Pacific Halibut
Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) is a saltwater species. The first thing to check: almost always right-eyed: lay it belly-down facing you and both eyes are on the right. The look-alike to rule out is California Halibut: california halibut are left-eyed about half the time, have a much larger toothy mouth relative to the head, and a far less forked tail.
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| Scientific name | Hippoglossus stenolepis |
|---|---|
| Also called | halibut, barn door, chicken halibut |
| Water | Saltwater |
| Group | Flatfish |
| Temperature | Holds in cold water, roughly 37 to 46 °F. |
How to identify a Pacific Halibut
- Almost always right-eyed: lay it belly-down facing you and both eyes are on the right.
- A distinctly diamond-shaped body and a forked, crescent-shaped tail — most flatfish have a rounded one.
- A high arch in the lateral line above the pectoral fin, and enormous size compared with any other North Pacific flatfish.
If you would rather not work through a key on a wet deck, photograph the fish and let the app name it — you get the common and the scientific name back, and the record is filed before you release.
Fish it is mistaken for
| Species | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| California Halibut | California halibut are left-eyed about half the time, have a much larger toothy mouth relative to the head, and a far less forked tail. |
| Arrowtooth Flounder | Arrowtooth have a much larger mouth with two rows of long arrow-shaped teeth and softer, paler flesh. |
Side-by-side comparisons
Read the full entry for California Halibut.
Where it lives
The North Pacific from California to the Bering Sea, on sand, gravel and mud bottom in deep water, moving shallower to feed in summer.
Temperature
Holds in cold water, roughly 37 to 46 °F.
The conditions that matter
Halibut feed on the bottom in deep water and the whole problem is presenting a bait there through current, so tide is what decides whether a spot is fishable at all — most crews plan around slack. Depth and tide stage logged against each fish is directly reusable, because halibut return to the same banks and flats season after season.
Global Fishing League records 18 weather and water readings against every catch automatically — tide stage, barometric pressure, water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, swell, current, moon phase and more, taken at your GPS position at the moment you log the fish. Over a season that turns a hunch about pacific halibut into a pattern you can read.
See every reading recorded with a catch, or the guides to what each reading means.
Size limits, bag limits and seasons
Size limits, bag limits, slot limits and seasons are set by your state wildlife agency — and for many offshore and migratory species by federal regulators — and on many waters they differ from the statewide rule. They also change between seasons. Check the current regulations for the exact water you are fishing before you keep a fish — we do not republish limits here, because a number that is a season out of date is worse than no number.
What the app does do is make your side of it accurate: every catch carries a length measured from the photograph, a GPS position and a timestamp, exportable if you ever need to show your work for a tournament or a record claim. It is also what a Global Fishing League entry is built from — a record that verifies itself, without publishing where you caught the fish.