I fish big hammers but too but I really wanted to comment on the jerk baits and carolina rigging for halibut. I have always been a saltwater fisherman but the more I learned about freshwater bass fishing the more techniques that I have carried back over in to salt.

For halibut, rockfish, sand, calico, and spotted bay bass I have found that freshwater bass jigs (white, variations of green, and ox blood/ brown) work great in salt water. You can fish them with a twin tail trailer, or a pigskin trailor, in the winter it's hard to beat a whole or stripped squid trailor. For halibut I drag the bottom , for bass I work the water column and then work the structure once I reach the bottom. I also use it to work the bottom for rockfish. Another deadly to technic for all the species I have mentioned but especially halibut is fishing a texas rigged worm. Drag it slow for halibut. I've had a lot of luck with oxblood. The carolina rig is also excellent for dragging but for halibut I think I prefer the texas rig.

Next is soft and hard jerk baits. They work great on the calico's but with the soft jerk baits it becomes a challenge to hook fish if you rig it weedless for fishing in the weeds. It doesn't get humg up and it gets bit great but saltwater fish just ussually don't inhale the lure like a largemouth. It seems like no matter how many techniques exist there are always new ones that come along. We are always looking for new and better ways to catch fish.

JerryG