Fishing from Anchorage to Homer (July - Aug)

[Snobyrd777]

I will be going to Alaska this summer sometime around July-August. This will be my first time, pretty excited. We have a Halibut trip planned in Homer, but we would also like to do some other kind of fishing along the way (i.e Salmon, Trout). We are flying into Anchorage and driving down to Homer. Does anyone have any recommendations for day or overnight fishing trips along the way. Any help is greatly appreciated. It is a bit overwhelming looking online when you've never been there. Thanks again.

Happy New Year!!

[fivebucks]

For fishing you can access via the road system your best bet is the Kenai River. Alot of people fish it but there are alot of salmon. Go to the Alaska Dept of Fish and Game and go to their Escapement charts and plan the timing of your trip that way. Nothing worse to be on the river and not have the salmon there. There will be alot of info on the Kenai on the web. If you are looking for Kings you are best to use a guide. You can fish the Reds from shore.

[FishinFools]

Hire a guide and float the Kenai for trout! It is a great time and it is amazing to see the "black" triangles of feeding trout down stream from the King redds. It is a beautiful place. Have fun!

[Boss Hogg]

If you can time it, watch for the reds in the Kenai River. We hit them last year when they were really running. It is a different type of fishing than you may be used too. But is real easy to catch on. Keep checking the Alaska Fish and Game and the Alaska forums. They are a great source of information. The people on the forums will answer any of your questions.

[fishkid]

so if u coming up here between around that time you will be most likely going to be fishing for red salmon. if you look at my post titled "REDS ARE IN" that was the month of july i believe. Call around for some different guides on the keani. If you want to do only a one day trip on the river i am sure you could do a half day on trout and half on salmon or what ever you want. If the reds are in good at the keani/russian confluence you could even just take the ferry across the river and combat fish if ya want to. I have fished there before but i walk a mile or three down river to get away from the yahoos.

[Snobyrd777]

Thanks guys for the feedback, it has got me going in the right direction. I have been looking online and there are alot of options, now its time to narrow it down. I have also heard that the Halibut trip we are going on out of Homer has an option to fish the first half of the day for Halibut and then on the way back in (2nd half) fish for salmon. Has anyone had any experiences with this kind of set-up. Is it worth it, or is that too much for one day? I figured it might be since you can only keep 2 halibut anyway (correct me if I'm wrong).

[fivebucks]

You will have fun fishing for the salmon but it will take away from the butt. The boat will not be able to go as far to target the bigger butt and you will most likely get 15-25 lb fish on the combo trips. The silvers will be out in the ocean for your salmon portion and they are fun to catch. Have fun planning your trip.

[Down Deep]

Most of the charter looking for halibut will usually just do halibut. If you have the option of doing some fishing for Silvers (coho) do it. What we usually do on halibut trips is put the emphasis on getting our halibut then do salmon with the time time that is left. Make sure to ask the charter operator what type of salmon you will be chasing. If it is kings you will need a stamp that costs about $80 and you only get two. Silvers and reds (sockeye) do not need a stamp.

I've fished the Kenia at the Russian lots of days over many trips and have always found good fishing there. There will be lots of people, but you will be surprised how well people work together. The only time I ever saw it overrun was the day we went there to fish on the first day of a big July run which happened to occur on a Saturday. We went down river to Soldotna and had great red fishing and lots of room to move around.

I've also hired guides for float trips fishing for dolly varden, rainbows and reds. It is not a bad idea to take a float trip if everyone in your group are rookies. The guides are very helpful with instructions on technique for the reds and will also get you some fish. Once you got it down there are lots of places to fish the Kenia.

If you can go to Seward take a charter out of there. If you want to pay for 12 hour charter you can do four species; halibut, ling cod, rock fish and silvers. These trips are great and will fill your freezer. The ride to Seward goes right through the Moose Pass and is very scenic . Seward is a good tourist town and you can visit Exit Glacier.

[brakedancer]

you have got some good tips and I have another..If your looking for some free fishing 2012 will be good for pink salmon..the town of Hope is on your way and they have a little beach on a creek that you can fish for free and there are lots of 3-4 lb pink salmon coming up..nice way to catch some dinner..don't try it with your walleye outfit..I did and they are way too strong for it.

good luck

[fishkid]

good call brakedancer. you can get them thunder stick rods at fred meyers or walmart for like 15 bucks then just bring a reel up with 20 pound bradied line and your good to go. you cant break them rods. i tried breaking them when catching big aggressive chums and it held up strong. and for 15 bucks you cant beat that.