There many factors a guide must take into account if he wants to have a successful day Drift Jigging. Wind speed and direction, water currents and tides, water depth and correct positioning on the holes and pinnacles and most important of all the willingness of your clients to work hard.
If all these factors come together my boat the Orca Mist will have two coolers full and the deck awash with hundreds of pounds of bottom fish. My jig of choice is the Norwegian 32 oz bottom thumper. It takes allot of upper body strength to work these jigs off the bottom at depths of 150 to 300 feet. Time on bottom is limited and the kill zone quickly moves away depending on wind, tide and depth. Drifting over the Halibut flats can be very rewarding because of the flat sandy bottom and no snags. Halibut up to 300 pounds can be caught on the jig.
I do however offer a variety of smaller jigs to my customers and shallower water. I find that the smaller jigs will catch smaller fish. This is great when the target fish are Rock Cod and Kelp Green Llings. A depth of 40 to 100 feet of water is max and the jigs can be only 4 to 12 ounces.
Prince Rupert offers many varieties of bottom fish. The Ling Cod can reach a whopping 100lbs and the local Yellow Eye (Snapper) can get up to 30 pounds. At least 20 varieties of Rock Cod and Green Lings are available as well as Halibut up to 300 pounds. Try to come out and see if this type of food gathering is for you.