Hello, I am thinking about going to Alaska in July for some halibut/botoomfish action. I need some advise on where the best place to go would be. I am thinking about either Seward or Whittier (Prince William Sound). I have never been in Seward. I fished out of Whittier last year with good success. One thing I did not like about the trip is the long ride (two hours each way) out to the fishing spot. How long does it take to get to the good spot from out of Seward? It seems like it still will be close to 1.5 hrs. How about Homer? I just want to maximise my fishing time.

Also, if you know from experience, what are the good charters from out of those places? The guides' input is welcome, but I am looking for the clients' response on this one.

Thanks.

Go to the homepage of this site. You want an honest answer...email rlball@olypen.com

And yes,,,,I have been to
Alaska at least 5 times and he sets up all
our needs....I prefer DeepCreek to Homer.

I second the Deepcreek recommendation. I took a halibut charter two summers ago and had a great time. Can't remember the Captain's name . . .there are a bunch that run trips out of there. I believe running time was around 45min each way. Can't wait to do it again.

Rod

IT'S THOSE JOHN DEERE TRACTORS.

Thanks for your replies, guys. I will check out more info about the area charters. The run does not look too bad, only about 45 minutes.

I've fished up in Homer a few years ago for halibut, and it was a blast we got our limit in under 2 hours. The bottom fishing there is also pretty good. And for our boat ride to the spot it only took about 45 minutes. hope this helps.

Skeets

Seward = 3 hour boat ride on a large boat. could be faster in a six-pack.

Whittier - about 1 hour, and you get to see glaciers. If the weather is good, great scenery. (But as they say, "it's **ittier in Whittier."

Homer - depends on where you go - we turned up Cook Inlet -- about 1 hour.

Deep Ck - Less than an hour out, and an interesting boat lauch off the beach.

By the way, I recommend the smaller six-pack boats. Much nicer experience than the larger ones - more persoanl service, and a lot of time to bs with the skipper.

Nice comparison about Whittier:) When I was there, the weather must have changed every two hours there, but I did get to see some nice scenery, including glaciers and whales breaching.

Ive been out with Chihulies at deep creek , great folks, and a fun time in the faster 6 pack boat. If the water is calm you can get some great fish up around 100 pound plus (I got one 110) but if it is choppy forget it, its going to be small fish. I like to hang out and wait for the weather to be good, then book a trip, fast,,or you wont get on. Its easier to do if your solo. i enjoy camping out up there for 10-12 days in June and fishing my brains out, usally only do one halibut day, casting to river kings is still more fun in my book.
FishDoctor

Deep Creek can be a hard call, most of their big fish are caught in the kelp, and if the fish aren't where they're supposed to be, then it's little fish on no fish. I think Homer has the best bet for assured halibut catching. I'd say 99% of the people who book out of Homer are able to get to the fishing grounds and catch fish. The fleet generally only has one or two days a year when weather stops them from fishing. The downside to this is the possible running times, about the same as whittier or seward.
good luck, hope you make it to AK

Hey there ...Do your home work when you pick a boat up here,lots of charters cater to outsiders and go to the chicken holes.Some charters target big fish,that means a long ride to monaghue island from Sewart.If you are here july 1th ling season is open and you can get a comb trip for butt,ling and silvers.The best boat I know of out of Sewart for butts only is the reel-fun.You can call the fish house in Sewart to book trips on all the boats in Sewart,just tell them what you are looking for.One more thing about the reel-fun the cap is an honest guy ,he will run out to the mouth oh the bay,if the water does not look good he will give you a choise of fishing for chickens or going back to the dock with a refund of all your money.What ever you do book early,good boats fill up early.Hopes this helps

I 2nd Kingfishers post. Montague is were you're gonna find the trophy butts n lings. Reel-fun is definitly a high-liner that catches the fish.But on the down side, is, that the boat ain't so fast or big.
I have a good friend that owns Glocks BnB and Semakah Charters,(seward) that has an impressive knowledge/catch rate at Montague.Lings to 60+ and butts from door-matts to 250#s+.He has a 2000 Apolo 31' with two Honda 225's. I think he has the run time of about an hour to Montague(weather permitting). Also, he's a stickler for safety.
Try searching the web for his Semakah sight.
Deep creek would be my next best option.


Irie1

Irie1...I got to get on that boat, A 75 mi run in one hour...wow...lol...

Ok let me say about an hour and some change to go 60 miles out to the sw corner of Montague

IMHO, halibut are where you find them. generaly on the bottom, however I have caught them trolling for salmon.

I've caught 200 lb + (60-80 fath.)20 mi. from the dock in Seward, I've caught 80 lb + in the harbor at Petersburg. 40-80 ft.

Halibut fishing (IMHO) is a long period of boredom interspersed with periods of hard work. Topped off with some wonderful eating if your lucky nuff to catch some 30 -50 lbers. (mmm mmm smack lick lips)

If I was booking a trip the biggest thing I'd worry about was makin sure the crew was pro.
and entertaining, the boat was veryyyy comfortable and they served a good lunch.

If your just after "doors" I think you gotta fish
60 fath min. to catch em consist.
or at least thats your best chance.

If uou can get a skipper that'll set a crab trap or two its a good thing to think about while your waitin for a Halibut ( did I mention boredom)


herm

You can check the Alaska Photo Gallery for some of our days on the water.

Regardless of who you go with, here are some caveats and questions you should ask of your charter service:

1) Experience of your captain IN THIS FISHERY. Just knowing a set of numbers doesn't know that your captain will know where to go on a given day. The fishery is heavily influenced by tides and knowing what spot will fish the best under given tide swings is a must. In addition, knowing the in and outward migration over the course of the summer is also a must.

2) Experience of the deckhand. Yes, the deckhand. Many outfits hire kids looking for a summer job to fill this role. Some do well, but many do not. The deckhand must be extremely efficient to keep things running smoothly with a good bite going on, expecially when under the time pressure that the aformentioned tides can play. Lost fishing time may spell the difference between no catch and a nice catch!

3) Willingness to change launches. Cook Inlet halibut migrate in and out. Typically in late season, most halibut are migrating back out of the Inlet and the northern holes do not fish very well. Your better boats will trailer to Anchor Point and launch there later in the season.

4) High tides only! Whenever possible, you want to fish highs. Many outfits will fish two trips daily and put one on a high, the other on a low. In most instances, highs produce better fishing than the lows.

5) One trip daily! Is your charter boat going to fish both that high and low? If so, the Cap't likely isn't going to give you much of a trip if he's gotta be back by a certain time to get the next group out for the tide 6 hours later!

6) Equipment ... let me tell you, I've seen some of the rattiest stuff imaginable out there! It's just halibut fishing though?? NOT! Your better companies will also provide you with 2-speed reels for reeling in under load, or only when rebaiting ... the large Penn Internationals are a favorite of those that are willing to invest the money for their clients' angling pleasure

Just some brief thoughts from someone who has seen it all!

What Bob said.

My only halibut/salmon experience in Alaska was in Sitka. The run from the marina to the halibut spot was only 30 minutes. We fished at "the Eccombs" straight across Sitka harbor from the marina. Every trip we brought in several chicken halibut in the 30-60 pound range. I also fought one estimated at 250 pounds for 2 1/2 hours before he finally won the battle.

The fishing is inside and protected. We were fishing in approximately 60-75 feet of water and at high slack so we didn't have to use huge weights or reel forever to fish.

On the salmon side, June is when the biggest runs are. I fished inside and over by Mt. Edgecomb (a 45 minute ride). We caught fish no matter where we fished.

I don't have any current guide information, as it has been several years and I was fishing with a local (the college president). I would recommend it, though.

Good luck.

Thank you all for your input. I am getting a better picture of the options over there. Nobody mentioned the type of fishing/bait guides are using. When I fished last year, the guide gave us jigs to fish with, and it was pretty busy from then on, no boredom for sure. But if some are using bait with weights just sitting on the bottom, then yes, I would thing that would be boreing. So, in addition to your list of things to look for, Bob, I would add the fishing technique the guides are using. Would that be fare to say?

Thanks.

In Cook Inlet, not really. Other areas yes. 95% of Cook Inlet halibut are gonna come off of bait ... they may do a little jigging at dead slack tide, but most jigs will not get to the depths in the current that you'll find in the Inlet fishery.

Some captains have some little tricks ... one for all you halibut fisherman that you might use when anchoring for them in current:

Take 2/3 part sardine oil and 1/3 glycerin and put in a plastic baggie and tie off on a couple of your weights and then poke a few holes.

This will set up your initial scent trail that brings 'em in. The Glycerin is expensive, but it mixes well with the oil and makes the mixture heavier than water so the scent trail stays on the bottom and doesn't float up like straight oils do