Pacific Halibut Fishing in BC

Pacific Halibut fishing in British Columbia

Pacific halibut is BC’s premier bottom-fish target - a flatfish that can top 100 lb, taken on bait or heavy jigs drifted or anchored over sand and gravel in 100 to 300 ft. The recreational fishery runs against a coast-wide catch allocation, so it can carry a season, a possession limit and size rules that the area tables below record, and it can close for the year once the allocation is reached.

Pacific Halibut closures in effect today (September 16, 2026)

46 closures affecting Pacific Halibut are in effect. A closure overrides the area-wide limit wherever the two overlap.

• Area 2 — Mathers Creek (Aug 15 – Oct 31)
• Area 7 — McLaughlin Bay (Jul 1 – Oct 31)
• Area 8 — Namu River (year round)
• Area 13 — Discovery Passage (year round)
• Area 13 — Phillips Arm (year round)
• Area 13 — Proposed Homayno Marine Refuge - Northern Portion (no end date given)
• Area 13 — Salmon Bay (Jun 1 – Dec 31)
• Area 13 — Village Bay (Jul 1 – Oct 31)
• Area 13 — Discovery Passage/Campbell River (year round)
• Area 14 — Area 14 - River Mouth Closures (Sep 1 – Nov 30)

… and 36 more — see the area pages linked below.

Pacific Halibut limits and size by DFO area

Read from DFO’s per-area recreational fishing pages and refreshed daily. Openings change in-season and subarea boundaries are set by coordinates, so this is a reading of DFO’s pages, not a substitute for them. Check the Fishery Notices for changes newer than the update dates, and always confirm on DFO before fishing.

Plan a Pacific Halibut trip

Pick calm water first: see which areas are fishable tomorrow or this weekend, or open any fishing area for its live wind, waves, tides and hourly fishing score. The full rules for a place are on its area regulations page.

Other species

• Chinook Salmon
• Coho Salmon
• Sockeye Salmon
• Pink Salmon
• Chum Salmon
• Lingcod
• Rockfish
• Dungeness Crab
• Red Rock Crab
• Prawn & Shrimp