In the summer, SE Alaska halibut hang out in several different sea bed types but the one thing they’ll all have in common is food. Halibut eat crab, shrimp, cod, herring, squid, octopus, salmon, etc. – they are truly the pigs of the sea. Halibut will travel the inside waters through channels, up canals and into shallow bays searching for food.

Halibut seem to prefer sandy or gravely bottoms but you will also find them around pinnacles, rock piles, mud bottoms and shorelines amongst schools of herring and salmon. Halibut are somewhat of a chameleon as the dark side of their body will take on the colors of the bottom they frequent giving them camouflage to surprise their prey. An olive green, brown and tan spotted pattern will most likely mean a gravely bottom while a dark brown shaded fish is probably hanging out in the mud.

The white underside of a halibut helps to hide young fish from predators looking upwards as it blends with the light shining through the water. A red rash on the white underside means the halibut has been on the move and is migrating.