Halibut fishing in Alaska

[bow newby]

I’m leaving June 12th for a week in Anchorage. We have 2 days booked with a guide in Whittier. Any one been on one of these trips? Wondering what to expect. Can’t wait should be some beautiful boat rides to the fishing grounds

[Duane]

Whittier is a cool little harbor town. I did my halibut fishing out of Seward but I’m sure the scenery will be just as grand. Good chance of seeing whales that time of year. I really enjoyed the halibut, but I had no idea how good the ling cod would be. Hopefully you get into a mess of both.

Also, tip your deckhand before he starts cleaning fish and ask him to cut the cheeks out of the halibut for you! I ended up with the filets from my two halibut as well as a bag full of all the cheeks from the 40 fish boat limit.

[shwacker1911]

We went out of Homer last year man the swells were big hard to brace and crank a fish up from 150-200 feet down. But I agree make sure to tip the cheeks are great eating. Also be prepared to pay a arm and leg to ship it back

[TX CHICKEN]

I did a trip out of homer last year and we all limited on halibut, kings and rockfish. Rockfish was by far the best eating of the three. Biggest advice I can give is make sure to plan on bringing your fish back on the plane. My buddy told me shipping wouldn’t be bad and it was $750!


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[TX CHICKEN]

Originally Posted by shwacker1911

We went out of Homer last year man the swells were big hard to brace and crank a fish up from 150-200 feet down. But I agree make sure to tip the cheeks are great eating. Also be prepared to pay a arm and leg to ship it back

We fished on a boat with the seakeper gyro thing and it was dead calm in 3-4 foot swells! Amazing technology.


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[shwacker1911]

Yea we spent 300plus to send back 4 fish and some extra stuff we bought. Couldn't take it on the plane cause we were there for 5 more days driving all over the state went to Anchorage then to Seward to Homer to fairbanks and so on

[shwacker1911]

[QUOTE=TX CHICKEN;16196033]We fished on a boat with the seakeper gyro thing and it was dead calm in 3-4 foot swells! Amazing technology.

Oh yea no we had 5 foot plus was just a big roll even 10 seconds made jigging easy

[shwacker1911]

The nice part about Homer is you can fish right off the beach and catch halibut and a type of flounder all day long on squid

[savage1134]

I go every year and love it.

Fish out of Ninilcheck Whittier and PWS for Kings.

Love it. Have tons of pictures

[kenner27]

Headed back this June. We DIY towards homer for halibut with good success on the tides. I love it up there!

[diamond10x]

Do yourself as well as the fishery a favor, release any halibut over about 50lbs. After they get to that size the fillets are too dang thick and just don’t taste that good. I much prefer jigging over bait fishing, much more fun and that initial bite is a good one. If there’s a chance to jig for rock bass take it as that is some fun stuff. Long cod are the best tasting saltwater fish there.

Don’t be one of those knuckleheads who keeps all the fish they catch to then just leave it and give it away. You catch it and kill it, take it home and eat it. There’s no excuses when airlines/airports are very accommodating as well as hotels and processors for storing fish for you.

[Bassdeer]

Get an electric reel.

[RiverRat1]

When we went we tried super hard to get a real fishing guide to target just BIG halibut. Turned out to be impossible as every boat is catered to the regular fishing person. I guess, maybe I could have rented an entire boat for 24 hours.

We did catch a few way out from Homer. We didn't keep our halibut. The deckhand and captain were confused when I said catch and release. They didn't like that at all!

Try to get any legal fish carcass to use as bait.

[7sdad]

We went out of Whittier on a Halibut/Bear hunting trip and had a blast. One day we caught 12 fish that weighted a total of 1,400 lbs with the largest being 225. We went with Bubba Griggers and now him and his son have a deer processing place in Weatherford I believe. Bubba now has a lodge on Prince of Wales Island called Tree Tops Lodge.

http://www.alaskatreetopslodge.com/location.html

[Trapper76]

My wife and I spent 9 days fishing out of Thorn bay for our tenth anniversary. Amazing trip! Get some good rain gear and Ketchikan tennis shoes(rubber boots), it rains a lot! Jigging was my favorite way it fish, it keeps you busy and you feel the bite. Eat a light breakfast, it helps with motion sickness. The scenery and whale watching is worth the trip alone, fishing is the icing on the cake.

[bow newby]

Thanks for all the great information.

[Mary]

Trapper 76 gave you important information. Look at Helly Hansen Rubber Rain Gear and either HUK or Xtratuf rubber shoes. Don't go all that way and not have the gear that will keep you comfortable, as it can (and does) rain often.

I have been a few times and will tell you ....Be Prepared....once you go, you will want to return year after year

[ultrastealth]

Originally Posted by shwacker1911

The nice part about Homer is you can fish right off the beach and catch halibut and a type of flounder all day long on squid

I tried that and only caught flounder and cod. Congrats!

[bow newby]

Good information. Thanks again. I have good rain gear and footwear for work. Hopefully everyone else who is going have taken my advice. We will definitely be bringing the fish back home. What did you take for motion sickness? I’ve never really been bothered by it but want to take something just in case…..

[7sdad]

Originally Posted by bow newby

What did you take for motion sickness? I’ve never really been bothered by it but want to take something just in case…..

I didn't take anything and it never bothered me.......until I got off the boat and then I couldn't stand still and almost got sick.

[220swift]

We went last year. Fished 5 days. One day Halibut fishing and salmon the rest of the time.

Although I love eating Halibut, we did not care for the fishing for them. It's boring and really not much to it. I could barely tell when we had a fish on and it was just 5 minutes of cranking.

I'll stick to Salmon fishing.

Just my opinion of course.

[bowhuntvideo]

Originally Posted by 7sdad

We went out of Whittier on a Halibut/Bear hunting trip and had a blast. One day we caught 12 fish that weighted a total of 1,400 lbs with the largest being 225. We went with Bubba Griggers and now him and his son have a deer processing place in Weatherford I believe. Bubba now has a lodge on Prince of Wales Island called Tree Tops Lodge.

http://www.alaskatreetopslodge.com/location.html

Who outfitted your bear hunt?


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[7sdad]

Originally Posted by bowhuntvideo

Who outfitted your bear hunt?


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Bubba Griggers, it was before he had Tree Top Lodge. He was in the military and guided on the side. He’s good friends with a friend of mine.


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[blackfoot1]

Originally Posted by bow newby

I’m leaving June 12th for a week in Anchorage. We have 2 days booked with a guide in Whittier. Any one been on one of these trips? Wondering what to expect. Can’t wait should be some beautiful boat rides to the fishing grounds

Pretty out of there…If you FedEx fish always have the processor do It on a Tuesday or Wednesday… you can do 2 day with no worries with an insulated box… there is a huge backlog on Monday fish from the weekend(there is a glut) and those boxes might sit an extra day in ANC. If you find the right processor, flash freeze your fish and keep them with you… a lot of the hotels up here have big freezers and will hold them for you… alaska air “was” .99/lb as cargo so it saves you $$… You want to keep those 40-60 pound fish. Release the breeders… Rockfish are awesome! Have good rain gear… will y’all have any sea sickness issues?? There are a few things you can do beforehand to make It an enjoyable trip. Tides don’t affect the fishing in Whittier like the do in Homer or Ninilchik. Have any more questions let me know.

[kry226]

I took my grandfather about 20 years ago and it was an awesome experience. We took a charter out of Homer and fished 50 miles out into the Cook Inlet in 175 feet of water using 3lb weights to get down to the bottom. The whales were amazing as we were literally covered up with humpbacks and I got some great video. It was a 2-fish limit back then and our party of six all limited out.

Don't be surprised if the guide/mate shoots the bigger fish before boating them. My captain used a .410, IIRC. Great advice here already, just have fun and let us know how it goes.

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