Booking an Alaskan halibut fishing trip

[Bigjay73]

I'm considering taking a few days and going to Alaska next summer. I found a charter that does halibut/rockfish/lingcod trips and halibut/salmon trips. If i do 2 days, would it be smart to book a day of each and get more variety? Which type of trip results in more meat to bring home? How tiring is a day of this type of fishing? My son is going, and he loves to fish, but if its pretty draining, he may only want 2 full day on a boat. We're looking at fishing out of Homer

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

I'm considering taking a few days and going to Alaska next summer. I found a charter that does halibut/rockfish/lingcod trips and halibut/salmon trips. If i do 2 days, would it be smart to book a day of each and get more variety? Which type of trip results in more meat to bring home? How tiring is a day of this type of fishing? My son is going, and he loves to fish, but if its pretty draining, he may only want 2 full day on a boat. We're looking at fishing out of Homer

Pm sent

 

[kjhuy76]

I also have been booked this through a travel agency and that was a very good experience of fishing.

 

[Happy Myles]

forty years ago the fishing was great out of Homer, I imagine it still is. Just checked and the gentleman i booked through passed away and his business is closed. Homer was a real fishing Mecca in the old days. I caught some huge halibut.

 

[Dave N]

Not so much now, but still a few big ones caught now and then.

 

[Bambistew]

More meat potential is halibut/lingcod, and more variety. The most meat are on the halibut/lingcod. The ling cod may actually net you more meat than most of the halibut you will catch, depending...

The reason they do the combos like that is the gear setup/teardown. You can catch rock/lings on the same gear. Salmon will be trolling or mooching, you will occasionally pick up a rockfish. Both will fish halibut early, and pull anchor when everyone has their 2. You will likely end up fishing for halibut for 2/3-3/4 of the time. Halibut fishing is lame compared to lingcod/rock fish.

Fishing days are usually 7am-5-6pm. if the weather is crappy it can be a long day. How far you go to fish, can be a boring ride in/out.

I wouldn't fish out of Homer. It will suck, I'd put money on it, unless your expectations are low. You'll net maybe 25lbs of fish/pp/day. Doubtful you'll kill many lingcod of any size either. Salmon fishing is hit/miss depending on timing. Charter out of Seward or Whittier. Go on a 6-pack, and be prepared to spend $450/pp for a good charter. Spend less, or go on a bigger boat... odds diminish substantially to land big fish. It will take for ever for everyone to catch their halibut. There is a reason why they are cheaper.

Most bang for your buck... New Segaya in Anchorage will have headed and whole 'buts for 9.99/lb in the summer. It will be cheaper than your charter.

 

[NoWiser]

Halibut are cool and all, but the first thing I'd want to do, if I go again, would be to get my rockfish right off the bat. Not only are they more fun to fish for, I think they are much better eating.

 

[AlaskaHunter]

Southeast AK: 1 lingcod daily bag limit.
One halibut daily bag limit: Charter vessel anglers may catch and retain one halibut per day.
Reverse slot limit: Retained halibut must be less than or equal to 45 inches or greater than or equal to 80
inches in length. This reverse slot limit allows anglers to keep halibut less than approximately 43 pounds
and greater than 276 pounds, round weight

Gulf of Alaska. Lingcod does not open until July 1.
Two halibut daily bag limit, but only one over 32 inches which is ~15 pounds.

 

[hunthayden]

Did Seward last year with Northern Alaska Outfitters. Had a deal were you share a rod for cheaper rate, but you still get your limits. Made it affordable for family of four to fill some fish boxes and watch each other catch fish. Good time kids still talk about it.

 

[300stw]

watching this, im wanting to do the same

 

[robsev]

I went to Alaska the last two years and fished with Reel Salty Charters out of Ninilchik. (That’s only about 40 miles from Homer). We had no trouble catching plenty of fish. Halibut (the biggest was about 75 lbs), lingcod, a bunch of sharks. The owners are a young couple who really want you to be successful. We stayed at a bed and breakfast just a couple miles away. Great Scenery - if it’s clear out you can see 2 active volcanos.

 

[Sytes]

watching this, im wanting to do the same

Same. Though now has my thoughts intrigued for multi day around the Tropic of Cancer line and the Alaskan area.

 

[Wild Bill]

J-Dock out of Seward was fantastic when I went with them in 2019. Had our 2020 trip cancelled because of Covid, but I plan on booking with them again in 2021.

 

[AndyPOW]

Southeast AK: 1 lingcod daily bag limit.
One halibut daily bag limit: Charter vessel anglers may catch and retain one halibut per day.
Reverse slot limit: Retained halibut must be less than or equal to 45 inches or greater than or equal to 80
inches in length. This reverse slot limit allows anglers to keep halibut less than approximately 43 pounds
and greater than 276 pounds, round weight

Gulf of Alaska. Lingcod does not open until July 1.
Two halibut daily bag limit, but only one over 32 inches which is ~15 pounds.

That and rockfish are closed in many areas of Southeast.

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

Alaska is out of my budget nowadays and I won't fly anymore. I now do my rockfish, ling,halibut and salmon fishing out of Westport, Wa. For a big meat haul book a day or two on a rockfish/ling charter just before a halibut day. On the halibut days after everyone has a halibut they fish for deepwater lings or jumbo rockfish. Heavy sacks of fillets on these trips are the rule.

 

[Icetracer]

I also would suggest not fishing out of the big charters from homer. Just personal preference, but I really like the 6-pack (or 6 person max) boats out of Ninilchik or Deep creek. But with the change in regs to just 1 fish per guided angler, it might be better to go to Seward for more multi-species.

We always did Halibut out of Deep Creek and would do ocean salmon out of Seward. Depending on time of year, you could always try some bank fishing, either silvers at the Homer lagoon or small creeks and sockeye on the Kenai.