Salmon and Halibut fishing
 

My family of four is trying to plan a trip to Alaska in July 09. We all want to fish for salmon and halibut. I have tried researching to find the best location, best price, and the best outrigger co. There are so many it is becoming frustrating. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I have friends who try to get to Ninilchick to fish with Chihuly Charters as often as they can. They think that is the best place on the entire Kenai Peninsula.

Homer = Halibut fishing.

You might want to check the AK Fish & Game site to see the time window for the Salmon runs and plan your trip around the fish. For the July run, the option is the Kasilof River on the Kenai Peninsula. Doing a halibut/salmon combo boat trip during July would be good option. I have personally used Winter King out of Homer and have been pleased with our outings on the boat.

We did a fishing trip on the Kenai about 7 years ago. DH also had a day of halibut fishing. We had a great time and stayed at a fishing camp on the Kenai: Krog's Kamp

www.krogskamp.com

Mel & Bob were great hosts and very knowledgable of the area.

We took a few days before the trip to stay in Seward for fun. Then a week at the Kamp(only DH fished everyday). Then took a day to head over to Homer. Very fun but be prepared. A trip to Alaska is very expensive, especially if you catch fish and have them packed for home.


Good luck,

MY

There lies my problem. I want to fish for both salmon and halibut, but can't go the cost of doing the two seperately. It might work to do the combo fishing trip.

Would it just be a crazy idea to try and fish for salmon ourselves and rent the tackle and use a guides' services for the halibut?

I would do the combo if you can afford the cost. You could do the bank fishing for Salmon. If you opt to do that, spend some time reading the fish & game's website for rules, rivers and flows. I have not caught a salmon from the rivers but have had a wonderful time trying. I did get my salmon when I did a combo. Another FYI, you will need to purchase the appropriate license and the additional salmon stamp as well. Plan your fishing at the end of your trip so you can carry your fish home on the plane vs shipping it home.

We fished for Sockeye Salmon on July 3 last year. we used
www.highadventureair.com

You fly out in a small floatplane from Soldotna to Lake Clark National Park and you fish at Wolverine Creek. We saw 20+ bears. The bears were black bears, we did see grizzlies from the airplane only. The bears were there pretty much the entire time we fished. It would almost be impossible to not catch your limit(3 per person). It was about $300per person and definately worth it. Pros-unique flight on float plane, bear viewing almost guaranteed, fish almost guaranteed. cons-expensive, weather could be foggy or rainy

Our next

Our neighbor went halibut fishing and all of them got seasick on some very rough sea.

We have fished with Chihulys several times , highly reccomend them. We also just returned from Homer . We spent four days fishing with Ked of Morning Glory Charters. He only fishes four people on his boat, and would certainly show you a good days fishing. Not sure about the salmon in July, as we have always fished either early June or mid August. Best thing is to contact either one and talk to them.Good luck on your fishing and enjoy your trip.

Our family of four just did this (or tried to) in August. Here's what we learned the hard way. Although Ninilchik/Deep Creek is a great place to go out on a Halibut charter, it is in a unprotected area, and the high waves may cancel your trip. Ours was cancelled for 5 ft. waves on a beautiful, sunny 75 degree day. :( That same day, a parade of Halibut boats went out of Homer--that marina and bay are more protected from the waves. We were unable to get on a Homer boat without reservations.

As for salmon, we fished from shore all over the Kenai. Bring your own poles in a PVC tube on the plane, and pack waders. Read online what what kind of line and lures you'll need. They like pink lures and ribbons that look like salmon roe. Running salmon are tough to catch. When they are spawning, they have stopped eating and are going to die afterwards, so they DON'T Bite unless you hit them on the mouth. We were very sorry we missed the dipnet season, which is the way the locals fill their freezers when the salmon are running. We also saw many locals snagging their salmon, illegally of course. Either way, it's exciting to lean over a creek and stare at 30 inch salmon sitting all over the place. We did manage to cook up a few coho while we were there.

a few things:

--Non-residents can't dip net.

--Snagging isn't always illegal. Some areas are open to it -- usually where stocked fish return with no place to spawn. I've never seen the appeal, but like dip-netting -- which can be fun -- stocking the freezer is a necessity for many families in Alaska.

--The boats that go out of Homer generally handle big water better than ones from Deep Creek, which is probably why Homer charters were still fishing.

--Don't count out Seward for a halibut/salmon combo. If it's later in July there might be silvers heading toward Resurrection Bay. They are the most fun to catch of any salmon, especially in the ocean. Plus, halibut charters out of Seward gives you a shot at a greater variety of fish, including rockfish and ling.

--If the OP really is looking for an "outrigger" I like Penn. :) But if you mean a guide service, I'm sorry I'm unable to help.

We, three of us, fished with Frontier Charters in Sitka for both Halibut and Salmon and had pretty good luck. The salmon were silvers and the season had just started so we didn't get our limits of 6 a day. We did manage to do pretty good with halibut. Frontier was great with comfortable lodging and great food prepared by their chef. How about fresh baked bread for your lunch sandwiches each day. We fished for 4 days. Here' their web site:

http://tinyurl.com/6x56d3

If you care to read about our trip, here's a link to my blog, with photos:

http://tinyurl.com/6p8qma

Any updates on good experiences with AK fishing lodges, etc? Looking at Kenai Peninsula and considering Fergies in Kasilof for a June trip. We're interested in salmon and rock cod and lingcod (halibut not a priority for us). Comfortable accommodations a plus -- we're two women and a guy -- although our emphasis is on the fishing.

As others have stated, the choices are a bit overwhelming and so expensive. Some places asking for $1000/pp per DAY for fly in, lodging, charters, 3 meals. We cannot afford to do this for $7000/pp -- more like $3000 pp for 7 nights. Any info or suggestions would be much appreciated, thx!

We'd like to release or cook our earlier catches and flash freeze for the last few days to take coolers back as we pack carry-on only. I love the fish bank concept -- deposit your fish and withdraw as needed -- getting fresher fish shipped to you. Does the fish bank work -- we'd be willing to consider paying for this service if it really results in fresher fish.

We got our air June 30-July 6 -- are there any lodge suggestions for salmon and rockcod fishing? It seems that for cod the charters go out further and costs are higher? Any suggestions?

fishee: I can only vouch for Krog's Kamp outside of Soldotna. Nice cabins and I think there are various price range cabins available. Meals can be added.

Everything in Alaska is expensive and I think it pretty much reflects you get what you pay for.

With your dates, you may be between salmon runs.

thx michelle -- i'm trying to figure out what the differences are in price. It seems the Kasilof is more road accessible and maybe the other fishing lodges are remote and fly-out?

Are these float planes that expensive to charter?

Everything is expensive, especially if you go to a remote lodge since it will be all inclusive. I wish I could be of more help.

fishee: Here is a link to a place I had tucked away in my favorites:

http://www.alaskansunset.com/

I cannot vouch for it, but it looked nice. Perhaps check trip advisor for reviews.

Good luck.

MY