Headed to Alaska to fish

Early August to Kachemak Bay for King Salmon and Halibut. Anybody been before ? What should I expect ?

Never been but jealous. I’ve wanted to go to Alaska and fish since high school

Lucky enough to have been twice. 2005 for 21 days and 2011 for 18 days. Both trips in May. So this is somewhat dated info. Went with a guide the first time for both halibut and salmon. Rented a boat the second time and done it myself. Halibut are the bluegill of Alaska.....they are just about everywhere. You can catch all the 15-30 pounders you want around the compass rose year round. With the "six-pack" guides that's most likely where you will be headed. If you are looking for size or trophies make sure everyone else on the boat is and book accordingly. In May you almost gotta get out of Kachemak and into the Gulf of Alaska for the barn doors. Salmon......we trolled. First time with the guide we caught three between four of us including a 32 pounder. Second time on my own we caught three between Momma and me.....caught a 10, 10 and biggest was 17 pounds.

Getting the fish home should be thought through. The processor there in Homer will ship but it aint cheap. You could set it up for the shipping day (I had it shipped the day I left) and they would keep it frozen till then and ship it when the time came. Which was nice because Homer was our first stop in Alaska and we headed to the Denali area after that. They charge by the pound to process. First trip I had them ship it. Second trip we did it as checked baggage. Picked it up from the processor on the way out of town.

Groceries are high in Homer....vegetables in particular.....they are high in Anchorage too but they have a better chance of being fresher. Might think about some shopping time in Anchorage. If all you gonna need is butter and garlic...this is irrelevant....lol!

There was a Derby you could enter that lasted all summer. Paid out daily, weekly and monthly if I remember. Cheap enough....I think it was like 10$ for the summer.

Bags got lost the first trip.....take a change of clothes and a dity bag in your carry on. From Homer back to Anchorage was a haul to get my bags.

Join a few forums.....lots of information and I got a lot of insight, help (in the form of gps coordinates to fishing spots) and ideas from the members I interacted with from the ones I joined. Its not like trying to get info about Grenada Lake....plenty of individuals went out of there way to help us have a successful trip.

Enjoy, its a trip worth taking. I've been and I'm jealous! Make sure you got plenty of film for your phone because as the saying goes "There is nothing in Alaska, But there sure is a lot of it"

Thanks for the info

You staying in Homer? I liked Roy’s cabins when I was there. They have a best western as well that wasn’t bad. You will have a great time.

If you catch any lingcod, don’t try to lip it like a bass.

Congrats on the trip and good luck!

Good luck BPI

My son took a job in Anchorage, so we will stay there a night, ride to homer the next day and then spend a couple of days there when we fish. Appreciate it fella's. I need a getaway like this.

You will enjoy the ride from anchorage to homer. Bring a fishing pole with you. There’s a hundred places on that drive to pull over and catch salmon.

You use white jigs or beetlespins ?

Crickets work best on salmon.

I used rooster tails, but I bet they would bite a beetle spin.

Buddy caught a halibut size of a car hood

We caught some halibut, but way more dogfish. An inexperienced captain who was doing his best. Overall it was a great time and we came back with a cooler of fish so I can't complain. I got to spend time with my son and that's what matters most .

The salmon are already in the rivers spawning and the bears are everywhere. I mean all over the place.

Can you post up some pics of the trip BPI?

Still don't know how

Glad u had a solid trip

Pics!