Anchorage Halibut Fishing

[farmer]

I'm planning to head to AK this summer to visit a friend who is working up there.

Among other things, I would like to get out and do some fishing while I'm up there. Turns my friend has never been fishing in his life. Does anyone know of a good company we could charter to go halibut fishing for a day?

[Tippster]

Is halibut a game fish? I always thought it'd be like catching a ginormous flounder: so basically hauling up a boulder.

[char]

Dude, go salmon fishing. Tons of guides and places to go within striking distance of Anchorage. Plan on shipping a cooler home on Alaska.

[Tahoe Bromide]

Your primary decision will be whether you fish out of Seward or Homer area. I personally prefer Seward and pretty much any outfit you choose will likely catch you fish. Halibut fishing is pretty boring, lots of people liken it to reeling in a piece of plywood. But it can be a really successful meat hunt although I only ever caught sub 20 lb halibut. Depending on timing you might be able to target multiple species, like salmon and halibut and/or rockfish/lingcod. Your charter should be able to tell you what's available.

For someone who has never fished, a day on the open ocean might just be their first and last. Even many of those with tough stomachs end up puking over the side of the boat. But if it's really calm, this isn't an issue. To avoid this, maybe check out some drift fishing for trout and dollies on the Kenai River. Insanely fun and you are pretty much guaranteed to catch fish. This is mostly catch and release. For keepers and also good fun you can do salmon fishing on the rivers too but this can be hit or miss. Timing is everything when it comes to salmon and you might hit it right and might not. The river fishing is based more out of Cooper Landing, near the town of Kenai. Fly in fishing is an expensive, but good bet. Gets you away from the highway hordes, but $$$$. Most good charters will adjust accordingly dependent upon the runs, etc. Most charters/guides are legit and will put you on the fish if they are there. They aren't in the business of ripping people off, not with as many fish as they have in the water up there. Have fun.

Contact....
This was my shop when I lived in Anchorage. Can't remember the owner's name. Young dude, local guy, fly fishes 12 months a year in SC AK. Ask them, they won't steer you wrong.

World Wide Angler, Inc.
Address: 2375 East 63rd Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99507
Phone: 907 561-0662

[KQ]

Halibit with kill you! Bring a gun!

Death by Halibut

[BFD]

I think Chugachjeds dad may be a charter guy out of Seward. He will prtobably chime in. If not PM him.

[Chugachjed]

Don't plan on fishing halibut on a Thursday. We are getting a day off next season. Not sure who I'll be guiding for but I'll give a solid recommendation for Alaska summertime charters request Phil.

[Chugachjed]

Salmon fishing is way more fun on the ocean than a river too. PM me I'm a captain and run charters out of Seward.

[Svengali]

Tahoe Bromides contact is no longer in business- for fly-fishing stuff akpm will surely chime in!

[Alaskan Rover]

No halibut fishing in anchorage. There are actually only a very few commercial fishing boats out of Anchorage and they dry out on the mud every low tide.

For Halibut, check out Homer...and in fact...I'd check out Clem Tillion's family out of Halibut Cove...they hav a really cool deal out across Kachemak Bay. U go out on the boats with them and then stay overnight in one of their seaside cabins connected by wooden walkways. You'll cook up that day's fresh halibut at a beach barbeque. There's nothing quite the same in Seward.

For salmon fishing...the Kenai penisula is rife with good fishing spots. You can check them out on your way back up to Anchorage. The Russian River is good but crowded. The salmon fishing really deponds upon what time of the summer for each specific run. While much of the Russian is crowded with like-minded fisher folk, there are some decent trailheads that will get you more secluded if you don't mind a hike.

[GroupTrout]

The kind of fishing you do really depends on when you come. If you really only want to fish halibut July is kinda the sweet spot. If you go to Seward for halibut in July you're almost guaranteed a silver limit too if you go on a combo charter. As mentioned the silver fishing in the ocean is a riot. If you want to flip for reds on the kenai the last two weeks of July there is usually always a big run.

Another option would be to come in late August and fish silvers and bows on the river. This is a lot different silver fishing than out of seward because the limit is only one compared to three or six (depending on how you set up your charter) but the silvers are usually consistently bigger in the river.

If I was going to fish straight halibut I would come in July, and either go to seward or ninilchik.

[BFD]

Let's overblow the whole thing. My impression is the guy wants to go out with his buddy maybe drink a few beers ( too soon for the legal weeed) and catch a fish. The timing thing is good advice. As for AR advice. I don't gather the OP really wants to spend $50 a pound to eat a piece of halibut in some yuppie cabin. My advice never go south of Cooper Landing.

[icb12]

WWA is out of business. No surprise, and good riddance.
For fly fishing go see Mike at Mossys Fly shop.

For Saltwater, as mentioned seward or homer or ninilchik. Any charter will put you on fish.

Halibut Cove IS pretty rad if you decide to go that route. And Clem has some awesome stories. For what it's worth the cabins there aren't very "yuppie"..
But there are a ton of options.

Personally I prefer the fishing out of Seward.

[Chugachjed]

The view is way better in Seward. We fish deeper unless you end up around Montague.

[farmer]

Thanks guys.

Unfortunately, I found out yesterday I may be out of a job March 1st. Trip is on hold at this point.

[Kied]

No experience fishing up there, but when you do go, you should try and make it out to either Seward or Homer... the drive alone is bitchin. I'd also recommend checking out Whittier if you get the chance.

[flyman683]

If you're stuck on going out ocean charter, and for what it sounds like you're interested in (fun, get out, etc) you can do pretty well with one of 2for1 deals some locals have from the northern lights entertainment book. I know ninilchik charters runs a decent combo charter for chicken halibut/kings and there is another outfit or two in there as well.

If just getting out is key, this at least makes it a lot cheaper.