Always been interested in catching halibut. Looking for guide recommendations. I’ve been looking at Alaska , but I’m open to other NW states as well. We catch a bunch of flounder, both in bay and ocean, and for some reason halibut has got my attention. Time to knock it off the bucket list.

Thanks ahead,

John

Plenty of folks on here that can give you the straight poop as far as Alaska is concerned. Try asking on the Wilderness page.

The last time I went halibut fishing I swore I never would again. Just a lot of hard work. Nothing fun about it

No problem in Alaska or BC lower 48 good luck limited areas of harvest and tight restrictions. Most of the boats in WA fish in Canadian waters. BC has more liberal limits in most areas same on ling cod.

Sure some good eating though.

Yeah it's OK but I'd still rather eat black cod

Crazy Rays (907) 315-5382 crazyraysak.com

Whole heartedly agree with that, White.

Not sure if you can get a trip this year or if any quota left but i have a great guide out of Euerka Ca. We go twice a year once in June and then Labor day weekend.
June is halibut and lings as target Labor day is tuna the lings as target.

If you have Facebook look at greenwatersfishing.. pm me and i can get you his cell. Great guy and top of the list when it comez to putting fish in the boat.

Ps spend a day or two just on the coast seeing the sights including the redwoods.

I went to Eureka, CA once. It was creepy. No desire to go back. Can't talk about the fishing though.

I really enjoyed halibut fishing, Ken. I was slow to pick up on it as sitting in a boat bobbing on the ocean didn't have a lot of appeal to me, not until I did it. It became one of my favorite things to do.

I fished some out of Homer which they call the "Halibut Capitol of the World" but mostly fished off Deep Creek near Ninilchik. Any number of charter operations run out of Homer.

I camped on the beach , at deep creek, for a week. Lots of charter boats going out . Fun watching them launch and reload of beach , with tractors.. Went out one day, kept my limit of 3, 10 pounders. Released a few. We went to get them filleted , the guy didn't show up, to do it. I had worked in a fish market for 3 years , so pitched in. I was camping with very little freezer space. We ate fish all the way home to Ontario. Also got out for a days fishing on the Kenei river, caught a nice king salmon. Great trip, glad we went.old243

The tides in Cook Inlet are insane and dangerous. I had my own boat and used to anchor offshore at Deep Creek for halibut. It's like surfing when the tide is running.

Yeah Cook inlet tides I think may be second or third most drastic in the world, like pulling a big plug on a big tub. You can get a halibut limit in almost any 6 pack charter and great eating but my least favorite fishing I have ever experienced. Its like pulling a 5 gallon bucket of cement off the bottom. Get your halibut quick and go catch salmon or rock fish on light gear.

Try this guide/outfitter, Charlie Summerville. I’ve known him for the past 30+ years. If you can, check out his Facebook page, he posted a report on a halibut trip just a few days ago. http://coldbayoutfitters.com/

One of my favorite places in the world. I always enjoyed listening to people new to the place try and pronounce "Kenai".


I don't know if you ever anchored offshore but it's quite an experience. The tide in Cook Inlet isn't like what most people experience at Myrtle Beach. It doesn't lap the shore as it comes in, it comes in as a wall of water up to ten feet tall in the upper reaches of Cook inlet. I always equated to something similar to a Nantucket sleigh-ride. Toss the anchor out and start running with the tide until the anchor fetched up and you could pluck the line like a guitar string. The anchor line would be that taut. Kind of like surfing. I've read the tide runs at about ten miles and hour.

At slack tide, the anchor rope would drift around the boat for a few minutes until the tide changed directions and off you went again in the opposite direction you were just pointed in. It was a dangerous practice. I hooked into halibut I couldn't budge off the bottom when the tide was running. They just lay out flat and let water running over them hold them to the bottom.

Have you looked into halibut in Maine ? Their stocks have come back well and appear healthy. As far as Alaska I have a couple friends run charter boats but can’t say they are any better or worse than anyone else. Do more research. Personally I would go out of Seward due to the scenery, better chances of seeing marine mammals, better success on combo trips (halibut salmon rockfish lingcod ) and smaller tides. It’s a big state tho and many beautiful places with good fishing. Myself I eat it rarely, but stock the freezer with Yelloweye rockfish

Old historic charts called it Cook’s River. Bore Tide (wall of water) happens in the Turnagain Arm mostly. Current in the Inlet can be very strong and you have to work with it, but that’s why fishing is good. Wind against tide can be ugly if not downright dangerous. A lot of feed sweeping by. Won’t catch much during max current but the scent trail travels far and halibut will move a long distance to home in on it when the current slacks off.

Brooks Alaskan Adventures out of Homer, Josh works hard to get you on fish.

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the provided information. I’ll keep doing research, and watch fish reports. NVWrangler thanks for sharing the pic! Should be a fun trip for my brother and myself. In the mean time, we’ll keep killing the fish on the east coast

John

I have never heard that and thanks for posting it. It's probably hard for people to imagine dropping a one pound cannonball weight to the ocean floor and having the current run it and your line out. I found pulling the anchor and running with the tide was an effective way to catch them.