June Trip To Alaska

[Barnster56]

Hi all, Just looking for some tips. I have an trip planned for the first week in june and was wondering how the fishing will be. I'm flying into Anchorage and renting an RV. I plan on heading down the Kenai and stoping at Seward, Cooper Landing and Homer for sure. I'll be there for 7 day and would like to take in as much as possible. I don't mine getting off the beaten path for some hiking and exploring. My girl friend and I are pretty excited and can hardly wait. Any tips or advise would be Greatly apreciated.

[SalmonJedi]

First week in June is too early for reds but should be good for Kings in several rivers on the Kenai Peninsula. Also the Halibut fishing should be starting to get good as well out in the Cook Inlet (Homer).

Let me know what you have in mind Kings or Halibut, guided or self-guided and I can give you some tips. Been up there a few times in June before and actually heading back this year as well - also with an RV. We'll be up there June 12-18th.

[Barnster56]

Thanks SalmonJedi, I will be looking to plan a Guided Halibut trip and possible one for kings unless this is something I could do on my own. I'll have some fishing gear with me, though I've never fished for river salmon before.I'm reading everything I can get my hands on about the fishing. I would like to book a Halibut trip soon as I've heard they fill up fast that time of year.Did you stay with any RV camps or National parks, or just wing it and find a place on your own? My girl would like to try panning for Gold.. Any sugestions.

[SalmonJedi]

Well I'll start with guided halibut then... I've done 4 halibut charters up there in the past 6 years or so... 2 out of Seward and 2 out of Homer. Catching a limit of halibut (2 per person) is relatively easy at either spot. Seward usually involves a LONG (2.5 hours each way) boat ride if you are with a good outfit. Homer can vary from 45 minutes to 2 hours each way. I'm going Homer next time as the long Seward boat ride cuts into my precious fishing time The charters supply everything fishing-wise so you don't need any tackle - you'll want to bring a cooler for the fish though. Other thing I should mention is the halibut charters come in two boat sizes - a "six-pack" which is the crew (usually capt. and deckhand) and up to 6 clients. Those boats are usually around 30 feet. They also have the larger boats (40 plus feet) which will take out 10-15 folks. I prefer the six packs as you tend to get a little more personal attention and clients tend to know a little more what they are doing. Course the big boats are better on rough days. My best 2 charters were with Winter King out of Homer and Saltwater Safari out of Seward. Another thing to mention would be that Homer charters may offer a Combo Halibut/Salmon trip for another 50 bucks or so. They'll usuall troll for feeders and even spawner kings that time of the year. With your timing it might be a cost effective way to get at some kings.

As for the River guided king fishing you are looking at either the Kasilof or the Kenai Rivers. The Kenai is a trophy king fishery - they are monsters and worth the wait, but you can get skunked. Kasilof is a driftboat trip for smaller(15-30lb)kings but usually more numerous. I did both these trips in mid June two years ago and both were fantastic. I'd pick a guide that is flexible and will hit whichever river has been producing best the day you are scheduled - they want you to catch fish too. Traveler may chime in as he has done more Kenai king trips than me but I went with Mark Glassmaker off his recommendation and was very happy.

As for self-guided kings the rivers you can try would be the Kasilof, Ninichik, Deep Creek, and Anchor River. Self-guided King fishing up there can be challenging your first time. It took me a little bit and now I'm starting to figure them out - and each spot and river is different. You'll want to get a map and find out where the access is on each river and pick one (or more) to try. A couple important things to remember about the kings is the regs are crazy - You'll want a lawyer on hand to help you decipher the rules Also except for the Kasilof, and he Kenai, the rivers I've mentioned are Sat, Sun, Mon fisheries only so schedule accordingly.

This will be my first time up there RVing. We've either done the rental car motel or tent camping thing in the past. I'm excited about the RV though. You rent yours through ABC or Great Alaskan? Having driven up there in the past - RV's are everywhere and there are a ton of pullouts along the highways to spend the night or stop for lunch. I wouldn't worry about making a ton of reservations for nightly stay unless you know it is somewhere extremely popular.

Not sure where to pan for gold... but the drive from Anchorage to the Peninsula and down to Seward is awesome. There are tons of spots that look worthy of checking out and might have something like that amongst other cool things to do. As for me -I've rarely stopped to smell the roses - as I can't get to the river fast enough when I'm up there to get some fish

Wow, this got long but hopefully it helps...

[Barnster56]

WOW, Thanks !! Thats some Very helpful info. I recieved tons of free maps and brochures from all around the Kenai area,but it's this type of forum that I like to count on and honest"been there and done that" reports that will make a trip like this even better. We are renting from ABC Motorhomes. I was looking into an Alaska trip for a while and recieved an offer of 50% off if you book and pay in full by Oct 31. Well that seemed like a "sign" that this is the time to Just DO IT!! I'm still looking at Air Fare prices and may book them soon. I like Your tip on the Combo Halibut/Salmon deal. I haven't seen Winter Kings Add in any of the mail I've gotten .. or maybe I miss it. I'll check some other web sites. Any way, Thanks again. I'll be checking in again. I'm heading up To Red Lake This week for some walleye and crappie fishin. See ya

[SalmonJedi]

Barnster - we did the same thing through ABC - can't beat it at 50% off. Hopefully the RV thing works out as good as I think it will!

You'll definitely want to check the web when looking for a charter. There are literally over a hundred charters available out of Homer. I've only been on two and only one I would recommend. I know there are lots of good ones out there though.

Good luck at URL!

[traveler]

great info Salmonjedi.....I can't add much. A buddy of mine got the 50% ABC deal as well, i heard about it too late:( As far as kenai charters go, I'm glad Mark G. worked well for you. He's as good as they come, but books out far in advance. I've used a few others; really liked Fenton brothers, and 2 different ones from the Sports Den, I know one of them was thier main guide at the time, named Mark, not sure of the other. Mark G. also has a good guy he uses for the kasilof drift boat fishing, check with him on that. Last time in Homer I used a "captain Scott" (do a search) and really liked him. 6 pack boat, nothing fancy, but he had an underwater camera, and liked to tatget humps in shallower water and use big jigs, pretty cool.

[DocEsox]

I live outside of Anchorage for many years. If you are going down to Homer there are many good charter services....although I only use them occasionally. Silver King Charters has a very good reputation for putting you on good fish. If you are willing to stay up all night Alaska Coastal Marine runs an overnight boat (of course, it never gets real dark) where you can catch 2 limits of halibut....one before midnight and one after as the regulations allow this. Combo trips are a bit iffey that time of the year from Homer....you would be much better served going out of Deep Creek with a guide for a combo trip....much better chance of getting kings and halibut have never been a problem...I know an excellent charter there I have used and recommended for years with no disappointments I am aware of.

Also the Kasilof is good for kings then....have a friend who is a guide who lives there.

Let me know if I can help.