you’re a local looking to get started or just a fisherman looking for a challenge, you probably have some questions about best practices. For those of you who need it, here are five tips that can help you catch halibut.
1. Use different baits.
When you start your day, try as many different baits and lures as possible to see what halibut are going for that day. Various jigs and lures might get better reactions from the fish than others, and the same goes for any halibut bait you choose. Diversifying at the beginning of the day can help you key in on your target species and keep you from missing out on bites.
2. Fish the right areas.
Halibut love to hang around rocky outcrops, seamounts, and shelves where they can lie in wait to attack their prey. You can look at marine charts to look for these areas or do some research on publicly available coordinates for spots. Just remember there can be other boats fishing for the same things on the publicly known spots.
You want to target areas in the correct depths as well. For example, some of the best halibut fishing comes between 200 and 300 feet deep.
3. Use something smelly!
Halibut are bottom feeders, and while they generally are ambush predators, they also use their sense of smell to locate prey. Therefore, a combination of smell, sight, and vibration will usually have the greatest chance of getting a strike.
Always try to use fresh-cut bait if you decide to go that route. Even with halibut lures, though, you’ll want to smear on some attractant or attach fresh or artificial smelly baits to the hooks.
4. Be Patient!
Unless you’re jigging, be patient with setting the hook. Halibut and other flatfish will commonly grab the bait and take off a few yards before fully getting it into their mouth or swallowing.
Once you see a bite, wait a few moments before trying to set the hook. This will keep you from pulling your halibut bait or lure right out of its mouth and losing the fish. Circle hooks are great for this since they slide into the corner of the mouth when you set the hook, and you’ll rarely lose a fish this way.
5. Hire a guide.
The best way to learn is to ask someone who knows about the topic. Hire a guide to take you out of halibut fishing if it’s your first time or you aren’t a local. Not only will they know some spots that have yielded big fish, but you’ll have a better time as well.
Halibut can grow to be incredibly large for most fishing standards. The larger ones are even shot with a .22 caliber handgun before being brought onto the boat because of how dangerous they can be. For people who don’t have experience handling huge fish or halibut, in particular, a guide can help you avoid nasty injuries from the fish flopping on deck.
Questions & Answers

When is the best season to catch halibut?
Halibut seasons vary based on location since they live from the Baja Peninsula in Mexico up to the Bering Strait. The best place for halibut fishing is usually in Alaska, where the legal halibut season typically runs from mid-March through September. The peak season picks up in June and runs through the end of September.
After spawning off the continental shelf in Winter, halibut moves into shallower water to feed during the summer. This makes it easier to locate them and easier to catch because they’re hungry.

What is the ideal depth for halibut fishing?
Halibut are found in water from 30 feet up to 900 feet, with some even being found in 3,600 feet of water. Ideally, you’ll want to fish on rocky ledges and seamounts around 200 to 300 feet. That’s where the largest numbers and bigger fish will usually hang out.

How big do halibut get?
Halibut grow to be the largest flatfish globally, with Atlantic halibut being larger than their Pacific cousins. Male halibut are usually much smaller than females. Males will rarely reach 100 pounds, averaging around 60 pounds, while females can reach well over 400 pounds.
Halibut have been observed to reach over 600 pounds, with some being over 8 feet long and 5 feet wide. The state record caught halibut in Alaska topped out at 459 pounds.